Midnight Snacking on the Strip

One of the best things about Vegas is that it never closes. A mecca for insomniacs, Sin City has options galore for late night eating. The city is called upon to serve the post-club crowd, as well as gamblers who may have just finished a marathon craps session and in need of some celebratory (or consolation) comfort food. And the difference is from a lot of other cities, you can get good food in Vegas late at night--really good food. So here are a few of my favorite midnight snack places:

Culinary Dropout at Hard Rock Hotel: This slightly off-strip place is the perfect low-key restaurant at which to wind down after a crazy Vegas night. Comfy couches are arranged around small patio tables for a cozy and casual outdoor dining vibe. Indoors, the restaurant features "future musical venue superstars who wouldn’t mind being paid at the bar in whiskey and pretzel bites" performing covers as well as their original soon-to-be hits. And about those pretzel bites... yum, just, yum. Culinary Dropout is open until 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on the weekends.

The Henry at the Cosmopolitan: With a bizarre, subtly sexual dressage decor theme, this little 24-hour upscale diner is open to the casino, BOND nightclub, and the Cosmo's Las Vegas Blvd. entrance, making it a great spot for people watching while you dine. And at 3 a.m., the people watching can be very, very interesting, ripe with plenty of "only in Vegas" sightings. Even with The Henry's abbreviated late night menu, the selections are still ample and include several healthy options like the kale caesar salad and lots of not-so-healthy options like the French dip. Here's a secret... the truffle tater tots are available 24/7 (even when not on the menu), and are an absolute must. They will spoil you for regular tots, if not change your whole life.

Gordon Ramsay's BURGR at Planet Hollywood: Speaking of truffled starches, there is no better truffle fry than the offering from Gordon's burger joint at PH. The Kennebec potatoes are hand-cut and--get this--covered with truffle salt, truffle parmesan, and served with truffle dipping sauce. Yeah, that's a lot of truffle. Absolutely delicious. The star attraction burgers are amazing and impossibly juicy as well, and their hotdog menu offerings (if you are in the mood for that) are a full meal (with leftovers for tomorrow), so bring your enormous hotdog appetite. BURGR is open until midnight during the week and 2 a.m. on the weekends.

Readers: what are some of your other favorite late-night spots to eat in Vegas?

Driving in Vegas Part 2: Backdoors to the Strip

Assuming you've decided to rent a car for your trip to Vegas, one important thing to know about driving on the Strip is that it can be a traffic nightmare. On most nights and weekends, Las Vegas Blvd. between Tropicana and Spring Mountain (roughly the area from MGM Grand to Treasure Island) is jam-packed with cars, limos and tour buses. There are tons of traffic lights and crosswalks are chockful of pedestrians, including a few oblivious tourists that cross during the wrong time, or worse, stray outside of the designated crossing areas.

While cruising down the Strip is a must for tourists at least once for sight-seeing purposes, sitting on Las Vegas Blvd. in a cramped car while not moving an inch as the precious minutes of your trip tick away is no way to experience Vegas. Instead of driving down the Strip yourself, a secret tip that I have is to take a Big Bus Tour. These open-top buses are a great way to see the city without all the pressure of navigating traffic. Kick back, relax, and let someone else drive while you snap pics. There are many different routes, times of day/night and pickup/drop-off locations to choose from, and it's an affordable little excursion at only about $30/person per tour. My husband Matt and I coordinated a night tour for our friends and family in May from Excalibur to Fremont Street for one of our wedding weekend activities. The staff was extremely fun and accommodating, and we highly recommend the Big Bus Tour company!

So, outside of doing the bus tour, you still have to get around town. Here's a good list of "backdoor" routes that can help you zip around town quickly while avoiding the Strip:

The airport (McCarran) is just east of Las Vegas Blvd. and just south of Tropicana Ave. From the airport, you will want to get on Swenson St. heading north no matter which hotel is your destination. It will lead you out of the airport and then if you are staying at or near MGM Grand, you'll want to take a left onto Tropicana. BUT, instead of taking Tropicana down to Las Vegas Blvd., hang a right onto Koval to access MGM Grand from the back side. If you are staying at Mandalay Bay, Luxor or Excalibur, take a left onto Koval from Tropicana and it will wind its way down to Las Vegas Blvd. However, instead of turning onto the Blvd., continue past it and take a right onto Frank Sinatra Dr. in order to access those hotels from the back. You can follow Frank Sinatra down further and you'll have access to Monte Carlo, New York New York and Caesar's Palace (but NOT Bellagio). Frank Sinatra then changes names to Industrial Road, and from there you can access Circus Circus and the Fashion Show Mall.

Another important "backdoor" road is Harmon. From the airport, you take Swenson to Tropicana to a right on Koval like you would go to MGM Grand, but now just follow Koval down a block to get to Harmon Ave. Take a right on Harmon and it'll get you to Hard Rock Hotel, and if you take a left, you'll have access to both the hotel at Planet Hollywood as well as the Miracle Mile shopping center. If you cross over Las Vegas Blvd. via Harmon, you'll have direct access to Aria's back entrance valet as well as the Cosmopolitan's self parking and valet.

Getting to the hotels further north on the Strip is easy as well. Koval will eventually turn into Sands Avenue for direct access to the Palazzo's self part lot, and if you cross over Las Vegas Blvd. Sands Ave becomes Spring Mountain. From there, you can take a left to access both Treasure Island and The Mirage, as well as the Fashion Show Mall if you hang a right instead of a left.



These "backdoor" routes help you hop from casino to casino without sitting in Strip traffic for hours. Hopefully these tips will help you save time during your next Vegas trip. If anyone has any other Vegas traffic suggestions, or secret "backdoor" routes, feel free to comment below!