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Dining Out in Las Vegas

spinner image A promotional billboard for Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill
George Rose/Getty Images

Vegas has transformed into a world-class dining mecca where marquee chefs, including Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Michael Mina, burnish their brands. And, yes, some high rollers toss out many hundreds (thousands, even) of dollars on a meal out, but frugal gourmets can still find plenty to chew on.

Indulge in cuisine by world-renowned chefs for less at an upscale food court on the Strip like the Block 16 Urban Food Hall at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Famous Foods Street Eats at Resorts World. Or sample a handful of the city’s most popular restaurants in VIP style for as low as $125 on a Lip Smacking Foodie Tour. (Note that standard food courts and chain restaurants offer lower prices, but they’re still marked up from the menu in your hometown.)

And check out restaurants, breweries and cocktail bars off the Strip, where prices are much lower. Tiny Le Thai dishes up tongue-tingling curry and $10.95 lunch specials. The Park on Fremont does low-cost brunches in a funky outdoor garden. Head to burgeoning Chinatown Las Vegas on Spring Mountain Road for food, karaoke and a tropical cocktail at the delightfully quirky Golden Tiki. The three-mile stretch of strip malls boasts more than 100 restaurants at all price points and wonderful Asian cuisine, including Japanese charcoal grill Raku, a favorite of Strip chefs.

If you want to try higher-end restaurants, look for cheaper pretheater menus as well as early and late-night happy hours with discounted eats.

Reliable splurges

It’s a good bet you’ll have a memorable night at Julian Serrano’s serene Picasso, savoring tasting menus amid genuine Pablos and flashes from the Bellagio resort fountains. The best buttery mashed potatoes — a signature dish — beckon at Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand resort. Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse at the Venetian serves spectacular slabs of dry-aged beef as well as Creole-style seafood. Bobby Flay brings his bold Southwest flavors to Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace as a less-pricey option. And that famous $5,000 burger? It comes with truffles, foie gras and a bottle of rare Petrus Bordeaux at Fleur by Hubert Keller at Mandalay Bay.

Buffets

Fans of belt-busting binges gobble up these Vegas staples, though note that they have skyrocketed in price (expect $50-plus dinners at popular Strip properties). They’re cheaper at lunch and on weekdays and (like so much else here) a bargain off-Strip. A good buffet showcases international cuisine, cocktail shrimp, a nice cut of roast beef, king crab legs and dozens of I’ll-diet-tomorrow desserts. The newly renovated Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace is highly rated, as is local fave Studio B Buffet at the off-Strip M Resort, which includes wine and beer. Caesars Entertainment’s “Buffet of Buffets” all-day pass covers a half-dozen resorts; it’s $59.99 for loyalty club members, $69.99 for others.

Ethnic dining neighborhoods

Vegas isn’t all buffets and boldface names. It has its share of ethnic eateries, too. Head to Spring Mountain Road, where Strip chefs gather after work at Raku, a Japanese charcoal grill in a strip mall. Or go to Vegas’ Chinatown Plaza, also on Spring Mountain Road, for over a dozen Asian restaurants.

Downtown foodie scene

Trendy restaurants are everywhere these days, with prices lower than on the Strip. Tiny Le Thai dishes up tongue-tingling curry and $9.95 lunch specials. The Park on Fremont does low-cost brunches (order the French toast ham/turkey/gooey Swiss cheese Monte Cristo and sit in its funky outdoor garden). Check out the only-in-Vegas gimmick eatery Heart Attack Grill, where servers dress as nurses and guests don hospital gowns to eat a “quadruple bypass burger.” Downtown also boasts inviting craft cocktail bars.

Local icons

Just about every Las Vegas native has plopped into a booth at the Peppermill Restaurant and Lounge. At Hugo’s Cellar in the Four Queens downtown, step back in time with cherries jubilee flambéed tableside. Sit in the red-leather Sinatra banquette at Golden Steer Steakhouse, a former Rat Pack haunt that proudly claims the largest baked potatoes in Vegas alongside dry-aged beef.

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