Catering and eating habits
Of course, in the city of all sins, gourmet delights cannot be overlooked. Las Vegas is home to a remarkable number of restaurants opened by culinary celebrities. You'll find the signature of a renowned chef on the menu of every top restaurant. But of course, there's also a host of much more accessible "intermediate" restaurants, where you can eat at just about any time of day for an affordable price. And let's not forget the food courts(or world courts), where you'll find every fast-food chain imaginable and, of course, the famous buffets, whose quality ranges from very good to excellent. Although in Las Vegas many restaurants are housed in huge hotel-casino complexes, there are also a large number of offerings off the Strip that are well worth a visit.
For a number of years now, Americans have been taking the lead on junk food. Organic, Vegan and Gluten-Free. Three words you'll often see on restaurant menus and supermarket packaging. Like the rest of the Anglo-Saxon world, the USA offers many alternatives for people who don't eat dairy products, meat, gluten or eggs, not to mention allergens. Many of these products are low fat, fat free, sugar free,low sodium, diet, cholesterol free, etc. And each one scrupulously informs the buyer of its calorie, protein, carbohydrate, lipid and vitamin content. This also applies to the labelling of alcoholic beverages.
Bruncher made in USA
Although the brunch concept first appeared in Great Britain in the 19th century, it was in the USA that it really took off in the 1930s. It was first introduced in Chicago, mainly as a stopover for Hollywood showbiz stars on their way from Los Angeles to New York. Since then, this meal, served between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekends, has become popular throughout the country, and it's not uncommon to have to wait between 30 minutes and an hour to be seated. Reservations are usually not possible for brunch.
Among the specialties worthy of a true brunch are eggs Benedict (buttered toast, covered with poached eggs, bacon and hollandaise sauce). Eggs in general are one of the central elements of a brunch: scrambled, fried, boiled, poached or in omelette form, they are often accompanied by bacon or grilled sausages. There are also a variety of potato-based preparations, such as hash browns, which resemble small fried potato pancakes. Or the O'Brien potatoes, a kind of potato jardinière sautéed with onions and peppers, whose paternity is disputed between New York and Boston. However, brunch can include an infinite variety of sweet and savory dishes.
These include a variety of pastries, quiches, crudités, smoked salmon and cheeses - such as Vermont cheddar, Humboldt Fog with goat's milk or Monterey Jack, flavored with pimento cheese. On the sweet side, we often eat specialties similar to a typical American breakfast: pancakes, waffles, French toast, muffins and more.
And of course, to keep hydrated after such a feast, tea, chocolate or coffee are consumed in abundance. If American coffee(filter coffee or Americano) is often compared to sock juice, filtered and reheated all day long, we have to admit that the quality of coffee in the USA has drastically improved with the emergence of chains and restaurants offering richer, fuller-bodied beverages similar to those found in Europe and Italy in particular. As brunch is a later meal than the traditional breakfast, it is also appropriate to serve alcoholic beverages. Among the three most emblematic cocktails are the Mimosa, made with champagne and orange juice, and its cousin the Bellini, of Italian origin but incredibly popular in the USA, made with peach coulis and prosecco. Finally, the Bloody Mary, a blend of vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, pepper and Tabasco, with a stalk of celery for decoration.
The must-haves of American cuisine
Founded in the mid-19th century by Mormon pioneers, Las Vegas has changed dramatically in less than a century. Yet the city has no real culinary tradition. Generations of Americans from the four corners of the USA and millions of tourists from all over the world have turned the city into a culinary melting pot. As a result, you'll find emblematic specialties from all over the United States. For starters, there are several varieties of salad, such as the Caesar salad made with romaine lettuce, croutons and a rich anchovy and parmesan dressing. Although this appetizer originated in Tijuana, Mexico, it has since been democratized to the point of being much more popular in the USA than in its country of origin.
BBQ ribs - grilled ribs topped with barbecue sauce - are said to have originated in Midwestern states such as Kansas or Kentucky, and are emblematic of any self-respecting American steakhouse, alongside other meat-lovers' dishes such as sirloin steak, beef ribeye or T-bone, usually served with fries, a large pickle and coleslaw, a creamy salad of white cabbage and grated carrots. Burgers, hot dogs and bagels complete the picture.
Located in the southwest of the USA, there's a strong Hispanic presence, which translates into an abundance of Mexican cuisine, especially Tex-Mex, a fusion of Mexican elements revisited with a US twist: burrito (tortilla - corn or wheat pancake - topped with rice, meat, kidney beans and crudités), tacos (crispy tortilla with minced meat, cheese and crudités), enchiladas (tortillas topped with spicy minced meat, topped with cheese sauce and au gratin)... not forgetting, of course, guacamole.
Las Vegas also boasts a host of Asian restaurants, notably Chinese and Japanese. While today's American public is increasingly interested in traditional Chinese cuisine, there are also delicious Sino-American dishes, such as chop suey (a mixture of meat or seafood with vegetables and omelette), beef & broccoli (strips of beef with broccoli and oyster sauce), General Tso chicken (fried chicken in a sweet and sour sauce), crab Rangoon (fried ravioli with crab and fromage frais), Mongolian beef (strips of beef with onion and hot pepper sauce) ororange chicken (fried chicken with sweet and sour orange sauce).
Finally, the fortune cookie is another American invention, created after the Second World War. Inspired by the Japanese o-mikuji, they were invented by Chinese restaurateurs to offer a sweet snack, to be enjoyed with a cup of tea, to round off the meal, as the concept of dessert was not then commonplace in China. Sushi, udon noodles and ramen are some of the most popular Japanese dishes to be found in the city's restaurants, with many variations, some of them quite daring. Not to mention the multitude of Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and other restaurants. Italian cuisine is extremely popular in the USA, and you'll find an abundance of restaurants serving pasta, pizza and many other specialties, more or less authentic or revisited.
Desserts and spirits
As for dessert, the list is long. Of course, there's the inevitable cheesecake, which is made with cream cheese and sour cream, giving it an incredibly melt-in-the-mouth texture. While there are cheesecake variants all over the world, the chocolate brownie is a distinctly American invention. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of butterscotch sauce, the equivalent of our salted butter caramel. Or why not indulge in a slice of apple pie, generously flavored with cinnamon and often served with ice cream too. Pecan pie, with its rich maple syrup and pecan filling, is a rather traditional specialty from the south-east of the USA. The pumpkin pie is filled with a pumpkin purée flavored with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. It's usually served with whipped cream, most often at Thanksgiving. For those who prefer a snack on the go, there are cupcakes, doughnuts, muffins and more.
It was in 1976, following the Judgment of Paris, which brought together eleven specialists for a blind tasting, that Californian wine acquired its letters of nobility. At this event, American wines, both red and white, came out ahead of French crus. A veritable revolution in the closed world of oenology. Californian grape varieties are now being seen in a whole new light on the Old Continent. Wine lovers will not be disappointed in Las Vegas.
While wines have become more democratic, beer remains the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the USA. Among the best-known American beers are Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR). These beers are certainly refreshing, but less strong and richer in flavor than the more alcoholic European beers on average. Pumpkin ale, sold in autumn and especially at Halloween, may surprise some with its pumpkin aftertaste. Of course, as in the rest of the world, the region is home to a large number of microbreweries offeringcraft beer.
But once again, Las Vegas offers a spectacular range of bars offering every experience you could wish for, including a huge variety of cocktails. The USA is home to a staggering number of world-famous cocktails: Dry Martini (gin and vermouth with olive or lemon zest), Cable Car (spiced rum, orange curaçao and lemon juice), Agent Orange (orange juice, vodka, cointreau), California Milk Punch (milk, cream, bourbon, maple syrup and vanilla), Pisco Punch (pineapple juice, pisco, lemon juice, cane sugar, sparkling water), Mai Tai (rum, curaçao, orgeat and lime juice), Tequila Sunrise (orange juice, tequila, grenadine) or Moscow Mule (vodka, ginger beer, lime juice and crushed ice).
