Wednesday, July 16, 2003 | 8:26 a.m.
The Las Vegas dining scene is being constantly ramped up, mainly because of increasing sophistication on the part of our visitors with regard to good food. The phenomenon extends to casino food courts as well; they just keep getting better and better.
Following is a look at some of Las Vegas' top hotel food courts:
Cypress Street
This impressive food court at Caesars Palace replaced the long-out-of-date La Piazza. It's a bright, cheerful venue with mock cypress trees by the entrance, nine separate food stalls and a pay-as-you-leave theme. That enables the guests to eat their food while it is hot, says manager Michelle Segnello.
A hostess greets customers at the entrance. She issues a "passport," a plastic card upon which any purchases are recorded. Then, the purchases are totaled up at the cashier on the way out. It's all quite seamless, and there are no long lines. In fact, says the chef heading up this concept, a personable young Chicago import named Pat Moore, the nine venues are "set up to handle thousands daily."
Food is extremely good. Meats are cut in the hotel butcher shop, breads and pastries made by the hotel. The venues are, in no special order, Burgers, Hand Carved, BBQ, Lobster Chowder, Wraps, Romaine Course, Slice, Ah So and Java Coast. Food is ordered from a venue and then eaten in a sort of commons area. The choices are legion.
At Romaine Course, salads are $7.95. The guest chooses a salad format, Cypress (mixed greens), Mediterranean or Hearts of Romaine, then from separate mix-ins and dressings, to be added by a salad chef. That means anything from mix-ins such as candied pecans, Greek feta or smoked bacon, to dressings like Homestyle Garlic Ranch or Cilantro Pesto.
At Wraps, a key item is chosen, such as grilled shrimp or broiled chicken, and then a style, either Mexican, Mediterranean, Caribbean or Southeast Asian. Last, a tortilla flavor is chosen: flour, spinach, whole wheat or ancho chili. The prices range from $4.95-$9.95.
Lobster Chowder is a departure from other local food court venues. Specialties include chowders (clam or lobster) served in cups or sourdough bread bowls, and crunchy fried Ipswich clams, bellies on, rolled in wheat and corn flour. Soups are $3.95-$6.95, and the fried clams are $11.95.
Ah So is a more creative version of Panda Express, with Chinese dishes sold by the pint or quart, from $5.95-$12.95. There is also a tastes menu, with fare like edamame (boiled green soybeans), $2.95, or the popular California roll, $5.95. At Burgers, flame-broiled burgers are $3.95-$4.95. BBQ features great barbecue such as brisket, pulled pork, house-smoked baby back ribs and creative side dishes for $7.95-$8.95 an order, including two sides.
There is really much more in this food court, such as Hand Carved, with good soups, hand-carved turkey sandwiches and even a nice chopped liver sandwich on deli rye with Bermuda onion, the thin-crusted, New York-style pizzas done at Slice, (slices $2.25-$3.25), and the coffee and homemade pastries done at Java Coast.
The Palms Food Court
Things aren't nearly as creative over at the Palms, where there is a McDonald's, a Ben and Jerry's and a Panda Express to assuage the many kids who come to see a film at the Brenden Theater complex there. But there are three interesting franchises worth a shout here. One is the always-dependable Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, an alternative to Starbucks with great coffee and top-notch bakery fare.
Then there is Vegas Subs, formerly White House Subs, where one of the city's best and most authentic Atlantic City-style hoagies is served, as well as a mean Philly-style cheese steak. The chewy, tasty submarine rolls are baked in-house, and the Italian cold cut, packed with coppa, mortadella and provolone cheese, is terrific. Subs here are $4.99-$5.19. A cheese steak will set you back $5.09.
And let's not overlook Regina's Pizzeria, home to chewy, crusty, Boston-style pizza sold for $2.75 a slice, ($3.25 with one topping). This pizza has a tangy marinara sauce, just the right amount of whole milk mozzarella cheese on top, and a crust with a bottom dusted with corn flour, so it will blacken slightly in the oven. As an alternative, there are also calzones, large pockets with tomato sauce, cheese and either vegetarian or meat fillings, $4.99-$5.49.
MGM Grand
The MGM Grand has a reliable, up-to-date food court as well. It is located just beyond Craftsteak, at the east end of Studio Walk, and it is lit up by a grove of trees strung with beaded lights.
Hot dog aficionados love Nathan's Famous, a branch of the well-known Coney Island hot dog joint. The hot dog's the thing here, and the sauerkraut is thrown in for free. An all-beef dog, with all the trimmings, is $2.75, and the delicious, hand-cut french fries are $1.99.
Next to Nathan's, there is Hamada Orient Express, with authentic Japanese food, and even a blackboard written in Japanese for customers from that country. One of the specialties here is soba, buckwheat noodles eaten with a variety of various toppings. Zarusoba with green onions is $5.95, and tempura soba, eaten with a few battered shrimp and battered cut vegetables, is $7.95.
Young people seem to love curry rice, a thick, spicy gravy with meat, $5.95, and the price becomes $7.95 when a pork cutlet is added. There is Japanese breakfast as well, $12. This is a bento (compartmentalized) box stocked with broiled salmon, pickles, bamboo shoots, nori seaweed and steamed rice, among other things. It's all quite far from ordinary bacon and eggs, and metaphorically, so are the new generation of food courts in our casinos.
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