Las Vegas: Taco Y Taco

Las Vegas, Nevada, is a great city to find something delicious to eat, especially if your pockets run real deep. If you're willing to shell out top dollar, you can find some of the most luxurious meals served in some of the culinary celebrity worlds biggest names' own restaurants, from opulent sushi spreads to the latest in creative, avant-garden cuisine. Personally, I prefer to veer off The Strip (aka Las Vegas Boulevard and all those glitzy casinos) to find my meals, and Taco Y Taco is one of my favorite neighborhood spots for a satisfying, affordable, and consistently fantastic meal. There are other, more famous, restaurants that you could grab some tacos at, and some of those even have locations dotting that main-drag, but during my brief visit to my old stomping ground I made sure to pop in and get my fill on all the delicious offerings I could stuff into my face. CeeDro joined me on this venture, and we both got down on some taco goodness before parting ways for the evening. It was great to catch up with him over the evening, and who would complain about tacos?  

Taco Y Taco has a self-service salsa bar with an almost overwhelming array of options to choose from. I recommend the grilled jalapenos, who add a fresh pop of flavor with a smokey sweetness to contrast their shop bite. The ordering system can be a little confusing, especially if it's your first time, but the staff are used to it and are generally friendly and happy to steer you in the right direction should you get lost. All the meats are good, but they do offer vegetarian options (and maybe even vegan ones) for those who'd prefer that so you can bring everyone along! I ordered a ridiculous amount of food for just myself, but managed to devour all of it with gusto. I waddled my way out of the restaurant a very happy, very satisfied lass. Should you choose to visit Taco Y Taco, you too should feel that stuffed-to-satisfaction glee. 

So good.

Vegas: Sushi Wa dinner

When it comes to food, there's absolutely no question in my mind that the supreme contender for my utmost favorite thing to put into my face-hole has to be sushi. I love most forms of seafood to begin with, whether it's black-bean coated stone crab at the All-You-Can-Eat Chinese buffet nearby during their seafood special night, or slippery slabs of cold salmon sashimi bedecked with golden orbs of salmon roe upon a bed of steaming hot white rice. I will gladly consume most things you can dredge out of the ocean, though sea cucumber and daebul aren't things I'd eagerly seek out again. Sushi, though, is the kind of food I can eat any day, anywhere. I mean, there's definitely a huge distinction in quality between your typical grocery store ready-made packages of sushi and a legit sushi restaurant, but when you're in a bind there are the occasional lucky finds.  Luckily for us, we weren't resigned to eating sushi pre-packaged in thin plastic containers from the deli section! Sushi Wa is a good bit more out of the way than we would normally dine at, but when Antho and I happened to be in the area, hungry and in need of fuel, Sushi Wa was there so we decided to give it a go. We weren't disappointed! 

We had to have our usual favorites, of course, like the fatty goodness of salmon or the unctuous briny essence of the sea that is uni, but there were some fun new dishes available for the curious consumer to sample, too, like this dish below with tuna and sweet, sticky rice crisped on the outside drizzled with a spicy sauce and a piquant pickled jalapeno to wake up your tastebuds. Everything we tried was tasty and fresh, full of flavor and contrasting textures, like in the fried ice cream! Yes, fried ice cream. I know that's not a novelty to some of you, but it's always an amusing conflict of temperature states and textures to me when I find it on a menu. Overall it was an excellent meal and the only reason we didn't frequent the restaurant when living in Vegas was the fact it was so far removed from us. There's no shortage of delicious places to eat in the city, but if you happen to find yourself out in Henderson this is an excellent option to fill your belly with some quality sushi goodness!  

Vegas: Jjolmyeon in Greenland Market

After spending an incredible six months living over in Seoul, South Korea, it shouldn't catch anyone off guard that I absolutely adore the food there. In fact, true hardcore readers (if such a thing exists) might recall one of my earliest ever blog posts (on my much neglected food-oriented sister blog, Culinarily Curious) being about a simple Korean soup with beef and radish- and that was back before I had even ever traveled to Korea! I was enamored with the clean, simple dishes full of complex flavors, and my love of Korean food has only deepened since the days of wandering the many narrow corridors of the city streets and eating anything I could find. Not only is the food itself often exceptionally healthy due to being predominantly vegetable based, but the flavors are often complex and comprised of fermented ingredients that bolster gut health and add incomparable depth. Suffice to say, it's good stuff and I am always happy to find an excuse to dig in on some K-grub.  

Here in the city of Las Vegas, one of your better options for finding a variety of common-place (in Korea) dishes (and ingredients) at a reasonable price point with expedient service is to head over to Greenland market, on the corner of Rainbow and Spring Mountain. Spring Mountain road is pretty much our version of Chinatown, with a huge assortment of different restaurants and businesses catering to all things from the East, whether it be cars, banks, food or fashion. If you're hankering for some dim sum or conveyor belt sushi (or an izakaya, Korean barbeque, hot pot, etc) and don't want to linger in a casino, you'll find the bulk of your pick of restaurants on Spring Mountain. Greenland, however, is especially oriented to the Korean population, which is pretty large here in Vegas. It's my favorite destination for Korean foods and groceries, with the fresh food cafeteria by the front doors offering all sorts of tasty meals to fill your belly before buying your groceries. While out and about on this particular adventure, we popped in and I finally was able to satisfy the fiendish craving I'd been having for jjolmyeon, a cold chewy noodle dish made with wheat noodles and a sweet and spicy sauce that coats the fresh, crispy veggies and makes each bite a savory mix. It's good stuff, and while not as commonly seen as bibim-naengmyun or bul-naengmyun, which also consist of cold noodles in a savory sauce, it holds its own. Ever since summer settled in and started grabbing us by the balls, I've had a need to stuff cold, spicy noodles in my face hole. Am I the only one?  

It ain't a rounded Korean meal without banchan and some soup! This meal came with some kimchi, braised potatoes, macaroni salad and a clean, simple beef broth alongside my big heaping bowl of noodles. Even with Antho's help I wasn't able to finish the whole portion! 

Awesome!

Vegas: Unicorn Donut

Look at those eyes, pleading with you; "Please, human, don't devour my sweet cakey flesh! Spare me!"

Unfortunately for our little pastry friend here, they're unable to speak due to lack of any form of anatomically accurate vocal chords or mouth. No words of protest will be uttered aloud should you decide that you want to actually move forward and eat with your mouth and not just your eyes. The lifespan of these majestic creatures is fairly short, as it goes. Once they're frosted, sprinkled and suitably bedazzled for a mythical beast, they're set forth into a display case in the bustling Fulton Street food court area of Harrah's where they sit and watch in horror as their horde diminishes over time until one sad, sole survivor lingers awaiting their inevitable fate. There's also something I've heard about a "buy-one-get-one" donut happy hour deal after 5 or 5:30? I've not gone and secured any donuts for myself due to work obligations, but Antho has gone forth and gotten us some, which explains the appearance of this fancy feast, but I cannot confirm the hours of the sale on donuts with total certainty. It's worth trying to find out, though, as with most things in the casinos these aren't going to be what most people would consider reasonably priced. There's also Captain Crunch bedazzled donuts, a maple bacon, and several others that sounded pretty promising. They're all very, very sweet, of course, so bear that in mind if you're worried about your blood sugar in the slightest. There are plenty of healthy food options in the nearby food court, but the donuts are the polar opposite of healthy here. I mean, we all kind of know that, don't we? Deep down? Donuts are not, and likely never will be, considered health food in any way, shape or form. They are damn delicious, however, and that is why we eat them!

 

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

💖

XOXO,

NAU

Las Vegas: Lunch at Island Style and exciting new prospects

Believe it or not, there's a pretty good Korean population in the city of Las Vegas and their need for good food ripples throughout the community in an assortment of delicious restaurants. Whether you're choosing to do your shopping at Wholesale Mart off of Karen and Maryland Parkway or Greenland Supermarket off of Rainbow and Spring Mountain, there's plenty of grocery stores to get your fix of bulgogi and kimbap supplies and the list of restaurants feeding the community is endless and ever-changing. On one of our many trips to the Springs Preserve I happened to notice a small restaurant  on Sahara who's sign simply advertised Chinese-Korean food... after living in Seoul for six months and the previous visit to Korea in 2014 that inspired a deep-seated love of all-things Korean that remains to this day, finding such a restaurant was a happy happy thing. Whether it's a big savory bowl of jjajangmyun waiting to mixed up and devoured with crunchy pickled radish and eye-burning raw onion, or a steaming bowl of spicy jjampong bedazzled with shellfish and tasty greens waiting to be slurped up, I love pretty much any food I've encountered in Korea. The South Korean versions of Chinese dishes are no exception, and have proliferated throughout Seoul for years and years. While working in Korea there were a couple of instances where we ordered food to be delivered, as delivery is one of the great blessings of living in the Seoul metropolitan area- damn near every food imaginable can quite literally be delivered anywhere. Want fried chicken by the sea? Done. McDonald's at the park? You got it, oppa! America still has a ways to go when it comes to catching up to the ease and low-cost of the prolific food delivery system through Seoul. Of course, our public transportation and train systems are also several decades behind, too, so what can I really expect? I guess when your country spends all it's money on engaging in endless wars overseas instead you have less money for infrastructure, right? But I digress...food porn! So much food porn! Keep scrolling for all the droolworthy yums! 

Tang su yuk, or Korean style sweet and sour. So good! They double-fry the meat so it's extra crispy and delicious.

Boricha, or barley tea. So refreshing, so light, so crisp. Delicious.

Vegas: Tony's Pizza in Boulder City

After all the driving, the hiking, the climbing, and the outdoors, we were ready for some food. Some hot food. We had initially planned on going to the Coffee Cup, a place we'd visited in the past after an overnight outing not far from Boulder City, but by the time we arrived we found that they were nearing their closing time for the day and there was a sizeable church group already waiting at their doors to enter and order. 2pm, people, that's when they shut their doors! So ideally you'd want to be there by 1pm at the latest, as no one should ever want to be those last minute jerks who rush in right as a restaurant is preparing to close for the day... trust me, I've worked in restaurants and seen how the cooks react to being made to unpack the food and re-open the line after shutting down and closing for the day. It's not pretty.  Spare yourself the potential digestive disturbance and the cooks the misery and take your hungry party somewhere still open for another couple hours. In this instance we decided to go just up the street and grab some slices at Tony's Pizza, an institution I've been dining at since sometime in middle school when my dad hauled us out to Boulder City for the remainder of my middle and high school career. It's a small town, so small there's only two real stop-lights,  so there weren't many options when it came to food... during my highschool years there were two Chinese restaurants, two sit down Mexican restaurants,  a local coffee shop that eventually got bought out by Starbucks, a Port of Subs and Subway, KFC, A&W and a Taco Bell. No Wal-Marts. No Casinos. There's actually no gaming in the city limits of Boulder City, which is why you'll find the Railroad Pass on the outskirts as you head in from Vegas. Last I checked there was even a cap on building growth, limiting the amount of homes or residential buildings created every year.  Given as much, it's really no surprise that Tony's Pizza is almost exactly as I remember it, down to the people working. Things don't change as fast in Boulder City, and that's okay if that's what you're into. It is kind of nice in a nostalgic way. The food was tasty and hot, fresh out of the fryer when it came to our fried zucchini, chicken tenders and fries. We were satisfied with our meal and pleased when we hopped back into the van for our trip back into the city. 

Until next time!

💖

XOXO,

NAU

Las Vegas: Halloweeny sushi date with Antho

いくら軍艦寿司, Ikura gunkanzushi

Antho and I have many things in common, from our blue-tinged hair to an enthusiasm for Doctor Who and backpacking. Happily, sushi is one thing that we both greatly adore so our choice on date nights is usually quite an easy decision. We even share a profound appreciation for the glory of sea urchin! As such it makes an ideal choice for those rare nights we two get to go out and celebrate our coupleness.

A top choice for us to satiate our need for sushi in Vegas is Sushi Twister.

One of the bigger selling points for me is that the restaurant is owned and operated by Japanese staff, so I get to bust out my rusty Japanese skills and impress my guy. Winning!

Their specials board changes often, but we're always happy when they have super white tuna!

シマアジと白まぐろ握り寿司

shima aji in the front, super white tuna behind

Shima aji's appearance made me exceptionally happy as shima aji is traditionally considered a summer season fish in Japan and I don't think I've ever encountered it in a restaurant stateside. The oily fish has a rich, supple flesh without the fishiness of other mackerel. I'm a big fan of aozakana (blue fish), and the seasonal specialties of Japanese cuisine are one of the things I miss most.