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City Cast Las Vegas

Every day is a holiday, if you know where to look (next month’s 

 include International Skeptics Day, Howl at the Moon Day and Night, and Wear Something Gaudy Day). But tomorrow, Sept. 30, holds a special place in my heart: It’s International Podcast Day.

The podcast isn’t very old as media goes. Named for the iPod, the portable audio player launched in 2001, the podcast was 

 when a software developer created a program that allowed audio bloggers to syndicate their episodes on iPods. A journalist in the Guardian coined the term “podcast,” and today there are more than 2 million podcasts out in the wild.

The simplest way to describe podcasts is probably “radio on demand.” But what I love most about podcasts is how they keep me curious about the world. There’s a podcast for everything: I can learn about the work of 

 while driving to the grocery store, the 

And, of course, the podcast I work on keeps me curious about the city I love: 

. We talk about public art we hate, pizza we love, our water woes, and the industries that keep our economy thrumming. So this International Podcast Day, I have a two-part challenge for you: (1) Tune in to a new podcast you’ve never heard before, and (2) share your favorite podcast with a friend who isn’t a listener. (And I’m not saying it has to be City Cast Las Vegas … but I’m not NOT saying that either 😉)

An appreciation of the podcast form — and a challenge.

Why You Should Give Podcasts A Try

Lend an Ear to Podcast Day

The Appreciation Index

Got a full plate of food news this week …

, right? Winner of that ballyhooed Dapper Co. competition for a built-out location in the Huntridge Shopping Center? If that seems like 10,000 news cycles ago, well, the opening’s finally getting closer — and 

 Candidates to work as line cooks and sous chef should apply online ahead of time; selected applicants will be emailed with details about where to take the culinary skills exam on these days.

 Applicants for all other positions can visit a hiring fair at the diner. Prior online application is encouraged, but walk-ins will be accepted from 1-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 6-7 p.m. Monday; bring resume, ID, and current health district card.

Food historian Sarah Lohman teams up with Arts District restaurant Main Street Provisions next Thursday for a presentation called “

: Tasting Las Vegas Food History.” It’s part of the Neon Museum’s “Duck Duck Shed” program honoring local culture. Here, 

 by food journalist Johnathan L. Wright. [Review-Journal]

Pour a little out for the latest additions to 2023’s list of 

These readers have suggested a few additions to this newsletter’s roundup of great coffee joints beyond downtown. Adding each to my sip list.

 in Henderson has the best coffee in town. They have it shipped in directly from Hawaii. I actually drive from Summerlin to Henderson to treat myself.”

 on West Charleston has some of the best coffee in town. The beans are roasted on-site and you can chat with the roaster while he brews your coffee to order.”

We've got a full plate of food news this week …

What Does Vegas Food History Taste Like?

Winning Diner Staffs Up, the Taste of Old Vegas, and More

Food & Drink

Sometimes a person just wants to observe the pageantry of modern humanity strolling by — maybe you want to feel less alone, or triangulate your own position in the human parade, or just get judgy about other people’s fashion choices. Here are five places to do it:

🚶🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏾 Fremont Street: 

The second-floor window seats at this Binion’s bar offer a fishbowl view of the cavalcade of human variety — tourists, buskers, every denomination of person in between — that is the Fremont Street Experience.

👩‍🦽🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏿‍♀️ Town Square: 

Hey, you don’t just want to people-watch the tourists — from this grog shop’s patio you have a casual overlook onto the mall’s play area, where families pause for a few minutes between shopping and eating.

Lotta foot traffic here. Buy a coffee, find a bench, and take in the endless parade of international visitors bringing varied fashion and converging languages to the echoing walkways.

🚶🏾🚶🏼🚶🏽‍♀️ Arts District: 

Grab a seat in the boat out front and observe the wide taxonomy of downtown hepcats, hungry suburbanites drawn by the hype for 1228 Main or Good Pie, and hardy tourists looking for a break from the Strip.

Weather permitting, the corner patio of this java joint in the Summerlin-adjacent mega-strip mall should present you with the squires of suburbia as they engage in their natural habits — shopping and walking while scrolling.

There's nothing odd about enjoying the human parade.

5 Great People-Watching Spots in Las Vegas

5 Great People-Watching Spots

Las Vegas' Best

Yes. The law is very clear. NRS 171.126 provides that any citizen can arrest a person for a misdemeanor (or larger offense) committed in their presence or any felony whether it is witnessed or not, as long as there's reasonable cause to believe the person did the crime. In making the arrest, the person can't use any more force than is necessary and reasonable under the circumstances — and certainly not deadly force unless it's in self-defense.

 That's the tricky part. There are no clear guidelines as to how to conduct a citizen's arrest, and when it 

 been used, it's usually just detaining the person until the police arrive.

 NRS 171.134 says “the person from whose custody he or she escaped … may immediately pursue and retake the person at any time and in any place within the state.”

 The obvious concern involves the person who's not happy to be citizen-arrested and gets physical. Also, what if the citizen is wrong? The person arrested could sue for things like false imprisonment or assault with a deadly weapon (if you use one to detain the person). The better course is the obvious one: Get as much information as you can and relay it to cops.

You can, but it's probably not your best move.

Can You Make a Citizen's Arrest in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas Life Hacks

Ubiquitous in the local desert thanks to its drought tolerance, the mesquite has long been a versatile, useful plant in the Southwest. The bark could be used to weave baskets. Its pods can be turned into flour, and the tree was a key source of protein for desert-faring Indigenous peoples. Its flowers can be boiled into tea, while its sap has been put to a variety of medicinal uses, whether applied directly to a wound or turned into a gargle for sore throats.

They’re hardy survivors, mesquite trees, with roots that can reach 100 feet or more into the earth in search of moisture. It’s said that during especially dry periods, the seeds can sit dormant for decades waiting for sufficient water.

Thanks to the mesquite’s versatility and climate adaptability, there are those who think that the tree could serve as the foundation of a 

 that might help alleviate poverty in drying Southwestern areas. In terms of food provided for water used, ecologist Gary Nabhan says, “I don’t know any desert crop that beats mesquite in terms of productivity.”

Mesquite trees are a versatile, durable resource in the desert.

Mesquite Trees Are a Versatile, Durable Resource in the Desert

The Durable, Versatile Mesquite Tree

Urban Almanac

Author and UNLV journalism professor Michael Easter is 

. His first book, 2021’s “The Comfort Crisis,” showed how to unlock the power of discomfort to upgrade your life. His new book, published today, is “

Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset & Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough

Everyone knows everything is fine in moderation. But why are we so bad at it? Why don't we ever feel like we have enough? Most behaviors we do in excess now helped our ancient ancestors survive. But we still have our ancient brains that push us into more food, stuff, status-seeking, information binging, etc.

One big revelation from the book is that I discovered what I call the scarcity loop. It's a three-part behavior loop that evolved to help us obsessively repeat behaviors that kept us alive, like finding food. But it's now being applied to technologies that can hurt us. It was actually revived right here in Las Vegas, in the 1980s, in slot machines. But it's now what powers social media, dating apps, online gaming, sports betting, online streaming, and even our food system.

Humans evolved in a world where what we needed to survive was scarce. So we're built to crave. But we now have an abundance of everything we're built to crave. And we still keep accumulating. Anthropologists call this an "evolutionary mismatch."

For example, even a couple hundred years ago, the average American owned a handful of clothes and tools. Now the average home has 10,000-plus items and most homes are in some form of debt. Food used to be scarce — now we throw out about one-third of our food, and 40% of Americans are obese. A person in one day today takes in more information than a person 700 years ago took in during their entire life.

That has changed us, oftentimes not for the better.

In “Scarcity Brain” I identify three key ways to get out of the scarcity loop. It's the only scientific way to stop any bad habit. And this is very important. As a person who's studied physical and mental health my entire life, I've noticed that people want to develop good new habits. But the problem is that it's our bad habits that hold us back most. Fix your worst habits and your life improves instantly.

How do our primitive cravings shape our modern lives?

Las Vegas Author Talks About Impact of Ancient 'Scarcity Brain'

Author Michael Easter on How Your Ancient Drives Shape Your Life

3 Questions With

When Dr. Lynn Comella joined the faculty at UNLV, her office was in a space that had once been a bedroom. “It’s funny to think about that now,” she says. It was on the second floor of 

, a fascinating campus anomaly. Amid the school’s toybox of large architectural showpieces, Houssels House was once, as its name makes clear, a residence — a 1933 Tudor revival located on Sixth Street near Charleston.

The original owner, lawyer Harley A. Harmon — you’ve probably driven on the street that bears his name — sold it in 1936 to J. Kell Houssels Sr., one of Nevada’s first gaming licensees. Lotta history in 

 handshake! Both Houssels and his son, J. Kell Houssels Jr., went on to play big roles at joints like the Showboat and Tropicana, and Jr.'s wife, Nancy, was primarily responsible for Nevada Ballet Theatre. “The Houssels family did a lot to build the community,” says UNLV history department chair Michael Green, “and in my mind they don’t get enough credit for it.”

 in 1983. Once off the flatbed, it became the campus’ oldest building.

Over the years Houssels House contained programs as varied as architecture and consciousness studies. “It was where the women's studies department was housed when I started at UNLV in 2007,” says Comella, now chair of the school’s department of interdisciplinary, gender, and ethnic studies. “Houssels House was a real hub of activity then.” These days it headquarters a campus multicultural center.

The point of all this being, you gotta love a place that pulls so much local history onto a campus populated by structures that were born on-site, a building that literalizes the notion of the school’s connection to the community.

 Which UNLV structure was mentioned in our “

A small building on campus with big local history vibes.

Let's Hear It for the Old Las Vegas House at UNLV!

Let's Hear It for the Old House at UNLV!

One of the joys and cringes of being a Las Vegan is seeing how your city of global interest is portrayed in the national media. Here are five of our favorite recent stories:

The lefty journal The Baffler devoted much of an issue to our city. Contents include a dismissive take on the “nostalgia-tripping cash grab” of the Punk Rock Museum; a look at the Teamsters-mob relationship in building the city; and an expansive appreciation of sign artist Betty Willis.

‘How Usher Became the New King of Vegas’

 in Las Vegas, like someone who saw the glamorous first hour of ‘Casino’ but not the subsequent stressful two hours of ‘Casino.’ For Usher, Vegas is a place of renewal, a place of rebirth.”

 on a news roundup. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

‘The First Magician on the Vegas Strip’

The New Yorker wrote about Las Vegas more than once this year, whether 

 of “Learning from Las Vegas” or tracking 

 surviving the summer of 2023. But we like this piece about vintage performer Gloria Dea.

The cosmopolitan weekly newsletter Airmail retells the sordid downfall of Sara King, the so-called “slot whisperer” of Las Vegas, who ran through a lot of other people’s money.

‘Sphere can be bizarre and sublime — or just an ad. That’s what makes it so Vegas’

The L.A. Times offers a thinky take on our big orb, and its mingling of the worlds of art, commerce, and spectacle.

With stories from the New Yorker, GQ, the L.A. Times, and more.

Our Favorite Glimpses of Las Vegas in the Media

Our Favorite Glimpses of Vegas in the Media

No actual dogs are exploded in the staging of “Dog Explosion” — that has already happened, moments before the play opens on the McCall family in rural Missouri: three siblings and a terminally ill mother who’s just died. While the play has its share of laughs, says Las Vegas playwright Sean Clark, who directs this production, it doesn’t have the bleakly irreverent tenor of a black comedy. It 

 have lots of donuts and beer. A couple of questions for Clark:

Did I read that this play dates back to 2013?

“It’s a lot older than that. I kind of had it in a drawer. I was working (as a screenwriter) in Hollywood, and this stage play got me more work than any screenplay I’d written. They read this play and hired me for ‘Northern Exposure.’ As the great Ray Wylie Hubbard said, if you write something you think is good, be prepared to live with it for 40 years.”

How did you come to write this particular story?

“There’s a lot of incidents right out of my own life. My main character was a woman,and her frustrations mirrored my frustrations at the time: student debt, not knowing what your future was, feeling a little trapped. And then I was at a bar one night, and this total stranger tells this story of a guy who decided to kill his dog with some dynamite because it had cancer. All of a sudden I went, ‘That’s the catalyst I need to really make this play pop.’”

Did you have to update this production at all?

“It’s set in 1984, and I thought, ‘It’s going to be a period piece.’ That way you don’t have to explain why there are no cell phones. But as I watched it unfold, oddly enough, on the metaphoric levels, it’s more topical now than ever. Part of the clash is between somebody who is extremely cynical and sarcastic and burned out, and her sister, who is the opposite of those things because she’s found strength and happiness in her religion. And you have a guy in the middle who’s trying to do the right thing but finds the world around him a little judgmental if he happens to blow up a house or something. (Laughs.) A lot of it’s about the divides — that the country is in, between siblings. And those divides seem sharper now than in 1984.”

 at Winchester Dondero Cultural Center ($15).

 While they're not exploding dogs, do Vegas 

 when it comes to other areas of public life? [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

Though the title, 'Dog Explosion,' is less autobiographical.

Las Vegas Playwright Turns Life Into Theater

'Dog Explosion' Playwright Turns Life Into Theater

It’s about time to resume hiking, and wherever you get your steps in, from Mount Charleston to Sloane Canyon, Red Rock to McCullough Trail, here’s a refresher in outback behavior, compiled from a number of 

; don’t disturb their momentum. Keep single file when you can; pass on the left. And because trails often serve a mix of users, it’s good to know the proper hierarchy: bikers yield to hikers, and both yield to horses.

This commonly refers to packing out your garbage — a good habit on or off the trail. It also refers to your dog’s poop (though 

, 200 paces off the trail). But it also means don’t etch or jot your initials on a rock or tree; you’re not “leaving petroglyphs for future generations,” you’re just defacing nature.

Different guides offer different advice — keep your music all the way off; or listen in earbuds at low volume. Basic point being, 

 with your loud music or phone calls. But keep your phone handy in case of a snakebite (they’re said to be active in October), an accident, or getting lost.

. And, in case a search party has to find you, maybe the other person will remember you from your friendly demeanor.

🐕 Taking your dog hiking? We’ve got a podcast episode about that! 
[City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

🐕 Click to Listen

Trail Etiquette for Hiking Around Las Vegas

Now that (fairly) decent strolling weather is (almost) upon us — according to the National Weather Service, 

 — here’s an idea: Try UNLV’s 11-stop, self-guided “arboretum walk.” Not only does it let you, a nonstudent member of the general public, commune with nature, your Fitbit will dig the step count — it’s a 1.2-mile course.

Your tour begins here. Completed in 1988, this 2-acre anthology of desert-friendly plants near the Barrick Museum was 

among the city’s first demonstration gardens

This is the long, grassy sward that runs parallel to Maryland Parkway. It has some of the oldest trees on campus, and its pastoral vibe is said by school literature to be a conscious nod to the Jeffersonian ideal of a college as an “academic village.”

Located a few steps down from the iconic “Flashlight” sculpture, this was donated by Elaine Wynn in honor of her mother. It’s said she chose Showbiz roses to note her and (now ex-husband) Steve Wynn’s prominence in the Vegas entertainment scene.

Outside the Bigelow Physics Building is an apple tree. Why? Think of Isaac Newton, and the reason will hit you. Science humor!

It seems the state forestry folks designate the largest specimen of a tree species as a “champion tree.” 

Download the PDF Map

 in Las Vegas. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

Take a Tree-Lined Autumn Stroll at UNLV

With Nevada’s attorney general soliciting public opinion on the massive proposed grocery-store merger between Kroger and Albertsons, City Cast Las Vegas asked Nevada Current journalist April Corbin Girnus and food writer Kim Foster for their perspectives. Some highlights:

🛒 What’s the argument in favor of a merger?

 “Kroger, aka Smith’s, is the largest dedicated grocery store chain in the country. But they are far below Walmart. Kroger is saying that they need to be able to better compete with Walmart, and they can do that by buying all of the Albertsons, Vons, and Safeways. To put it into perspective, Walmart is about 20% of dollars spent on groceries in the United States. Even combined, Albertsons and Kroger are 16%.”

🛒 What are the implications of a merger?

 “So when corporations come together, what happens is, it takes a lot of choice for the consumer out of any equation. Also they become less creative about ways to keep prices lower, because they don't have to. A lot of people buy generic brands, for instance, and those can be really price-competitive. When there's no competition, they can mark up as they please. And consumers end up losing.”

🛒 What might this mean for grocery store employees?

 “One of the things that's important to keep in mind is that Kroger is consistently at the top of the list of employers in Nevada that have the most employees eligible and enrolled in Medicaid. So we're not talking about a group of workers that are highly paid, right?”

I was talking to someone who has worked at Smith’s in various supermarkets for 17 years. And she was talking about how she had to borrow money to pay her rent. And this is not a person with a big lifestyle. She tells me about being relegated to part-time, not being able to have enough hours — she wants to work 40 hours. But what Kroger does is, they reduce your hours. So a lot of this isn't just about more money per hour.”

Hear the Full Episode

What happens to consumers and workers when giants merge?

Las Vegas Perspectives on the Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Las Vegas Perspectives on the Grocery Merger

For some, like City Cast podcast host Dayvid Figler, the Center at Spring Mountain, a plaza in Chinatown, evokes the old spirit of Commercial Center, with its array of offbeat shops and, especially, its variety of food options. A few of our favorites:

Legendarily rollicking Vegas grog shop, music venue, hepcat party zone, and tiki-themed Mos Eisley cantina. Whatever time you’re there, the night’s still young. The memory of my last visit is pleasantly hazy, but I think I ordered, and loved, the Scorpion.

“Mas Por Favor has a great menu,” says City Cast audio producer Layla Muhammad. “I got the slice of birria which was surprisingly big. We ate in the speakeasy parlor, which you definitely need a reservation for. Very cool space — but it gets a little crowded at dinnertime. The live music, fun drinks, and desserts make up for the tight squeeze, though. Tip: Beware of the food and drink minimum in the parlor!”

A pizza joint in the middle of Chinatown? “Well, in this eclectic strip mall, it makes total sense,” says Figler. “Now, some of my friends have already dubbed this high-end, gourmand spot with the custom wood-fired ovens as having the 

 pizza in town. It's certainly a contender. Garlic Butter Mushroom and Charred Green Onion; Fig Jam, Speck and Candied Pecans. This isn't a cardboard-box spot, for sure. A small but obviously curated menu, definitely a top food destination in an area brimming with options.”

Figler again: “From the minds of Makers and Finders comes this tucked-around-the-corner little coffee shop that’s a welcome respite from the bigger coffee palaces dotting the landscape. Here, you'll get your coffee fix right off the roasted bean and handful of pastry options, including banana nut loaf, fruit tarts, and matcha cakes. The bonus, for those in the know, are the handmade empanadas. But the real star here is how quaint and quiet (with excellent wifi) the space is. There's even a cute outdoor enclosure. A place to impress your friends just slightly off the beaten path.”

The Center at Spring Mountain is home to an eclectic range of food joints.

Our Favorite Eats in Chinatown's Center Plaza in Las Vegas

Where to Eat in The Center at Spring Mountain

Neighborhood Guides

Charleston Boulevard, I renounce you. I reject you. I shout it with the supernal gusto and cosmic finality of a cross-swinging exorcist: I rebuke you! So, yeah: The city’s been chopping up Charleston for, what, like, two years now as it upgrades water mains, sewer lines, and storm drains in 

 spanning the boulevard from Rancho to Fremont Street. The $90 million improvements are supposed to be completed by the end of 2024, but I don’t believe it. It feels like an infrastructural Groundhog Day. East Charleston has taken on a bleak aspect of grim Beckettian futility, permanently cloaked in dust, clogged with cars, jumbled with concrete divvies and orange cones. It’s not a construction project. It’s some atmospheric manifestation of dystopia straight out of a 

. When I need to self-yeet from my downtown bubble and access other parts of town, Charleston Boulevard is on my Categorical Hard Nope list.

On the upside, it’s forced me to take alternate routes that I’ve quickly come to love: Oakey Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard. It’s reminded me that Vegas has scenery, that driving can bring pleasure. East Oakey offers a cheerful lineup of quirky historic homes on my drive through Crestwood, Huntridge, and 

, from stately restorations to sharp modernist revamps, from vibrant Guanajuato Redux styles to hoarder-house-with-the-forest-of-lawn-ornaments.

The northern stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is, shall we say, grittily quaint. To paraphrase poet Steve Perry: streetlights, people, shadows searchin’ the night, etc. But it’s also distinctly 

. As Las Vegas enters its mature megastructure phase with all kinds of freaky stadiums, spheres, arenas, and racetracks of unnerving size, this part of the boulevard, with its dinky hostels and faded hotel signs, wedding chapels and small restaurants, is an island of human-scale architectural sanity.

Look at it all! And wow: I am sightseeing in my hometown. I am enjoying the intrigues of the cityscape. Best of all, I arrive at my destination relaxed, even refreshed, subtly energized by the reminder that Las Vegas does, in fact, have character — and that no matter where you are, you can always take the scenic route.

There may be only one upside to Las Vegas's all-over roadwork.

Widespread Roadwork in Las Vegas Forces You to Drive New Routes

The Upside of Roadwork: Seeing New Parts of Las Vegas

Time again to fill up on local food news.

This weekend’s Greek Festival (deets below) kicks off a fall season 

. Johnathan L. Wright helps you mark your calendar. [Review-Journal]

If you plan to venture into the hipster containment zone known as Life is Beautiful, Eater Vegas has some 

. Just avoid the puddles of beard oil! [Eater Vegas]

On Monday, I included Cottonwood Station in a rundown of Blue Diamond’s high points. A reader who lives out there demurs. “We have stopped frequenting that business,” they write. “They often don’t have the staff to accommodate simple/basic orders, and they have a 30- to 60-minute gap between breakfast and lunch where customers have to stand around and wait. Also, the staff are not very friendly or welcoming.” The more you know.

📜 Another Day, Another National Food List …

… That Las Vegas isn’t on: Bon Appetit’s rundown of 

. Nor does the city figure into the mag’s tally of best single dishes or desserts. [Bon Appetit]

A year ago, I asked local food writers why lists like this ignore Vegas. A sampling of the replies:

 “Unfortunately, the reputation of the Strip (as a bastion of tourist-soaking celebrity chefs) hurts the efforts of neighborhood restaurants in their efforts to garner national recognition.”

 “Las Vegas' culinary origin as a cheap buffet and steak-and-eggs town still colors opinions of the city, as does the current reputation (some of it deserved) for excess. Many food writers look down on both.”

 “What the hell does New York know about Las Vegas?”

Las Vegas' Fall Food Festivals, Where to Eat in Life is Beautiful, and More

Las Vegas' Fall Food Festivals and More

Supporting local music is a great way to participate in the valley’s cultural life. But where do you go to see it? We asked 

To support Southern Nevada bands, here are venues to seek out.

Listen To Our Podcast