Eating Las Vegas 2019 is the best book available on Las Vegas restaurants, including the many wonderful (and well-priced) bistros, cafés, and Asian restaurants opening every month throughout the valley.
Written by John Curtas, the seventh edition focuses on 52 essential restaurants (26 on the Strip, 26 elsewhere), plus contains information on 200 more, conveniently broken down by restaurant type (steakhouse, French), as well as some fun categories (celebrity-/people-watching).
John Curtas, whom I have never met, is a world-class restaurant critic, a job he fully defines and describes in the beginning of the book. Unlike causal food bloggers, and sadly too many professional restaurant reviewers, Curtas really knows international cuisine, specifically how a dish should be prepared and if the version in front of him is an exciting variation or an ill-conceived failure. And he stresses positive experiences in dining, as opposed to wasting readers’ time with creative putdowns.
Unlike past restaurant critics (including those in Las Vegas and internationally), Curtas doesn’t appear overly chummy with restaurant owners or overly awed by internationally known chefs or long-time Las Vegas icons, as evidenced by the appropriate placement of Piero’s and Hells Kitchen in his listing of the bottom ten Las Vegas restaurants.
A few months ago, I picked up a copy of the 2018 edition (the 2019 edition became available in the past week or so) and discovered several nearby restaurants (Other Mama, Sparrow & Wolf) that were not only first-rate, but also impressed my guests for much less than an expensive Strip eatery would. While the 2019 edition is primarily an update of last year’s book, the six new additions to the list of 52 essential restaurants are all located in local neighborhoods away from the Strip.
I do have two criticism of the book — or more appropriately, suggested additions to later editions.
While Eating Las Vegas does contain a short chapter on “The Glories of Eating Alone,” the individual listings don’t contain any information regarding how single-friendly a restaurant may be. As a frequent single diner, I appreciate being offered several choices of seating, including a well-serviced bar where I can get taken care of quickly and chat with other patrons. Truth be told, I’d much rather have a drink at a bar in a Las Vegas restaurant than in the thousands of smoke-filled joints that over-encourage me to play their bad video poker machines while I try to eat (on top of the machine) a so-so meal. The listings should include a symbol that bar seating is available.
One local-interest aspect that Eating Las Vegas doesn’t provide is how to save money at Las Vegas restaurants via outside discounts (AAA, AARP, Open Table), casino discounts (many of which can be obtained with minimal play), gift-card promotions, or the restaurant’s frequency reward system. While most tourists may not be interested, this information is vital to any local stretching a restaurant budget. I do promise that dining-discount information will be a big part of my upcoming blog posts.
Aside from these observations, Eating Las Vegas is a must-have asset for any local wanting to take full advantage of the ever-improving and ever-changing world-class Las Vegas restaurant scene.
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The ability to eat out cheaply and in a great variety of places is IMHO the best feature of Vegas and almost makes up for its thousands of flaws as a place to live. I definitely think that people who like to stay home and cook shouldn’t even think about living in Vegas, as its grocery stores are well below par for a city its size.
What Is “par” for a grocery store?
Well, since I was talking about grocery storeS (plural), I can’t answer your question. But “par: for all the grocery stores in a city would be the number and variety of grocery stores compared to the national average on a per capita basis. To give you an example, Detroit is well below par in that regard, and Seattle is well above par.
The variety and quality of grocery stores is a factor, as well as the availability of fresh produce and natural foods. Vegas still has quite a few “food deserts.” It also has very few natural/organic grocery stores for a city its size, Those elements are consequences of unrestrained growth for several decades. Houses were built and occupied long before even basic services and amenities were made available.
The US government (who else) maintains comprehensive statistics on food availability, and I can direct you to sources of that data if you’re genuinely interested.
Wow you really have an extensive knowledge about grocery storeS stats. Thanks for all the great info.
OK – Makes sense. Thanks for the reply.