NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 12:12:09 EDT Organization: Cox Communications Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu triangle.bbq:357 It's been a while since I've updated folks about what we're learning of dining here in Las Vegas. Vicki and I spent the first months here doing a lot of experimenting; we tried a number of local and regional places. We felt that eating out is similar to buying a bottle of wine: About anyone can spend high dollars and get a good bottle. Our trials were seeking out "good bottles of wine" for a low price instead. Well, I'm going to generalize now and say that about everywhere we've been, we have felt we've received darned good food for the money. We had one almost-amusing incident at a very low priced buffet at one casino, but in general we've found that eating out here in LV is about 70% the cost of a similar meal in Raleigh. I need to add in the caveat that this applies to neighborhood casino buffets and video poker pubs only. When eat at Marie Calenders, Applebee's, Tony Roma's or Maraconi Grill, for instance, the prices are comparable to Raleigh. The difference being that the gambling isn't present and offsetting the prices. Here in Henderson, our equivalent to Milton's is a place called Tee Shots, alternating with Mama Jo's, T-Bird, Shuck's and Doc Holliday. All are within 5 minutes of our home here and offer extrememly good food despite low prices. Most offer fish and chips, by the way. None have pizza as good as Milton's, but we have a pizza parlor in the Green Valley Ranch food court that has excellent pizza, so we just get that and bring it home. Mama Jo's offers fried calamari that is as good as we've ever had. A $6 calamari appetizer is a complete meal for the both of us, with some left over. Now that we're older and also continue to watch our weight, Vicki and I frequently SPLIT a lunch. Yesterday, for instance, we had lunch at Tee Shots. We had a grilled chicken sandwich with sliced tomatoes, splitting it and drinking tea. The total bill was $8, including a generous tip. For dinner last night, we ate at Tbird. We each had fish and chips, with Vicki having two margaritas and me having two double martinis. The total bill was just over $20, including tip. Many of the video pubs and casino restaurants have HAPPY HOUR (remember that?). Tee Shots version has dollar beer, $2 well drinks, $1 wine and offers free 2" hamburgers (bar burgers), chips with salsa and various veggies with ranch dip. Mama Jo's (Italian) offers the same bar fare, with Buffalo Wings and dip as the free appetizer. Virtually ALL places here offer at least half priced appetizers during happy hour. There is no direct equivalent to O'Charley's, sadly. We have found the same food and service at Applebee's here as in Raleigh, and merely choose to eat anywhere else. I consider O'Charley's to excel in its prime rib, grilled tuna, salads, chicken tenders, appetizers and bar. To get that selection, we'd have to go to different places. The selection can all be found here in Henderson, but just not at one place. Ribs- Again it's Tee Shots for KC-type ribs. . . and they're darned good. At $10 for a full rack, they're also a lot cheaper than in Raleigh, and come with about a pound of curly fries and slaw. Coupled with $2 well drinks, you just can't go wrong. Seafood- Shuck's is another Video Pub near us. The owner is from Washington state, but spent a lot of time in Chesapeke Bay crabbing. His crab cakes are as good as we've ever had and the other seafood entrees are equally outstanding. A crab cake sandwich with fries, slaw and tea runs about $7 per person at lunch, including tip. Barbecue- This has been a letdown for us. The barbecue here is OK, but nothing to compare with Barbecue Lodge or the other good places in the Triangle. I've just been doing my own, which I like anyway. To top it off, the barbecue here is darned expensive. While a pulled pork sandwich is in the $6 range, if you want brisket or ribs at a barbecue joint, they'll be almost double what you would expect to pay at Red Hot and Blue. I guess that it is in part because they have to import the wood. <grin> We're not gamblers, and have thus not been hitting the Strip as often as we thought we would. About everywhere on the Strip is good, with matching prices. The Strip is more for tourists, while the video pubs and local casinos are for the folks who live here. Think of it like being in Miami near the cruise ship terminal. A local Miami resident might occasionally take a cruise, but generally lives in the town. The Strip is like a gigantic cruise ship, and we only infrequently take cruises.
Las Vegas, NV