Ranch House Has Good Food Without Vegas Attitude

There's no doubt we have some fantastic restaurants in Las Vegas. Places where the food melts in your mouth, and the service makes you feel like royalty. Places where you order food you've never heard of. Places where you don't blink an eye when the check is over $200.

But sometimes you just want a steak.

That's when I go to the Ranch House. You've got to be a stuck-up son of a bitch not to like this place. It's been around since the 50's and back then it was in the middle of nowhere. Nowadays it's tucked between a neighborhood in North Las Vegas and the 215 beltway.

I love this place because, well, it's not Vegas. I went there with a girlfriend the other night and felt overdressed in my jeans and high heels. The waitress even asked if we were celebrating because we were so dressed up.

Nope, this is a place where you can wear jeans and a t-shirt and let your gut hang out.

The dinning room has old wood paneling and pictures of John Wayne. If you go there during the holidays, Christmas lights will hang from the wooden beams of the ceiling. There are candles and white tablecloths, but you still feel like you can put your elbows on the table.

My friend had the special, a bacon wrapped filet topped with Bechamel sauce. I had the prime rib, seared on the grill at the suggestion of our waitress. Throw in some clam chowder, a twice stuffed potato, ranch potatos and chocolate cake for desert and we were stuffed. All the food was great - Not fancy restaurant on the strip great, but how you would make it at home great.

Add on a bottle of cab and our bill came to about $84. Not bad, considering it's Vegas.

The Ranch House has personality in a city that feels a little too trendy at times. It's old, it's classic, and it's comfortable. I've never had a bad time or a bad steak. And I'm sure if I didn't like my steak, they would just make me a new one. If you've haven't been, I recommend you check it out. I promise you'll like it, unless you're a stuck-up son of a bitch.

Bob Taylor's Original Ranch House
6250 Rio Vista St.
North Las Vegas, NV 89130

Reservations: (702) 645-1399

Found The Fukuburger Truck And I Liked It

I don't know if it's a new trend, or a trend I just discovered, but gormet food trucks seem to be the new thing in Las Vegas.

These aren't the trucks that wander construction sites, selling tacos and sodas to hungry workers. These trucks use twitter, blogging, and good ol' world of mouth to find their customers. They roam the streets in brightly colored trucks, stopping in parking lots, sending out tweets about their location.

The first truck that I really noticed is called Slidin' Thru. The guys sell sliders and fantastic sweet potato fries. If you're lucky enough to catch up with them on certain nights, you may even find yourself with french dip or pork bbq sliders. I have a hard time getting to these guys because they're only in my neighborhood on Sundays and that's the day I like to cook at home. But I have tried their stuff and it's really good.

There's also a new guy on the block. Fukuburger makes full sized burgers with a japanese twist. The guys are just getting started and haven't established a routine yet, but they've been hanging out in China Town which I love because it's right near my office. I talked to one of the owners and he said their goal is to feed the masses who work on the strip - Industry workers who only have a few choices when their late night shift is over.

When I found their truck this week, they had a good crowd of people hanging out on lawn chairs and listening to music coming from a car. It was definitely a laid back experience, although with temperatures near the triple digits, I decided to take my burger back to my air conditioned office.

I ordered the Tamago Burger which comes with a fried egg and crunchy onion strips. I love egg on just about everything and this was no different. After my first bite I had egg yolk smothering the meat and bread. Perfecto! The burger itself was medium rare and I was fine with that, but I know some people may want to ask for their meat to be cooked a little more.

Overall I love the concept. Good food without having to pay a bundle or sit down in a restaurant. At FukuBurger, burgers are $5 and fries are $2. At Slidin' Thru, you get three for $7, but can also buy one at a time for $3. And definitely get the sweet potato fries, which are also $3 (Thanks for the prices Justin).

If you have a couple bucks and see these trucks around town, they're definitely worth the stop. If anything, you may make some new friends.

Specialty Cocktails Make Vegas Restaurant Shine

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love myself a good drink. Beers, cocktails, premixed margaritas out of plastic jug - You name it, I'll enjoy it.  

This weekend I was on a quest to find a new watering hole and I think I found it at Herbs & Rye on the corner of Sahara and Valley View.

There are three main reasons I love this place:

- The drinks were superb

- The bartender was fantastic

- It's close to work

Okay, so number three sounds like I need a quick alcohol fix on my lunch break. Nothing could be further from the truth. I need a looooong alcohol fix on my lunch break.

While the restaurant and bar serve pretty much everything, it's the specialty cocktails that make this place stand out. If your tired of the same crappy pear and raspberry martinis for $15, this is the place for you. The ingredients may seem unusual and unheard of... but the combinations were fantastic. Even the drinks based with scotch or gin, which I am not a fan of, tasted delicious.

The drinks are sepearted into eras.. like the "Old School Age of American Bartending" and "Prohabition". I started with a drink called the Clover Club, made with gin, lemon, raspberry Syrup and egg white. The menu says the drink was Created at the Bellvue-Statford Hotel in Philadelphia, and named after the men’s club in the city by the same name…… It was delish!

Later I tried the Aviation which is my new favorite drink, not that I'll ever be able to replicate it at home. The Aviation is made with gin, Maraschino liqueur, lemon, and creme de violette. It also came with a real Maraschino Cherry, not not those bright pink things soaked in food coloring.

The place is nice, but not stuck up, so you feel comfortable asking the bartender plenty of questions. Our bartender was great and explained each drink. He even showed us the bottles of liquor and mixes. It was certainly a learning experience.

If I remember correctly, the martinis were about $9, which considering you're actually getting a real drink and not some sugared down alcohol mix, it was totally worth it. And if you're local, it's a great place to take people from out of town - It's "away from the strip" but still close enough that people won't get bored on the drive there. And it truly feels like some hidden gem that only locals know about.

I will definitely be stopping by again, but after work of course. 

Frozen Yogurt is all the Rave in Las Vegas

In the last couple of months, two new frozen yogurt shops have opened in my neighborhood. I'm sure it's the same all around the valley. Yougurtland, U Swirl, Golden Spoon, Menchie's.. you name it, we got it.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised - It's the desert, it's hot as hell, and yogurt is pretty cheap. But still, it's surprising to see new businesses open when the economy is such crap in Las Vegas. Surprising in a good way I should say.

I checked out the new Menchie's by my house yesterday. It's hidden in a neighborhood near Russell Rd. and Hualapai Way. I have to admit, I didn't know it was a yogurt place. What does Menchie mean anyway?

I guess it doesn't matter because their yogurt is pretty good. They had all the basic flavors and some fun ones too: Angel Food Cake, Hawaiian Delight Sorbet, Red Velvet Cake, Watermelon Tart. They also have a big toppings bar. Like most places, it's self serve and they charge you by weight.

I had a Cake Batter with strawberries, crushed graham crackers and marshmallow creme. Yum.

For me, when it comes to yogurt, it's pretty much all the same. But two things made this place stand out - They have a kids party room with a giant chalkboard wall, and their large patio has misters and fans! Just another way to stay cool in the desert.

Grocery Shopping in Las Vegas: An Insomniac's Dream

I just finished a trip to the grocery store at midnight. Yes, midnight. It's one of the many perks of living in a city that considers itself open for business 24 hours a day.

While the drunks on the strip aren't stopping by Albertsons to pick up some fresh arugula, there are plenty of people like me who don't want to wake up to an empty fridge.

No, not every store is open 24 hours and the ones that are have very little staff. Don't expect the butcher to be around. Or anyone to be around for that matter. I once showed up at the cashier stand only to find a note explaining how to use the paging system to get someone. Hello? I'm ready for checkout on aisle four. Is anyone there?

Okay, so maybe customer service isn't the number one priority at 2 a.m., but it's still great having full size grocery stores open 24 hours a day. No crowds, no lines, no clean ups on aisle nine. And imagine the parking!!

Oh, and did I mention those same supermarkets sell beer and liquor? Ahhhh... an evening of grocery shopping and I can relax with a fresh beer knowing that tomorrow morning the fridge is stocked and the grocery shopping is done.  Now that's living the life in Las Vegas.