Rotgut.org Blog

Monday, January 02, 2012

#1631 - Drai's After Hours, Las Vegas - 11/26/2011

3595 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NV 89109-8918 - (702) 737-0555
afterhours.drais.net - facebook - draislasvegas.com - draisafterhouse.com - yelp

#1630 - Rok Vegas, Las Vegas - 11/26/2011

3790 Las Vegas Boulevard S (New York-New York), Las Vegas, NV 89109 - (702) 740-6969
rokvegaslv.com - lasvegas.com - yelp - vegasvip

#1629 - Flight Bar, Las Vegas - 11/26/2011

3900 Las Vegas Blvd S (Luxor), Las Vegas, NV 89119 - (702) 262-4503
luxor.com - vegas.com - joonbug

#1628 - Shifty's Cocktail Lounge, Las Vegas - 11/26/2011

If one should honor truth in advertising, Shifty's deserves some acclaim for the name. It's a classic neighborhood dive, a mile or two from the Las Vegas strip, and caters to bikers and Raiders fans. It was recently "Squiggy's," and at least used to host goth karaoke. If you want a break from the ersatz Vegas grandiosity and blaring glitz -- or if you just want a strongly poured drink for a low price -- I can't imagine Vegas has many better options than Shifty's.

3805 W. Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102 - (702) 871-4952
facebook - examiner - citysearch - yelp

#1627 - Herbs and Rye, Las Vegas - 11/26/2011

The space of a long-time favorite Italian restaurant, The Venetian, after a brief life as the "Slanted Clam" and others, has been reclaimed and remodeled into a classic, rat pack style Italian restaurant and pre-prohibition cocktail lounge. I did not have dinner there, but the cocktails are top notch.

3713 W. Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102 - (702) 982-8036
Est. Dec 15, 2009
herbsandrye.com - facebook - lasvegasweekly - eatinglv - yelp

#1626 - Frankie's Tiki Room, Las Vegas - 11/26/2011

Frankie's is an all-out tiki bar a short cab ride from the strip. Upon entering you are immediately greeted by pleasing darkness and a towering tiki by Crazy Al, above a faux fire that occasionally emits smoke. The decor is largely designed by Bamboo Ben, with works by leading tiki carvers like Bosko, LeRoy Schmaltz, Ken Pleasant and Tiki Ray. The drinks include tiki classics in custom-made mugs, and it is open 24 hours.

Frankie's is one of the best tiki bars in the country and should not be missed on any Vegas trip. The one shortcoming for many of us here a half century past the mid-century era it evokes is that it quite genuinely replicates the heavy cigarette smoking of the era.