Las Vegas Mixtape: Exploring a Vibrant Medley of Eateries, Hotels, and Entertainment

1. Track #1: The Lexi

Complete with mermaids in the pool, roving costumed characters, and assorted eye candy, the opening bash of The Lexi Hotel was a wall-to-wall scene of hipsters and luminaries like restauranteur Todd English. Located off the beaten path but near enough to the Strip and Downtown, this boutique hotel formerly known as The Artisan is billed as “Las Vegas’ first cannabis-inclusive property,” with “64 newly designed rooms and suites.”

The highlight of The Lexi is its fourth floor. That’s the one, the hotel notes, “entirely dedicated to embracing the transformative power of cannabis” and where “guests can breathe easy with a state-of-the-art RestorAir filtration system, equipped with cutting-edge Advanced Oxidation Cell (AOC) in every room.” Clearly, this is the modern world, folks, and there’s no turning back now.

2. Track #2: Frank & Fina’s Cocina

There’s nothing like having a favorite neighborhood Mexican restaurant, and for me, the long-running (20+ years) Frank & Fina’s Cocina does the trick. This family-owned and moderately priced eatery has an expansive menu, including five breakfast dishes available all day (perfect for those who believe that breakfast is the new dinner), like the outstanding chilaquiles and their specialty entrees.

Try the Chicken Frank Plate; it’s super thinly sliced grilled boneless chicken topped with sliced avocado, grilled onions, and tomatoes—and it’s served with an excellent chili relleno for good measure and your waistline. Frank & Fina’s gets extra points for its colorful, warm, and artful ambiance—and the waitstaff really aims to please. It’s a restaurant that gets it right.

3. Track #3: Sheena Easton, South Point

Sheena Easton’s voice still cuts like glass, and at the South Point Hotel (not too far from where she lives in Las Vegas), she sent herself up with an infectious self-effacing wit in funny spoken bits. These elements carried what was a solid, hits-stacked, and musically diverse 90-minute show. Having been Sheena’s publicist from 1984-1995, it was gratifying for me to tap into old memories and the back stories of her smashes like “Strut,” “The Lover In Me,” and, of course, the Prince-written “Sugar Walls” which she performed in a red-hot mashup with “U Got The Look,” her duet with Prince.

Sheena brought along her big pop ballads, too—”We’ve Got Tonight,” “Almost Over You,” and “For Your Eyes Only”—proving she can still vocally hit it out of the park. These days, Sheena is not chasing a Top 40 hit and tours when she wants. Her free-as-the-wind attitude gave the show a relaxed, refreshing feel.

4. Track #4: Trattoria Nakamura Ya in Chinatown

Seems like there’s always a new gem to find in Chinatown Vegas. Like Trattoria Nakamura Ya, a Tokyo-style Italian restaurant that’s been open since 2011 (apparently the only one of its kind in Vegas). In his intimate space along Spring Mountain Rd, Chef Kengo Nakamura from Japan delivers distinctive taste sensations by deftly blending Italian cooking with Japanese flavors.

At a recent dinner there, we started with a mind-blowing appetizer out of the gate: “Bruschetta Nakamura-ya Style,” consisting of toasted baguettes topped with spicy tuna and cod roe; octopus and avocado; and anchovy oil topped with mozzarella cheese. We then moved on to two entrees: the evening’s special of spinach and ricotta with scampi floating on a subtly flavored tomato sauce, and the eatery’s super-popular (noted our waiter) “Ikasumi” Squid Ink Spaghetti with calamari.

The latter dish was delicious and turned my lips, mouth, and teeth goth-black—perhaps not a wise entrée choice if you’re on a first date. Dessert was a bonafide home run: “Soy Milk Panna Cotta with black sugar sauce” (there are five other dessert choices here).

5. Track #5: Rouge, at the STRAT

Dinner and a show—that’s my thing. And the other night, friends and I started with spicy Pan Asian delights at Chī Asian Kitchen at The STRAT, followed by the equally spicy show Rouge in the showroom upstairs. Recently celebrating its one-year anniversary, the topless co-ed revue bills itself as “The Sexiest Show in Vegas.”

Whether that’s true or not is unknown—who’s going to conduct a survey? But the show’s strikingly choreographed dancers, acrobats, and aerialists are sexy and beautifully sculpted, delivering on the promised eroticism. The vaudevillian comedy bits, as presided over by Dr. Libido and Nurse Naughty, were kind of silly and (for me) ultimately distracting, but it still added up to night-out-in-Vegas fun

6. Track #6: Naxos Taverna at Red Rock Resort

A return trip to the beautiful Greek island of Naxos, which I visited in 1976, may not be in the cards for me right now. But memories of that trip were awakened the other night when we dined at Naxos Taverna inside Red Rock Resort. So many seductive flavors and ingredients, courtesy of Chef Mark Andelbradt, await anyone who dines at this exquisitely appointed modern Greek restaurant next to Lotus of Siam. (You can also eat at their Kallisto Oyster Bar, located outside the restaurant.)

We started with pita and the creamy Muhammara spread with pomegranates, plus the soft, melt-in-your-mouth Green Chicken Pea Falafel, with Tahini Yogurt and Red Schug, and the Greek Salad with Pickled Onion and Marinated Feta. We shared the perfectly buttery Faroe Island Salmon with Roasted Pumpkin and Chermoula and marveled over the lemony Crispy Fingerling Potatoes with Kefalotyri Cheese, a true culinary smash.

7. Track #7: Louis Tomlinson, The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan

British singer/songwriter Louis Tomlinson was more Brit pop-sounding at The Chelsea than you’d expect from a former member of boy band One Direction. His show included his hit “Walls,” for which Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher is credited as a “lyricist and composer” since it includes “elements of three Oasis tracks on the song” (per an NME 2020 story): “Stop Crying Your Heart Out,” “Cast No Shadow” and “Acquiesce.”

Tomlinson is an engaging performer with a strong band in tow, and his pop-inflected rock kept the packed super-young crowd singing along throughout the show, sometimes drowning him out (an annoying concert trend).

8. Track #8: Saffron, the Vegetarian Eatery in Chinatown

This Chinatown jewel has one of the city’s most beautifully designed and spacious dining rooms and a bold, imaginative menu. Try dishes like Bang Bang Cauliflower, Crispy Crab Cakes (made with chickpea), The Floating Gyoza (dumplings), Mushroom Bao Buns, the Lobster Mango Roll (with “heart of palm lobster”), Exotic  Mushroom Tempura, Saffron Red Curry, and Claypot Rice with mushroom umami sauce.

There’s also the Kirti Kaur, which Saffron describes as “angel hair zucchini noodles dressed in a creamy chimichurri pesto with a burst of fresh citrus, topped with a satisfying pine nut crumble, and garnished with red peppers and finishing salt.”

9. Track #9: “Happy Together Tour” at Reynolds Hall in The Smith Center

All hail Little Anthony! Sixty-seven years in show biz—and the singer is still bringing it, as illustrated by his stellar high-pitched vocals on ’60s pop smashes like “Goin’ Out of My Head” and “Hurt So Bad,” plus 1959’s “Shimmy, Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop,” at Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center in Symphony Park.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was one of the performers on the 14th installment of the “Happy Together” package tour—a celebration of the days when AM radio was king—that also featured rousing, harmony-rich performances from the Turtles, Cowsills, the Vogues, Classics IV, and Gary Puckett. The art deco-rich and acoustically sterling Smith Center, which opened in 2012, is truly one of the crown jewels of Vegas. And it’s wonderful to see the Symphony Park area evolve, with an array of new apartment buildings and the newly opened Vic’s restaurant/jazz supper club, which you can’t miss since its exterior features a replica of the iconic neon cowboy Vegas Vic sign.

10. Track #10: BRERA osteria

How to beat the Vegas summer heat? Easy. Take advantage of the city’s many indoor options at hotels by dining, for example, at the fabulously lit St. Mark’s Square in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian. On an afternoon when the Strip was boiling with triple digits, I stopped into BRERA osteria, the offshoot of the downtown LA Italian restaurant.

The menu smartly includes “everyday brunch” options (until 4pm) featuring their distinctive take on the frittata. This healthy and heavenly textured creation combines steamed spinach, Asiago cheese, San Marzano tomatoes, spinach, and stracciatella. Bonus: BRERA osteria offers a 15% discount off the check for locals—a very sweet touch indeed. Ask for it.

11. Track #11: Laguna Pool House & Kitchen at The Palms

I think I’m ready to move into the new Laguna Pool House & Kitchen on the sixth floor of Palms Place. The setting, overlooking the pool, is airy and warmly elegant, designed with wood, stone, and glass. On a recent evening, our party arrived at 6:00pm (and stayed for three hours), a perfect time in the summer to bathe in the dining room’s beautiful light.

Chef Luke Palladino serves up a solid menu of “globally influenced culinary creations” that are distinctive and handsomely plated; even the Caesar Salad here comes with a scene-stealing oversized Parmesan cracker. Everyone shared the Fried Ice Cream Croissant, with fresh berries, berry coulis, chocolate, and caramel sauces—and went home seriously happy. Plus, it’s always nice to eat somewhere which offers complimentary, good-old-days valet parking.