Great Omelets, Bad Coffee

After the Vegas Marathon, where I ran the half marathon and my dear friend Nikki got up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday to cheer me on, we decided it was time for some really greasy food. My post-running brain wasn't functioning that well (for the record, I finished in 2:16, and it was my sixth half marathon), but luckily I could come up with the best breakfast spot someone close to the finish line at Mandalay Bay: Omelet House.

I've been going to this Vegas institution for the 13 years I have lived here, and it's as popular as ever. The parking lot in the nondescript strip mall is always packed, and that was, of course, true on a Sunday morning. Luckily we only had to wait a few minutes for a table -- running makes me hungry! The place is charming in a diner kind of way: simple, fun, hole-in-the-wall, and definitely locally owned, which is what we really like. There's tons of homey decorations -- think chickens, roosters, country-inspired signs -- which are cute, but we wouldn't want them in our house.

At Omelet House, the omelets really are so big you should split one, which we did. We chose the delicious B.B. & C. with broccoli, bacon, and cheddar cheese, a combination we had not had before. Just as Nikki had predicted, our little table couldn't hold all the food, as we also ordered a short stack of fluffy pancakes. We had enough carbs and protein to last us for several marathons. A huge highlight were the home style potatoes, which were crunchy, yet clearly cooked (not fried), and just heavenly. Yes, we ordered another portion. All omelets come with a choice of several sides, and as always, I chose the very satisfying banana-nut bread, which could be a mini-meal in itself. Unless you just ran a marathon, do yourself a favor and order a baby omelet, which is plenty. Service is efficient and the waiters are busy, yet friendly and responsive.

The only downside to Omelet House is the coffee, which is some of the poorest we have tasted at any breakfast joint in town. I don't remember poor coffee from previous visits, so our hope is that it was just a bad pot or two.

Omelet House
2160 W. Charleston Boulevard (at Rancho)
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 384-6868

--By Judy Jenner

Lunch of the Week: Vintner Grill

Ah, the warm Vegas weather in November: it doesn't get any better than this. Now that I am blissfully self-employed, my boss doesn't mind me taking an occasional two-hour lunch with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. One of my favorite lunch places is a few blocks from my house in Summerlin: Vintner Grill.

Tucked away in a very improbably location (W. Charleston Boulevard at Hualapai) in a large, nondescript office complex that is home to the Howard Hughes Corporation (with Vintner Grill serving as their unofficial cafeteria), Vintner Grill would be hard to find except that everyone, from John Curtas to Max Jacobsen, has been talking about it for more than a year.

Vintner Grill achieves the feat that many restaurant attempt but manage not to get right most of the time: outdoor dining. Where I am from (Austria), food is consumed mostly outside, even when it's less than summery, on charming plazas or small side streets. In Vegas, for some reason, many off-Strip restaurants insist on offering al fresco dining in a parking lot, which isn't exactly charming. Guilty: Lindo Michoacán on Flamingo. Guilty: Grape Street Café. Guilty: the now-defunct adorable Bonjour Bistro, which had a patio right next to the 215. Not guilty: Marché Bacchus, Olives at Bellagio and Vintner Grill.

VG's charming patio, although only a stone's throw away from busy Charleston , creates an almost-Mediterranean ambiance, with white gazebos, comfy green and white benches, wicker chairs, and plenty of oversize umbrellas, which are still in use in November, while the fireplace is patiently waiting for its turn. The gorgeous setting is outdone only by the quality of the food.

VG's menu, presented in a low-tech fashion on a simple clip board, changes every day, but the Morrocan ahi tuna salad has remained one of my favorites. The halibut with couscous -- just light enough -- is also a great choice. The crab ravioli with mushrooms and peas was a bit on the heavy side, but still a good fall dish.

Although VG's espresso machine was broken, we chose to linger over regular coffee and a softball-sized serving of tiramisu, which was denser than I usually like, but still quite tasty. Between the two of us, we barely made a dent in it. VG slightly transports me to one of my hometowns, Vienna, but then I remember that in Vienna it wouldn't be sunny, the service would be less than spectacular and the portions would be half the size. While it's certainly not the most inexpensive lunch in Summerlin, VG is cheaper than a trip to Europe. And the service is outstanding.

Vintner Grill
10100 West Charleston Boulveard Suite 150
Las Vegas, NV 89135
214-5590