Las Vegas
Nevada, USA · The Strip · Fremont Street · Hoover Dam
5 places pinned — click any one for its story.
The place
Las Vegas rose from the Mojave Desert in the 20th century into the entertainment capital of the world — neon, casinos, world-class shows, and now the Sphere. But the real draw is often what surrounds it: the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, Red Rock Canyon, and Death Valley and the Grand Canyon within a couple hours' drive. We've passed through many times over the years.
Places I visited
History & facts for each spot — with a “then & now” archival photo where one exists. Every one has its own page; open it for the full write-up and all the photos.
Chef and owner of Yellowtail, born Sung Ook Back in Seoul and raised from age 13 in Aspen, Colorado. He spent seven years on the professional snowboarding circuit, working sushi-prep shifts at Kenichi in Aspen to pay for it, before choosing the kitchen over the board full time — he went on to open Kenichi in Austin and…
Full history & photos →Executive chef of Kusa Nori, born and raised in Oahu, Hawaii, and trained at Le Cordon Bleu Adelaide, the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and Monterey Peninsula College. He spent 23 years in Las Vegas kitchens before Kusa Nori — chef de cuisine at Yellowtail in the Bellagio (the same room Akira Back opene…
Full history & photos →
The four-mile boulevard of mega-resorts that is Las Vegas — the Bellagio fountains, the canals of the Venetian, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, and the Sphere, all risen out of the Mojave Desert.
Full history & photos →Archival photo: Royal Nevada casino and sign (1957) — Wikimedia Commons
Old downtown Vegas — the original casino district under the vaulted LED canopy of the Fremont Street Experience, neon cowboys, and the vintage heart of the city before the Strip.
Full history & photos →Archival photo: Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada (74664) — Wikimedia Commons
The colossal 1936 arch-gravity dam in Black Canyon that tamed the Colorado River, created Lake Mead, and powers the Southwest — one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century, a half-hour from the Strip.
Full history & photos →Read more on Wikipedia →Archival photo: Boulder -Hoover- Dam site — Wikimedia Commons
Where we ate
Le Cirque
Las VegasFrench · Sirio Maccioni's jewel box under the Bellagio's silk circus-tent ceiling — open since the resort's first night in October 1998 and, three weeks after we ate here, gone.
MichelinSix-course menu dégustationthe full page →
Yellowtail
Las VegasJapanese · Akira Back's room on the Bellagio's fountain side — an omakase that runs from tuna pizza and toro caviar through new-style carpaccio to nigiri, poured against a flight of sake.
Omakase tasting menuthe full page →
Kusa Nori
Las VegasJapanese · The Japanese room at Resorts World, up at the north end of the Strip past the STRAT — a sushi bar beside the black octopus wall, robatayaki off the coals, and a long sake list. The omakase runs as a seasonal chef's menu: Hokkaido scallop with uni butter, BlackHawk wagyu, winter truffle when it's in.
Chef's omakasethe full page →
