Desert Companion - February 2016 by Nevada Public Radio

02 February

Sunny side down Why is the state throwing shade at solar users?

Kitchen Table Wants to upgrade your breakfast Delivering Comfort

House calls with hospice caregivers

Thank your lucky stars for our picks in dining, culture, shopping and leisure!

Bad news at the ReviewJournal p.40

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“Every year, Dawson students have a unique opportunity to meet published authors and experience the adventure of writing first-hand through our Visiting Authors and Authors-in-Residence programs. Both programs give Dawson students the opportunity to work with a professional writer who provides an insider’s view on the rewards and challenges of being a published author. With Dawson’s Publishing Center, many of our students have the opportunity to become published authors themselves. Most importantly, these programs reinforce to our students that the first step to becoming a good writer is to foster a love of reading at every age level.” - Lynne Reid, Dawson Librarian

The Dawson Difference At The Alexander Dawson School, we can’t predict the future, but we can teach children how to shape it.

“In Dawson’s Early Childhood program, we use a balanced approach to teach both reading and writing in our classrooms, and it’s nurturing a love of reading that is most essential for our youngest students. Teachers use modeled, shared and guided reading to help our youngest students build the skills needed to become successful readers and eventually, writers.” – Tara Williams, Head of Early Childhood

“At Dawson, young writers learn that feedback is an essential element of great writing. Through conferences with their editors (teachers), our students learn about story structure, the importance of word choice, and how to organize their writing to become clear and effective communicators. The Dawson Publishing Center, where student authors take their final drafts and turn their work into an illustrated book, really helps the writing process come alive and gives students a sense of accomplishment.” – Roxanne Stansbury, Head of Lower School & Director of Education

“My mantra to students is always, ‘If you want to be a good writer, you need to read good writers.’ I expose my students to great writing of all types - nonfiction, fiction, poetry, articles - so they have the opportunity to absorb the ways authors craft ideas and give us insight into the human condition. When students get excited about a passage in a book because of the author's style, sentence structure or word choice, those light bulbs go on above their heads as they realize more about how to make their own writing sing.” – Jolie Lindley, Middle School English Teacher

(702) 949-3600

www.alexanderdawsonschool.org

10845 W. Desert Inn Road | Las Vegas, Nevada | 89135

EDiTOR’S Note

Bests of times

ost top-of-mind observation about our sixth annual Best of the City issue: Wowie! If the intensity level of ballot-stuffing this year is any indication — in many cases, brute, systematic, monolithic, algorithmic and, hafta admit, admirably so — our Best of the City readers’ poll has officially arrived as a showcase for tastemaking and trendspotting. Oh, we’re not complaining. We’re flattered! (Or, more specifically, “We’re flattered,” we said as we tweezed out the 207th robo-response.) But, again, no complaints. Completely unscientifically, I interpret such thriving, willful ambition as a strong heartbeat in a resurgent Southern Nevada. Since we published our first Best of the City in 2011, Las Vegas has been clawing its way back from the enervating swamp of recession to a chunk of mud resembling shore. (If only there was a way for state utility regulators to help the process along by somehow encouraging job growth and investment in a promising industry based on our sunny climate. Hm. Maybe there’s a clue on p. 21?) So yeah, ballot-stuffing as spiritual/economic indicator. Indeed, in the five years we’ve been besting it up, new businesses have become local mainstays, many local mainstays have deepened their roots, and other mainstays have faded away to make nutritive mulch for the next wave of growth. For the latest intel from our expert contributors on the revolutions of our restless, protean city — from the best coffee to the best coiff — turn to p. 57. There’s promise elsewhere in this issue as well; consider the human promise embodied in the compassionate, courageous care of a longtime local hospice on p. 36. And then Next (tenuous theme alert) there’s the MOnth murky promise of the ReviewGet a move on — Journal’s recent sale to Sands with our sports, CEO Sheldon Adelson, a develleisure and outdoors issue

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opment I dish some muse upon on p. 42. Since purchasing the paper as a shadow buyer in December — sending its reporters scurrying into an unlikely investigation of their new owner — Adelson has sent mixed signals about what his reign might entail. On the one hand, he’s already apparently tried to use the newspaper as a tool against his political foes (as the sale was in process, R-J reporters were assigned to investigate a local judge hearing a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the Sands). But on the other hand, he’s funding an expansion (or at least a reinstatement) of design and editorial positions. This is a rarity enough in print media, but particularly welcome at the anemic R-J, which has been in decline both due to a tailspinning economy and, no less, due to missing out on a crucial opportunity to capture the digital moment (and, perhaps most fatally, the heart and imagination of the community). But, whatever you think of the R-J, even the most frothing critic has to entertain the charitable premise that, as the daily newspaper of record and the closest thing we have to a shared stream of relevant, realtime information about the valley, its fortunes aren’t just the concerns of a casino billionaire and the hard-working news staff. As a community resource — a troubled resource, yes, sometimes mishandled, yes — it’s a concern to anyone who wants a better Andrew Kiraly community. editor

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速 The will to do wonders速

BRINGING OUT

THE BEST IN NEVADA COMMUNITIES Caesars Foundation proudly works to improve the quality of life in communities across Nevada by supporting organizations providing educational opportunities, promoting a more sustainable world and helping older individuals live longer, healthier lives. Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has gifted more than $28 million to nonprofits in Nevada working to achieve these goals.

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@CaesarsFdn

February 2016

letters@desertcompanion.vegas

Vo lU m e 1 4 I s s u e 2

ALL Things

society

priorities

The new year’s fresh bouquet of Chris Brown headlines (sample: “Chris Brown allegedly punched woman in the eye at Palms hotel in Las Vegas”) nicely underlined Tovin Lapan’s tough piece about celebrity abusers in our January issue. Using Brown and Floyd Mayweather (among others) as examples, Lapan examined the way the Strip not only welcomes male celebs with histories of domestic abuse, but makes it rain for them. The piece struck a chord with online commenter Susieque: “I’ve often wondered why so few people seem to notice this obviously sexist problem and aren’t protesting these events. Is it because so many attending them are from somewhere else, and people on vacation don’t want to get politically involved? Or is it just oldfashioned male chauvinism in a city that glorifies the ‘perfect’ female form and male aggression/domination is the daily normal?”

Mixed message resorts with admirably progressive policies still offer safe haven and big money to celebrities convicted of domestic abuse B y T o v i n L a pa n

his year got off to an inauspicious start for Chris Brown, the often-embattled R&B singer who pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in 2009. After spending half of 2014 in and out of prison and treatment facilities because of probation violations stemming from a 2013 assault, in February Brown was denied entry into Canada because of his criminal history, forcing him to cancel several shows. The images of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice cold-cocking his then-fiancée were still fresh in the public consciousness, casting a heightened spotlight on the issue of domestic violence and sparking calls for tougher consequences for athletes and celebrities. Yet, in that atmosphere, one of the hottest clubs on the Strip was preparing to make Brown their featured performer of 2015. The fight boxing fans had waited years for, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, was coming to MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2. Despite public protests, Mayweather was welcomed back into the ring after serving two months of a 90-day sentence for battery in 2012. Drai’s Nightclub at The Cromwell picked the occasion to launch Chris Brown’s residency. The press release trumpeted a “knockout lineup” for the weekend, including 50 Cent, who, in a 2013 deal, pled guilty to vandalism in order to avoid a domestic violence charge. Drai’s was not alone in booking abusers. Tone Loc, who has a 2012 domestic vio-

lence conviction, performed Halloween weekend at Paris’ Chateau. Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts routinely celebrate their progressive corporate policies, including a diversity program at MGM that has won national corporate awards, and Caesars’ pioneering programs for LGBT-friendly workplaces and resorts. But, with public attention aimed at domestic violence, the Strip properties continue booking entertainers with violent pasts, and the public still supports them. “Mayweather is the poster child for domestic violence in Nevada, and here he is with a banner draped down the MGM declaring ‘Home of the Champion,’” said Melissa Clary, president of the Southern Nevada chapter of National Organization for Women, which helped organize a picket line outside the Mayweather fight. “It contributes to a pattern of objectification and devaluation of women on the Strip.” Mayweather has been accused multiple times of domestic abuse, has multiple convictions for battery and also pleaded guilty to harassment for threatening his own children. “Seeing abusers welcomed back as celebrities does impact victims of domestic violence,” said Sue Meuschke, executive

January 2016

12/22/15 1:47 PM

you are here in stan tl inte

Greetings, newcomer! Congrats on taking your place in the great residential churn of Las Vegas. Every day, new arrivals like you braid your interests, ambitions and lifestyles into the larger community. To help you sink those roots, our info-rich guide for newbies will get you off to a strong start in seven vital areas: the outdoors, culture, business, nightlife, family life, the food scene and philanthropy. Everything you need for a great new life. Enjoy!

January’s feature package, our guide for Las Vegas newcomers, was a carefully handcrafted infopour designed to help newbies get their bearings in this nutty town. Included was a section advising foodies how to eat locally. Reader Downtown Steve suggests an addition: “For the ‘Eating locally doesn’t mean eating dirt’ category, I’d have to add Vegas Roots Community Garden. Open 24 hours a day, on the honor system. Local/seasonal/organic produce is available to all.” (vegasroots.org) 000_000_newcomers guide.indd 57

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director of Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence. “Hotline calls go up whenever there is a big case in the media. What’s even more insidious, I think, is the affirmation that this isn’t a real crime. ‘Nobody’s going to believe what I’ve gone through. No one is going to hold him accountable.’ Those messages come through.” Nevada ranks fifth nationally for the rate of homicides committed by men against women, according to the Violence Policy Center, and local domestic violence victim advocates were galled by the celebration of not one, but several former abusers. “If we’re truly serious about doing something about this, we have to not buy tickets,” said Meuschke. “I’d love for casinos to take a stand on their own; that would be great. I don’t see them doing it if it’s not financially advantageous to them.” Mayweather has never been suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which has historically treated drug infractions harsher than violent crimes. It is left to the justice system, which delayed Mayweather’s prison term so he could squeeze in one more fight, to mete out penalties. The resorts and venues mirror that position. Desert Companion requested interviews with management at Caesars

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000_000_allthings.indd 20

Time for some heavy meta: On page 42, you’ll find Andrew Kiraly’s searching consideration of the new, Adelson-era Review-Journal. Beginning in the next sentence, you can read reactions to that very piece, thanks to an earlier version of it posted to the Desert Companion blog. “Andrew raises some valid points here,” writes Bob Spettigue on the DC website. “There are legitimate concerns that Adelson will turn the paper into his personal bullhorn & mistreat anyone who doesn’t toe the party line.” At the same time, he found Kiraly’s tone condescending toward those he disagrees with. That “suggests that he (Kiraly) might not actually have the broad, open mindset that liberals are so proud of. He may be just as narrow-minded as those he criticizes.” Kiraly allows that loca l in sig ht “perhaps I should have taken pains to clarify it’s not the flavor of the agenda, it’s the fact that there’s an agenda” that troubles him. Reader Michael Amador has an agenda to suggest: “Maybe they’ll start printing the truth?” Michael Derek Martin is amused by your 57 naïvety! “Could it REALLY become any WORSE??” RealityCheck feels ya, Michael: “The R-J cannot get any worse than it has been the past five years, so at least the possibility exists that it may get better.” Not so fast, Spettigue warns: “Never challenge ‘worse.’ When you say, ‘It can’t get worse,’ some entity out there takes it as a challenge and shows you that it can.” January 2016

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12/22/15 4:23 PM

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February 2016

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Features

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve scoured Las Vegas to locate the best, the finest, the ne plus ultra, if you will, of this cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cuisine, leisure, culture and shopping. Now, using the latest advances in blurb science, we present our findings to you. Read it. Know it. Live it.

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p h o t o g r a p h b y c HR I S TOPH E R s M I TH

55 Best of the City

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February 2016

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departments All Things

34 HEALTH

47 Dining

73 The Guide

21 power The sun is

A hospice that makes house calls to deliver comfort to the dying By John M. Glionna

48 The Dish Olive oil!

Artisanal culture listings hand-curated for your connoisseurship

26 zeit bites On the

40 media

rocks

As Sheldon Adelson takes control of Nevadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest media outlet, a lament for a doomed paper By Andrew Kiraly

50 cocktail of the month Go for a two-

hot and so are solar users 24 politics A caucus

primer

28 Profile A man of

the community 30 object lesson

Oldies but goodies 32 open topic Seeing the city anew through app-freshened eyes

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50 eat this now

Crispy deviled eggs at Smashed Pig Gastropub

drink minimum at the Cromwell

80 End note Ammon Bundy has love in his sights By Andrew Kiraly

52 at first bite

A newfangled breakfast at Kitchen Table

on the cover Illustration Brent Holmes & Christopher Smith

J a smi n R o d r i g u e z a n d o l i v e o i l : C h r is t o p h e r S mi t h ; I l l u s t r a t i o n : He r n a n V a l e n c i a ; H o s p i c e : Bi l l H u g h es

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Mission Statement Desert Companion is the premier city magazine that celebrates the pursuits, passions and aspirations of Southern Nevadans. With awardwinning lifestyle journalism and design, Desert Companion does more than inform and entertain. We spark dialogue, engage people and define the spirit of the Las Vegas Valley.

Dividends LATER. Disadvantaged children who attend quality early education programs are 31% more likely to graduate from high school, 80% more likely to attend college, and 23% more likely to be employed as adults. Without the fundamental building blocks of learning in place, a child is much more likely to struggle in school – and in life. The future of our economy begins with teaching our children to learn.

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Publisher Melanie Cannon Associate Publisher Christine Kiely Editor Andrew Kiraly Art Director Christopher Smith deputy editor Scott Dickensheets senior designer Scott Lien staff writer Heidi Kyser Graphic Designer Brent Holmes Account executives Sharon Clifton, Parker McCoy, Favian Perez, Leigh Stinger, Noelle Tokar, Markus Van’t Hul NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Couture Marketing 145 E 17th Street, Suite B4 New York, NY 10003 (917) 821-4429 advertising@couturemarketing Marketing manager Lisa Kelly Subscription manager Hannah Howard Web administrator Danielle Branton print traffic manager Karen Wong ADVERTISING COPY EDITOR Carla J. Zvosec

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Contributing writers Jim Begley, Chris Bitonti, Cybele, Hal De Becker, Ed Fuentes, Alan Gegax, John M. Glionna, JoAnna Haugen, Mélanie Hope, Matt Jacob, Debbie Lee, David McKee, Christie Moeller, Molly O'Donnell, Jennifer Prosser, James P. Reza, Jason Scavone, Steve Sebelius, Sarah Vernetti, Mitchell Wilburn Contributing artists Bill Hughes, Chris Morris, Sabin Orr, Hernan Valencia Editorial: Andrew Kiraly, (702) 259-7856; andrew@desertcompanion.vegas Fax: (702) 258-5646 Advertising: Christine Kiely, (702) 259-7813; christine@desertcompanion.vegas Subscriptions: (702) 258-9895; subscriptions@desertcompanion.vegas Website: www.desertcompanion.vegas Desert Companion is published 12 times a year by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146. It is available by subscription at desertcompanion.vegas, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley. All photos, artwork and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact Hannah Howard for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

ISSN 2157-8389 (print) ISSN 2157-8397 (online)

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Branch Out, Hire an Arborist

Board of Directors Officers cynthia alexander, ESQ. chair Snell & Wilmer Jerry Nadal vice chair Cirque du Soleil TIM WONG treasurer Arcata Associates Florence M.E. Rogers secretary Nevada Public Radio

Directors kevin m. buckley First Real Estate Companies Dave Cabral emeritus Business Finance Corp. Louis Castle emeritus Patrick N. Chapin, Esq. emeritus Richard I. dreitzer, Esq. Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP

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This event is presented by Cirque du Soleil in partnership with the Springs Preserve. All proceeds support the Springs Preserve and Cirque du Soleil Foundations.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN AT WWW.ACTIVE.COM For more information visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/5KRun

16 James Buchanan knows: It’s Vegas, baby! page 26

a painful blow to the s ol ar pl ex us power

Shaded State regulators just made going solar a lot more expensive — but activists haven’t turned out the lights just yet B y H e i d i K ys e r

nly a fraction of the several hundred state residents who showed up January 13 at the Public Utilities Commission hoping to speak actually made it into the commission’s offices in Northern and Southern Nevada, between which proceedings were simulcast. Outside, angry protesters lined walkways, shouting slogans and hoisting signs: “Sandoval stole my sunshine,” “Fossil fuels are SO last century,” “Save solar jobs!” Inside, dozens of people representing the state’s 17,000 net-metering customers took turns venting their anger at the PUC: “You gave carte blanche to NV Energy” in developing a new, higher net-metering rate for rooftop solar customers, said the first woman to speak. Why not grandfather in customers who signed up under the previous rules, a man from Reno wondered. Actor and renewable-energy activist Mark Ruffalo dropped by the Las Vegas office to give his two cents: “You’re like the anti-Robin Hood!” he exclaimed, to loud applause. Through it all, the sole Las Vegas-based commissioner, Alaina Burtenshaw, sat quietly, in contrast to her northern peers, David Noble and Paul Thomsen. During the case’s proceedings, Noble and Thomsen have berated and criticized

i l lu s t r at i o n c h r i s m o r r i s

February 2016

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power

attorneys for the state Bureau of Consumer Protection, as well as members of the solar industry, community and media for mischaracterizing or misunderstanding what’s going on. At the January 13 meeting, the commission ruled unanimously against putting the new rates on hold while formal requests to reconsider them are heard. As of this writing, the commission was still processing those requests. Perhaps preparing for the worst, Las Vegans John Bamforth and Stanley Schone filed a class-action lawsuit against NV Energy on January 15, alleging anticompetitive actions, maintenance of a monopoly, artificial price inflation and other misdeeds. Noble and Thomsen have frequently pointed out that net metering customers represent but 2 percent of the state’s electricity customers, and the needs of the majority outweigh them. Maybe so, but that 2 percent is angry, loud and determined. And in a state known for its independent spirit, there’s a good chance the other 98 percent would like the freedom that solar panels offer, too. The whole mess started last spring, when the Legislature was considering the cap on the percentage of utility customers who could participate in net metering. It essentially passed the buck to the Public Utilities Commission (through Senate Bill 374), instructing the PUC to study net metering and plot a course for the future. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to most everyone involved. Six months later, stakeholders have lined up on two sides of a bitter dispute, unable to even agree on an interpretation of SB 374. The fight is over the PUC’s December order creating a new ratepayer class for net metering customers with higher monthly service fees and lower reimbursement rates for excess energy production (see graphic). NV Energy argues that net-metering customers who lower their monthly electricity bills by generating part of their own power unfairly reduce their contribution to the cost of the infrastructure on which they still occasionally rely. “On average, the resulting shift in cost responsibility is about $661 … per NEM (net-energy metering) ratepayer (to other ratepayers) annually” in Southern Nevada, the utility

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rated asserts in the order. Solar proponents say this paradigm ignores the value that net metering adds to the system. “You’re producing energy at peak rates, and you’re not at home so you give them back (to the utility),” Solar City CEO Lyndon Rive said on Ralston Live. “For (the utility) to accept that it’s adding value means they can’t deploy other infrastructure that allows them to raise rates.” An independent study commissioned by the PUC and published by consultancy Energy and Environmental Economics in 2014 indicated net metering has a net positive impact in Nevada. Yet in its order on the new rates, the PUC wrote that “the E3 Study is already outdated and irrelevant to the discussion of the costs and benefits of net energy metering in Nevada.” Rooftop solar proponents cry foul, saying the numbers in the marginal cost study were provided by NV Energy and not independently verified. “That’s my job,” says Anne Marie Cuneo, the PUC’s director of regulatory operations. “We have testimony and witnesses and go through thousands of pages and cells and look at all that.” But, as the public comments demonstrate, net-metering customers don’t believe the commission is acting in their best interest. With rebates and incentives for rooftop solar, the state enticed them to make investments whose returns, under the new rate structure, will evaporate. “I bought my panels outright, because I wanted to do something good for myself and the environment,” says Joshua Guild of Las Vegas. “Now I’m getting screwed because NV Energy is scared.” Guild and others say they don’t mind paying additional fees to help cover infrastructure costs, but coupled with the additional reduction in excess energy credits, the new rates seem punitive. Taken together, the Nevada PUC’s actions put the state on the forefront of policy-making that reins in rooftop solar. According to the most recent Clean States of Solar report, six states are considering reducing net excess generation credits, several others are increasing fixed charges and several more are adjusting limits on system size and capacity. But none has

How does the new ratepayer class for net metering customers compare to the one for everybody else?

Monthly basic service charge*

Consumption charge*

Excess energy credit*

In December, the Public Utilities Commission created a new ratepayer class for net metering customers. Before, they had a similar deal to their non-net metering neighbors, plus a 1-to-1 credit for excess energy they put back on the grid. Now, the new class of customers pays higher service charges and gets less for the energy it puts on the grid. † Kilowatt hour * These are 2016 rates. Over the course of five years, the basic service charge will increase to $39.51 and the excess energy credit will decrease to 2.6¢ per kilowatt hour.

gone as far in one action as Nevada. Solar City and Sunrun executives say it makes the state the least desirable for the rooftop solar installation and leasing business. The companies cumulatively laid off more than 600 employees after the PUC’s decision and halted rooftop solar sales in the state. “We saw this coming,” Nevada Assembly candidate Vinny Spotleson said outside the PUC meeting. “But it’s worse than we thought. … The way I see it, we need an entirely new solar policy.”

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Politics

Time to choose What does the early caucus really mean in Nevada? A lot, actually By Steve Sebelius

or a brief moment, Nevada will be at the center of the political universe. It’s happened before, albeit on a smaller scale: We’ve had Republican debates, Democratic debates and — in October — the final debate of the general election. But those events are more show than substance. On February 20 (and again on February 23), Nevadans will be the third (or fourth) people in the nation to stand forward and declare who should be the Democratic and Republican nominee, respectively, for president of the United States. Before caucus day is upon us, however, there are a few questions to answer. How will it all go down? This time around, the caucuses aren’t even on the same day, thanks to a quirk in the scheduling of the Republican voting in South Carolina. While Democrats will caucus most of the day on a Saturday (February 20), Republicans will turn out for an evening event on a Tuesday (February 23). While Democrats will hold a traditional caucus — in which cheering partisans will try to convert their fellows to support their favored candidate — Republicans will ultimately use voting machines to record their preferences. What does it matter, really? Nevada’s caucuses will actually matter as candidates struggle to get early momentum. Polls in mid-January showed Bernie Sanders closing on Hillary Clinton; if he were to beat her in Iowa and New Hampshire (or if they

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were to win one state each going into Nevada), we become an early tie-breaker. That will test how effectively each campaign has organized the state, and who’s better at getting their voters to turn out. Ditto for the Republicans: Unlike 2008 (when Mitt Romney won going away, only to lose the eventual nomination to third-place Nevada finisher John McCain) or 2012 (when Romney won the state and the nomination), it’s wide open this year. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are competitive here, and Donald Trump has been setting up organizing meetings for weeks. If Cruz wins an early state or two, for example, Nevada may be a contest to stop his momentum, or perhaps to continue it. Are these contests actually going to be close? Republican caucus wins are usually blowouts (Romney collected fully half the vote in 2008 and 2012, with the rest of the candidates dividing the balance). But in 2008, when Clinton faced off with Barack Obama, it was an odd tie: Clinton edged Obama 51 percent to 45 percent, but Obama won more delegates. Sanders and Clinton have been getting closer in the polls since the Vermont independent senator launched his campaign, and both have

visited Nevada repeatedly in a bid to boost turnout. Do you have to be a registered party member to participate? Yes, you do. But the good news is, the Democrats will let you register or re-register with the party on the day of the caucus. The Republicans don’t offer same-day registration, however, so if you want to turn out for a GOP candidate, you have to sign up by February 13. Will this be the last year of the early caucuses for Nevada? Everyone knows the Nevada caucus was the gift of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had the clout with the Democratic National Committee to bump his home state up on the primary calendar. Reid said he did it to ensure that there was diversity and a Western sensibility when it came to picking a president. But with Reid scheduled to depart, and Nevada guaranteed to lose his influence in Washington, it’s not inconceivable that another politically connected Western state might try to steal Nevada’s early spot. Remember, Nevada has only been voting early since 2008. Iowa and New Hampshire have enjoyed their early voting spots for decades.

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*Excludes tax, gratuity and alcoholic beverages. Dinner only. Excludes holidays. This offer expires March 31, 2016.

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FINGERS AND TOES

Rock on A few questions for famed rock climber Alex Honnold

nown among his peers for his humility, Alex Honnold is still probably the best-known rock climber in the world, because of his specialty: free-solo climbing; that is, with no harness or rope. As he often does, Honnold spent December and January in Las Vegas. Why do you like climbing here?

Because of the weather, and because there’s so much climbing here. It’s one of the climbing hubs in the country, for sure. Lots of my best climbing friends live here, and there are three or four houses where I know where the spare key is, and I can just make myself at home.

climbing out at the Virgin River Gorge in Utah ... climbing with friends, climbing with a rope — just hard, physical work. What can non-rock climbers take away from the sport?

I don’t know if rock climbing offers this, but what I hope that my life offers people is living with a certain intention — choosing your actions, making choices: This is what I value in life. These are the things that are important to me. I will seek them out. Rather than just going on auto-pilot. Will there be a second sequel to your film Suffer-Fest?

The thing about those projects is, they’re a big step back from me being a strong rock climber. The more exhibitions like that I do, and the more going to foreign places, the less time I’m spending getting stronger. That’s kind of why, over the last five or six years, I haven’t improved beyond a certain point.

What’s your favorite climb here?

Maybe the Rainbow Wall at Red Rock, because it’s, like, proud and big and inspiring. It’s Chapter 3 of my book (Alone on the Wall). You’re known for soloing, but you’ve also said that you like being on a rope. What is your favorite style of climbing?

So that’s your focus now?

Yeah. I think for the next year, I’m going to be a real climber, which is what I’m doing here in Vegas. Heidi Kyser

Probably sport climbing, which is actually what I’m doing here. I’ve been

Presidents’ day party!

How would commanders in chief have kicked it in Vegas?

“I may be drunk, but I'm not James Buchanan drunk!”

“Dude parties like a champ!”

“I must have misunderestimated the nucular capability of that yard-long margarita.” “Who’s the stiff in the corner?” Teddy Roosevelt

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George H.W. Bush

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George W. Bush

James Buchanan

“I will not pay four score and seven dollars for this $30 bottle of vodka!” Abe Lincon

John F. Kennedy

Chester A. Arthur

Richard Nixon

Bill Clinton

Jimmy Carter

I L LU ST R AT I O N B R E N T H O L M E S

One ring-adingding to rule them all Las Vegas is as far from Middle-earth as you can get — or is it? To prep you for Tolkien scholar John Garth’s appearance at The Writer’s Block on February 16 (thewritersblock. org), here are a few similarities: THE EYE IN THE SKY What is Sauron’s floating orb but a version of Las Vegas’ all-seeing security apparatus? Imagine an orc bachelorette party about to get jiggy with the penis-shaped lollipops when that giant, buzzkilling eye beams in to harsh the vibe.

alex honnold: courtesy honnold collection

ELFIN EATIN' Tolkien’s books don’t mention celebrity chefs, but can’t you just picture his elves — elegant, rarefied — cultivating a decadent haute cuisine? You must try the dry-aged balrog with dwarf-beard aioli ... HOBBIT HANGOVER As much as those little fellas love beer, you know Sam, Merry and Pippin have awakened from a binge, strapped with a baby and jabbering at Mike Tyson. MORDOR Pahrump.

VIRTUAL SURREALITY

Leaning into your discomfort

The director of Cockroach Theatre’s The Nether on risk-taking art

eginning on February 25, Cockroach Theatre will look to our morally complicated future with The Nether. The Nether is the Internet circa 2050, by then a network of virtual realities — including The Hideaway, where visitors, in the words of a New York Times review, “come to have sex with — and, if they choose, murder and dismember — the exquisite virtual children who live and play there.” Is that a crime, if it’s all purely virtual? Knotty stuff, you’ll agree, “as smart as it is unsettling,” says the Times. It's up to director Bryan Todd to make it work.

What drew you to this play?

Jennifer Haley’s fantastic script, first and foremost. As soon as I finished it, I immediately read it again. Which is what I hope audiences will be compelled to do — see it again to put the pieces together. It’s part mystery, part police procedural, part science-fiction, part love story. It’s not often you come across material this rich, with such complex and compelling characters. I jumped at the opportunity to delve into this world that is set partly in the future, partly in the past, but it is very much grounded in the now. What do you expect audiences to get from this experience?

An “experience” is a good way to put it. The play raises tough ethical questions that each individual is going to have to address in their own minds. The goal being, audiences discuss it with one another afterwards, face-to-face, as physical beings. Or at least, post a status update about it as their virtual selves. Are you concerned about some audience members being disturbed?

Thought-provoking theater has always dealt in taboo and taken risks. Some aspects may make

people uncomfortable; they made me uncomfortable. That’s okay. This play manages to look at something provocative in a multidimensional way, rewarding the audience for leaning into their discomfort. The subject matter is no worse than what you’d find on 90 percent of television police procedurals. The Nether is like if William Gibson wrote a smart, enthralling episode of Law & Order: SVU. I want to be clear: We are by no means trivializing the devastating impacts sexual abuse has on victims and their families. This play examines our obsession with being online and virtual reality, and the dark implications of where that might lead if left unchecked. The show is set in the future, including virtual environments. What are the challenges in staging it?

There’s a stark contrast between the play’s decaying future and the alluring virtual realms. My sci-fi nerd brain explodes with the possibilities for showcasing all of this. Also, I’ve been working with a composer, Aaron Guidry, who does percussion at Zarkana, to create an original score. The challenge is remembering that ultimately it’s a story about human beings. The production can have all the bells and whistles, but it’s the characters who have to sing the melody. Scott Dickensheets Through March 13, Art Square Theatre, $16-$20, cockroachtheatre.com

February 2016

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Al Gourrier Sr. community educator, activist

“K

now thyself.” It’s the orienting philosophy for a series of talks at the West Las Arts Center (947 West Lake Mead Blvd.) being presented every Friday this month and next under the rubric “The Native Son Bookstore Revisited.” Shuttered in 2008, Sam Smith’s Native Son Bookstore, in West Las Vegas, did much more than sell books. For decades it was a crossroads, a community center, a learning facility. Smith died a year ago this month. His friend Al Gourrier, a retired principal, helped create the Samuel L. Smith Educational Foundation to carry on his legacy, in particular by helping poor and disenfranchised families. “I’m from New Orleans. I moved to Vegas about 25 years ago. When I arrived, one of the first people I met was Sam Smith. Sam and I became close friends and comrades in the effort to improve the community and quality of life for African-American and poor people in this community. “Sam Smith was an avid promoter of African-American history and culture, and that’s what his bookstore was really all about.”

It’s the purpose of the “Native Son Bookstore Revisited” series, as well. Speakers, including Gourrier and retired state senator Joe Neal will tackle such topics as organizing black parents; the political history of West Las Vegas; black youth and small business; and the poetry of rap. “We have got to move toward building the positive self-image of individuals by helping them to re-identify and relearn themselves. In building that positive self-image we can help change the status of the world we live in. Where do you begin that change? We begin with know thyself. There is no more potent or powerful knowledge that you can acquire than knowledge of self.” Also on Gourrier’s calendar is a February 28 “read-a-thon” at the West Las Vegas Arts Center in which groups and

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individuals will read aloud from the works of African-American writers. It’s of a piece with what Gourrier terms “sankofa,” an African concept of reclaiming old wisdom. It’s basic to self-understanding, he says, and to changing your future. “We have to go back and talk with our grandparents. We have to go back — like I did, and find out that my great, great, great grandfather was born on the island of Corsica in 1795. He was a doctor in Napoleon’s Army. He fled Europe, moved his family to Canada, migrated to southwestern Louisiana, where he started a medical practice and was instrumental in the opening of LSU medical school. “On my mother’s side of the family, I have a copy of the land grant that my mother’s family received from the king of France in 1732. I have the name of the ship they sailed in from France, and where

they settled in southwestern Louisiana. My great grandmother was a Native American. I have a great, great grandmother who was a descendant of African slaves. “My mother and father were not college-educated — that is, until my mother graduated from college a year before I did. And when my mother graduated, she had nine children. (Laughs) I had no option but to finish college! “I have seven children. All have master’s degrees or doctorates. I didn’t tell them, You’ve got to go to school. We become what our parents are. I have a doctorate, my wife has a master’s degree. And in one generation you can change the direction of your family. Now I have seven children who are successful and upwardly mobile. And in one lifetime we can make a difference.” To help make a difference, the Foundation (nslvlv.org) is negotiating for a facility in West Las Vegas, in which it can operate an Internet café and bookstore, hold parenting classes (“We still have to address racism, injustice, poverty and all of the other extremes in our society, but we must also begin to address the dying art of parenting”), as well as GED, SAT and civil service test prep, a chess club — whatever the community needs. It also intends to offer scholarships in Smith’s name. “We hope in the next six months to move in and begin doing some constructive things for the West Las Vegas community. I think we’ve done a lot in making an effort to sustain (Smith’s) legacy.” Scott Dickensheets

P h oto g r a p h y B I L L HU G HES

February 2016

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Blast from the past A vintage vixen shares tips on scoring big on the retro scene By Christie Moeller

How did you get into vintage style?

As a teen, I liked to thrift shop, and most of what I bought just happened to be vintage, much of which I didn’t realize was even from the 1950s. Judging by my taste, the 1950s was my favorite era for sure. I also love the ’20s, ’40s, and ’60s. What I love about vintage clothes is the uniqueness and rarity of each piece, and knowing if I wear something

Real Deal

vintage, there’s only a small chance someone else has what I’m wearing. I also love imagining who had the piece before me and what life they lived, specifically anything before the 1960s. In my opinion, fashion design took a creativity plunge after the ’80s, where it became more fashionable to be simple. I don’t like simple. I like avant garde, I like fun and bold, and in our day and age, I’m finding it harder to find modern clothing that really sparks my interest. What’s the best find you’ve ever come across at a thrift/ vintage store?

This is hard. I find so many things! Recently I found a stunning Marchesa

gown at a thrift store in New York Beacon’s Closet, and I’d say that was one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever found at a thrift store. I always said I would want to get married in a Marchesa dress, and this one is pretty special. Any tips on shopping for vintage items?

Be patient. Most people tell me they don’t have the patience for vintage/ thrift shopping, but you don’t really find things by shooting through the racks. Sometimes you have to even step out of your size bracket to find some cool things. I’ve found wonderful things by being patient and having an open mind. Also, always check vintage items

Getting virtually vintage with Vegas’ pinup princess If you’ve seen Pin Up at the Stratosphere, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the show’s star, Claire Sinclair, is a fan of all things vintage. But she doesn’t just wear it — she sells it, too. The 2011 Playmate of the Year recently launched online store Lipstick & ’Ludes (lipstickandludes.com) for her vintage clothing. Sinclair models and hand-picks all the vintage finds on the site, which focuses on pieces from the ’60s and ’70s pieces with prices ranging from $30-$180. Who said you shouldn’t live in the past?

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P h oto g r a p h y C h r i sto p h e r S m i t h

P h ot o C o u r t e s y o f c l a i r e S i n c l a i r

tyle and fashion blogger Jasmin Rodriguez has worked with designers such as Betsey Johnson, styled fashion shows at New York Fashion Week and has written lifestyle pieces for Fox News Magazine. After working as a fashion buyer for two years in New York, Jasmin packed her suitcase and moved to Las Vegas. Since 2008, she’s edited retro fashion blog VintageVandalizm.com. With old-school Vegas style making a comeback, we sat down and talked with Rodriguez about all things retro.

Window Shopper

thoroughly for wear and tear. Many items are super-old, and need to be checked thoroughly before you commit to the purchase. What kinds of clothes make good vintage buys?

The best vintage buys would be tops. I feel like you need lots of tops to go with your circle skirts, pencil skirts and high-waisted capris. I never have enough tops and sweaters. I feel like I need one in every color. How old does something have to be before it’s vintage?

I don’t consider anything after the 1980s vintage, so I’d say 25 to 30 years. What made you start VintageVandalizm.com?

I didn’t feel like magazines were being honest and genuine about fashion, and I wanted to offer my own unique and raw perspective. There was a huge void I was able to fill at that time before the boom of bloggers. I didn’t even think anyone would read my blog. Eight years later, having had so many opportunities and having met and inspired so many people, it makes me thankful I took that step. Inspiring people is what keeps me going. It makes me feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose — to help people learn to love and be themselves by loving and being true to who I am.

Stardust memories

Five pieces of the past worth a look

A newcomer on the vintage fashion scene in Las Vegas, Stardust Vintage (1302 S. Third St.) opened up in October. “We like to think we’re giving a small history lesson to everyone who walks in the door,” says owner Bobi Jo Marie Milstead. Stardust Vintage carries everything from campy to classic and kitschy to couture, with a focus on clothing, housewares and antiques from the’40s to ’60s. We had Jasmin Rodriguez of VintageVandalizm.com pick five items that represented some of the key highlights of vintage style and value.

1930s Mickey Mouse doll, $500 When I was growing up, my mother would take me to Disney World in Florida all the time, so I was a huge fan of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. This is why I gravitate towards vintage Disney items when I visit thrift stores. A rare and amazing piece like this is pretty hard to find — and pretty expensive as well — but hardcore Disney fans (like me) consider this a treasure.

1950s Coca-Cola Machine Vendo VMC-44, $4,500 Coca-Cola has been around since 1886 — with the same

classic pop-art-like logo and same basic taste. That solid history can sell me on anything vintage Coca-Cola — such as this still-functional Coke machine.

Vintage Kodak Dualflex II Camera, $70 I love vintage cameras and have quite the collection — but I don’t buy them to take pictures. Rather, I love their design, particularly Art Deco-style ones from before the 1950s. This vintage twin-lens Kodak from the ’50s, though, has a gorgeous, sleek look as well. Retro cameras like this are fairly affordable and not uncommon in thrift and vintage shops.

“A London Original” dress by Robert Dorland, $50 The great thing about vintage items and antiques is they become more valuable over time. This ethereal pink dress by Robert Dorland from the 1960s is an eye-catcher that’s sure to grow in value. The clear and iridescent crystal beaded detail on the cuffs, neckline, and waist makes for a stunning combination. The fact that this dress may not be as popular a brand name in the vintage community as Alfred Shaheen, Lilli Diamond, Lilli Ann, or Ceeb of Miami means it’s a sleeper investment for the savvy vintage shopper.

1964 General Electric record player, $150 Old record players have so much character. I normally go for a more funky design, but I still can appreciate the simple yet classic look of this piece. As with all vintage pieces, I love imagining this machine’s previous life — who owned it, what records they played, the parties, events and memories this record player provided the soundtrack for.

What makes a vintage piece collectible?

The label or the construction. Designers like Lilli Ann, Alfred Shaheen, Schiaparelli, Lilli Diamond, and more are most sought out by vintage collectors. I have many pieces from those designers that I bought when I was a teen before I even knew they were designer pieces. There are also lots of couture handmade things from the 1950s that didn’t have fancy labels but may have a unique design. I always shop for design first and look at labels later. Design is so much more important.

February 2016

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kitsch

Hey, look at this! Thanks to an app, I’m discovering a quirky side of Las Vegas I never knew B y J o A n na H au g e n ’ve lived in Las Vegas for 10 years, and I’ve been writing about it for almost that long. As you might imagine, the city’s typical tourist attractions have lost their luster over time, but there are still nuggets of awesome hiding in my city. I know this because my favorite app, Roadside America, says so. Roadside America ranks more than 12,000 bizarre sites and attractions in the United States and Canada, rating each with one to five smiling water towers; as the app notes, “a Muffler Man statue is more important than a national park, a two-headed calf more revered than a train museum.” I’ve used the app on road trips, but I wanted to check out some of the 100-plus weird diversions it recommended for my hometown. There were many I already knew about — the world’s largest chocolate fountain at Bellagio, for example — but given my insatiable appetite for interesting, overlooked curiosities, I wanted to seek out a few that have flown under my radar.

standing in the center. I was able to pick out Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield. While all eyes have been on the street art beautifying Downtown, this mural has actual significance in our city — yet, I’ve heard nothing about it. I appreciate the Downtown renaissance, but while taking in this simpler, less flashy piece of art, I’m forced to wonder if, in our desire to embrace the new, shinier side of Las Vegas, we’re losing sight of the character and charm that helped shape it in the first place.

Stop 1: Two-sided Carpeteria genie

Stop 3: Giant Licking Cat Head

4221 W. Charleston Blvd., two smiling water towers How many times have I driven down this road and never noticed the two-sided, two-faced genie holding a sign for a wholesale flooring company? As I stood in the vacant parking lot looking up at this larger-than-life man, I wondered how many harried drivers had ever taken notice of him. When businesses close, statues like this often disappear. Luckily, this one survives and continues to smile at drivers heading in both directions. In fact, sporting a newly painted bright blue outfit with a red vest and gold turban, this two-faced roadside attraction doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon.

Corner of Coolidge Avenue and S. First Street, three smiling water towers Officially called “Snowball in Vegas,” this sculpture of a giant cat head is apparently well known in the 18b Arts District, where it’s located, but I’d never heard of it. Created by artist Jesse Smigel, this cute, 10-foot kitty head is perched on the street corner with his tongue sticking out. It’s designed for photo ops, so I did what any normal person would do: I pretended to be licked by the massive pink tongue while my husband captured the moment on camera.

Stop 2: Johnny Tocco Boxing Mural

9 W. Charleston Blvd. , three smiling water towers Painted on the side of Johnny Tocco’s Boxing Gym, which opened in the early 1950s, this mural depicts more than three dozen champion boxers, with the late Johnny Tocco

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p h oto g r a p h y b r e nt h o l m e s

All eyes have been on flashy street art Downtown, but the Johnny Tocco boxing mural has real significance.

Master of Laws (LL.M.) in GaMinG Law and reGuLation

the alumni center. A little luck never hurt anybody, so I made sure to rub his bronzed facial hair before moving on. Stop 6: Pink Elephant Stop 4: The Surviving Mother

2054 E. Desert Inn Road, two smiling water towers One of the things I most appreciate about Roadside America is its inclusion of historically and culturally significant statues and monuments that aren’t given space in the average travel guide. One such example is this 8-foot bronze statue commemorating Armenian mothers who survived the 1915 genocide. It’s located at the St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church and Cultural Center. Tucked in the inner courtyard of the center, this statue is sobering and surprising, commemorating an event I know little about but that clearly resonates with some Las Vegas community members. Some people might be deterred to pull into the parking lot to track down the Surviving Mother, but I see it as an invitation to learn more about the diverse fabric that makes up this strange desert city. I didn’t even know there was an Armenian center in Las Vegas, and now I want to know what other cultural curiosities are tucked away here. Stop 5: Lucky Mustaches of Hey Reb!

4505 S. Maryland Parkway , three smiling water towers Students at UNLV might consider it commonplace to rub the mascot’s moustache for a bit of luck before a big exam, but I rarely set foot on the campus. Given the recent controversy surrounding Hey Reb!, it felt fitting to pay this statue a visit at his home behind

4605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., two smiling water towers Located about a quarter mile from the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, this life-sized pink elephant sits at the entrance to the Diamond Inn Motel. This poor guy shows a bit of wear and tear with a broken tusk and a trunk that needs some TLC. As Roadside America notes, a diversion like this one would be a “celebrated landmark” in most towns, but its proximity to the Strip does it a disservice. Because I’ve reached the last stop of my Las Vegas Roadside America adventure, I linger for a while, watching the traffic stream past. As someone who has been there, done that when it comes to our city’s touristy attractions, I’m more than happy to have this pink elephant — a worthy roadside attraction — all to myself. But it also makes me a bit sad. Las Vegas, like any city, has its star attractions that draw attention, but the stops I’ve made are not far from the heavily trafficked areas. Nonetheless, thousands of people pass oddities like the pink elephant, cat head and Armenian Center every day without turning their heads. The app has opened my eyes, but it also raises some questions: What would we see if we looked up from our smartphones and really looked at the world around us? What could we learn about a city we already think we know? What might we learn if we took the time to slow down? If you’re like me, you’ll walk away with a new appreciation for the overlooked details and, yes, quirky roadside attractions that make our hometown uniquely Las Vegas.

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health

By your side: Dr. Dean Tsai visits with Gary Gould, a hospice patient suffering from ALS.

Compassion crusade Southwest Medical Associates Hospice forged its mission during the AIDS crisis. The crisis is over, but the mission lives on — with hospice house calls that bring comfort to the dying B y J o h n M . G l i o n na

spinal chord. The Henderson couple ying on a living room lounge chair, knows theirs is an irrevocable sentence; his body bent and broken, Gary in hours, days or weeks, Gary’s body will Gould exists inside a physical and finally relent, no matter how much his emotional cage. He’s awaiting the wife, children and grandkids implore him moment when the fluid pooling into keep fighting. side his lungs will finally drown him. On a sunny December afternoon, Worse, the once-doting father Dr. Dean Tsai arrives to help him and grandfather of 13 has been prepare for that end. The tall, andenied the sensations he once Hear gular physician with a stethoscope took for granted. Like eating solid more and spiky black hair is a veteran food, taking walks, hugging his A UNLV witness to the ravages of incurable wife, Sharon, telling her yet again expert disease. He knows what can, and how much he loves her. discusses what cannot, be done to intervene. At 74, Gould suffers from Lou the fight He finds Gould slouched beneath Gehrig’s Disease, a microscopic against AIDS on “KNPR’s his Green Bay Packers team blanket, invader that is silently savaging State of inside a room crowded by seasonthe nerve cells in his neck and

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al decorations: a Christmas tree, elf statuettes, and a red holiday stocking bearing the word “Grandpa.” There are also the accoutrements of a man waiting to die — an arsenal of breathing machines whose hum has become his constant soundtrack, not to mention the single bed, now discarded and moved against a wall, that he has lately been too exhausted to reach. Tsai leans forward. “I can imagine how frustrating this is,” he says. “Let’s take a listen to your lungs and see how you sound.” But Gould can’t answer because he cannot speak; the march of the disease has seen to that. His head tips involuntarily because his depleted neck muscles can no longer support the weight. He takes all his food through a stomach tube. His arms are weak; the once-strong hands are now gnarled and nearly useless. Even his legs, the healthiest part of his body, are mere spindles. Through it all, Sharon Gould has stood by her husband as an ever-present guardian who can read his every need and gesture. Since the disease pounced in 2012, the bright-eyed man she met three decades ago at a church meeting for divorcees — the real estate agent, pizza franchise owner and finally, airport worker — can no longer hold her in bed at night, speaking in whispers, talking over bills and sharing memories. But she knows her Gary is still very much there. He communicates by writing on a purple electronic pad, his once-elegant penmanship now a scrawl. “His mind is really good,” she says, adjusting the head band on his oxygen mask. “A lot of people look at him and assume that he doesn’t understand. He understands perfectly.” As if on cue, her husband taps his head, as if to say, “I get it. I’m still here.” But his expression is one of overwhelming fatigue. The good fight

ctually, Tsai is here to administer to both this dying man and the devoted woman by his side. He’s a 45-year-old

P h oto g r a p h y b i l l h u g h e s

Michigan native whose specialty is hospice and palliative medicine. The wisdom he has brought the couple for the last year isn’t about stronger pills or last-ditch tests, but coping mechanisms for the inevitable, and advice for both patient and family about preparing for the good death — at home, without pain. Tsai is one of two full-time physicians at the Southwest Medical Associates Hospice, the second-longest operating hospice in Las Vegas. Its history was forged amid a long-ago war: the cultural controversy over the compassionate treatment of AIDS patients. In 1989, the hospice then known as Family Home Hospice was founded by veteran nurse Bonnie Hillegass. It was the first hospice to offer home health care for patients dying of AIDS — deeply significant, when you remember this was a time when the disease was so rife with paralyzing stigma that many doctors and nurses refused to treat its victims. Instead, they turned their backs, fearful of what they considered a new Medieval plague. Medical breakthroughs have since reduced the AIDS death toll. In 2014, HIV and AIDS patients represented only a fraction of the 1.6 million Americans who received home hospice care. At Southwest Medical Associates Hospice, the 700 patients treated each year include only a handful of HIV and AIDS sufferers. Still, the doctors, nurses and counselors administer to the effects of new, no-less-baffling diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia and cancer. In the end, still they employ the lessons learned all those decades ago during the height of the AIDS epidemic. “We learned that knowledge is a powerful force to combat fear,” says Hillegass, who helped lead the effort to treat AIDS patients. “We learned that patients are people, no matter what they are dying from. All those lessons have persevered.” Hillegass retired in 2009, but physicians like Tsai carry on her work. On this December day, he witnesses firsthand the spectrum of patients who require hospice care. He sees Gould, whose body is failing but whose spirit remains strong with the support of his family. Later, he visits with 92-year-old Joseph R. Mercorella, a long-retired butcher from

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Health Heart to heart: Dr. Tsai makes a house call on hospice patient Joseph Mercorella.

Brooklyn who suffers a fate perhaps worse than death: not being able to die. Mercorella suffers from heart failure, and is doing so alone, inside a residential care facility off Flamingo Avenue, in a barren room with a small TV and pictures of his past life. His longtime wife Mary died years ago, and he wants to join her. His body just will not cooperate. Every night, he talks to God. “I pray for him to let me die, so I can join Mary,” he says. “I don’t get any answers though.” Tsai, a father of two, knows how to reassure both men. For years, he worked in primary care before finding his calling. One experience in particular helped change his medical focus: He was treating a patient at a Las Vegas hospital who was dying of end-stage cancer. One, day, the man asked to be taken off life-support so he could die on his own terms. Tsai remembers unhooking the tubes and turning off the machines. Then he sat next to the patient and held his hand until he finally passed away. “It was momentous for me,” he says. “I knew I had to do more for these people, to help make death easier for them.” ‘Nobody wanted to take care of us’

onnie Hillegass remembers her own Gettysburg, the deciding battle in a ruinous national war. The year was 1989 and the Family Hospice director needed nurses to visit the homes of local AIDS patients. No one would go.

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It was an era, she recalls, of both fear and loathing. Newspapers had labeled the epidemic “the gay plague” and the American public — the medical community included — blamed the patient for contracting the disease. Hospitals often turned away AIDS patients and those who were accepted were treated like modern lepers. Doctors wore veritable moon suits to treat them. Many nurses refused to enter their rooms. Instead, they stood outside the door at a safe stance, and barked commands. “Ever since the first AIDS deaths in 1982 or ’83, nobody wanted to take care of us,” says Dennis McBride, a Nevada historian and gay activist. “Even the hospitals would not make room for us.” The medical facilities were not alone in their rush to judgment, recalls Rob Schlegel, another activist who once published gay and lesbian community newspaper the Las Vegas Bugle. Many counseling centers would not treat gay men; they didn’t want other patients to share waiting rooms with those with disfiguring tumors brought on by the AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma. And in perhaps the greatest insult of all, even many funeral homes turned away the wasted bodies of those who had lost the fight. Hillegass had seen the light of compassion years before, when her local Catholic church sponsored an AIDS quilt to rally support for disease victims. If the church could turn the other cheek, she reasoned, so could she. By then, Hillegass’s Family Home Hospice had been bought by Sierra

Health Services, who kept her on to run the outreach. It was an effort she determined would include gay men suffering from AIDS. “They were people, they weren’t mere statistics,” she says. “We decided to take care of what needed to be taken care of.” She reached out to an old colleague, Dr. Jerry Cade, who in 1985 had started an HIV in-patient treatment ward at University Medical Center. Back then, the facility was among only 25 of its kind nationwide and the first in the U.S. for a city with under 1 million residents. Cade also knew that treating AIDS patients made him an outcast in the medical community: In some hospitals, doctors would walk across the room to avoid him and many surgeons stopped returning his calls, unwilling to operate on AIDS patients. Hillegass shared his vision of compassionate care. And she wanted his help in providing AIDS patients in her system with the best care. Cade, now 61 and director of the viral specialty treatment service at UMC, which handles both AIDS and hepatitis cases, joined Hillegass and has never looked back. He remained medical director at Family Home Hospice until 1996, when new drug treatment meant fewer and fewer AIDS patients. “Bonnie was there from almost the start,” he says. “She did what she had to do.” Answering the call

ot everyone shared Hillegass’ vigor; not even her own employees. So that day in her office when she needed AIDS caregivers, she asked for volunteers. Those who replied included John Danks, a former priest at Hillegass’ parish who later chose to leave the order. Her son Matthew stepped up as well. “Father John gave me the spiritual strength to help prepare them for their journey to the next life,” says Matthew Hillegass, who now runs a local health care company. Sharon Carelli was another Family Home Hospice nurse who answered the call. In 1983, while working at a local hospital, she heard doctors condemning AIDS patients. “‘This is their

punishment,’” she recalls overhearing. “‘I’ll never take care of anyone like that.’” She promised to learn all she could about the disease. Working for Family Home Hospice, Carelli counseled many young men who’d been abandoned by their families. And they thanked her for it. One called her “mom,” saying Carelli was the mother he’d never had. Another, a former waiter at the Flamingo, died at 33, after much of his family refused to acknowledge him. The man’s partner told Carelli she had helped affirm the identity of a dying man. “He said I’d helped him realize he was a good man, one who did not have to be ashamed,” she recalls. New faces on the frontline

ew diseases have now taken place of AIDS on the frontline of hospice care. The ongoing effort includes not only the work of physicians like Dean Tsai, but nurses, counselors and volunteers such as

Natasha Parks. She recalls the afternoon she visited a dementia patient in a residential care facility. As she arrived, she ran into the woman’s husband and son walking out the door. Inside, the woman sat weeping in her wheelchair. “Why do they have to do this again?” she cried. “To take him away from me?” The woman’s fractured mind had turned her son into a military officer who was taking her husband away to war; a scene she’d witnessed earlier in life. Parks talked to her patient, distracting her from the obsession like changing the channel on a TV set. Many hospice patients express their thanks in writing — like the elderly woman without family who suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Recently, she described leaving the hospital to return home for hospice care. She weighed just 84 pounds. “I never saw a body like mine, so

ugly,” she wrote. “I looked like a freak, so weak, fighting for every breath, and I felt I was dying soon. At least I wasn’t in that hospital and could die at home with my cat Snoopy by my side.” Hospice care, she insists, has meant all the difference. It’s a sentiment that could have been spoken by the many AIDS patients Family Home Hospice has treated before her, whose experiences helped lead to the care she receives today. “I am no longer afraid to die,” she wrote. “I don’t want to die, but knowing I will not die alone is a blessing.” ‘Your wife is waiting for you’

r. Tsai sits on the single bed next to Joseph Mercorella. He rests his hand on the old man’s leg, listening to his litany of physical complaints. Dressed in grey sweats, white socks and a red-plaid short-sleeve shirt, Mercorella says his knees hurt so much he must use a

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Health walker to move. Now the pain has moved into his hands. “I’m not used to this,” says the longtime butcher. “I’m used to a rugged life. Do you know the strength it takes to saw through animal bones?” He glances over at the photos of his wife Mary. She was a beautiful woman, he says. But now she’s gone. Tsai leans in: “Your wife is waiting for you.” “Good. Because I want to drop dead.” “It sounds like you’re ready,” the doctor says. “I’m thankful for living this long,” Mercorella says. “But not longer than Mary. I never wanted that.” An hour earlier, Tsai was sitting inside the Gould’s Henderson home, a once-homey space turned hospital room. Sharon talks about their life together with their growing family — some of the children are his from a first marriage; others hers. She describes their vacations and the time Gary traveled to Green Bay, WI. and Lambeau Field, the home of his beloved Packers. Suddenly, he bends to write on his electronic pad. “I don’t know why I came down with this disease,” he scrawls. “But I don’t have any choice but to accept what God is doing.” The couple tries to keep their spirits high, to tease each other like the old days. When she goes out for errands or lunch with friends, Sharon texts Gary at home, asking “Are you OK?” One day, he responded “I’m OK. A bunch of girls came over and we’re having a party.” The time comes for Dr. Tsai to leave. Gary points to a video player. He wants the doctor to view the collection of family memories; images of him as a young man, playing with his kids, holding his grandchildren on his lap, laughing with his wife. “He likes people to see that video,” Sharon explains, “so they can see who he really is.” Tsai has seen the video before; he knows Gould is a shell of the man he once was. But he’s not gone, not just yet. That keeps him coming back. Tsai walks to the door. “I’ll see you soon,” he says. Gary flashes him a thumbs up.

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media

Goodbye, ReviewJournal Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of the newspaper will lead to the end of the R-J as we know it B y A n d r e w K i r a ly

have a fraught reader relationship with the Review-Journal. For a long time now, the newspaper has seemed to me like an abused dog I’ve brought into my home, perhaps against my better instincts. That is, I believe in the creature’s innate nobility, its potential to be sweet and be good and do the right thing, but then just as often it does something stupid or terrible. It’s not necessarily the R-J’s fault. A traumatic legacy of abusive owners, managers and operating philosophies are to blame for the stupid and terrible behavior: out-of-touch editorial screeds that sound like conservative Gilded Age cosplay, or a rightward slant that sometimes skews the front page, or badly concealed revanchist ideological crusades run through its political reportage. (For instance, if you recall the R-J’s coverage of the 2010 Harry Reid-Sharron Angle senate race, you might have received the mistaken impression that Reid was a slavering socialist, and that Angle was something other than a grasping, unhinged demagogue.) Or the forehead-smacking distribution of reporting resources in what’s already a shoestring editorial roster: really, three celebrity/ entertainment columnists? Or instances of stunning quantum WTF? menace: Like the period from 2010 to 2011 when the R-J, aghast and bewildered at this scary and strange new form of information-sharing called the Internet, sicced copyright troll Righthaven on hundreds

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of public interest groups, advocacy websites, politicians and even cat bloggers who had reposted material from the R-J website. Through Righthaven, the R-J shook down scores of victims for quick settlements before the scam ultimately collapsed under sane legal scrutiny. Ah, yes. Firing a blunderbuss at Gordian knots — that’s kind of the R-J way. And yet there are moments when my heart melts and I think, “Attaboy! That’s my newspaper!” I have in mind their 2011 “Deadly Force” series on police shootings in Las Vegas, a paragon of public-interest reporting that sparked serious reform efforts. And many of their columnists and reporters — Steve Sebelius, John L. Smith, Howard Stutz, Bethany Barnes — cover their beats with unparalleled guts and authority, in original voices free from the institutional drumbeat. (Which is why some of them have written for this publication.) But years of wacky hard-

line libertarian jihad and a general sense of, well, whatever the opposite of the word goodwill is, have produced in our public consciousness a newspaper personality that’s neurotic, maladjusted and volatile. (To embellish this theory: Read the comments section on any given story. That’s the R-J’s id. That’s a transcript of what the R-J dreams about in its growling, whimpering REM sleep.) Hit pieces and hidden agendas

ow the dog is about to go full Cujo. On Dec. 16, after much cry, clamor and investigation, it was revealed that the Adelson family had bought the Review-Journal for $140 million, significantly and suspiciously more than the $102.5 million that New Media Investment Group had paid for all of Stephens Media LLC’s newspapers last February. (Disclosure: I worked for Stephens Media from 2001-2009 as managing edi-

i l lu st r at i o n H e r n a n VA l e n c i a

tor of its alt-weeklies The Mercury and CityLife.) The inflated, almost arbitrary purchase price should have told us who the shadow buyer was: There’s something hasty and bullying in it, petulant and rash. (You have to wonder whether Adelson’s purchase of the R-J is a manifestation of the alchemical principle of like attracting like: finally, an owner suited to the aura of arch, oafish, humorless repudiation the newspaper had developed for itself.) And, ouch!, the very plot point itself seems like an inversion of the recent trend of public-spirited moguls investing in media outlets: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ purchase of the Washington Post, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s launch of First Look Media, Sam Zell’s buying The Tribune Co. (Okay, not Sam Zell.) Surely, it should give one pause when anyone rich and powerful buys a company that has the precious job of disseminating trustworthy information. But at least in their public statements, Bezos and Omidyar made a convincing show of understanding the gravity of owning a relied-upon source of news and information. For his part, Bezos hopes to recharge The Washington Post with his 21st century understanding of media technology (and his wallet) and dramatically broaden the Post’s reach. “I didn’t know anything about the newspaper business, but I did know something about the Internet,” Bezos told the New York Times. “That, combined with the financial runway that I can provide, is the reason why I bought The Post.” After some initial turmoil and turnover, Omidyar’s First Look Media has since stabilized, and recently made a splash with a startling investigation into the U.S.’s drone assassination program. Now, First Look is expanding into broadcast, film and TV. Both Bezos and Omidyar seem to realize news is a public trust as much as a private business. By contrast, one of the first things to happen under the regime of our own 21st century media visionary: One of Sheldon Adelson’s apparent myrmidons publishes an awkward hit piece on Clark County judge hearing a wrongful-termination lawsuit against Adelson. At least, I think it was supposed to be a hit piece. The story, weirdly Frankensteined together with passages plagiarized from other websites, wasn’t even published

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MEdia ing” R-J writers to visit a drug addiction treatment center; you know, just friendly food for thought to perhaps spark a reconsideration of the paper’s progressive stance on loosening marijuana laws. No pressure or anything. So much for even hoping Adelson’s purchase might fit into that other media storyline of local moguls playing the hero

pe H nE as n B ro e g llm un e ! nt

in the Review-Journal. It was published, rather, 2,200 miles away in The New Britain Herald in Connecticut under an apparent pseudonym. Meanwhile, at the R-J, Publisher Jason Taylor has censored his own reporters’ stories investigating the paper’s sale, presumably to please Adelson. And, according to reports, Adelson has stepped in directly, “invit-

The guerrilla fight

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and swooping in to rescue their hometown newspapers. Even that’s a mixed picture: The verdict’s still out on Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry’s 2013 purchase of The Boston Globe, but I’m inclined to put Adelson more in the league of Douglas Manchester, the developer who bought the San Diego Union Tribune in 2012. Readers and media critics have watched him turn the paper into a bullhorn to unapologetically promote Manchester’s business and political agendas.

his rumination on recent events in the R-J’s life is as good as a eulogy, because the R-J as we know it is going to die. It’s not a conclusion I want to arrive at, but play out the variations and ask yourself what the most likely possible future is, knowing Adelson’s past behavior. He’s fought medical marijuana, militated against online gaming and hounded R-J columnist John L. Smith into bankruptcy with the same single-minded zeal and seemingly bottomless wallet. (Meanwhile, an Adelson lawsuit against a Wall Street Journal reporter — the individual reporter, not the newspaper — for describing him as “foul-mouthed” in a December 2012 article is still ongoing). A billionaire who sues journalists bought the Review-Journal. It seems he was wielding influence over the R-J newsroom before the purchase was apparently even complete: The reporters unwittingly witch-hunting Adelson’s judge foe had started on the project a month before the sale was announced. Recent news that Adelson plans to pump money into the skeletal newsroom and production desk (which had been outsourced to Austin) is certainly welcome news, but only if there are no strings attached. With Adelson, that’s a big if. The R-J team deserves applause for working with (and sometimes against) Gatehouse executives to MacGyver up some in-house rules and public disclosures to protect the newspaper’s credibility in the short term. But it’s difficult for me to imagine a future in which some courageous corps of reporters and editors, who increasingly seem like a band of outgunned guerrilla fighters, musters some sturdy editorial independence that would

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Media withstand the meddling, the predations that are likely to come in the long term. As of this writing, Publisher Jason Taylor still holds power as grand censor of any R-J stories about the Adelson family. It’s less likely that the staff is going to claw back that vital editorial latitude, and more likely that Taylor is the beachhead for future incursions into the newsroom. This is to say nothing of that other, insidious form of censorship — self-censorship — that’s no doubt taking root in their collective editorial psyche. How does a newspaper die? It doesn’t necessarily go away. It can just starve and fade. In the case of the R-J, the most probable future is something like this: The serious reporters and editors who can’t abide the compact implicitly demanded by the new regime — we can shape, edit, censor and alter the news — will leave, taking with them experience, battle-tested principles, extensive sources and deep institutional wisdom about Las Vegas, the rich stuff you won’t get from their likely replacements: ethically limber J-school grads who’ll have to weigh selling out against a pile of student loans. It’s already happening: Editor Michael Hengel announced in December he was taking a buyout. Others in the building, I’m told, are updating their resumés with an eye on the door. In other words, it’ll end with a whimper, not a bang. This misfortune — you can’t call it a tragedy — doesn’t even have the benefit of being spectacular (for that, see Sam Zell and The Tribune Co.). It represents a loss of talent, wisdom and experience, but most importantly potential (admittedly, potential that perhaps exists in my own hopeful imagination) for the R-J to become vibrant, trenchant and significant in post-recession Southern Nevada. I understand the naïvete of that statement. We should remember that the R-J’s Sunday circulation reaches less than a tenth of the metro area. This is, in the end, a billionaire buying a sickly old attack dog with which to … do what? What’s the end game? Fight online gaming, take swings at his political and business foes, continue his comically Sisyphean boulder-rolling of far-right Republicans into relevance? Whatever it is, evidence suggests the R-J’s dog days are only going to get worse.

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Caption

February 2016

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Dining out

Live and let olive: Mercedes, John and Julie Burkavage, and some of the colorful olive oils and vinegars they sell in their Summerlin store.

The DISH

Oil in the family How did Big Horn Olive Oil start? Love at first taste — and then a slippery slope from there B y J o h n M . G l i o n na

ercedes Burkavage covers the bottom of the tiny cup with a drizzle of liquid gold. Like a patient foodie mentor, she demonstrates for yet another uninitiated consumer in her Summerlin store how to savor and distinguish subtle tastes as only the sophisticated can. Her tutorials are full of phrases such as “dominant notes” and words like “musty” and “fusty.” But she’s not talking about wine. It’s extra-virgin olive oil. And if you consider the supermarket stuff in your pantry olive oil, think again. “Americans are being duped,” she says. “The products they’re buying in big bottles and cardboard boxes are often rancid.

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But people buy these inferior products with their pretty labels because we’ve never been taught what quality olive oil should taste like.” Who is she to know? Well, Burkavage might be the Las Vegas Valley’s queen of olive oil. Her Big Horn Olive Oil Company is riding a wave of popularity among health aficionados and Food Channel groupies whose discriminating palates are weary of mass-produced olive oils for meat-basting, salads and marinades. Burkavage and her husband, John, a radio industry veteran, opened the first of two Big Horn Olive Oil stores (bighornoliveoil.com) in Reno in 2012 and began business in Las Vegas two years later.

The couple’s philosophy is simple: Don’t just sell olive oil. Teach customers how to distinguish for themselves which of the infinitely varied flavors — such as cilantro-roasted onion, Milanese Gremolata and blood-orange — works for their tastes and recipes. And their health: New studies show that extra-virgin olive oil, which contains powerful antioxidants called polyphenols, can reduce the chances for women over 60 to develop breast cancer, if added to a diet already rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and whole grains. But consumers, Burkavage says, are being sold a low-quality bill of goods, often compliments of companies in Italy and elsewhere selling products that replace real olive oil with cheaper safflower and canola oil, and often with artificial coloring added. She says she recently watched a “60 Minutes” report on how Italian organized crime has even seeped into the olive oil industry in that country, cutting quality for profit. The result: Consumers lose.

‘What did we know?’

ohn Burkavage cites himself as a perfect example of once being olive oil-ignorant: He grew up in Philadelphia in a family of Lithuanian and Swiss descent.

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“We used low-quality vegetable oil,” he said. “What did we know?” Mercedes has an olive oil rule-ofthumb: “If you can’t taste if before you buy it, why buy it?” At their store on north Rampart Boulevard, the couple conducts elaborate tasting sessions, matching olive oils with corresponding balsamic vinegars also sold on site — products aged for up to 18 years, without additives, in flavors such as apple, coconut, espresso and vanilla. To settle on the perfect marriage of oil and vinegar, they ask each customer about their taste preferences and how and what they cook. On a recent day, John instructs a highend olive-oil virgin how to sample the goods — in this case, three varieties that are now in season: a mild Hojiblanca and a Koroneiki, both from Australia, before downing a cup of robust Coratina olive oil from Chile, which finishes with a spicy kick. The regimen is like wine tasting. “Cup the oil in your hands to get it warm,” he instructs, grasping the small plastic cup. “Now take a smell. Really put your nose in there.” Then he demonstrates the proper way to ingest the oil: rolling it onto the back of his tongue, absorbing the green, fruity flavor: “Feel the viscosity? Good olive oil coats the tongue. The bad stuff tastes like water and grease.” He pauses, then sucks the sides of his mouth, making a slurping sound. The couple has earned olive-oil-tasting certifications from the Italian government and say group tastings feature all kind of strange sounds, a bit like a Tourette’s conference. Finally, John breathes out through his nose, so his olfactory senses can capture the varied bitterness in each oil. Ahhh, his eyes say. Translation: simple perfection.

Olive you, olive me

orldwide, more than 800 varieties of olives are grown, though not all are used to make oil. As with grapes, olive quality depends on weather and soil quality; so one year’s bounty can be another year’s bust. Spain is the largest olive producer, but Italy both imports and exports the most — buying most of its olives from other countries.

The Burkavages have taken years to learn their trade. Mercedes grew up in Aruba in a home where she learned to love food as a child. “My first doll house had a kitchen in it,” she recalls. “I used a votive candle as a stove.” She met John as a college freshman in Boca Raton, Fla. in 1973 and eventually held various jobs – mostly in the food industry. When daughters Julie and Audrey began making soap as a hobby, including some with olive oil, Mercedes had an idea: The girls would make the soap, and mom would sell it. While living in Greenville, S.C., Mercedes made her next move as a budding entrepreneur: Julie brought her into the Palmetto Olive Oil Company, where Mercedes cut another deal: She used their olives; the firm sold her family’s soap. She recalls her first reaction to savoring high-quality olive oil: “Wow!” “It was this new wonderful titillating experience for my taste buds,” she says. In 2011, the couple moved to Reno, but Mercedes couldn’t find quality olive oil anywhere in northern Nevada. Then one evening, she and her husband were sitting outside their favorite wine store when John noticed a business space for rent. They peered inside: It was perfect for a high-end olive oil store. “At our age, life is not a dress rehearsal,” John told his wife. “Let’s do this.” Soon they had two Reno-area shops. Then one of Mercedes’ suppliers suggested she expand to Las Vegas. “Do you know how far it is from Reno to Vegas?” Mercedes asked. But she did it. In August, 2014, the couple opened its Summerlin store, which daughter Julie now manages while Mercedes helps introduce Southern Nevadans to the taste she calls “the Disneyland of the tongue.” But there are challenges. Like the couple who walked in the other day looking for bacon-flavored olive oil. Mercedes admits she’s never heard of it. She suggests alternatives, like using bacon fat. The couple turns and leaves. It may seem like a missed opportunity or lost sale, but the Queen of Olive Oil is satisfied knowing they just got an eye-opening glimpse of olive oil’s Disneyland.

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Dining out For your next event, make an educated choice.

HOT PLATE

Eat this now! Crispy deviled eggs at Smashed Pig Gastropub

509 Fremont St., thesmashedpig.com Crunchy, then creamy, then pickley — and helloooo, paprika! The chorus line of tastes presented by these deep-fried lovelies got a whoop-whoop from every one of the 10,000 taste buds science says I have on my tongue. Now, sure, maybe my palate, tazed for years by hyperbolic fast-food flavoring, is easily beguiled by the cheap spectacle of deep-frying. But in the case of these eggs, I don’t think that’s it. Rather, the counterpoints of taste and texture are just that damn good. Scott Dickensheets

T: 702.895.4449 W: unlv.edu/eventservices E: eventservices@unlv.edu

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TWO COCKTAILS AT THE CROMWELL Early evening, on or around Valentine’s Day, and you lovebirds blow into the Cromwell for a night of — hey, none of our beeswax. This is where we will butt in, however: cocktail advice. Begin at Bound Bar with the Spicy Fifty. Sixteen bucks worth of Stoli Vanil, elderflower, honey syrup and chili pepper (!), the Fifty’s complex, lusty flavor interplays will propel you onward to whatever’s next. Later, deep in the night, slip into Bar 25 for the Tease (left). Muddled strawberries, lemon and basil atop a base of Hedrick Gin, Giffard Lichi Li liqueur and Martini Rose, the tastes bound and filled out by egg white — don’t get weird about the egg white — the Tease is as crisp and smooth as the perfect romance. Topped with a rose petal, no less. Scott Dickensheets

Deviled eggs and Tease : Christopher Smith

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Dining out

Good morning: From left, Kitchen Table’s peach cobbler; pork-belly Benedict; the small, busy kitchen; a sampling of syrups.

at first bite

Hash haute a go go Kinks aside, Kitchen Table brings elegance and verve to the greasy spoon experience B y D e bb i e L e e

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here’s a certain charm about local breakfast spots in our city — sticky, syrup-stained menus, countless configurations of eggs/ potatoes/toast, local yokels griping about current cable news headlines over free coffee refills. However, there’s a new restaurant in Henderson tinkering with this familiar formula. Kitchen Table, which debuted in December, brings style and creativity to the everyday egg-centric dining experience. A massive communal table stands in place of the typical counter, the stunning servers could moonlight as bottle service girls, and formally trained chefs replace anonymous hash-slingers. To call it a hidden gem would be accurate. It’s literally tucked away in the corner of a retail plaza on Hori-

zon Ridge Parkway, with only a small banner pinned on a stucco wall to help guests find the entrance. But that hasn’t stopped nearby residents from flooding the dining room since its opening day. Overseeing the operation are chefs Antonio Nunez and Javier Chavez. Both previously worked at Mercadito and Whist Stove & Spirits, as well as in the kitchens of various Strip restaurants (Nunez at Border Grill and STK, Chavez at Brooklyn Bowl). Their combined resumes result in a diverse menu that reads like erotica for the brunch lover. There’s an obscenely decadent sausage and egg breakfast sandwich, served on a homemade donut instead of a bland roll. Egg options include a poached version flavored with dukkah (an Egyptian spice

P h oto g r a p h y S a b i n O r r

The item remains a promising concept; I only hope the chefs will tweak its execution. A second tablemate opted for the traditional eggs Benedict. It was serviceable, but a side of house potatoes was ice-cold. The only unanimous hit was an order of homemade coffee cake. Even though it was actually a muffin, it arrived warm and was generously spiced with cinnamon. The hit-or-miss experience could be attributed to a number of factors. Opening jitters are inevitable. The restaurant was also at maximum capacity on my particular weekday visit. And perhaps the menu is too ambitious for the restaurant’s closet-sized kitchen. Whatever the case may be, Kitchen Table should at least be given credit for excellent, f r iendly ser v ice. Chef Nunez seemed genuinely invested in the guests’ experience, stopping at every table to solicit feedback from diners. (He immediately offered to replace our blend.) There’s even an entire section cold spuds with a fresh order.) The atmosphere is also a welcome devoted to foie gras — you can have it upgrade from the traditional diner seared and plopped atop biscuits, waffles, pancakes or French toast. Want to or cafe. Despite being a tad noisy, the spoil yourself even further? They also dining room is stylish and attracts a serve caviar by the ounce. young crowd. An outdoor patio (where The choices are overwhelming, but the chefs smoke their own meat) is also maybe that’s why my first visit was just sure to be perpetually packed once the short of wonderful. One dining companweather warms up. ion promptly inhaled a generous plate Kitchen Table isn’t necessarily a destination. As a Summerlin dweller, I of duck pastrami hash without complaint, but the same bird was woefully confess that there is little incentive for mistreated in sandwich form. The duck me to return on a regular basis. But my Philly — think duck a l’orange meets guess is that Chef Nunez is okay with Philly cheesesteak — was cloyingly sweet that. I hope the kinks are resolved soonfrom a generous schmear of orange marer than later, because what he’s helped malade, and thick slices of Gruyere and to create — a cozy neighborhood place Provolone cheese had congealed into for made-from-scratch dishes — is sadly hard to find. If other chefs rubbery planks before my The Ki tc hen would follow suit in their first bite. (You’ll probably Table never hear me say this again, ow n pa r ts of tow n, the 1716 W. Horizon but I would have sooner precity’s dining scene would Ridge Pkwy. #100 ferred jarred Cheez Whiz.) be infinitely better for it. 702-478-4782 kitchentablelv.com HOURS Daily 7a-4p

“A bottle of champagne, daily breakfast for two, and a rose petal turn down...” “Your Valentine’s Day getaway.”

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b e s t

O F T H E

c i t y Best Thai food Chada Street

Bank Atcharawan’s follow-up to Chada Thai & Wine was one of the most buzzed-about openings of the year. Expect superb street snacks and shared plates in brisk, urban, modern environs. 3839 Spring Mountain Rd., chadastreet. com

Best pizza

Naked City Pizza

F O o D a n d D r I N K

Best burger

Carnevino secret menu burger

The best things come in unexpected packages — like a mind-blowing burger served at a high-end steakhouse. Made with dry-aged beef, this savory burger is topped with a crisped slice of rolled pancetta, caramelized onions and Gorgonzola cheese. Carnevino’s secret burger comes in as one of the most expensive in town, but remember that this beauty comes from the same kitchen where the best steaks on earth are made. Palazzo, carnevino.com MW

Best sandwich The Catota Roll at Phat Phrank’s

Buffalo, New York is the American home of Sicilian pizza. Luckily for us, local culinary impresario Chris Palmeri happens to be from Buffalo — and he’s hell-bent on spreading the Sicilian gospel in the desert with pies rich with in-house ingredients, from the sauce to the dough to the meats. Even for a Chicagoan like me, the thick,

Best Mexican food

The torta typically gets lost in discussions regarding the upper pantheon of sandwiches; an unfortunate oversight for the Mexican staple. For a sample, some of the valley’s best are being cooked up by Frank “Phat Phrank” Miranda, including the offshoot catota roll. Miranda foregoes f lattening the sandwich, instead cradling housemade barbacoa and cheese adorned with onions and cilantro in a toasted roll, fashioning the best South of the Border hoagie ever. 4850 W. Sunset Rd.,

El Dorado Cantina

Buzzphrases like “gluten-free,” “organic,” “free-range” and “non-GMO” crowd the menu, but El Dorado isn’t some fussy “healthy Mex” restaurant. Rather, those phrases reflect a near-religious commitment to freshness and quality, making everything from the street tacos to the tableside guac to the carnitas an exercise in ennobled indulgence. Better yet: El Dorado is open 24 hours, making it the perfect post-party stop where you can belly-bomb those copious cocktails and feel good about it.

$7.39, phatphranks.com

3025 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive,

eldoradovegas.com AK

D esert C ompan i o n

02.2016

best of the city

rectangular slices crusted with cheese are the stuff dreams are made of. 4608 Paradise Road; 3240 S. Arville St., nakedcitylv.com

Best Chinese food

China MaMa

On the far west outskirts of Chinatown, the city’s best Chinese food is being doled out of a repurposed bank complete with an

PERSONAL BEST Elizabeth Blau Restaurateur (Honey Salt, Made L.V., Andiron Steak & Sea)

Best cause Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Best sushi Yui Edome Best juice Juice Standard. “Cold-pressed and tastes great!” Best boutique Vasari in Tivoli Village. “The owner has a great eye and buys great lines of clothing.”

abandoned drive-thru. Anything you order will be no-frills but authentic: crispy green onion pancakes, Kung Pao chicken unlike anything seen on a Panda Express steam table, sweet-yetnot-cloying stir-fried crispy beef and the valley’s best xiao long bao (soup dumplings). You just can’t go wrong with mama’s cooking. 3240 S. Jones Blvd., 702-873-1977 JB

Best Italian food

Portofino

Tucked away near the back of The Mirage, Executive Chef Michael LaPlaca takes imaginative liberties with the valley’s best Italian food. Aside from the outstanding made-to-order pastas on the menu, he’s gone one step further and even invented his own — try the torn “ripatelli” with wild boar Bolognese, or the chicken “rollatini” Parmesan, featuring chicken sausage swaddled in breast meat. More mainstream, the burrata agnolotti with lobster in roasted corn butter is a revelation. The Mirage, mirage.com JB

Best Japanese food Raku

It’s been eight years since chef Mitsuo Endo opened his tiny, late-night izakaya in our city’s ever-expanding Chinatown, immediately seducing admiring chefs and crazed foodies craving to sample the spot’s sublime charcoal-

grilled bites (Kobe beef with wasabi) and house-made tofu. Seating has now grown to 48, but a reservation remains hard to get. We suggest planning ahead, ordering all the daily specials, and ordering wine by the bottle. 5030 W. Spring Mountain Road #2, 702-367-3511, raku-grill.com JPR

Best chicken wings

Yonaka Hana wings

While Yonaka’s daily lunch is an ever-changing prix fixe, some of the standards on the menu have found a permanent home. The Thai street wings on the happy hour menu trump even the famous Pok Pok wings in Portland. They’re cured in fish sauce, coated in sticky sweet dark soy and garlic, and they’re utterly addictive. 4983 W. Flamingo Road, $7, yonakajapaneserestaurant. com

Best cheap eats Viva Las Arepas

For all of the Latin American variations on tasty-things-stuffed-inmasa, the Venezuelan arepa holds the heavyweight title. Five bucks is all you need for a hand-held gut bomb stuffed with flavorful wood-fired beef and fixings. Bonus: People- watching in a colorful neighborhood free with every purchase. 1616 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #120, vivalasarepas.com DL

Best dessert

Sweets Raku

Raku’s Mitsuo Endo committed a sweet grand theft when he coerced chef Mio Ogasawara from Japan to helm his dessert-focused restaurant Sweets Raku. In a space just across the parking lot from his flagship location, every day Ogasawara crafts a variety of desserts with a meticulous attention to detail worthy of the Raku name, from “Soleil,” an “orange” made of ice cream, mascarpone and mousse, to the Mt. Fuji chestnut cream cake. 5040 W. Spring Mountain Road #3, raku-grill.com/sweets JB

Best cafe

PublicUs

From the interior design, to the loving obsession with coffee bean selection, to hiring in Seattle’s award-winning Cole McBride as head barista, PublicUs is a case study in detail. Another sign of greatness? A business that reacts to customer feedback. PublicUs has worked so hard to correct early service issues it’s as if they never occurred. Add in a sublime food and baked goods selection made entirely in-house, and PublicUs pushes the East Fremont borderline in the best way possible.

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mandatory experience.

Plus, it’s the cafe where downtown doers do. 1126

2053 Pama Lane,

Fremont St., 702-331-

artisanalfoods.com

5500, publicuslv.com JPR

Best specialty food shop Artisanal Foods

Fine dining chefs and in-the-know gourmands depend on this hidden gem for hard-to-source provisions. Selections include a mix of exotic imports (caviar, truffles), domestic delicacies (foie gras, Brooklyn-made sriracha) and local goods (Hexx chocolate bars.) A bite from the in-house café is a

Best buffet Bacchanal Buffet

A dining experience once reserved for indiscriminate gluttons just got an upgrade. The pictureperfect portions of food at this buffet are approachable but aimed at more sophisticated palates: sliders are made with Wagyu beef, mac and cheese is studded with lobster, and potatoes are infused with truffles. A private dining option is also available. Caesars Palace, 702-731-7928 DL

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Best coffee

Sambalatte

In just five years, Brazilian-born Luiz Oliveira has taken Sambalatte from a Boca Park sensation to three locations, including one on the Strip. You can chalk that up to the cosmopolitan aesthetic of Oliveira’s coffeehouses (multiple languages are heard every time we

Best 24hour diner Siegel’s 1941

The El Cortez, keeping abreast of the tastes of downtown’s late-night hipster cognoscenti, swapped their steakhouse for a diner, but didn’t rest on their laurels. Built on the kind of menu Siegel had in the Flamingo many decades ago, it’s full of Italian- and Jewish-American classics — from sevenlayer lasagna to corned beef — made without the kind of frozen heat ‘n’ eat stuff that defines most other 24-hour diners. The El Cortez, elcortezho-

telcasino.com MW

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are there). Or, you can simply say that Sambalatte’s excellent espresso and coffee is hospitable to the palate of those raised on chain-caffeine, but seeking to explore something significantly more elevated. 750 S. Rampart Blvd. #9, 702-272-2333, sambalatte.com JPR

Best cocktails Herbs & Rye

Plenty of well-respected craft mixology bars have broadened Vegas’ cocktail palate in the six years since Nectaly Mendoza reignited the old Venetian Ristorante with this Prohibitionstyled chophouse. While we might like them all, we live for Herbs & Rye. Why? A lengthy menu of classic cocktails precisely executed by a friendly team of talented yet humble bartenders. Add a swanky vibe that reminds us why we love Las Vegas, and Herbs becomes irresistible.

the Bloody Mary tableside cart.

won’t steer you wrong. Monte Carlo, andrelv.com JB

(10:30a-2p Sundays) Red Rock Casino, redrock.sclv.com JB

3713 W. Sahara Ave., 702-982-8036,

Best bar food

herbsandrye.com JPR

Andre’s

Best brunch

Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar

• Sambalatte

In 2015, the seasonal fare of Hearthstone shone on the Summerlin dining scene, including a Sunday brunch with decadent salted caramel French toast, their spin on chicken and waffles with duck confit as the fowl of choice and their pimento-cheese adorned namesake burger. But the best part of their brunch? It’s hard to decide between the expansive covered outdoor patio with mountain views or

From 5p to close at Andre’s, you can belly up to either the downstairs or Cigar Lounge bars and sample from selections highlighting Chef de Cuisine Chris Bulen’s culinary prowess. Pick from the best boudin blanc sausage you’ll find west of the Gulf Coast with an unctuous apple and pork sauce, or fried frog legs rife in rosemary and parsley. Can’t decide? Then let him lead the way with the chef’s tasting plate, an innovative quintet of nightly selections of Bulen’s choosing. He

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Best tasting menu Le Cirque

Oft overlooked, Le Cirque should be considered near the top of Strip French fine dining hierarchy, capable of going toe-to-toe with heavyweights Savoy and Robuchon. Wunderkind executive chef Wilfried Bergerhausen oversees a

menu consisting solely of ever-changing tasting menus, leaving it up to you to decide how far you want to go down the rabbit hole. But Le Cirque is best experienced full-on, so make the time for the Menu Prestige, a 10course menu that treats diners to dishes like “La Caille,” a gold leafencrusted quail stuffed with foie gras and white truffle. Bellagio, bellagio.com JB

Best Bakery

Bouchon Bakery

Leave it to Thomas Keller to bring class to your to-go breakfast. From blueberry muffins to baguettes and foie gras, every item at this pint-sized pastry outpost is executed to perfection. The Venetian, 702-414-6203 DL

best of the city

s h o p s a n d s e r v i c e s

Best hat shop Goorin Bros.

Timeless fedoras. Hipster trucker hats. Flamboyant top hats. Whatever your taste, this popular hat shop is stocked with highquality, affordable chapeaus to frame your face (or insulate your chrome dome). The Linq, goorin.com DL

Best new bookstore

The Writer’s Block

Anyone who has been to the Writer’s Block can tell you what a charming little spot it is. With an incredible selection of everything from political memoirs to the latest fiction and children’s books, the Block is also the best place to pick up a quick gift. It helps that co-owner Drew Cohen has seemingly read everything and can recommend three perfect books in 10 seconds. 1020 Fremont St. #100, 550-6399, thewritersblock.org MO

Best dry cleaners

Mint Locker

Dry cleaning is one of those necessary nuisances that few of us think about unless we have to. The hardest (?) part about Mint Locker is setting up an account online. Then, drop your dirties into one of dozens of locker locations around the valley (more to come), place your order online, and wait for a happy text telling you its ready. The best thing about this homegrown, Downtown Project-funded service? It’s so good, it disappears into the background and becomes part of your life. Citywide dropoff lockers, 702-800-5904, mintlocker.com JPR

best Home goods Hub: Modern Home + Gift

The word unique gets thrown around a lot, but we all know that most items you pick up, even at boutiques, are not unique. Hub changes that. This small home goods store focuses on modern design and the truly unique in everything from picture frames to

Best used bookstore c o n ta i n e r pa r k : B r e n t H o l mes

Amber Unicorn Books

Close your Amazon tab and make a day out of browsing an impressive selection of titles (150,000+) in real life. Food lovers will benefit from a special collection of rare cookbooks. Friendly mom-and-pop owners and the reminiscent scent of old books enhance the experience. 2101 S. Decatur Blvd. #14, amberunicornbooks.com

• Calla Bath & Home, Kappa Toys and Hub: Modern Home + Gift

fashionable jewelry. To demonstrate the power of their finds, just ask the owner to see his list of items on back order. Yeah, everyone wants a little more special in their life. Downtown Container Park, 707 Fremont St. #2080, 702-359-9982

Best toy store Kappa Toys

Maybe your niece wants the latest Disney princess whatever. Kappa Toys probably has that. When you arrive, though, the store is filled with full-grown adults not just shopping, but playing. That’s because in addition to a lot of the stuff contemporary kids want, this spot has toys for big kids. The toys of your childhood — friendly little tin robots, thumb-sucking Monchichis, Clue,

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jacks, kazoos — line the walls, whispering, “Come out and play.” Downtown Container Park, 707 Fremont St. #1170, 702-359-9982, kappatoys.com

Best thrift store

Charleston Outlet

A trip to Charleston Outlet always yields treasure: dandy men’s shoes that look like they’ve never been worn, three-piece suits, fanciful ladies dresses and accessories galore. Then there’s the boutique section, where we’ve found specialty stuffed animals, dolls, unique glass pieces, high-end purses and more. You know it’s a good sign when a thrift store needs overflow parking. 1548 Charleston Blvd., 702-388-1446 JP

Best vintage store Exile

Part of Downtown’s Next Big Thing (the Arts District!), Exile shares Main Street with loads of cool vintage shops. If the juxtaposition of Exile — a small, locallyowned, upcycled fashion store — against the 800-lb. gorilla of used clothing, Buffalo Exchange, makes it interesting, it’s the curated selection that makes it awesome. From flared jeans to hippie blouses to leather jackets and moto boots sporting perfect patinas, scanning Exile’s Instagram is like taking a long, sexy trip back to the 1970s you always dreamed were real. 1235 S. Main St, 702-823-3957, exileboutique.com JPR

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Best Flea Market

Broadacres Marketplace Swig a michelada and bounce to lively mariachi music while you talk a hawker down on the price of a piñata (or refrigerator, overstock cosmetics, knick knacks, etc.) More than a thousand vendors take over this outdoor space on weekends to serve the city’s bargain hunters. 2930 Las Vegas Blvd. N., broadacresm.com DL

Best men’s store

Paul & Shark at the Forum Shops in Caesars

Buttery leathers, super-soft cashmere and the iconic turtleneck make this our go-to shop for sophisticated men’s looks. And the sportychic look of its “Smart Casual” collection, which can at times look positively space-age, pairs pieces you wouldn’t normally put together for a modern aesthetic that makes any man stand out from the crowd. The Las Vegas store is one of only four in the United States. Forum Shops at Caesars, paulshark.it JP

Best women’s store

Charlotte Olympia

The whimsical nature of this high-end shoes and accessories designer brings out our sense of fun. The brand’s distinctive “kitty” flats come in styles such as “punk kitty” and “grunge kitty” and even “mid-century kitty”

slingbacks. But fun doesn’t mean flimsy: owner Charlotte Olympia Della trained at Cordwainers, the renowned college for footwear and accessories in London. Forum Shops at Caesars, uscharlotteolympia.com

Best spa

Gianna Christine Salon and Spa It’s a stereotype that spa treatments are so relaxing that you fall asleep, but even after a grande cup of highoctane, it’s hard to keep your eyes open at Gianna Christine. Their amazing massage therapists and estheticians are so talented, and the environment so inviting, that you walk out of there in full Benjamin Button mode — getting glowingly younger by the minute. The District at Green Valley Ranch, 2265 Village Walk Drive, #105, Henderson, 702-407-0516 giannachristine.com MO

Best accessory shop

Hiptazmic Studio

Sure, someone might

c i t y compliment you on something you pick up at Charming Charlie, but has anyone ever asked you if your wristwatch is a time machine? They might if you shop at Hiptazmic, purveyor of steampunk goods that feature gears and whirligigs, and are inspired by anything that you might need a top hat and goggles to operate.

Miracle Mile Shops at

The Arts Factory, 107 E.

Planet Hollywood,

Charleston Blvd. #105C,

originaldivaextensions.com

designs at this one-stop beauty needs shop. Gel polish? Check. Nail art? Check. A cocktail while you get ready to paint the town red (or gold or purple)? Check — yes, Original Diva’s newest package includes a manicure, a pedicure and a cocktail, making for a perfect hour or two of pampering.

702-516-9563 MO

Best hair salon

Best outlet store

Shag Me Salon

A good haircut is often priceless, but even priceless things are worth getting at a good price. For $25-$35 at Shag Me, you can get a stylish ’do in an environment where you’re likely to fall in love with a down-to-earth stylist in cat-eye glasses, or at least become her favorite new drinking buddy. 8889 S. Eastern Ave. #130-140, 702-823-5446, shagmesalon.com MO

Best mani/pedi

Original Diva at Miracle Mile Shops Get on trend with the hottest nail colors and

Best m a l l

Galleria at Sunset

Always a bridesmaid but never a bride — until now. This family-friendly Henderson shopping center has finally become a destination mall, thanks to a surge of new

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Banana Republic factory store

You know when you pick something up at a store and think, “I could be the me I see in my imaginary movie montages if I had this,” then you see the price tag and walk away dejected? This Banana Republic outlet has solved that problem by offering up the same adorable jackets, chic dresses, sporty blazers and slim slacks at reduced rates. Las Vegas North Premium Outlets, 875 S. Grand Central Pkwy. #1280, premiumoutlets. com

stores and restaurants. Must-visit health & beauty stores Kiehl’s, MAC and Bobbi Brown are firsts for a suburban mall in the Vegas Valley; add H&M and Buckle to the list of youthful stores such as American Eagle and Aeropostale

best of the city

Best beauty products

Cala: Bath, Body, Home

The tang of fresh sliced ginger and the enlivening scent of lime … this is the smell of the cutest little beauty supply shop you’ll ever visit. Cala is a relative newcomer to the Container Park, but judging by their exquisite products, like rich lotions and scrubs, imported natural candles, and soap so fragrant you’ll wish you were dirtier, they’re here to stay. Downtown Container Park, 707 Fremont St., 702-359-9982 MO

Best mechanic shop

Gil’s Auto Repair

A good mechanic is hard to find, that’s why I cherish the recommendation that led me to Gil Hernandez and his dedicated and friendly team at Gil’s Auto Repair. No-fuss, just-honest repairs at reasonable prices. I started going to Gil’s shop two cars ago and couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. 549 W. Sunset Road, 702-567-2598 JP

and you’re a hit with the Millennials. Add to that the easy-to-navigate layout, a food court with abundant seating and a great mix of price levels, and the revived Galleria is hard to beat. New restaurants added to the

mix — steak & seafood sensation Larsen’s, the affordable upscale fare of Bravo Cucina Italiano and the French pastries of Le Macaron — round out the experience. 1300 W. Sunset Road in Henderson, galleriaatsunset.com JP

â&#x20AC;˘ Container Park

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PERSONAL BEST

Troy Heard Artistic director, Onyx Theater

Best Slice of Local History “Monti Rock’s ’68 stint at Caesars where he was paid $14,000 a week before getting canned.” Best Public Figure Broadway in the Hood’s Artistic Director Torrey Russell. “This guy goes above and beyond to mentor kids who really deserve it.”

Best date-night restaurant Pamplemousse. “Classy service and a romantic old Vegas atmosphere.” Best Sushi Goyemon. “The fresh wasabi gives it an edge above the others, but you have to request it.”

• Brooklyn Bowl

c u l t u r e

Best Live Music Venue

Brooklyn Bowl

Bowling, live music and fried chicken … who could ask for anything else? The real reason to see a show at Brooklyn Bowl, though, is the sound and the space. Whether you like to be right up front or hang back, your favorite band never sounded so good. 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., brooklynbowl. com/las-vegas MO

best New again live music venue The Bunkhouse

From a smoky den with a subpar sound system to a swank spot with top-shelf offerings to a more

realistic locale with decent sound, great bands and a new menu: The Bunkhouse has had more makeovers than Madonna. With luck, the latest iteration — with its focus on the big picture of lunch-goers and live music — is here to stay, since it seems better suited to Downtown’s market. 124 S. 11th St., bunkhousedowntown.com

Best Local Jazz Artist

Few artists display the range (and willingness) to rock Cabaret Jazz and the Double Down in the same week, but local trumpeter Mike Gonzalez does this with frequency and poise. A graduate of UNLV’s jazz program, Gonzalez has rescued jazz-fusion from four-letter-word

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facebook.com/UniqueMassive CB

Best Local Rock Band

Mercy Music

Mike Gonzales

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status and breathed life into the Strip-performers after-hours scene. Catch his genre-bending spectacle, Unique Massive, Tuesdays late-night at The Double Down — then try not to be surprised when you see him guesting in more refined places throughout the valley.

Lead by lead guitar shreduoso Brendan Scholz, this trio has sharpened its live set through relentless road grinds and high-profile local appearances, including Life is Beautiful and with Bob Mould. Expect new music and a bevy of cross-country dates out of these guys in 2016. facebook.com/ mercymusicforyou CB

best of the city

Best SingerSongwriter Jesse Pino

Able to blur the once-pronounced line separating folk and punk, Jesse Pino first caught the scene’s ear as a member of Left Standing. Now backed by the Clever Clouds, Pino is poised to release an anticipated follow-up to his EP The Burn. facebook.com/ jessepinomusic CB

Best categorybusting musical act Same Sex Mary

It is a rare and meaningful occurrence when the show of the year comes from a local act, but Boulder City psyche-rockers Same Sex Mary

b r o o k ly n b o w l : e r i k k a bi k / c o u r t es y ; s a me se x m a r y : D avid m o o n e y/ c o u r t es y

Best Bar for Cocktails Velveteen Rabbit. “A constantly rotating menu of craft cocktails.”

â&#x20AC;˘ Same Sex Mary

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you bested it, we tested it

In which Desert Companion assesses your top choices in our Best of the City readers’ poll

Looking for David Lynch Our readers’ poll pick for best local band? Brumby, Brumby, Brumby! Indeed, the landslide of votes suggests either rabid, frothing fandom or a surgically coordinated ballot blitz. But, since this alt-feelsy breezerock quartet looks so fresh-faced and pure of soul, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. My favorite Brumby track is “Chariot,” a mannered bricolage of the best parts of the post-indie genre: gently driving rhythms, choral lift and soaring Jonathan Livingston Seagull vocals that even manage to work magic on the icy dead neutron star that is my heart. For best vegan/vegetarian restaurant, you chose Downtown’s VegeNation (vegenationlv.com). And boy, were you right! After a thorough graze of the menu, I can report rich, vivid, bright flavors that belie the dread stereotype that says vegan = kill me, this tastes like wet sawdust. The raw tacos — a crunchy veggie and nut mulch wrapped in a collard green — are tangy and nicely textured, and the signature burger’s mushroom patty is rich and satisfying. Even the vegan sushi (?!) is good, with avocado and, uh, some other pureed yummy stuff I don’t remember specifically but do remember being yummy encased in chewy “forbidden” rice. Totally had a case of postprandial grogs, but, man, didn’t those grogs feel light ’n’ healthy! And finally, one respondent said the best thing about North Las Vegas is the German-American Social Club, saying it was a right out of a David Lynch movie. How could I resist? On a recent Friday, I went by during its posted hours, only to find an empty parking lot and locked doors. Silence at my repeated knocking, an answering machine ate my phone calls. But I agree: the subtle menace of this denial, coupled with the desolate, crumbling parking lot as northtown traffic whooshed by on Lake Mead Boulevard, created a distinctly Lynchian tableau. — Andrew Kiraly

c i t y achieved just that with an ambitious spectacle celebrating the release of their album The Second Coming in 2015. Here’s hoping the weird and wonderful scene mainstays continue to raise the local stakes and challenge expectations this year. facebook.com/ samesexmaryband CB

Best Street Art Omayra Amador

Omayra Amador was trained at Parsons in New York. She also studied in Paris for six months, where she saw wheat-paste installations by the elusive Banksy. When Amador arrived in Las Vegas she began her Milk the Bunny series, colorful portraits of fuzzy rabbits with a unicorn horn, and helped Las Vegas street art stand up

to old-school graffiti and Life is Beautiful leave-behinds. Mindful of the political tradition of street art, her quick installation in January 2015 connected Las Vegas to the global call of Je suis Charlie. EF

Best Local Sculptor

Pasha Rafat

Pasha Rafat’s Las Vegas work is an adjacent voice to the California Light and Space movement, as seen at his stellar solo show at Brett Wesley Gallery last year. Also in 2015, his “Untitled” (2003), light art made of argon/mercury gas tubing with steel framing, was purchased by the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. The longtime UNLV professor also approaches walls and

PERSONAL BEST Kate Aldrich Co-owner, Patina Décor

Best coffee house Makers & Finders. “Quality coffee, great ambience.” Best Venue Cabaret Jazz. “Love dressing up and seeing great shows there.” Best ThoughtProvoker Black Mountain Institute Best artists Suzanne Forestieri, Sandra Mitchell, Wendy Kveck, Jo Russ

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environment as sculpture, as demonstrated by new works recently hung at the Nevada Arts Council’s OXS Gallery in Carson City. EF

Best Local Artists

Justin Favela, JK Russ

With so much talent in town, how can we pick one? Justin Favela’s piñatas advance post-Chicano/Latino art dialogue at the national level. Also, by stringing party décor and piñatas across Michael Heizer’s “Double Negative” for his piece “Family Fiesta,” Favela turned the basin and range into Nevada’s backyard. With “Chop Shop,” even the chore of taking apart his work became a pop-up gallery. JK Russ’s collages are visual seductions in paper, crafted from fragmented patterns, often using themes of environment and fashion, as seen recently at P3 Studios, and until recently in UNLV’s Barrick Museum. They are empowered movement that walk, stroll, dance and assemble on gallery walls with a subversive grace. EF

Best Local Photographer Julian Kilker

This could easily go to a photographer with a masterly shot in Desert Companion’s Focus on Nevada contest, or to someone who sends a frenzy of stunning images

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selected results from our survey Best Sandwich Capriotti's

21%

The Goodwich

17%

Bronze Café Others, including Jason’s Deli and Therapy

Best Thing in the University District

7% 55%

UNLV

34%

Food and drink offerings

24%

Paymon's Mediterranean Café & Lounge

Others, including Marjorie Barrick Museum, Pinball Hall of Fame

34%

Best Theater Company

Best Breakfast Eat

Cockroach Theatre

16%

Nevada Ballet Theatre

10%

Onyx Theatre

Others, including: 65% Las Vegas Little Theatre, The Smith Center, Rainbow Company Youth Theatre and Cirque du Soleil

19%

Nordstrom

14%

Zappos Payless Others, including Macy’s and Barney’s

Egg Works

Omelet House

Best Live Music Venue Brooklyn Bowl

19%

The Joint

15%

The Smith Center Others, including: Bunkhouse and Vinyl

Best Shoe Store

Others, including: 68% Cracked Egg and Hash House a Go Go

Cabo Wabo Cantina

DSW

13%

The Egg & I

8% 8% 50%

B for Oef st Shop fbeat M agic Gifts al Me mo f ea t u r ing D

ries isney 14% Fine A rt Choc olate Spenc 10% er 's Kitson 5% O th e r s inclu 5 % ding: Franc esca’s and 6 6% Th e W riter ’s Block

HEXX

6% 55%

Best Park The Hydrant Club

25%

Sunset Park

20%

Mountains Edge Exploration Park

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Steve Sebelius Political columnist, Las Vegas Review-Journal, host of PoliticsNOW on KLAS Channel 8

Best breakfast Veranda Cafe at the Four Seasons Best steak Carnevino in Palazzo Best cigar store or lounge Casa Fuente in the Forum Shops at Caesars

• Brett Wesley Gallery

through Instagram. But what catches my eye is the growing body of exhibition work by Julian Kilker, beginning with “Annie and the Shaman” in last year’s Basin & Range exhibition at UNLV’s Donna Beam gallery. Kilker’s subsequent show at Nevada Humanities Gallery was billed as photojournalism and data analysis explored together. What distinguishes Kilker is how he uses two common references to Las Vegas — brooding desert noir composition with abandoned objects dabbed with artificial light. EF

best Movie theater

Galaxy Luxury, Green Valley “Ah” is the only sound you hear from moviegoers at Galaxy. Luxury theaters, with their large reclining seats and moveable

dining trays, are trendy for a reason. But the real appeal is that Galaxy isn’t much costlier than the old sticky-floor experience. At $9 for a matinee and with discounts for kids, seniors, and students, you can afford to add a glass of wine (served in an actual glass!). 4500 E. Sunset Road #10, 702-675-7424, galaxytheatres.com

Best Local gallery

Brett Wesley Gallery

Consistency is a beautiful thing. Add in attention to detail and gorgeous aesthetics, and you have something we can all be proud of. Bringing the valley art from new and established artists in a smart atmosphere (with hours you can actually count on), Brett Wesley remains a cultural staple. Art Square, 1025 S. First St. #150, brettwesleygallery. com

best Theater company Cockroach Theatre Company

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play is only one of the many amazing, edgy and so necessary productions that Cockroach has put on. Theater is a risky business, and it only gets riskier when a company chooses to produce work by young playwrights from distant cities, work that can be construed as “highbrow.” But Cockroach didn’t climb to the top of the heap by playing it safe, and we’re so very glad. Art Square, 1025 S. First St. #110, cockroachtheatre.com MO

best Theater director Walter Niejadlik

There are a few great unsung heroes of the local theater scene. Walter Niejadlik is

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definitely at the top of this list. His years of seemingly tireless direction of subjects as diverse as Mozart and the transgendered are what make the Las Vegas Little Theatre still worth a visit. MO

Best Local Playwright

Erica Griffin

Combine a wildly imaginative sensibility with the talent to put a black-comedic skew on thought-provoking material, usually set in Las Vegas, and you have Erica Griffin. She’s not only penned a raft of one-act gems like Waxing On (Lizzie Borden and Jack the Ripper offer couples therapy) but dark, full-length fare like the prize-winning, spirited Spearminted. We await her next opus with impatience. DM

best of the city

Best hike “For me? Between Casa Fuente and Joe’s Stone Crab in the Forum Shops at Caesars.” Best show on the Strip Rock of Ages (formerly at The Venetian, now at the Rio) Best place to spend free time “Any bookstore, new or used, but preferably one with a good selection of current events books.”

Best local dance company Nevada Ballet Theatre

Nevada Ballet Theater has it all — dancers with skill and personal appeal; a repertoire ranging from such classics as Swan Lake and Giselle to more recent works by Balanchine and Alvin Ailey; an academy from which to draw new talent; dedicated administrative support from founder Nancy Houssels and Executive Director Beth Barbre; a luxurious venue, The Smith Center, in which to perform; and a 43-year history of artistic excellence. nevadaballet.org HD

Best local choreographer Bernard Gaddis

Bernard Gaddis may be best know as a superb

dancer and founder/ director of Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theatre, but he is also a highly gifted choreographer. He was trained in classical and contemporary modes, and his choreographies often combine both. Many of the dances he’s crated for LVCDT have been performed to critical acclaim alongside legendary works by Alvin Ailey and Ulysses Dove. A choreographer’s works have to be of the highest quality to keep that kind of company. Mr. Gaddis’ definitely are. HD

Best local writer

Olivia Clare

Let’s celebrate her while she’s ours, Vegas. Because Olivia Clare is on an upward trajectory, one that surely promises opportunities beyond this valley. Recently out with a well-regarded poetry collection, The 26-Hour Day, she can look ahead to her major-label debut, Disasters in the First

• Erica Griffin

World, a story collection to be published by Grove, which will also release her first novel. That’s the big time, folks. olivia-clare. com SD

Best Museum

Mob Museum

Yes, they have the wall from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and the barber chair in which Albert Anastasia met his maker. But don’t let those

high-profile exhibits blind you to the serious scholarship that pervades this former post office and courthouse. Mob Museum curators have done their work so thoroughly that you can spend three hours there and still be only halfway through the many exhibits. It’s a mob hit of a different sort. 300 Stewart Ave., themobmuseum.org DM

Best Strip Headliner Human Nature

What’s better than Motown classics? It’s those same hits performed by this boyish quartet. Somehow, seeing faultless Motown moves and hearing dead-on R&B vocal stylings coming from a quartet of very white, very Australian lads only adds to the charm. Smokey Robinson’s ear for soulful talent is still not to be secondguessed. At the Venetian DM

• Mob Museum

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best strip show KÀ

A sizzle reel of Cirque du Soleil’s virtues: the astonishing acrobatics, the kinetic beauty, the sweeping narrative, the dreamy spectacle — and that technological marvel of a stage! If you don’t feel a bit of euphoric fizz as you leave, check your pulse. At the MGM Grand, cirquedusoleil.com SD

Best OldSchool Strip Show Donny & Marie

If you want to see true pros in action, check out this variety show at the Flamingo, which demonstrates what a Vegas headliner is at his or her best. The Osmonds sing, dance and generally carry on the longest, most-endearing sibling rivalry in contemporary showbiz. Even when you know the gags are coming, it never, ever gets old. DM

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c i t y goodies you’ll find. Now’s the time for a treasure hunt to track them down. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com JP

Best casino game for nongamblers

Sigma Derby

• A wall of superheroes and villains at Maximum Comics

l e i s u r e a n d f a m i l y

Best Poker Room

The Venetian

The Bellagio may have the high-roller action on lockdown, and Aria may have the imprimatur of Phil Ivey, but for the rest of us, the poker room at The Venetian is where you can get a taste of the whale experience on a working-stiff bankroll. Far more spacious than the cramped Bellagio room, The Venetian is plenty comfortable for those marathon sessions, and its amenities are on-point. More important, there’s plenty of tourist action to be had at the more democratic limits, without turning into a

war of attrition between savvy locals like at even the better off-Strip rooms. venetian.com, 702-414-7657 JS

Best Sports Book

Red Rock Resort

A summer renovation stepped up the technology game in what was already a quality book for fans on both sides of the race and sports divide — which is nice, as far too many books give the ponies short shrift. All-new screens and an improved ticker now make it possible to see the exact moments where all your money goes down the drain. (You didn’t really think the Browns were going to cover, did you?) redrock.sclv.com, 702-797-7777 JS

Best Casino Public Areas

Cosmopolitan

In the midst of all the go-go-go of Las Vegas, it’s nice to find a place where you can actually sit and enjoy your surroundings — and are actually encouraged to do so. The public spaces at The Cosmopolitan employ oddities, art and modern social conveniences (such as pool tables) to attract everyone and anyone: There’s a larger-thanlife, hot-pink, lace-up pump courtesy of artist Roark Gourley, a coffee table filled with Scrabble tiles, stacks of vintage books and vintage telephones, wooden sculptures from Africa and five Art-O-Matic vending machines — and these are just a few of the

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

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Sigma Derby only costs a quarter to play, and the action moves slowly, meaning one roll of quarters can be good for a half-dozen free drinks, even if your horses don’t come in. Betting is super easy, all the odds are laid out before each race, and bettors simply try to predict the fastest two horses. On top of that, it’s a social game, where all the bettors face each other and cheer on the horses galloping around the center of the table. The derby can get pretty raucous. If you know of a better time in a Las Vegas casino, I want to read about it. MGM Grand and The D Las Vegas AG

Best Nerdatorium Maximum Comics

Now sprawling over three locations, Maximum has the comicsshop nerd fare you’ve come to expect — toys, games, statues, actual

honest-to-God comics — but what’s been fascinating this year is the franchise’s ambition. Whether advertising in Marvel issues or participating in store-branded variant cover incentives, or holding monthly events, like its Comics & Karaoke series at Flex Cocktail Lounge, Maximum could be poised for good ol’ fashioned Lex Luthorstyle takeover. Multiple locations, maximumcomics.com JS

BEST THRILL RIDE Desperado Roller Coaster

Are there quality thrill rides closer to home? Sure. Are there quality thrill rides closer to home that start with a long, slow climb, followed immediately by a 60-degree, 225-foot, pants-wetting drop … that race through a tunnel at a top speed of around 80 mph … that allow patrons to experience about 4Gs of force? Uh, no. Now of legal drinking age — it opened in August 1994 — the Desperado Roller Coaster at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm still can lay claim to being one of the tallest, fastest coasters in the world, and the only “hypercoaster” in Nevada. A word of

Best Place to Get Kids Away from Screens Exploration Peak Park

Kids will love the park’s unique playground, which features seesaws and a climbable Old West town filled with slides, tunnels, and stairs. After playtime, families can hike to the top of Exploration Peak for impressive views of the valley below. 9700 S. Buffalo Drive, clarkcountynv.gov SV

best of the city

caution to the squeamish and easily bruised: This has never has been the smoothest of rides, and the in-car jostling has gotten worse as the coaster has aged. But for those with sturdy backs and steel stomachs seeking a Six Flags-like thrill minus the four-hour drive, Desperado delivers — especially from the front row! At Buffalo Bill’s in Primm, primmvalleyresorts.com MJ

BEST VENUE WE CAN’T WAIT TO FINALLY OPEN MGM/AEG Arena

Gotta hand it to the folks at MGM Resorts International and AEG: They promised a state-of-the-art arena that would attract world-class sports and entertainment events. They promised that the $375 million project would require nary a nickel of public funding. And they promised it would be finished by spring 2016. Not only are they on track to go threefor-three, but they hit it out of the park with a bizarre-but-oh-sovery-Vegas grandopening lineup that pays homage to the Entertainment Capital of the World’s past (Wayne Newton), present (The Killers) and future (Shamir). Sure, we’re curious as to how the whole ingress-egress thing is going to shake out. And we want official confirmation on that damn NHL team. That aside, we’re very much looking forward to

April 6, when the city’s new jewel finally swings open its doors. arenalasvegas.com MJ

BEST WAY TO ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM (WITH THE KIDS)

Las Vegas 51s’ Value Menu Mondays Anyone who has attended a professional baseball game in the 21st century can attest to the fact that buying the family some peanuts and Cracker Jack — let alone a hot dog — has required dipping into the kids’ college fund. So hats off to the Las Vegas 51s for rolling back concession prices to 1981 during Monday home games at Cashman Field, where various menu items — including hot dogs, popcorn and Cracker Jack — will set you back a single buck. LV51.com MJ

BEST WAY TO ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM (SANS KIDS)

Las Vegas 51s’ $1 Beer Thursdays Step 1: Lock in the sitter for Thursday night. Step 2: Load the wallet with a handful of George Washingtons. Step 3: Dial up Uber. Step 4: Enjoy nine innings of quality Triple-A baseball and a bevy of $1 cold ones with your BFFs.

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

you bested it, we tested it

In which Desert Companion assesses your top choices in our Best of the City readers’ poll

Eat. Walk. Shop. I thought I had it in me, friends — that is, the guts to eat a lot of sweets at Freed’s Bakery … until I actually had it in me — that is, about half of what I’d ordered, plowed into my guts. I chewed, valiantly; I was there on your behalf, after all, and I wanted to go the extra tart. You voted Freed’s the best bakery, and I went taste-test your taste. Best? I’ll see about that! I ordered a bearclaw, a raspberry-pecan log and what appeared to be a hubcap of apple and dough. I considered all this round one. A Falstaffian grinder of some gusto, I figured I could get through at least two good, evaluative rounds. But the first round took me clean out. The bearclaw was routinely terrific; you’ve gotta try pretty hard to screw up a bearclaw. The raspberry-pecan log was more complex, built around folds of berry-infused dough; it was superb, just perfectly short of too sweet … but, oh, that dough — utterly filling. I ate some of the giant apple Danish anyway, and I don’t regret it. Freed’s bestness: confirmed. Leaving was sweet sorrow: So much remained untasted. Goodbye, chocolate-walnut thumbprint! Goodbye, eclair! Goodbye, linzer tart — I’ll miss not eating you most of all … In cool hindsight, we

02.2016

best of the city

might’ve guessed that the category best urban hike would self-select East Fremont as the winner. For one thing, you do love Downtown, from the Mob Museum (best historic attraction) to the Writer’s Block (best bookstore) to the Hydrant Club, the private dog park that boasts a merry band of ballot-stuffers. (“I really only care about Hydrant Club,” someone voted under best pizza.) For another, the area is obviously denser with signifiers of urban mojo than anywhere else, from its vivid festoonery of street art to more species of visually intriguing humans than there are ants. East Fremont and environs are poised between the gentrifying gleam of new investment and the stubborn grunge that keeps it marketably “urban.” I mean, as you walk off the Freed’s pastries on your urban hike, look down at the thick, Pollockian swirl of stains, splotches, dribbles, smears, drips, smudges, blotches, spots, blemishes, splatters, blots and splashes that freckle the concrete, and try to imagine how they all got there Delirious! Disgusting! Talk about street art. Exactly the opposite points can be made about your choice of best thing about Henderson, which is the family-friendly outdoor mall The District at Green Valley Ranch. I have seen the face of suburban strollability, and it has an Anthropologie. — Scott Dickensheets

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c i t y PERSONAL BEST

Step 5: Call in sick Friday morning. Wait, beers are only $1 during Thursday 51s home games? For the entire season? Seriously? Hey, we wouldn’t joke about something like this. LV51. com MJ

Vicki Richardson Director, Left of Center Gallery; artist

Best place to dine for a special occasion Marche Bacchus. “A quality meal, French Bistro-style, accompanied by an excellent wine selection while on a lake with stone bridges and swans. A nice place to take out your pen and sketchbook.”

Best Place for Family Fun Town Square

This mall has it all. In addition to plenty of opportunities for shopping, Town Square also features a playground and splash pad, a movie theater, the Cactus Coaster kiddie train and several family-friendly dining options. Another highlight? Town Square is home to GameWorks, one of the most elaborate arcades in the city. 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., mytownsquarelasvegas.com

Best view worth hiking to

Mountain Springs Summit

It’s a bit off the beaten path, hiding in the mountains between Las Vegas and Pahrump. Mountain Springs Summit offers views of Red Rock and Las Vegas that almost nobody gets to see. On this limestone peak in the Spring Mountains, you stand above the tops of notable summits in Red Rock. It’s amazing to look down and see the gray limestone melt away as vibrant red and yellow sandstone emerges in enormous monoliths, towering over the valley far below. AG

Best Strip Attraction

The LINQ Promenade This fun outdoor promenade offers a bit of everything: eclectic stores such as Kitson, bowling, dining and drinking at Brooklyn Bowl, a cupcake ATM at Sprinkles and dressedup dogs at Haute Doggery. It culminates in the best way to see the Strip: the High Roller. Afternoons really are a delight when you spend happy hour with a drink cart in your gondola. Restaurants such as Margaritaville, Chayo and Yard House all have balconies that overlook the promenade, so whether you’re in the middle of it or looking out over it, you’ll be in the thick of it. JP

Best Family Hike Lost Creek Trail

Clocking in at just under one mile, Lost Creek Trail is easy enough for young kids to conquer, but long enough to provide families with plenty of interesting sights along the way. After hiking through a wash, visitors will find a boardwalk that has been built over a small creek. In spring, the area is sprinkled with colorful wildflowers. Hikers who continue to the end of the trail might even be lucky enough to find a waterfall. Red Rock Canyon, blm.gov SV

Best intermediate hike

Best advanced hike

This trail at Red Rock travels through two very different habitats, giving hikers the colorful, open desert experience for which Nevada is known, and a verdant, tree-lined path more familiar to folks back east. At six miles, it’s challenging enough to make you feel like you’ve earned that post-hike beer, but easy enough that it stays fun. And because it’s a loop, you won’t see the same sights twice. AG

My single favorite place to hike in all of Southern Nevada has the best of what Valley of Fire has to offer. From its relaxing start through Petroglyph Canyon, hikers journey to Mouse’s Tank, and then beyond into a maze of slot canyons that always have me wanting to know what’s around that next bend. Fire Canyon is advanced not because it’s a lung-buster, but because it puts your

White Rock Loop

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Fire Canyon

best of the city

Best place to find inspiration Valley of Fire. “Amazing sandstone formations against the deep turquoise of the desert sky. Stunning!” Best slice of local history “The petroglyphs and early artifacts of the Southern Paiutes transport me back in time … a reminder of our origins.” Best place to spend free time The Writer’s Block. “A unique collection of classics, but also secret doors, a lop-eared rabbit, and an enchanted forest.”

navigation skills to the test. From the bottom of a winding labyrinth of slot canyons, it can feel nearly impossible to stay oriented. But for an advanced hiker, that’s part of the fun. AG

Best place to get away from it all

Beaver Dam State Park

Truly a best-kept secret, less than three hours from Vegas. I was there last summer on a prime travel weekend, and aside from my group, the park had exactly four other visitors. Beaver Dam has flowing water, numerous hiking trails, even a hot spring. And it’s so well kept, the vault toilets actually smelled ... good! 3.5 hours north, near Caliente, parks.nv.gov/ parks/beaver-dam-statepark/ AG

Best Outdoors Social Media Channel

l i n q p r o me n a de : c o u r t es y c a es a r s e n t e r ta i n me n t

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

On their social media channels, Spring Mountain Ranch provides a nice mix of park information, upcoming-event details and nature photos, punctuated with just the right amount of humor and enthusiasm. Find this park-withpersonality on Twitter @SpringMntRanch and on Facebook. 800 Blue

Best way to meet “real” people in Vegas Meetup.com

It’s not a dating site. It’s a place where people of common interest get together in real life. Whether it’s hiking, writing, dining, knitting, you name it, there is a Meetup in Vegas that caters to it, making it easy to bond with people who share your passion. The relationships forged through Meetup can be deep and lasting — it’s how I met most of my close friends here. AG

Best Downtown Attraction Container Park

While it’s hard to top the flame-shooting mantis, the local owners and artisans who’ve set up shop here are true attractions themselves — don’t miss the glorious meat found at Ern’s BBQ; Blumarble, where more than 15,000 beer, wine and liquor bottles are repurposed as shot glasses, cheese trays and jewelry each month; Vegas Flip Flops, which has the best selection we’ve seen anywhere; and Kappa Toys, where we can get our anime and classic-toy fix. The centerpiece of the park is The Treehouse, with a 33-foot slide and oversized foam building blocks for kids of all ages. And you can get cozy with your sweetheart on a wooden swing. 707 Fremont St. free admission,

Diamond Road, parks.nv.gov

downtowncontainerpark.com

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

you bested it, we tested it

In which Desert Companion assesses your top choices in our Best of the City readers’ poll

Best-laid plans I designed my Best of the City crawl to comprise a day of self-indulgent surprises. I’d begin by picnicking with my dog at the Clark County Wetlands Park, which readers chose as a best thing about the East Side, follow that with a massage at best spa pick the Golden Nugget, and end with happy hour in Henderson at Born and Raised, voted best neighborhood bar. But dogs aren’t allowed at the wetlands (it being, you know, a wildlife preserve and all), and a good friend scheduled a last-minute birthday dinner Downtown, entailing some hasty schedule-scrambling. That my day nevertheless turned out to be delightful attests to both the survey winners’ quality and the city’s hospitality. I started with a lunch of stuffed mushrooms and a cold Stella Artois at Born and Raised, open just a few months in Tommy Rockers’ old south-side location. The place is spacious and comfortable with a good balance of couches and tables to enjoy fare that’s gourmet by bar standards. The mix of regulars and tourists, diners and table-gamers suggests it’s hitting its market, though I wondered if any of them

02.2016

best of the city

were as annoyed as I was by the wall-to-wall TV screens, slightly excessive even for a sports bar. A quiet walk in nature was just the thing to clear my ringing ears, so I headed northeast to the Wetlands Park to meander its trails through shoulderhigh rushes and over the gurgling wash. Less then a yard from the parking lot, I spotted a family of quail; by the time I got back to my car, I’d seen ducks, an egret, a bunny, a roadrunner and some scat suggesting coyote. I’d also heard enough high-pitched squealing to make me happy the place is drawing youngsters and jar me out of complete reverie. But that was coming next, in the form of a Swedish massage and eucalyptusscented steam bath at the Golden Nugget spa, an oasis of calm hovering unexpectedly above the Fremont Street Experience. This is no sprawling, midStrip super-spa (the g ym and salon take up much of the f loor), but it’s got all the comfort of a high-end resort in boutique form, complete with attentive staff and plush robe. I could’ve lounged there all day — any service, acquired at a hefty locals discount, buys you that privilege — if weren’t for my dinner date. To which I showed up restored and ready for the next round. —Heidi Kyser

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e k ta

your Arts+Entertainment calendar for february

19 H. Lee Barnes The Writer’s Block Barnes, author of the classic Vegas novel The Lucky, busts out of the valley with his new Texas-set novel The Gambler’s Apprentice. His prose? Spare, tight. His stories? Moving, human. His cred? Been in the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame since 2009. 7p, free, thewritersblock.org

10-13 Dam Short Film Festival Boulder Theatre Little films, all in your face! Comedies, dramas, documentaries, foreign shorts. This is quality short-attention-span theater. Pictured above, a still from The Bespoke Tailoring of Mister Bellamy, directed by Alexander Jeffery. Schedules and ticket info at damshortfilm.org

25-26 All month 9 Fareed Zakaria Ham Hall, UNLV The influential global-affairs pundit, CNN host and occasionally accused plagiarist rolls into town to discuss In Defense of a Liberal Education, his most recent book. 7:30p, free (tickets required), unlv. edu/calendar

Black Weekend

West Las Vegas Library Keynoted by two important talks — on February 25, Professor James Small discusses African-American spirituality and the African diaspora; on February 26, Professor Leonard Jeffries addresses the need for inclusiveness in teaching history — this two-day event will also feature a wealth of cultural presentations, from dance to spoken word to music. 7-10p both days, free, 702-507-3989

Audrey Barcio Clark County Government Center So you’re what, 5-9, maybe an even 6 feet? Safe to say that a group of 7-foot mirrored towers would, heh-heh, tower over you, right? But consider them as they sit in the vastness of the Government Center rotunda. Not so big now, are they? You have started down the thought-road — dealing with architecture, scale, human presence — that Continual Eventual artist Audrey Barcio wants you on. Reception and artist talk February 5. Free, 702455-7340

february 2016

DesertCompanion.com

THE GUIDE

Channel 10

ART

MONKEY

THROUGH FEB. 20 The coming 2016 Chinese New Year is the Year of the Monkey. Artists in this annual invitational fine art exhibit are asked to make pieces that include the Monkey and signifiers, images or visual concepts that honor and celebrate Chinese tradition. Free. Historic Fifth Street School Mayor’s Gallery, 401 S. Fourth St., artslasvegas.org

CONNECTED FUTURE

THROUGH MARCH 4; ARTIST’S RECEPTION, FEB. 5, 6P

Luther Saturdays at 10 p.m., premiering February 20

This installation by Audrey Barcio features seven reflective triangular towers that, while taller than most viewers, will appear tiny in relation to the rotunda. Free. Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, clarkcountynv.gov

IGNOMINIOUS REFUSE THROUGH MARCH 11

Brent Holmes’s collection focuses on the Latin ideologies of epicurean ideals through the philosophical views of Lucretius. Holmes will present Polaroid photographs and digital images and an installation of Doric columns. Free. Winchester Gallery, 703-455-7340

THE HUES OF SOULS THROUGH MARCH 19

Finding Your Roots

Outdoor Nevada New Season Premiere

Tuesdays, Feb 2 and 9 at 8 p.m. Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

Artist John Trimble’s collection of acrylic paintings illustrate the various moods and emotions one might experience in daily life through the amplified use of color. This exhibition will encourage viewers to look at color in a non-traditional way. Free. West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd.,

artslasvegas.org

FORCE OF NATURE THROUGH APRIL 20

Artists Elizabeth Blau, Rossitiza Todorova and Orlando Montenegro Cruz explore similar topics having to do with nature, movement relating to travel through space, and human effect on the environment. Free. Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St., artsl-

asvegas.org

Nature: Moose:

Life of a Twig Eater

Black Panthers:

Vanguard of the Revolution: Independent Lens

Wednesday, February 10 at 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 16 at 9 p.m. VegasPBS.org | 3050 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121 • 702.799.1010

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DesertCompanion.com

THE PHILOSOPHY OF FORM AND COLOR FEB. 5–APRIL 2

Originally from Ethiopia, Eyob Mergia is a painter, filmmaker and photographer. His large drawings, colorful, multipanel paintings and murals borrow from

THE GUIDE many different artistic styles — from the emotional realism of the Baroque period to cubism and expressionistic abstraction of the early twentieth century. Free. Sahara West Library, lvccld.org

contemporary country music favorites performed by husband and wife team, Patrick and Tracy. $13. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

MOZART’S COSI FAN TUTTE MUSIC

PINK MARTINI FEATURING THE LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC FEB. 6, 7:30P

A stylish and sophisticated musical blend combining elements of jazz, classical and old-fashioned pop with unexpected Cuban and Brazilian rhythms led by the irrepressibly enthusiastic pianist Thomas Lauderdale and vocal powerhouse Storm Large. Together they perform a repertoire sung in more than 25 different languages. $100–$250. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center,

thesmithcenter.com

CHARLES VANDA MASTER SERIES: SARAH CHANG & JULIO ELIZALDE FEB. 6, 8P

One of the foremost violinists of our time, Chang dazzles audiences with her technical virtuosity and emotional depth. She will be joined on piano by Elizalde. $25–$75. Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall at UNLV, unlv.edu

NEVADA CHAMBER SYMPHONY’S MUSIC AND MAGIC FEB. 7, 3P

This concert for the young and the young at heart introduces the orchestra, how it functions and the sounds of the instruments, with informative narratives about the composers and their music. The program is illustrated with wellknown classics and popular American music. Highlighting the performance is award-winning magician Jason Andrews. Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library, lvccld.org

UNLV JAZZ ENSEMBLE FEB. 10, 7P

Listen to various styles of jazz from the student musicians of the UNLV Jazz Studies Program. Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library, lvccld.org

Translated as “Women are Like That,” this updated opera, based on the original libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte (with whom Mozart collaborated), is sung in English and accompanied by the Sin City Opera Orchestra. $15. Winchester Cultural Center, clarkcountynv.gov

ELVIS — TRIBUTE TO THE KING OF HEARTS FEB. 14, 3P

Spend Valentine’s Day with the ultimate heartbreaker. Matt Lewis’ tribute to Elvis is known far and wide, as he has headlined in the Legends in Concert program on the Strip for 14 years. $20. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

BRAHMS: FIRST AND FOREMOST FEB. 16, 7:30P

The Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Spotlight Series begins with some of the most beautiful music Brahms ever wrote. $168. Troesh Studio Theater at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

FRANKIE MORENO: UNDER THE INFLUENCE FEB. 16, 8P

Performing a mixture of Rat Pack glamour and original hits infused with vintage funk, piano prodigy and multi-instrumentalist Moreno delivers a high-energy show that has become a staple on the Las Vegas Strip. In this showcase, he revisits the music that most influenced his career. $25–$35. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center,

thesmithcenter.com

FEB. 20, 8P

York’s compositions blend the styles of ancient eras with modern musical directions, creating vital, multi-leveled and accessible classical guitar concert pieces. $45. Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot Recital Hall in the Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center at UNLV, unlv.edu

OSCAR MUSIC SHOW FEB. 21, 3P

Just a week before the 87th Academy Awards, refresh your memory for past winners by seeing every winning song since 1934. That’s 86 songs through eight decades of powerful music recreated by Bill Fayne’s compositions and Mistinguett’s staging and featuring some of the best singers and dancers in Vegas. $20. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

ESTEBAN WITH TERESA JOY FEB. 21, 3 & 7P

Guitarist Esteban’s passion and explosive style of playing paired with his daughter Teresa Joy’s exuberant violin playing weave a beautiful mosaic of music that ranges from classical and flamenco to the golden age of rock and roll. $45–$55. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

LUCY WOODWARD FEB. 26–27, 7P

London-born and Bronx-raised, Woodward is a singer-songwriter who effortlessly crosses genres, blending elements of dreamy retro Brit pop, vintage jazz, swing, R&B and Latin rhythms into songs that have earned her numerous awards and critical acclaim. $39–$49. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center,

thesmithcenter.com

After touring and recording with legends such as the Rolling Stones, Sting, Tina Turner, Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin, Fischer delivers a unique experience with her powerful voice and stellar backing band in a perfectly intimate setting. $37–$65. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

BISHR HIJAZI ARABIC MUSIC ENSEMBLE

A high-energy, fast-paced country show that features a wide range of classic to

Leong blends jazz, classical and pop to create a signature sound. $10 in

DesertCompanion.com

ANDREW YORK

FEB. 19, 7P; FEB. 20, 6 & 9P

DANA LEONG TRIO

FEBRUARY 2 0 1 6

artslasvegas.org

LISA FISCHER

HEARTLAND ROAD — COUNTRY MUSIC AT ITS FUNNEST FEB. 11, 4P

FEB. 12–21, FRI–SAT 7P; SUN 2P

advance; $15 at the door. Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.,

FEB. 20, 7:30P

FEB. 26, 7P

Experience a night of Arabic music as the ensemble weaves an engrossing and beautiful tapestry. The ensemble has been performing classic and contemporary Middle Eastern music over the past five years, introducing varieties of this music style to Western and Middle Eastern audiences. Free. Performing Arts Center at Clark County Library, lvccld.org

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DiscoveryKidsLV.org

THE GUIDE BETTE AND HER DIVINE DIVAS FEB. 27, 7P

Sherie Rae Parker’s incomparable tribute to Bette Midler is combined with stellar performances by Roz Thomas as Diana Ross and Katy Setterfield as Dusty Springfield. Stay for a meet and greet with the divas after the show. $18. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

DANCE

ZEMSKOV DANCE ACADEMY FEB. 8, 6P

Enjoy this dance concert as part of the Golden Dream Festival. Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library, lvccld.org

lvccld.org

FEB. 13, 7:30P; FEB. 14, 2P Featuring a sweeping, melodious score by Sergei Prokofiev, Cinderella’s rags-to-riches fairy tale will enchant lovers’ hearts and enthrall even the youngest of fans. Graceful choreography, lush costumes and sly humor will intertwine evil stepsisters, charming princes and fairy godmothers. $29–$139. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

GEEK!

The Rolle Project and 6 o’Clock Dance Theatre feature professional dancers from

This regional premiere celebrates cosplay culture as best friends fight

FEBRUARY 2 0 1 6

DesertCompanion.com

their way through all nine flights of Dante’s Fire-Con to meet their anime artist idol. $15–$20. Onyx Theatre,

onyxtheatre.com

VOICES FROM THE SAGEBRUSH

FEB. 12–13, 7P; FEB. 13–14, 2P

CINDERELLA

SHARING THE LOVE WITH DANCE AND CELEBRATING OUR ANCESTORS FEB. 12, 10:30A

Dallas and local performance artists. This family-friendly, diverse programming aims to increase arts awareness among at-risk youth while presenting a new vision of the performing arts and its power to change lives. Free. West Las Vegas Library,

THEATER

FEB. 11–27, THU-SAT 8P; SUN 5P

The Rainbow Company Youth Theatre presents their original show, which incorporates lively music, memorable characters and Nevada history. Ages 6+. $5. Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St., artslasvegas.org

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL

FEB. 12–14, 8P; FEB. 13–14, 3P Transport to the year 1959 in a seedy bar in Philadelphia to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances, just four months before her tragic death. With more than a dozen musical numbers interlaced with a sultry, often humorous script, Genevieve Dew delivers a one-ofa-kind tribute to Lady Day. $34. Cabaret

MYSTERY SOLVED Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmith-

center.com

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

FEB. 12–27, THU–SAT 8P; SUN 2P Adapted from the novel by Harper Lee, this brilliant coming-of-age story, told from a child’s perspective, shows us how understanding and courage can triumph over hatred. $27.50–$33. Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, unlv.edu

THE NETHER

FEB. 25–MARCH 13, THU–SAT 8P; SUN 2P The Nether is a virtual wonderland that provides total sensory immersion. Just log in, choose an identity and indulge your every desire. But when a young detective uncovers a disturbing brand of entertainment, she triggers an interrogation into the darkest corners of the imagination. $16-$20. Cockroach Theatre, 1025 S. First St. #110, cock-

Yes, there absolutely is an afterlife. In a previous life, they were the world’s brightest lights ablaze above the world’s most dazzling city. Now, they lie unplugged, fading in the boneyard. And, boy, do they have stories to tell. Book your tour and take a walk through history. Literally.

roachtheatre.com FAMILY & FESTIVALS

BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL FEB. 20, 10A–4P

Celebrate the contributions of African Americans to our community with live music and dance performances, food from local soul food restaurants, a historic black Las Vegas photo exhibit, and activities for the kids including arts and crafts, carnival games and face-painting. $5 adults, free for children 17 and under. Springs Preserve, springspre-

BOOK A TOUR

NeonMuseum.org

serve.org FUNDRAISERS

LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GALA FEB. 19, 8P

This year’s theme is “Singing in the Rain,” with special guest Patricia Ward Kelly, wife of the late Gene Kelly. The evening will start with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction followed by dinner, a live auction, a presentation and performance by the Philharmonic. Chet Buchanan of the Morning Zoo radio show will serve as emcee and auctioneer. $600 individual–$25,000 table. The Smith Center, lvphil.org

February 2016

DesertCompanion.com

END NOTE Ammon Bundy

satire

Romance: reloaded

Howd u convince me 2 do this?!! Speed dating???? btw u tried appletinis? nomz

When Ammon Bundy locks eyes with Michele Fiore on speed-dating night, high-caliber passion ensues B y A n d r e w

K i r a ly

unday is speed-dating night at Delish, a quiet wine bar in northwest Las Vegas. Typically, the weekly event hosts middle-aged suburbanites looking for a little romance. But on this particular Sunday, February 14, a unique match is in the making. Tonight, Ammon Bundy — son of Cliven Bundy and leader of an armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge — has been persuaded to visit in hopes of meeting firebrand state lawmaker Michele Fiore. What follows is a transcript of Ammon’s text messages to his brother, Ryan.

Ammon

Ammon Ryan hope u got more game than that

wait I c her. OMG eye contact. More like michele FIERY. She’s at table 4 with douchebro, pleated pants etc. im memorized Mesmerized srry

chill

Ryan ??

Ammon just sat down & she asked me opinion on cooper v. aaron. ?? HELP PLZ!!!1

ty bro! talking about guns now HELP PLZ!!! wut do i think about constitutionality of mental health checks 4 gun sales

lol say the landmark supreme court decision paved way 4 federal stranglehold on states. lemme know

Ryan ur move player. go to her lol

Ammon

f e b r u a ry 2 0 1 6

DesertCompanion.vegas

Ryan Bundy well-intended bureaucracy = creeping infringement on 2nd amendment. say “problematic history of implementation” she’ll love that

Ammon

Ryan

says she’s living a lie. “i confess, ammon, to believing in the public good and common-sense gun law reform” whoa also hates new star wars, calls it patronizing rehash, fwiw she’s standing on table now omg pulling something out of her purse everyone running omg

idk. stuck at table 2 w cpa who luvs her corgis. blah blah & so i’m like is their meat tender LOL!!!! WHERE DA MILFS!! LOL!!!!

Ammon

Ryan

more appletini plz. k hold on going over OMG

Ryan Bundy chill player. c her? heard she would b there

omg she’s crying now always get the weepy ones

Ryan sup fatal attraction

Ammon ty, shes very angry & intense but w this secret sadness to it. drunk too drinking peach schnapps, says, “i warn you, it unleashes in me a molten unbearable truth i rarely reckon with” wtf???

Ryan Ammon Ryan ??? r u ok bro? calling u

it’s a pin that says feel the bern

crazy get out of there bro get out now

Ammon what’s a bern

108 stories. 1,455 stairs. One cause: to fight lung disease. Scale the Strat is the ultimate stair climb experience to benefit the American Lung Association in Nevada.

SUNDAY, February 28, 2016 REGISTER TODAY AT ScaletheStrat.com Stratosphere Hotel, Casino & Tower 2000 S Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89104 For more information, please contact: Valerie Weiderman Special Events Manager VWeiderman@Lungs.org 702.948.4161

Sustainable in mind, delicious on the palate.

DINNER NIGHTLY | BELLAGIO.COM | 702.693.8800