Las Vegas is famous for its wide variety of iconic foods. And with a host of food selections, it’s difficult to choose a favorite. Any foodie visiting Las Vegas will immediately think of Prime Rib, because guess what? It’s served practically EVERYWHERE. What’s more, some of the premium hamburgers you’ll ever eat are served here. But let’s face it, there more to Vegas food than meat…
Although Las Vegas is usually a city that is somewhat thought of as being devoid of its own cuisine, this Sin City does have a variety of iconic must-eats when you visit any Vegas restaurant. So, because Vegas food is generally undervalued, 702 ENT decided to provide its clientele and avid readers a list of creations that should be both appreciated, and more importantly, sampled.
1. Shrimp Cocktail
This has become somewhat of a Vegas cliché. Back in 1959, the Golden Gate hotel-casino presented the shrimp cocktail for 50c. The price remained constant until 1991, and now costs around $2.99. The introduction is attributed to a man by the name of Italo Gheli, one of a group of Italian-Americans from San Fransisco who bought the property in 1955. Since then, the Golden Gate has sold more than 30 million cocktails, always served lettuce filler-free in a tulip sundae glass! This dish can be found on appetizer menus across the state, in buffets and with or without onions.
2. Onions Rings
Vegas is in the top 10 for production of this tear-jerking vegetable. Producing circa 235,000,000 pounds of onions planted in the state covering over 3,000 acres, it’s safe to say that, that’s a heck of a lot of onion! This is probably why onion rings are included on virtually every menu throughout Vegas.
3. The buffet
These are one thing Las Vegas is known for, with over 200 of them. All food, unlimited amounts of it, at any time of day or night. Buffets, tied in with casino revenue, pay for many things in southern Nevada, and a big portion of that goes to public education. Whether you go for the novelty, because you’re a picky eater or for unlimited crab legs, there’s no denying that Nevada owns the buffet world.
4. Basque food
Settling in Nevada during the gold rush, Basque people originate from an area between France and Spain. Basques came from South America and their gastronomic influence, specifically Basque-style chateaubriand still lives on, with Las Vegas still being home to many Basque restaurants and Elko being home to a yearly Basque festival. The chateaubriand is a thick steak cooked meticulously between two thinner steaks which are later discarded, producing an evenly rare center steak.
5. Thai food
Las Vegas houses Lotus of Siam, one of the top-rated Thai restaurants in the country. This eatery has even been dubbed by critics as the greatest Thai restaurant in North America. With more than 300 Thai restaurants in, it’s not surprising this popular type of cuisine has become so popular.
6. AYCE Sushi
The abundance of all-you-can-eat restaurants in Vegas is unmatched. New York City has hundreds of sushi restaurants, most of which don’t offer AYCE and will cost your monthly rent if you’re extremely hungry. Luckily, all you sushi lovers are spoilt for choice, since Las Vegas valley is home to dozens upon dozens of AYCE varieties.
So come and relish different foods from various regions of the world Vegas is renowned for – after all, it is a city that’s a melting pot of cultures, which in turn offers an assortment of dishes to both locals and visitors alike. These 6 iconic foods in Vegas will surely have your mouth watering and taste buds tingling. What other iconic foods would you add to the list?
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