On Today’s Menu: Post–4th of July recovery and burger crawl reflections Ingredient Wars: Caviar vs. Truffle — which fancy ingredient overstayed its welcome? Texture Excuses: Are they childish or valid? (Spoiler: John wants to fork people in the eye) Vegas summer dining deals and why now’s the time to eat like a local Full reviews of 9 restaurants, including a heated conversation of… Carbone Riviera is opening at Bellagio — expect boat, bros, and cargo shorts Simple food is eternal. Excess is exhausting. Eat what tastes good, not what photographs well. Next crawl contenders: Fried chicken or Caesar salads. Let the cholesterol games begin Restaurant Rundown: 1. Xiang Wei Xuan (Hunan) Standouts: Boiled fish in chili sauce, Mapo tofu, stir-fried chicken with jalapeños Tip: Go with a group and start with “medium” spice 2. Spicy Zest - Restaurant & Bar (Sichuan) Clean space, hot and sour soup is a cold remedy Dish to try: Stir-fried cucumbers, chili chicken appetizers 3. Old School Pizzeria (Gio Mauro)Monster slice alert — affordable, sourdough-based, super satisfying 4. Holsteins Lollipop wings, good variety of burgers, great group hang 5. Wineaux Warm, cozy, killer croissant-wrapped pigs in a blanket John smuggled in foie gras. They let him. No corkage, no shame. 6. Rare Society Tri-tip & filet — impressive associate steak board Service and pricing get a thumbs-up Caesar salad is a parmesan blizzard 7. Moia Las Vegas (Peruvian) Try the ceviche and lomo saltado Sketchy parking lot, but lovely and welcoming inside 8. Casa Playa (Wynn) $200 for 4 apps + 1 drink + parking John calls it a “casino ripoff restaurant” and poster child for corporate Vegas greed 9. Monzù – Italian Oven + Bar & The Pepper ClubShout-outs for summer menus, 25% local deals, and happy hours Listener Shout-Outs: ETR fan vs. foodie complexity: Joy Behar sex jokes, Beyonce explosions, and Caprese simplicity Mike L. requests a Caesar Salad Quest (spoiler: it’s happening) Chris Albu praises Pepper Club’s wood-fired grill and Thursday locals deal Jed B. suggests a fried chicken crawl… our arteries are already sweating Questions, comments, hate mail? Email us at cheers@eattalkrepeat.com! Thanks for tuning into today's episode! If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the show, & make sure you leave us a 5-star review. Visit us at Eating Las Vegas & Eat. Talk. Repeat. Follow us on social: Twitter: @EatTalkRepeat, @EatingLasVegas, @WhatsRightSam, & @AshTheAttorney Instagram: @EatTalkRepeatLV, @JohnCurtas, @WhatsRightSam, & @AshTheAttorney
