We go to Vegas twice a year every year for the last 29 years. I must admit I have become disappointed with the city. It used to be that they took your money in the casino and everything else was cheap. It was run by organized crime and it was run well. No foul-mouthed people at the tables and decent behavior expected and achieved. Now the big corporations own everything, they don't care about crime or class, just come spend the bucks. So you have drunks falling all over you, shows that are outrageously priced, full price hotels and meals that are not outstanding, and crime is no longer organized, nor is the city as crime free as it used to be. While I still go, I have to say I don't choose to go as often and don't feel like a got a bargain as in the old days. I am a grandmother, and I love my granchildren, but don't go to Vegas to see millions of kids on loud roller coasters. When I'm playing, I don't want to hear screaming babies. So, all in all, it is my opinion that Las Vegas has become more of a tourist trap than it used to be, albeit some things are still a bargain.

U.S. Cities with the top restaurants, per capita:

A bit outdated, 1984, but my book rates Las Vegas at #4 out of 329 cities. Reno was #1, followed by Seaside, CA; Rochester, HH;

#5, Glens Falls, NY; #6 - SF

I know Las Vegas currently has 2, Mobil 5-star restaurants. I would not be suprised if Las Vegas is now #1 rated per capita.

Much of Vegas has been bulldozed and rebuilt since 1984.

JP

I think its hillarious that you guys talk about cities with the "best restaurants in the world" but yet limit your suggestions to cities in the US only. Do you really mean the "world" or do you mean "USA"?

Im not a US basher I have spent some great time in the US, I lived in NY for a while and loved it (it has some very, very good restaurants).

But I have travelled the world and I'm really sorry to point this out but in terms of "best restaurants in world" there is some quite stiff competition out there in London, Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Venice, Rome, Florence, Sydney, Nice. etc. etc.

I suspect that the real "Best Restaurants of the world" list would be rather lacking in establishments from the USA.



[This message has been edited by Rhys UK (edited 09-23-2003).]

I have to agree with marysunshine, LV is not what it used to be.

I went there several times in the mid-80s as a grad student purely because it was a cheap get-away. Granted, my tastes were simpler then, but I did stary at Caesar's (then one of the top hotels) and ate at several restaurants and buffets at prices I could afford as a grad student (e.g., VERY CHEAP).

I have now been back twice in the past 2 years, and while there are some cheap deals for top hotels, they are pretty restricted. Any decent or high-end restaurant is no different in price from NY, SF, DC, etc. and the quality is just as variable. And the 'super cheap buffet' -- where have they gone? Not sure I would eat at them, but the buffets I saw were by no mean a bargain.

All said, I don't think LV is a trap. Anyone who goes for gambling should know they can't beat the house, and if they don't it is their fault. The rest of city is gaudy, tacky -- a lot of fun once or twice, but it does not inspire me to keep going back.

As for the restaurant list <from 1984> -- that was the Jurassic Period compared to now. You cannot take those data seriously. I can just as easily say St. Louis was the 4th largest city in population -- in 1920. Doesn't really hold for now.

And I do agree that the title of 'best restaurant city in the world' gets thrown around so much it means nothing. Does it mean
-- 'most # per sq ft? (hah! a laugh -- a town 2x2 blocks with 4 dines would rank high)
-- 'most # per capita'? (so a town can have a lot of fast-food, low-cost chains, and crappy diners and rank high?)

And if we are talking about 'the world' I would agree that foreign, esp European countries would rise to the top. I have never had a bad meal in Italy, from the toniest Milan restaurant to the mommma-and-poppa tavolocaldi in Florence.

How right you are. Don't forget Atlanta, one can eat to death there...

Interesting viewpoints of Fetchem and Raffy. Apparently their world of dining is the US only. These blokes must live on BigMacs and Whoppers when being over in Europe.

Shoot! It's painfully obvious nunna y'all ever been to Krebs, Oklahoma! Talk about yer great eatin' ... 'specially iffen ya like Eye-talian or, o'course, a decent steak.