Features
Worthy of a Double-take
Laudable wining and dining at Town Square’s Double Helix Wine & Whiskey Lounge
September 22nd, 2011
The wine bar has slowly been working its way into the American consciousness, but it has a long way to go before it attains the popularity of a beer hall or cocktail lounge. La Cave at the Wynn is going great guns, but Nora’s Wine Bar in Boca Park recently went belly-up. But in my book, Double Helix has all the tools to give it staying power. Read more »
Goodbye to a Classic
The vintage Vegas sounds of the Fontana Bar are about to go silent
June 30th, 2011
Bellagio’s Fontana Bar, which is closing July 5, is a choice setting for such people-watching. A Vegas lounge of a dying breed, it has no cover charge, a variety of house bands, a dance floor and a great Strip view. It also has a slew of notably older or delightfully dressed-up people drinking tall fruity drinks, and a swanky aura that promises something fun, or funny, is about to happen. Read more »
Art
In the Black
Painter Jerry Misko turns off his trademark vibrant style and crowdfunds his latest mural project
June 23rd, 2011
For more than a decade Jerry Misko has served as our city’s foremost visual poet, forging a language of bright color and neon that evokes the Strip at night. Indeed, no one has embraced the vivid veneer of Las Vegas—its crackling energy and buzzing garishness—with more success than Misko. Read more »
Was Your Home Built to Last?
Our team of experts inspected one of Las Vegas’ boomtown houses to see how it’s weathering the years
June 23rd, 2011
Les Lazareck has the laconic manner of someone who knows his work, and a boyish fascination with doing it. “I’m the attic guy,” he says. “I love to be in attics.” Read more »
Feature
It’s the Bomb!
East Coast Eats brings a meaty taste of Boston to Henderson
June 16th, 2011
The venue is East Coast Eats, opened by a couple of guys from Massachusetts’ North Shore (or “Nawth Shaw,” as natives like me refer to it). The conceit in this storefront is the food we ate in the Boston area: roast beef sandwiches, calzones, various types of seafood on pasta, and above all, subs. And everything is done Boston-style. Read more »
Empire of Laughs
Big Al’s Comedy Club is little Joe’s next step in conquering Vegas stand-up
June 16th, 2011
Joe Sanfelippo is not just a fan of comedy; he is a student of the business of comedy. He’s always looking for an angle, an opportunity to present something different. If there is a need, he looks to fill it. Read more »
iPhoning Home
Local professor documents Las Vegas via Hipstamatic app
May 5th, 2011
The Alicia Motel on Fremont Street isn’t much to look at with the naked eye in broad daylight. It’s just another seedy, crumbling, inexpensive respite in downtown Las Vegas. But in Dr. Gregory Robinson’s new exhibit, Vegas From the Hip, an image of the Alicia possesses the alluring qualities of a cherished family photograph kept for years in an old scrapbook—overexposed, tinged with nostalgia, mystery-flecked. Read more »
UNLV Basketball
The Once & Future Rebels
With the departure of Lon Kruger, the legend of Tark reasserts itself
April 7th, 2011
On March 15, 2004, Lon Kruger walked amiably into the rubble and promised to make it right again. It was a fool’s errand, and Kruger very nearly pulled it off. Now that he is gone, whisked away on April Fool’s Day by the University of Oklahoma and its deep war chest while the Nevada Legislature slowly starves UNLV, one is wonder-struck that he endured for seven years, a deceptively wily Kansan among the fast-talking hucksters of the Vegas boom and bust. Read more »
The Fast Lane
Homegrown Horsepower
Las Vegas’ Shelby American expands its iconic brand
March 3rd, 2011
Gary Patterson is a car guy. Ask him about his first car—a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that he bought when was 16 years old and still owns—if you need proof of that. “I wanted the big motor and the shaker hood scoop,” Patterson says with a grin, reciting the car’s serial number from memory. “I mowed lawns for many years and saved my money. My parents were concerned that I’d hurt myself.” Read more »
The Fast Lane
Vegas’ Race
The legendary Mint 400 was tough and flashy, just like the city that spawned it
March 3rd, 2011
The race was the brainchild of Mint public relations director Norm Johnson, who dubbed the inaugural event the Del Webb Off Road Rally. It wasn’t much at the beginning, just two hired hunters—LeRoy Wickham and John Sexton of Las Vegas—accompanied by a writer and photographer from the Las Vegas News Bureau trekking through the desert in a dune buggy, camping out at night along the way. Read more »
