Glitzy, campy, and entirely more relaxed than The Strip, Downtown Las Vegas is the “real” Las Vegas. A mile or two north of The Strip is another world, where the casinos are smaller, the pace is easier to follow, and feel is more authentic old-school: things are a little rough around the edges, but those rough edges are covered in sequins and gold lamé.
Las Vegas locals tend to hang out downtown, and it is always a good idea to go where the locals go. Feeling a bit adventurous? Maybe you think you “don’t like Las Vegas”? Here is a beginner’s guide to downtown.
LOCATION
The center of DLV is Fremont St., which is the hub of the historic city back when the city began. Much of Fremont St. has been gentrified and turned into a pedestrian mall, The Fremont St. Experience, which is covered by a high metal roof. Wanderers bounce from casino to casino, bar to bar, and stop by the free concerts on the stage. Those concerts are a mix of bands, and Elvis impersonators.
The real show happens on the street, watching the people, including this lady who apparently got the “wear blue” memo from Elvis that night.
HOTELS
Budget hotel choices abound in Downtown Las Vegas, and after a swarm of recent rehab construction, many of those hotels have benefited from facelifts. The Downtown Grand is a hotel and casino that rises above the city with two towers, a block north of the hubbub of Fremont St.
Downtown Grand shares the block with Hogs & Heifers, a landmark biker bar with a rough and rowdy (and surprisingly friendly!) crowd. But for a budget hotel next to a biker bar, the rooms (photo below) look really nice.
Insider’s Tip From The Locals: S+O Restaurant, in the middle of the Grand’s casino, is renowned amongst locals for being a great spot for breakfast and lunch. The locals may be jaded by all the gambling in Las Vegas, but they are nonetheless happy to go into a casino if there is cheap, good food.
A few blocks east of the Grand is Gold Spike, a budget hotel without a casino, which was also recently refurbished and is usually the domain of the hipster crowd. In fact, it measures high enough on the cool scale to have been chosen as the new home of (is that show still on the air?) The Real World, which is filming its 31st season, with the cast living there in a giant hotel suite.
Speaking of hipsters…
COFFEE
Coffee shops have come to Las Vegas! Take a walk east along Fremont St. to a land that is a hipster paradise, with art galleries, a collection of Airstream trailers and “tiny houses” where a billionaire and his friends live, and the most blessed of all hipster havens, coffee shops serving really good coffee. There are a few spots; try The Beat Coffeehouse and Records, inside an eclectic collection of offices and artist workshops. The coffee and espresso are delicious here.
EAT
Easily one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas, Triple George has been around only since the early 2000’s, but it feels like a historic landmark. Locals rave about it, the service is impeccable and the food is spectacular, from the signature prime cut steaks, to comfort food dishes like Pot Roast and Chicken Pot Pie for under $15. For the lucky folks who win some money gambling, Triple George’s flagship dish (for $43) is the Porcini Crusted Ribeye, a Filntstones-sized steak with a house rub of mushrooms and spices. As for the wine selection, look at the photo of the wine room, above.
As good as the food is, the best part of Triple George is just being there. The place is all dark wood and exposed brick and everything is beautiful, but experienced customers request the booths by the bar.
With high wooden backs and entries flanked by tall pillars, the booths are like pods that wrap diners in glamorous secrecy. The hums and clanks of the nearby kitchen create just enough noise to mask private conversations about the next person who is going to go for a swim wearing concrete shoes. Speaking of crime…
GANGSTERS
Gangsters, mobsters, mafia, they go by many names, and Las Vegas wouldn’t be Las Vegas without them.
Although the reality of organized crime was (and is) sometimes rather unsavory, the idea of it lives on in American folklore as a glamorous, exciting tale of indulgence and excess. Folks can explore both the myth and the reality by visiting The Mob Museum, a series of exhibits about the history of organized crime in Las Vegas. The museum is very popular, although the exhibits are mostly signs with information written on them, and it involves a lot of reading.
For more information about visiting Las Vegas, visit the GayCities Las Vegas pages!
