Las Vegas offers great eats for three-day weekends

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Alexa Anderson
Las Vegas offers a variety of cuisines at affordable prices that can be found on and off the Boulevard. (Alexa Anderson)

Countless food options in Las Vegas are available to keep visitors busy as warm spring weather draws in students and vacationers over three-day weekends.

Meals offered at restaurants in hotels or other places along Las Vegas Boulevard can cost more than $20 a plate, but there are a few off-the-strip yummy alternatives that won’t break the bank.

Lindo Michoacan 

Zagat-rated Mexican restaurant Lindo Michoacan, a family-owned business, now has three locations in the Las Vegas area after its original opening in 1990, according to its website.

Alexa Anderson
Lindo Michoacan is continually busy as many regulars frequent the restaurant. (Alexa Anderson)

The restaurant offers a variety of large-portioned dishes and stays consistently busy, according to Stephanie Barajas, daughter of owner Javier Barajas.

“We are busy throughout the week,” Barajas said. “Friday, Saturday and Sunday are extremely busy all day long. We usually don’t have any breaks.”

Guests from out of town visit Lindo Michoacan to experience authentic Mexican cuisine, but the Mexican restaurant mainly plays host to regulars who keep coming back because they love the food, according to Barajas.

Lindo Michoacan has been named “The Best of Las Vegas” by the Las Vegas Review Journal Poll, 11 different times. An average dish costs roughly $12. 

Lotus of Siam

World-renowned chef and James Beard Award winner Saipin Chutima opened Lotus of Siam over 16 years ago. The restaurant is situated in a strip mall roughly 10 minutes from the Stratosphere Las Vegas hotel.

Saipin’s cooking attracts foodies, Las Vegas locals and celebrities. The restaurant’s walls are filled with endless photographs of Saipin alongside the likes of Drew Barrymore and Pharrell Williams.

Head hostess Mae Rodriguez answers the phone all day, taking calls from customers requesting reservations. (Alexa Anderson)

People from near and far come to eat the flavorful yet moderately priced Thai cuisine–Prices range anywhere from $10-$30 depending on the size of the meal. According to Lotus of Siam, roughly 500 people roll through the restaurant in just four hours.

Wait times can reach up to two hours on weekends. Reservations are encouraged.

“We are usually overbooked throughout the whole week,” Head hostess Mae Rodriguez said. “Sometimes when we are overbooked, people will line up before opening time to get a table. At times, the line can get very long.”

Alexa Anderson
Saipin’s drunken noodle prawns is one of the most popular dishes at Lotus of Siam. (Alexa Anderson)

Customers get to experience a variety of recipes passed down from generation to generation with Saipin’s set menu. Seafood, noodle dishes and curries are popular options, native to Saipin’s ancestors home of Northern Thailand.

CREAM

CREAM prides itself on its fresh-baked cookies and premium ice cream options. Ice cream and cookie lovers can choose from a variety of 10 different cookie options and more than 20 ice cream flavors to create their own unique ice cream sandwich. A regular cookie ice cream sandwich is $3.99.

BYU junior and pre-management major Lyndsay Rich said she is always sure to visit CREAM when she is in Las Vegas. Rich loves the dessert shop’s warm homemade cookies.

(@CREAM_nation/Instagram)
CREAM offers a variety of cookies and ice cream to customers in Las Vegas. (@CREAM_nation/Instagram)

“CREAM is a culmination of all good things,” Rich said. “How does it get any better than two homemade cookies with any flavor of ice cream you could imagine? It doesn’t. There are few things in life that make me as happy as a warm peanut butter, chocolate chip and salted caramel ice cream sandwich.”

 

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