Eating Like a Queen for $6.50

Our friends at the Las Vegas Weekly just came out with their list of Vegas’ Best, and I’d eaten at all the restaurants that made the list minus one: Noodle Palace in Chinatown. That’s yet another unoriginal name for a restaurant. Perhaps they need to hire a copywriter? But I digress.

Noodle Palace won the “best place to eat under $10” category, and in times like these, that’s fantastic. We all generally know that eating at small, ethnic restaurants can be much more cost-effective than eating at their American-style counterparts, but this deal seemed too good to be true. With the Las Vegas Weekly in town, we set out for Chinatown.

Noodle Palace is located in Chinatown (Spring Mountain Road between Decatur and Lindell), in the same small plaza as one of my other favorites, Hue Thai Sandwiches, next to a less-than-legit-looking massage place and a Latin American imports place with an apostrophe atrocity in its name (Vegas Import’s). The place is spotless and simple, well lit with a semi-open kitchen.

Service is speedy and friendly, with two very efficient waitresses running the place. I told our server about the honor the restaurant had just won, but she seemed unimpressed, or perhaps it was a language barrier. I ordered the won ton soup that I had come for – a total of $6.50. I was amazed when it showed up on our table, in a huge bowl that looked more like a soup pot that you would get at a Thai place. They brought two soup bowls for us to share. The well-seasoned broth was full of noodles and almost ten shrimp dumplings, which were delicious and fresh. This dish alone could have fed both the very hungry husband and I. His eyes were bigger than his stomach, and he went for the dim sum plate (we declined the offer of adding chicken feet to the platter), which was a meal in itself. The ribs were particularly outstanding, as were the yeasty dumplings filled with meat.

Finally, we ordered the salt and pepper pork chops. We were envisioning one pork chop, but instead, we were served an enormous plate with pieces of pork chop that had been breaded and deep-fried and salted. They were crispy, delicious, and had just the right amount of salt – think French fries, only much, much better. The extensive menu includes mainly dishes for less than $10, including family combination dinners for two or more diners.

For a grand total of $21.98 excluding tip, our entire table was covered in food and we took at least one meal home. The green tea is on the house. For the convenience of non-Chinese speakers, the menu is in both Chinese and English (no pictures, though).

Real Mexico City Food at Los Antojos

Sure, you won’t run into Britney Spears here. Surely Criss Angel, any B-list celebrity or American Idol contestant won’t be anywhere near this place, but rest assured: Los Antojos is the best Mexico City food I’ve found in Vegas in more than 14 years.

I know my Mexico City food: I grew up there. There might be a few things you have never heard off, but you definitely won’t find any burritos here. Los Antojos is located on Eastern and Sahara (granted, not the best place in town), but it is very much worth a foodie excursion. Although it doesn’t hurt to bring someone who speaks Spanish, the menu is in English, with handy images on the wall so you know what you are eating. The Mexican tortas (basically, Mexican sandwiches) are to die for, and the tacos are prepared here as they should: only a corn tortilla, whichever meat you choose (recommended: al pastor, carnitas, alambre) and some cilantro and onion. There are salsas available on the very simple tables.

A caveat: this is not a place to take a client or impress a date. It’s a tiny place with a walk-up counter and Mexican telenovelas playing on the TV. The owner is an affable chilango (a person from Mexico City), and he truly loves his food. Regardless of the 20-mile drive from my house in Summerlin, I have a feeling this will be one of my new favorites. I briefly considered keeping this place the well-kept secret that it still is, but it’s too good not to be shared.

Los Antojos
2520 S Eastern Ave
Las Vegas, NV
Phone: (702) 457-3505

--By Judy Jenner

Lindo Michoacán: Best Guacamole in Town

Among the hundreds of Mexican restaurants in Vegas, there are a handful really good ones. The first one I ever went to, back in 1995, a few months after I had moved to town, was Lindo Michoacán on E. Desert Inn, between Eastern and Pecos. Back then, it was a little-known gem, and since I grew up in Mexico City, I felt almost at home there. In the years to follow, Lindo (as it is affectionately known), has become a bit less Mexican and more mainstream (who really wants fries with their Mexican torta, a pressed sandwich?), but still very good. The original Lindo burned down one Thanksgiving weekend, only to come back stronger than before, in its original location and beyond.

I am delighted with Lindo’s decision to open a restaurant for us Summerlin folks, on 215 and Flamingo (at Hualapai). They have dozens of fantastic lunch options starting at $6.99, which include a drink (oddly, with one refill). Their grilled shrimp with garlic (camarones al mojo de ajo) are excellent, and my husband really enjoyed his fish tacos. My father-in-law was happy with his decidedly un-Mexican taco salad. While this is a relatively upscale restaurant where you don’t need to bring a Spanish-speaker to help you decipher the menu, the owners give few translations under the lunch specials. It will say “carne a la tampiqueña” with no explanation. However, the friendly staff can help out.

My favorite part at Lindo is the guacamole, which is still made tableside, as it should. This practice is less common these days because of cutbacks in staffing (including at Agave). Lindo makes a guacamole to rival my own, and includes all the right ingredients: two Haas avocados, plenty of chopped cilantro, jalapeño peppers (as desired), onion, tomatoes, lime, salt, and pepper. The Mexican version of soft drinks, aguas frescas, are, unfortunately, made from syrup and not made in-house, but they are delicious nonetheless. Try jamaica (hibiscus).