Where Las Vegas Showgirls Eat (Also, Limo Drivers, Pit Bosses, and Bookies)
E.C. Gladstone
Jubilee! showgirl Kelly Hamilton (Credit: Courtesy Caesars Entertainment)
Las Vegas enjoys one of the most enviable concentrations of culinary talent in the world, as well as an exploding ethnic scene. But celebrity chef spots are not usually an everyday kind of thing, and when local Las Vegans are off duty, they avoid the Strip like a quarantine zone. So we wondered, when they’re not recommending restaurants in the casinos, where do the folks working there love to eat?
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PIT BOSS
Jennifer Perez, Assistant Shift Manager, The Palms CasinoResort: “Bootlegger Bistro. I go once a week. It’s a great place to hang out and let loose after work. The atmosphere is an old Vegas-y feel. I always get the cappellini pomodoro, and the pomodoro salad.”
SHOE SHINE
Michael Curry, Goodfellows Shoe Shine at Venetian Las Vegas: “Hot N Juicy Crawfish. I like the atmosphere with the old jukebox, people get up and dance. It’s a fun place to be while having a meal. My favorite dish is the hot n juicy shrimp.”
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SHOWGIRL
Kelly Hamilton, Jubilee!: “My favorite off-Strip local place to eat is Naked Fish Sushi. I am a strict no-dairy vegetarian and I dance two shows a night, so I don’t get done until after midnight. Naked Fish is great because it’s open until 2 a.m. every night! My favorite items include the sautéed mushroom appetizer and the tofu salad–with no bonito fish flakes, of course! The tofu salad is very big and the dressing is great, and they make the cucumber sushi rolls with the rice on the outside for me especially.”
BOOKMAKER
Johnny Avello, Executive Director Race & Sport, Wynn Resort: “I go to a place in Henderson called Tuscany Grill. That’s the kind of place you’ll see from my industry, guys talking about race and sports. The owner’s name is Lou the Shoe, he’s a horse player. Great Italianfood: the fried mozzarella, the fried calamari, the fresh Caprese. I’m also excited about theItalian American Club. Jimmy Gerard, he owned Fellini’s, he’s taking over the kitchen there.
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LIMO DRIVER
Julia Amaya: “My favorite place is a Mexican restaurant called DonaMaria’s. It looks like an old seedy place, but [there’s] genuinely great people and great food. It’s the type of restaurant that is extremely authentic–they make the best pork posole out there. It’s been a family-owned business for years. My spouse’s kids grew up there, and it’s the same family, the same waiters and waitresses. It’s not far away, it’s not hard to get to.”
FLORIST
Andres Garcia, executive director of Horticulture at Bellagio Resort & Casino: “My favorite off-Strip “local” place to eat is a restaurant called Las Pupusas. It reminds me of my home back in El Salvador where I grew up , and offers the most authentic Salvadorian experience I’ve been able to find in the valley. The menu is full of traditional dishes including Pechuga de Pollo (grilled chicken breast), Salpicon (eye-round beef), and the very first menu on the item, the national dish of El Salvador, the pupusas. Definitely the pupusas.”
E.C. Gladstone blogs about food at nowimhungry.com and on the world of wine and spirits at his own SipSavorSwallow.com as well as other print and online outlets.
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