Not far from the spectacle of the Las Vegas Strip, lies a side of Vegas that has been around since the beginning, with some of the oldest casinos like the Golden Nugget and Four Queens still standing. Fremont Street has seen an incredible rejuvenation over the last few years starting with the completion of the Container Park in 2013.
Since then, Downtown Fremont has become a hotspot for live entertainment, along with amazing bars with strong drinks, and a great selection of eateries scattered throughout to make sure you aren’t hungry for long while you zip down Slotzilla, or check out the Fremont Street Experience.
Hot dogs wrapped in bacon sizzling atop a flat grill along with onions, peppers and jalapenos. Eventually making its way on a bun and smothered with ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard. Usually sold in small carts outside conventions, concert halls and on the streets of downtown L.A, this not haute cuisine is the cornerstone of Dirt Dog.
Along with the classic House Dog, which is wrapped in bacon and covered with special house sauce and green chile spread, the selection includes a Patty Melt Dog, a Dirty Chilli Dog, and even an Elote Dog. If you are not in the mood for a hot dog here, they even have a selection of fries like Dirty Chilli Fries, Carne Asada Fries or Elote Fries.
But maybe none of those strike your fancy. A small walk across the street and you’ll see a wall decorated with red white and blue motifs of famous daredevil Evel Knievel of which this pizzeria is named after. In big neon lights, “Live Hard, Ride Fast, Eat Pizza” invites you in to try what Las Vegas Weekly considers “Best Pizzeria” in 2019.
Evel Pie drifted onto the downtown scene in 2016, based out of a pizzeria built in 1979. New york-style pizza ranges from their Balls to the Wall, made with meatballs and gravy, Hog Heaven, a pizza with barbecue sauce, smoked mozzarella, fontina, pulled pork, bacon, and red onions, and their Barry White, a white pizza made with no tomato sauce that has mozzarella, pecorino and ricotta cheese.
Not in the mood for pizza but still wanting a piece of americana to eat? Just a few doors down from Evel Pie, Eureka! invites Las Vegans to Eat. Drink. American. A laid back atmosphere with craft brews and small batch spirits, Eureka! screams americana with their selections of burgers, wings, sandwiches and tacos.
Their house-made cocktails leans towards small batch whiskey and bourbon, with classics like the old fashioned and penicillin along with interesting twists like their Tipsy Pig Old Fashioned, which is based around a bacon infused WhistlePig 10 year rye, mixed with bitters and barrel aged maple syrup to sweeten it.
Their most popular burger has to be their 28 day dry-aged bone marrow burger. A carrot fed angus beef burger topped with bone marrow shiitake butter , horseradish mustard aioli, grilled onion, and roasted roma tomato. Before that, for an appetizer they have their famous Mac and Cheese balls, deep fried to perfection and topped with parmesan cheese and served with ranch.
Finally, if none of that sounds appetizing to you and you’re looking for something more non-traditional, look into Le Thai, located right across the street from both Eureka and Evel Pie. Thai showcases Chef Dan Coughlin’s famous short rib fried rice and three color curry (a blend of red, yellow and green curry), homemade Thai noodle soup and always fresh signature waterfall sauce. Le Thai will also offer a daily-weekly special board along with a traditional Thai menu inspired by chef Dan Couglin’s Thailand-born mom and grandma.
Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai and Ga Pow round out the classics along with newer creations like Dan’s famous short rib fried rice, which is made with pulled beef from short ribs stir-fried with waterfall sauce, egg, garlic, yellow and green onion and topped with cilantro.
Along with all their food menu, Le Thai offers a drink menu that spans all the way from classics like thai tea and thai coffee, to sake and cocktails like the Wiseman, which is concocted with Old Forester Rye Whiskey, Carpano Sweet Vermouth, Amaro Montenegro, and topped with a fresh lemon peel twist. Or their Coco Breeze, a base of Ciroc Coconut with banana liqueur, honey syrup and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
These are just some of the selections when it comes to eating in downtown fremont. Being almost a mile long, it’s almost impossible to try all the delicious food and drink in a few visits and with the constantly changing landscape, you’ll be sure to find something that will quickly become your new favorite place.
