The first time I went to Las Vegas about 18 years ago, it was a very different place. That said I was also different in many regards myself. Las Vegas back then was a faded, tired destination. It did not lack for visitors but I am relatively sure it was not the most visited tourist destination on the planet as it is now. It did seem to cater to every desire and every taste and perhaps that was true but when I returned when I was older I quickly learned that being vegetarian and especially vegan was no easy task. Not when signs advertised $3.99 steak and eggs as if one good vice deserved another. I mean, you could survive on vodka drinks I suppose but at some point carrying that alcoholic laden head on an empty stomach in that tremendous heat is dubious at best. These days food is not sold based on price. Now it is sold based on being luxurious and even an art form in many places. Simply put: Unless you only eat fast food, eating in Vegas is not cheap. Fair enough. I don't gamble anyway so my money has to go somewhere I suppose. I do tend to judge the success of a trip on how well I can eat. Las Vegas is becoming a lot easier to be vegan as even the nicest hotels offer 5-star vegan dining. Be that as it may, eating in an expensive manner is not always necessary. Here are a few places around the strip where vegan food was not exactly abundant but certainly available. Some of it was even delicious.
First stop is where I stayed, Vdara. This was a bit of mixed bag. I really liked that the hotel was gambling free and smoke free. We did have problems with our room and have to move. And then had problems with that room. BUT the little Market cafe downstairs offered a vegan breakfast option as well as several vegan lunch choices. Most importantly, they had veggie burgers and fries available for room service at all hours of the night. They were good too!
The tofu scramble was a bit bland but hey! I could get tofu in Las Vegas!
Next up and probably more exciting for me was to actually find a vegan cupcake in Las Vegas at Sprinkles. Seriously. And it was red velvet which is a rarity in the vegan baking world.
I spent an afternoon wandering The Venetian Hotel with my friend. Including going on the goofy gondola ride. We stopped for lunch at The Grand Lux Cafe. They had a lot of vegetarian choices but only a couple of vegan choices. Luckily it included french fries. I mean, I was on vacation after all.
There were two pizza places with vegan options. The first we went to was 800 Degrees near the Monte Carlo hotel. They did not have a vegan menu or anything such as that but it was build your own. No vegan cheese options or protein that I could discern. I did enjoy my pizza though as they had capers. It may not seem like it but I am actually easy to please.
The second pizza place we went to Slice of Vegas had an entire vegan menu. I loved the pesto and the veggie sausage pizza we had and I would recommend them over 800 Degrees.
There was another vegan place we ate at off the strip that was tremendous but it deserves it's own little write up. I dunno. Food may be boring to some people but I take such great pleasure in it and rarely have to settle for ordinary. People over the years have given me helpful advice where to eat veg and I try to spread a little help as well. I mean, obviously if vegan is good enough for Beyonce it can be good enough for you.
I did two other posts about vegan dining in Las Vegas recently:
China Poblano also near the amazing Chandelier Bar, I visited this bar three times and had amazing cocktails each time.
And certainly do not miss The Wynn Hotel if you, like me adore dressing up and fairy tales. Well, the fun part of the fairy tale not the turmoil and trouble part that includes the treacherous tasks you must perform for the fancy finery.