Las Vegas Mixtape v24: Buzzy Burgers, Beautiful Sounds, and a Metal Health Check-up

Track #1: Hard Hat Lounge @Downtown Vegas

It’s easy to cozy up to the Hard Hat Lounge, a classic 24/7 dive bar with gaming machines on Industrial Road. It was established in 1962 and serves Bobby Meader’s “Stay Tuned Burgers,” while the jukebox spins Rancid, the War on Drugs, and DIIV.

The Hard Hat’s charred double burger delivers on the buzz around it. This irresistible creation comes with homemade sauce, American cheese, onions, and pickle chips on a potato bun. Order the heavenly tater tots (crispy outside, soft inside)—and enjoy it all at the bar, on a high-top communal table, or outdoors on the patio (next to the free parking lot).

Vegas-born Frank Sidoris bought the Hard Hat in late 2022. This all-around nice guy—a longtime guitarist in Slash’s band who’s also a member of Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH—remodeled the self-described “industry bar, venue, and burger joint” before reopening it in December 2023. Don’t leave without seeing the terrific collection of hard hats on the wall; fittingly, construction workers get $1 off on select drinks all day.

Meanwhile, look for the Hard Hat to stage its third annual free block party on Friday, November 1, from 8 pm until late (open to all 21-and-over guests). Expect “a full stage for entertainment, music, food, raffles, and beer,” with local bands Same Sex Mary and Zach Ryan Band lined up.