Living Local — Researching Restaurants near My New Office

Miss me?

I had two major projects last week: the 54^th Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion (a gathering of current and retired professional wrestlers); and I relocated my office from my home to a room in my accountant’s workplace about two miles down the road on Desert Inn.

The CAC Reunion (long story how I got involved) was held at the Gold Coast, which did an excellent job with catering, setup, and service. The word “seamless” came to mind throughout the entire weekend. What I really admired is how everyone on the Gold Coast team, from the special-events manager down to the security guards helping me control access to the banquets, were super accommodating, especially as I’m a local. Las Vegas residents in general go out of their way to help one another do their jobs.

My new office is located about a quarter-mile west of the Desert Inn/Jones Blvd. intersection near the ever-expanding Las Vegas Chinatown. Not only am I not familiar with the local restaurants, I have very little experience with Asian cuisine.

Time for a crash course.

First stop is Google. While there are many legitimate concerns regarding overall Google ratings (as well as Yelp and similar rating sites), Google is still a good place to start, especially given the ability to filter minimum rating levels and price. According to my search, two low-cost restaurants within walking distance get a 4.5 rating on Google (based on over 300 reviews): Faku Burger Chinatown and Ramen Tatsu. That covers lunch, though more often than not I bring something from home as the office has a full kitchen.

Next I turn to Eating Las Vegas. According to John Curtis’ 2019 edition, six restaurants are worth checking out, including Edo Tapas & Wine (Spanish) and District One (Asian), both of which have entrees for $15. And they’ll work for experimental dinners.

Cory Roberts, my associate publisher who lives in Cleveland, but stays in Chinatown when he visits Las Vegas, also recommended the Hobak Korean.

If my first couple of visits to these (or any other restaurants in Las Vegas) go well, I check them out for any discount plans, plus I visit their websites to see if they collect email addresses for marketing communications.

For a final, and much longer-term resource, I picked up a copy of 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die—A Food Lover’s Life List, written by Mimi Sheraton, a well-regarded restaurant critic and journalist. To fully appreciate one of the best collections of Asian restaurants (as well as Spanish and now Indian) found in the United States, I have to improve my knowledge of their cuisine. And so far this book has been an excellent start. Before I head off to a place, I look at the online menu, do some quick research in the book, and make a quick list of a couple of things to try.

All this talk of food has made me hungry, so it’s’ time to try the kimchi stew at Hobak Korean.