Where to Go In Sin City - Drink Drink Drink

I am not a true local, but I have been living in Sin City for the past three years and have a lot of social circles here. As the New Year is approaching and many, many, many people come out here to party, I thought I'd mention some of my favourite places to hang out, eat, and drink.

I'll start with the bars.

Crown And Anchor: A British pub that appeals both to displaced Britons and college kids. It is located near the UNLV campus and at night gets a mostly college crowd. However, go early in the day and you'll find older couples taking their afternoon tea there or families getting together over yorkshire pudding and trifles. The C&A offers a good collection of alcohol, both from the UK and elsewhere, and a good selection of food. Every night of the week has some special going on. Sunday has a special roast meat meal, Monday is all you can eat fish and chips, Wednesday has a special pork dinner, Thursday has a trivia contest, and Saturday has a band in the evening. I know there's something offered Tuesdays and Fridays, I just can't recall them.

The Freaking Frog: The Freaking Frog offers the biggest beer selection in Las Vegas and a pretty decent wine list as well. A recent addition is a whiskey club upstairs, but I believe it's membership only. The food selection is limited but everything is good. The one drawback is the price of beer, although if you get one of the 2 for 1 options during happy hour, it's acceptable. It's become something of a bohemian hangout and you'll see the same people everytime you go in. It's located across from the UNLV campus and, as such, caters to the college crowd.

The Dispensary Lounge: Laid-back, casual, and friendly sum this place up. It doesn't have a great drink selection, the food is good but limited, and there's not much to entertain you, but this is the kind of place you like to hang with your friends and just chill.

McMullans: An Irish pub that looks like you think an Irish pub should look. The food is good and they give you a lot of it, which makes the prices more palatable. The staff is friendly and good at what they do, although I did have problems with my order the last time. There's a ton of little private booth type spaces in addition to the bar and restaurant sections. Whether you're there with one person or a big group of friends, you get a sense of privacy.

The Peppermill: If you've ever seen those "local's favourites" shows about Vegas, you've probably heard of the Peppermill. I was actually introduced to it via a sister restaurant in California. The Vegas Peppermill is actually two different places, the lounge and the restuarant. The restuarant specialty is burgers. Big, wonderful burgers. There's other things on the menu, but I go for the burgers. The lounge is the kind of place you want to take your make-out partner. There's low, heavily padded booths. There's a fire pit. There's plants between the booths to add some privacy. If you want to hang with friends, this is a great place. Even if this sounds like it's not your kind of place, it's one of those places you should still go to at least once. I'm sure you'll be won over.

Big Dogs Draft House: The only problem with the Big Dogs Draft House is that it's so far away from me. And they're Packers fans. But hey, no bar is perfect. The Draft House as it's generally referred to makes some great beer and a lot of really great food. And we're talking ribs-sticking, you leave happy kind of food. My favourite menu item is the steak and brats sandwich. With your order you get a selection of condiments beyond the basic mustard and ketchup and steak sauce They bring out a little serving thing holding sauerkraut, horseradish, onions, and something else I can't recall because I don't ever get past the first three. Love this place. And if you like dogs, particually Labradors, you'll love the decor. There are a couple other Big Dogs locations, but this is the one to go to.

Rum Runner: This is a chain of, I believe, 5 locations and it should not be confused with that snooty casino trap called Rum Jungle(which actually has a good Argentinian steak that almost makes up for the rest of the place). I go to the Rum Runner at Spencer and Tropicana. There's a restaurant section for the underaged, but there's never anybody in that part of the place. This is a place for pool players to play them some pool. The staff are friendly and the patrons are equally so. You need pointers on your game? Just ask and they'll help. Good, greasy, bar food, real cheap. The burgers are good as are the wings, and they have a dozen different wing flavours to choose from. Only drawback is it's cash only. And it's also a Packers bar. Oh well.

Note: It's not that I don't like the Packers, but where I grew up Joe Montana is God.