I watch as the small plastic cup holding my syrup, which, moments before, had sat atop my pancakes, starts to slowly glide across the table of its own accord, leaving a streak of butter like a snail leaves a mark. This is a good sign.
I’m about to dig into my first pancake at Du-par’s, the legendary home of the first-ever shrimp cocktail, in Las Vegas. Since 1938, Du-par’s Restaurant and Bakery has been serving their infamous, butter-laced pancakes to guests from around the world. And luckily for me, it was just a five-minute walk from my hotel.
“ou can be whoever you want in Las Vegas,”says Victor Xiu, an artist who opened a gallery/work space in Downtown’s Arts District this April. “Once you make up your mind about who you want to be, Las Vegas opens those doors.”
In a city best known for neon lights, foot-long alcoholic slushies and water shows, it might surprise most people that there’s another side to this town. Las Vegas isn’t just for the nightlife.
In a revitalized downtown that’s on the cusp of Hipsterville-meets-Hayes Valley, downtown Las Vegas is burgeoning with culture. Within this relatively young landscape of art murals, music festivals and container parks, there are subtle hints of the colorful clichés of the Strip — like the baker that magnificently stuffs Pop-Tarts® into donuts, or the fondue place that has the boldness to welcome guests into a Parisian red-light-district-themed diner complete with lingerie-clad mannequins. Yet compared to the Strip, Downtown is surprisingly chill.
There are fewer people, to start, and if you’re visiting from the Bay Area, the small-town vibe will evoke a feeling of familiarity, with its walkability and locally owned storefronts (the fact that there’s a Bay Area–style restaurant themed after the legendary Tadich Grill — complete with cioppino — also helps). So when you’re crying for an escape from all the creature comforts of home but aren’t quite willing to give up your dignity, try the other side of Las Vegas.
At the heart of the downtown renaissance lies Downtown Project, an umbrella organization with investments across Downtown’s business, technology and real estate sectors. With $350 million in their pockets and an arbitrary five-year deadline to achieve overall sustainability (set by benefactor and Downtown resident Tony Hsieh), Downtown Project has helped reimagine this downtown corridor, known as Fremont East.
“We’re in the final stretch,” says Maria Phelan, director of public relations at Downtown Project. “Normally, when cities do revitalization projects, it’s usually a government project. Tony [Hsieh]’s goal was to do this much faster, but we know we’re not revitalizing the entire downtown — just one slice of it.”
On a street where daytime strolls were once heavily advised against, my trip through the ’hood begins with an art walk, where I experience public art left from the popular September music festival Life is Beautiful, now celebrating its fourth year.
It’s a quick stroll from the art to the world-famous centerpiece of Downtown Project’s work: Container Park, where you’ll get the best cocktail of your downtown experience at Oak & Ivy. The tiny shipping-container-sized bar is right up your amateur mixologist’s alley, with a whiskey-centric seasonal cocktail list. Or, if you’re predisposed to adventure, go for a yet-unnamed signature drink of the bartender’s making, upon request.
Even the locals are willing to wait 45 minutes for lunch on a weekday, and I can attest to their obsession. Le Thai’s short-rib fried rice is something to be praised, even when the afternoon heat caps out at 109 degrees. Tender chunks of short rib are scattered throughout the dish, and the seasoning is beyond any fried-rice experience you’ll taste on the West Coast.
Just blocks away, Gold Spike pops into view. Another Downtown Project property, its claim to fame as host to this season’s Real World didn’t shatter my enthusiasm once I saw the life-size party games splayed across their ample outdoor space. Built in 1962 as two properties — Gold Spike and the Oasis — the recently converted hotel is free of gambling and now functions as a residence, hotel and late-night hot spot with a living-room interior and a live-music-stage exterior (complete with an Airstream that doubles as the band’s green room) that would feel right at home in SF during those rare, over-60-degree evenings.
As San Franciscans, it’s in our blood to yearn for exclusivity. So it’s likely you’ll crave the seclusion of an evening at the speakeasy the Laundry Room. Hidden behind Commonwealth, another popular watering hole, the Laundry Room has rules, such as limiting cell phone use and banning photography, and is such a far cry from its brother bar that even some locals haven’t visited it.
The Strip is also worthy of some praise. To escape Las Vegas with sanity and some semblance of a soul, make a trip to the Brooklyn Bowl. Featuring a hybrid of entertainment that hails from the East, it’s awash with a trendy atmosphere and ambiance, all miraculously without douchebaggery. And what’s that — an eclectic lineup? I thought that wouldn’t exist in a space near Caesar and his friends.
An evening spent celebrating Downtown’s revival should be capped with a visit to the popular Neon Museum, a renegade that doesn’t cater to vices, indulgences or debauchery but pays tribute to a bygone era as a symbol of what once was, surrounded by a sea of never-ending new beginnings. Just minutes from Downtown, it honors the glorified origins of Las Vegas’s neon lights, buffets and wedding chapels with forgotten signs of shuttered classics. The nonprofit provides daily tours, but walking among the relics at dusk, just as the sun is finally settling down for evening, is the best time to experience Las Vegas’s brightly lit history. Just minutes from Downtown, it honors the glorified origins of Las Vegas’s neon lights, buffets and wedding chapels with forgotten signs of shuttered classics.
It seems inevitable that creatures of all kinds inhabit Las Vegas bars, but affording yourself the opportunity to venture off the Strip provides alternatives that even we foggy Bay Area natives would love. Find yourself a local craft brew (hit up Beerhaus at the Park for an impressive selection of local pours on tap); jump on a bar (literally) at Hogs & Heifers, Downtown’s Western/biker/Coyote Ugly–themed bar; or just cool off at the pool deck at Downtown Grand’s Citrus. Like Victor says, there really is something for everyone.
The Hit List
Where to stay: Downtown Grand, Gold Spike, The D Las Vegas
Where to eat: Du-Par’s, Le Thai, The Perch, Triple George Grill
Where to get coffee: Makers & Finder’s, The Beat Coffeehouse & Records, Donut Bar, PublicUs
Where to drink: Oak & Ivy, Hogs & Heifers, The Laundry Room, Park on Fremont, Downtown Cocktail Room
