
PLACES
121
Contents Places
Tues & Thurs $13, Fri $16. This
spacious dining room features
attractive brickwork and cast
iron, and plenty of natural
light by day. Everything is
clean and spruce, but not
all that thrilling, with dishes
ranging from fried chicken
and corn in the “South by
Southwest” section, to tortil-
las at “Olé,” and pork chow
mein and oyster tofu at “Pacifi c
Rim.” The salad selection is
weak, and there’s little fi sh
overall except on specialty
nights: Tuesday is T-Bone,
Thursday is fi let and scampi,
and Friday is seafood.
Golden Nugget Buffet
The Golden Nugget, 129 E Fremont St
T 702/385-7111. Breakfast $7, lunch
$8, dinner $13; Sun all-day cham-
pagne brunch $14. With its gold
chandeliers and low mirrored
ceiling, the Golden Nugget’s
buffet is presumably meant to
look elegant; in fact it’s small
and claustrophobic. There’s
not much room for a kitchen,
either, so while the salad bar is
excellent, the choice of cooked
food is limited. What there is,
however – especially at the
carving station – isn’t bad, and
the casino-front location is a
defi nite advantage.
Buffet and Cafe
Fremont Hotel, 200 Fremont St
T 702/385-3232. Breakfast $6, lunch
$6.50; dinner Mon & Thurs $10,
Tues, Fri & Sun $15, Wed & Sat $12.
This tropical-themed buffet
is a classic slice of old-style
downtown Vegas “glamour,” all
splashing water, glitter, and arti-
fi cial plants. As a rule, the food
is dependable, but much the best
time to come is for the pricier
“Seafood Fantasy” on Tuesday,
Friday, and Sunday evenings,
when the plates are piled high
with crabs, lobsters, and raw
oysters, plus scampi and steamed
mussels. Wednesday and Saturday
are steak nights. For those with
smaller appetites, it’s also possi-
ble to order à la carte, with soup
such as the Hawaiian noodle
saimin for $5, and sandwiches
for $6.
Bars and lounges
Triple 7 Brewpub
Main Street Station, 200 N Main St
T 702/386-4442. Daily 11am–7am.
The service at this roomy, high-
ceilinged downtown brewpub
can be slow, but the beers are
great, the food tasty (as well as
pizzas, burgers, and ribs, they sell
shrimp in vast quantities), and
there’s often live entertainment
as well.
Shows
Downtown Gordie Brown
The Golden Nugget, 129 E Fremont
St T 702/386-8100. Mon & Sun
7.30pm, Tues, Fri & Sat 7.30pm &
9.30pm. $55. From the moment
the curtain rises in the unex-
citing showroom, revealing a
funky seven-piece band ready
to follow his every cue, this
young, energetic impersona-
tor has the audience roaring.
Though some of his targets are
a little tired – Forrest Gump,
Jimmy Stewart, Neil Diamond
– and his intricate mix of script
and ad-libs is often lost in the
general hullabaloo, Brown’s
enthuasism is infectious. He
specializes in quick-fi re duos,
like a fi ght between Ozzy
Osbourne and Bob Dylan,
or Elton John coping with a
drunk Billy Joel. And it never
hurts to use Elvis to bring
things to a crescendo.
Downtown Las Vegas