Elephant Bar is Atmosphere with a Very Happy Hour!

Sorry everyone! This is my MOST popular blog and I've been on hiatus for a moment - OK - since April, BUT I've returned with good stuff! This post I am talking about the Elephant Bar. Biggest number one perk? Seven days a week! Oh how I wish that they would build another Elephant Bar closer to my residence on the west side of Vegas but it's that good that I am willing to trek over there for the goods!

I'll probably be battling some of you out there for a seat when I arrive next time but it's all good! If I can get you to try their awesome food, I'm happy to do it.

Happy Hour Times are: Monday-Friday - 3-7 PM and Every Day 9 PM-Close.

The Elephant Bar is located at Green Valley's The District which is right next to Green Valley Ranch Casino and is a mix of American food with Asian dishes as well. Yes, I know. It's quite different but while it's not necessarily traditional Asian dishes, I do appreciate their twist on it.

The first item that is always a 100% order for me at Happy Hour is the steamed Edamame with coarse sea salt on it. They give you a lot and while I'm down for Edamame steamed hot or chilled, I absolutely love munching on these steamed hot pods before any meal. A generous portion for $3.50! Go with this first!

Another item I order about 85% of the time is their Wok Seared Chicken Lettuce Wraps. What I really appreciate about this dish is that

they don't over sauce it - therefore making it a very dark and salty dish. They keep it as a very light wok seared dish and the chicken very much retains its light color. It's delicious. The sauce served with this isn't the traditional hoisin sauce but a green type of sauce. I can't say that I know what it is - but it's all good! I've had this dish as a main entree for myself before but it's a great one to share so you can try more things on their menu. This appetizer goes for $5.50.

The Baja Chicken Quesadilla is also very good. It's a full-sized quesadilla that is filled with flavorful chicken. The Spinach and Artichoke Dip (not good for diets!) is great and as a precaution, any time that I order this appetizer anywhere, I always ask for it to by bubbling hot - it's the best way to eat it! As of lately however, as tempting as this dish is and I do drool when others order it, I've been staying on the route of the Edamame and chicken wraps. Both of these items go for $4.50.

I am also a fan of the Tempura Salmon Rolls. It's a sushi dish but has a lot more complex flavors in the roll that has made me a big fan of it. While it may not look like a huge dish, it definitely satisfies my stomach when I couple it with the Edamame once again. This dish goes for $6.50.

There are some items that I have not yet tried - but I can say that visually when they are served to someone else they've been looking pretty darn good!


Here's a breakdown of more Happy Hour Menu with some combo items that pair a dish with a draft:

$3.50: Edamame, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries
$4.50: Spinach Artichoke Dip, Baja Chicken Quesadilla
$5.50: Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Big "E" Burger, Parmesan Crusted Green Beans
$6.50: Quick Fried Soy Ginger Calamari, Tempura Salmon Roll, Korean Beef Tacos, Coconut Shrimp Skewers

Combos:
$6.75: Big "E" Burger + Regular Size Domestic Beer
$7.50: Korean Beef Tacos + Regular Size Domestic Beer or House Margarita

Late Nite at Southpoint Casino

The beauty about Las Vegas is if you live on a schedule that is more unorthodox than orthodox, you run into specials that are often a steal - that is - if you are into eating late night. It's a 24-hour city and shifts are always getting off while shifts are just about to begin. I've eaten breakfast at 3 AM before and have sat next to someone who had just gotten up and was having breakfast before they headed into work. Plus, at this time, you see the club goers who have consumed too much alcohol and need some grub! This is beautiful! Late night specials can satisfy a variety of people!

On the very very south end of Las Vegas Boulevard...Mandalay Bay's direction and keep keep keep going, you'll find Southpoint Casino. It's gold/yellow in color and it has a world class equestrian arena. OK, so what does this have to do with specials? Nothing...but just saying.

From midnight to 6 AM Southpoint's Coronado Cafe (their 24-hour restaurant) serves specials. You must be 21 years and older to order these dishes.

Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy - $2.25
Two Eggs, Hash Browns, Toast & Jelly - $2.95
Pancake Sandwich: Buttermilk Pancake, a Fried Egg & Sliced Ham - $3.45
Ham Steak & Two Eggs, Hash Browns, Toast & Jelly - $3.75
Cheeseburger: 1/2 lb Burger with French Fries - $3.75
7 oz N.Y. Steak, Two Eggs, Hash Browns, Toast & Jelly - $3.95

I rarely get to dine at Southpoint late night, but on the few occasions that I have, I remember that their dishes are good. While I'm very specific in my posts about the dishes on special, I don't have anything terribly specific to recall about these items, other than I don't have a negative impression. So, it must have been fine.

Overall, the cafe has good food. They have a Chinese menu that is separate from the main cafe menu and sometimes you need to request it because it isn't always handed to you. If you order off of the Chinese menu,  they typically give you the Chinese Hot Tea for free as it comes with most of their entrees. There aren't specials on the Chinese per se, but if Chicken Fried Rice is $5.95, their prices are definitely within reason on most fronts.

They also have a $12.95 Prime Rib or Porterhouse specials. It comes with your salad or soup as well.

Kona Grill Dishes Up Happy Hour Specials

Kona Grill has been one of my favorite Happy Hour spots for many years. Located in Summerlin at the Boca Park center (Rampart and Charleston), they dish up awesome Happy Hour specials every day of the week and on most days, it's both afternoon and night. While the offerings have slightly changed throughout the years, it has stayed more or less the same in selection while the theme of "Half-Off Pricing" has consistently made it a winner for me.

The Kona Grill Happy Hour schedule is as follows:
Monday-Friday: 3-7 PM
Monday-Thursday: 9-11 PM
Friday-Saturday: 10-12 AM
Saturday: 1-5 PM
Sunday: ALL DAY!

Double check that their winter hours haven't taken effect yet - that would only affect the late night Happy Hour ending times. 

Happy Hour offers half price food and $6 "essentials". Each table in the bar or outdoor patio will have a mini-stand that has the menu inserted on one of the sides.

Menu:

Sushi
Philly Roll, Atlantic Roll, Fiery Shrimp Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, California Roll, Vegetarian Roll, Crab Special Roll, Crab Crunch Roll.

The sushi is good here. I primarily eat tuna and salmon based rolls so I have tried the Philly Roll (spicy tuna with cream cheese, the Atlantic Roll (cooked salmon with eel sauce on top), and the Spicy Tuna Roll (like the traditional...spicy tuna inside). They are all good and I see plenty of tables and parties ordering plates upon plates full of sushi.

Appetizer Items

Potstickers: These aren't your traditional potstickers with the traditional lump of meat filling. In fact, when you bite into it, the meat is more of a loose minced style and will come spilling out. So if you dare to dip the potsticker into the very tasty sauce they give you and to re-dip, beware, most of your filling may end up in the sauce. To prevent this kind of incident, I like to pour the sauce on my potsticker instead of attempting the task of dipping.

Sweet & Spicy Shrimp: I haven't tried this one yet although I spotted another table with it and I am definitely going to try it next time!

Chicken Satay: This is a really nice simple dish with grilled chicken breast on skewers. The peanut dipping sauce or the hoisin sauce they give you makes the dish yummy. Hoisin is a Chinese sauce that is often served with Chicken Lettuce Wraps in other restaurants so give it a try. It's tasty. The chicken is laid on coleslaw although I opt to ask for their "island rice" instead which is a fried rice with some shrimp.

Avocado Egg Rolls: Hands down this is one of my absolute favorite items on their Happy Hour menu. It's an avocado mixture in an egg roll wrapper deep fried and served with this out-of-this-world sauce. I can't even describe it but it's so darn good!!!!! If you like avocado, I 1000% (yes, one thousand) recommend this!

Flatbreads: They serve three different kinds - Margherita, BBQ Chicken and Pepperoni. Like it sounds, it's a  oblong flat dough that is served on a wood board. They used to serve traditional round pizzas and I must say that their transition to the flatbread is a definite plus! My favorite is the BBQ Chicken because of the integration of red onions, BBQ sauce, diced chicken and fresh herbs. It's just a nice gourmet tasting flatbread.

$6 Essentials

While the other items above are half-off their regular price, the following items are straight up six dollars.

Specialty Sushi: Bama Roll, Voodoo Roll, Wave Roll (I haven't tried any of these so I can't describe them.)

Kona Calamari: It's a nice lightly breaded calamari with a mayo-like dipping sauce. I prefer asking for some red marinara sauce with it and extra lemons as well. This is a good dish to share so you can eat other items without getting too full on just calamari.

Twin Mini Cheeseburgers: These are surprisingly good - why I say surprisingly isn't because I don't expect Kona to have great food, but I normally think that a mini cheeseburger is going to taste like the typical one but these are very delicious and would make you want to order them again.

Chicken and Shrimp Lettuce Wraps: This dish has a tangy sweet type of sauce on it. With all versions of lettuce wraps, they have their own flavor. This one is quite good and the last time I ordered it, it came out piping hot temperature wise and they gave me tons of lettuce for wrapping so I was a happy camper.

Tacos: These are fish tacos in a tortilla wrap over coleslaw if I remember correctly.

Drinks

Happy Hour wouldn't be complete without drink specials - so here they are:

Margarita - $3-4.50
Cosmo - $5
Sake Bomber - $7.50
Gekkeikan Draft Sake Bottle - $6
Bud Light Draft - $3.50
Sam Adams Selection - $4
Featured Wines - $5

PLUS! Wednesdays is Wine Down Wednesdays featuring half price bottles of wine all day on all bottles!

Mimi's Cafe $5 Happy Hour

Ever since Mimi's Cafe came to Las Vegas, it's consistently been a restaurant that dishes up great food. From breakfast to dinner, they have generous portions and they have some unbelievable breads - carrot raisin nut loaf, blueberry muffin, honey bran etc. The list goes on and on...

They now have Happy Hour and it's a great addition to their menu - which by the way - does feature select All-Day Breakfast items. If you are like me, you can eat breakfast for any meal and it's awesome! 

Mimi's features both food and drinks specials at $5 per item. Happy Hour is Monday-Sunday 4pm-6pm. I snapped a picture of the Happy Hour Menu so I can give you the specifics:

$5 Wine Flights

Red, White & Sparkling

$5 Bistro Bites 

(Add fries to any Bistro Bite for $1)

Crispy Zucchini Parmesan
Chicken Tenders
BBQ Pork Sliders
Signature Cheese & Fruit Plate

$5 White Wines by the Glass
Sparkling (Freixenet)

Riesling (Chateau Ste Michelle)

Pinot Grigio (Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi)
Chardonnay (La Terre)

$5 Red Wines by the Glass
Pinot Noir (Mirassou)
Merlot (Columbia Crest Two Vines)
Cabernet (La Terre)

Cabernet Sauvignon (Robert Mondavi Private Selection)

I haven't tried any of the Bistro Bites, but from the fact that anything I've ordered from Mimi's has been great, I think their track record speaks for itself. I've been a regular diner at Mimi's for the better part of the past ten years and they have been consistent. The serving staff and management are also very friendly. 

If you enjoy Mimi's Cafe like I do, then also join their eClub. They send 2-for-1 coupons quite frequently!

Station Casinos Brings Back Some Much Needed Specials

Just last week, Las Vegas local casino giant Station Casinos finally brought back some much needed graveyard food specials. From what the server told me, it's been a hit with the locals and it's brought some much needed bodies into the establishment.

My feeling has always been that if you are willing to eat at some off beat hours, you should be rewarded for it! Such as...past midnight. It's late, you are still bopping around and your dinner has unfortunately been long gone. You just want a snack for a few bucks, where can you go besides the Del Taco drive thru where you can get two egg muffin sandwiches for three bucks?

Enter: Station Casinos. You've got plenty to choose from. If you are on the Strip and visiting Las Vegas, go to Palace Station, it's just off the Sahara and I-15 exit. If you are a local, then I don't have to tell you, you already know where they are.

Here's the low down, the new graveyard specials menu. The price starts at $1.99. Really really awesome! You can choose from breakfast dishes and the only non-breakfast dish on the menu is the 1/4 lb burger and fries ($2.99). The $1.99 breakfast consists of eggs, potatoes, and one piece of toast. There's also biscuits and gravy for $1.99. You can also get a short stack of pancakes for $1.99. The next tier is the other breakfast I had written about before, the eggs, choice of meat, potatoes and toast for $3.99. There's the chicken fried steak and eggs and NY Strip steak and eggs. Those are $4.99-$5.99 if memory serves me correct. Either way, the server assured me that the portion size was equal to the regular size even with the lower cost.

You can't go wrong. Restaurant servers were excited about the promotions and I bet a lot of locals like myself are equally as excited.