Christina Binkley was on State of Nevada today talking about her latest work, Winner Takes All. Her book is about big personalities in the casino industry shaped the development of Las Vegas as we know it today.
Believe it or not, there’s more to Las Vegas than hotels and casinos. Just a few minutes west of the madness is Red Rock Canyon. I took my uncle there this weekend. We spent about an hour and a half driving slowly through the park on the 13 mile scenic loop stopping often to take photos.
The cost of admission is $5 per vehicle or $20 for an annual pass.
Tix4Tonight is a good way to save money on tickets to many of the popular Las Vegas shows. They offer discounts of up to 50% off box office ticket prices.
Pros
- Four convenient locations around town
- Up to 50% off published prices depending on the day of week and the show
- You can also buy discounted restaurant and buffet certificates
- They give you an umbrella for shade when it’s hot and sunny out
Cons
- You get a mixed bag of shows on a daily basis
- Quantities are limited and popular shows can sell out quickly
- For some shows they give you a voucher and you have to go to the box office to pick up the physical tickets
- You have to stand in line in line – sometimes in the hot sun
Be sure to print out this coupon to save $2.00 the Tix4Tonight service charge (per ticket).
There are lots of sushi restaurants around town. In fact, for a land-locked city 300 miles from the ocean, there may be too many sushi restaurants in Las Vegas. I often wonder about the freshness and quality of the little sushi places crammed between Kinkos and Quiznos in some random shopping center. So it was with much apprehension that my wife and I ventured into Sumo Sushi 2 for dinner.
This is one of those joints where everyone yells something in Japanese when you walk in the door. This greeting is slightly jarring to me because I don’t really know what’s being said. They did this with great gusto at Gyu Kaku in West LA. It seems more a yakitori greeting than a sushi one but I digress.
The sushi? Not bad. We had several cut rolls and a sashimi plate. The fish tasted fresh and the cuts were well-sized. If you like wasabi try the “sushi bombs” — 6 pieces with extra wasabi spread on the bottom and thin slices of jalepeno on top. Woo!
Also recommended is the miso cod. This dish was prepared extremely well and like the sushi, the portion was generous.
Sumo Sushi 2
8795 W. Warm Springs Road, Suite 106
Las Vegas, NV 89148
(702) 262-7866
I blogged about the Mac Clinic before but have to mention them once more. My trusty little iBook failed to boot the other day (I wish this explained the time between postings but unfortunately it doesn’t) so I brought it down to the Mac Clinic. They got me fixed up, helped me find a replacement power-cord on the cheap and I’m blogging again. Thanks guys!
If you live on the west side of town consider visiting Silver State Eye Care. The office just celebrated its grand opening and Dr. Thomas Kelly is accepting new patients. He has been practicing in the valley for over five years and was recognized as a “Top Doctor” in LV Life Magazine.
I first heard about Dr. Kelly from my neighbor, Frank Slaughter. Frank recently helped a homeless, former boxer named Joseph Kiwanuka get eye surgery and a plane ticket back to Uganada. You can read more about Joseph’s story in the Las Vegas Sun. It’s a touching story of how the efforts of Las Vegas residents like Frank and Dr. Kelly made a big difference in someone’s life. This city would be a better place if everyone was so generous.
Silver State Eye Care
6080 S. Fort Apache Road, Suite A
Las Vegas, NV 89148
(702) 309-2015
One of my favorites types of food is Spanish tapas. I enjoy sampling many small plates instead of committing to one large entree and what’s not to like about a pitcher of sangria? When we lived in San Francisco we frequented Thirsty Bear and Cha Cha Cha (the one in the Mission). In Los Angeles we could walk to Orris which was more of an Asian take on tapas. We tried Primitivo on Abbott Kinney once and it was great but super expensive.
So we were pretty excited to read about Firefly Tapas Kitchen on Paradise Road and decided to give it a try. The restaurant is a lot of fun with its eccentric and Euro-campy design and festive music. The bar was packed and looked like a great place to grab a drink after work. The food though, disappointed and we will not be back.
We sampled 7-8 of their dishes but only liked 1-2 of them. The grilled baby octopus scored particularly well with my wife as did the creamy aoili they serve with the bread. The downside of many dishes was that they came drenched in a sweet, mole-like, dark sauce. This took away from the vibrant flavors and varied textures we look forward to when eating tapas. Avoid dishes that come with any kind of sauce if unless you like your food sweet and wet.
Firefly is located on Paradise Road, near the Hard Rock Hotel and in the same strip plaza as Ruth Chris Steakhouse. Be sure to call in a reservation as the restaurant was extremely crowded even on a random Wednesday night.
Firefly* on Paradise, Tapas Kitchen and Bar
3900 Paradise Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 369-3971