Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BBQ,” the International Memphis in May BBQ cook-off, three times. The bar-
becue you'll taste here is made from the same recipes that won those awards, using
the vinegar-based sauce his maternal grandmother created, the brisket and pork
shoulders cooking for 18 hours on average, and the baby backs for five to six. It
is, no exaggeration, gut-bustingly delicious. And the meal you'll have here doesn't
start and end with the meats or barbecue chicken; the sides and appetizers are
fabulous as well, from the deep-fried sour pickles ($3.95, they're like crack
cocaine, once you start munching on them you just don't want to stop) to red
beans and rice as good as you'd get in New Orleans to the candylike creamed corn.
Be sure to try the dry rub that's on the tables—I always end up buying a bottle to
take home with me (I use it for roast chicken, omelets, to spice up soups; you
name it, this rub makes it better). In addition to this barnlike restaurant, there are
branches at
225 E. Warm Springs Rd., at Eastern (
%
702/260-7909) and 4379 Las
Vegas Blvd. N., in North Las Vegas (
%
702/664-0000).
$$-$$$$
The splashiest thing to happen to Red Rock Canyon since glaciers
sliced and diced its features some millions of years ago has been the opening of
the $930 million Red Rock Resort in the summer of 2006. And while many envi-
ronmentalists are bemoaning the fact that this casino and the Summerlin commu-
nity have been creeping ever closer to this once-pristine wilderness area, there is
unfortunately no going back now. Which is a long way of saying that there's never
been a more stylish answer to GORP than a pre- or post-hike pit stop at the Red
Rock's
Feast Buffet
(in the Red Rock Resort, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd.;
%
702/
797-7976;
$
9 breakfast,
$
11 lunch,
$
19 brunch and dinner, 50% off for children
under 12; daily 8am-10pm; AE, DISC, MC, V).
Smack dab in the middle of the buf-
fet gang pricewise, it's working hard to prove its originality. So in the midst of
each station—International Food, Sushi, Asian, BBQ, you know the drill—there's
one “oh really moment” when the chefs pull out something you're not likely to
see at any other buffet. Gefilte fish at the salad bar, mascarpone instead of cottage
cheese, soy “chicken” among the wok fry-ups . . . it changes day to day, but there's
always some little surprise. Other touches I like: They have sushi at lunch (usu-
ally it's just a dinner item), and a chef mans the dessert station, cutting each piece
of cake as needed to help keep staleness at bay. This buffet's a looker, too, taking
its inspiration from Red Rock Canyon itself, with chicly rough hewn sandstone
walls and other faux-rustic touches.
$$-$$$$
Originality isn't usually a strong-suit in Vegas, but I have to say that
Sushi Fever
555
(7985 W. Sahara Ave., at S. Buffalo Dr.;
%
702/838-2927;
Mon-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 4-10pm; AE, DISC, MC, V)
may well be one of the most
unusual, unique sushi joints I've ever been to. You wouldn't know it from the
interior decoration because . . . well, there ain't much. Just a few shoji screens here
and there, TV screens tuned into sports, griddle-centered teppanyaki tables, and
a large rectangular sushi bar with chefs in the center. But the sushi itself is so out-
rageous, so untraditional, so, well,
odd
that it really can't be called sushi. Yes, it's
centered on raw fish and wrapped with vinegar rice, but that's where the similar-
ity ends. Because it may well be deep fried, slathered in a bright pink sauce, or
