A trip to Las Vegas typically calls for a long walk along the Las Vegas Strip for great entertainment and, in my case, delicious food. This past weekend my fiancée, Luisa, and I made the seven-hour trek to Sin City in search of some hidden, and not so hidden, gems.
We reached out to my friend James Gomez, a Watsonville native who moved to the desert to attend the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He sauteed his way through the Harrah College of Hospitality undergraduate program, earning a bachelor of science in hospitality management.
Gomez, a former coach and mentor for youth sports in Watsonville, instantly became a foodie in search of his own hidden gems. He launched TikTok and Instagram accounts to show his adventures in a city with a vast amount of choices to eat.
“There’s so many opportunities to eat good food,” he said. “You look at the glam and glitz of Instagram and TikTok, you have to sort through them because a lot of them look really good on TikTok and Instagram. And then you go there and you’re kind of disappointed, it’s not what you expect it to be.”
Gomez, 51, said he does thorough research using reviews based off the Yelp website, but he also enjoys taking a drive to see if anything catches his eye.
“I’m the kind of guy that will be driving down the neighborhood and see something, I’m like ‘I’ll just stop and try it,’” he said. “If it’s not good, it’s not good. If it’s good, it’s a gem and I tell my people about it. It’s kind of cool.”
One restaurant that caught his eye was Jong-Ro Chicken at 5865 West Spring Mountain Road, about four miles east of the Strip. It’s one of those spots that specializes in just one thing, and in their case it’s Korean fried chicken.
Luisa and myself met Gomez along with his wife, Alice, and grandson, Jeremiah Ponce, for dinner on Saturday night. They ordered a whole chicken that was split into half with buldak and truffle mayo sauces.
For starters, the chicken was cooked to a perfection. Everything from the legs to the breast was oozing with juices of tenderness.
“The first time I went I was amazed,” Gomez said. “It’s just a little small spot, it wasn’t too busy when I went. You could just smell the food, it was really good…It was super crispy on the outside, super juicy and tender on the inside. I just fell in love with Korean fried chicken.”
Buldak, which means “fire chicken” in Korean, is a glazed spicy sauce that instantly hits the tongue with tiny, yet scrumptious, fire balls of sweetness all into one.
As for the truffle mayo, it was a big contrast of creamy goodness that included some chopped green onion as a garnish.
The order was capped off with snow cheddar and Korean sweet chili traditional wings along with two baskets of wedge fries, all of it receiving the stamp of approval.
But what I really wanted to check out was how big of a hit the Las Vegas Strip has taken since several news outlets in Nevada reported the city continues to struggle with tourism.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in May announced an estimated 3.9 million visitors went to the city in March, falling nearly 8% since March 2024.
Luisa and I took advantage by renting a cheap room at Circus Circus—one of the last casinos to offer free self parking.
For dinner, we went a little fancy but not too upscale by eating at Mercato Della Pescheria under the makeshift cloudy blue sky at St. Mark’s Square inside the Venetian casino on a quiet Friday evening.
We shared a charcuterie board with prosciutto di Parma and coppa piccante cured meats, and a trio of imported cheeses in Fontina, Grana Padano and Pecorino Toscano.
The entree was a crispy parmigiana di pollo—a panko crusted chicken accompanied with fettuccine marinara, topped with a hefty serving of simmering tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.
The following day we stopped by one of our favorite joints called Greenburg’s Deli inside the New York-New York casino, which also felt a bit desolate.
It doesn’t compare to Katz’s Delicatessen in New York—not even close. But it did bring back some nostalgia as the sandwich builders sliced hot chunks of pastrami or beef brisket, and tossed the meat onto two slices of bread with deli mustard. Don’t forget to order the matzo ball soup.
Our journey on the Strip ended with a stop to what was simply called the Food Court located to the right side of the Coca-Cola and M&M’s stores. Inside we found Dirt Dog, which offers a unique variety of hot dogs and loaded fries.
We opted for an order of carne asada fries topped with cheddar, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo and cilantro—a perfect combination that satisfied both of our palettes.
Gomez then told us about one of his go-to spots for pizza in Old Las Vegas called Pizza Rock, which offers a variety of styles from Chicago cracker thin to Napoletana.
“I’m a pizza guy growing up,” Gomez said. “Baseball and pizza go hand in hand. I’m always looking for a good pizza and I fell in love with Pizza Rock. It’s a good vibe when you go over there.”
We went with his recommendation of Detroit style—cooked in a blue steel pan with white cheddar, Wisconsin brick cheese and butter toasted corners, topped with marinara, garlic oil and oregano.
The sauce might seem a bit heavy at first, but the fluffy dough will soak it up with every bite to balance out the textures. This place is definitely a pizza lover’s dream come true.
Gomez seems to be having a blast with his latest food project in Vegas. Yet, he did mention there are some things from Watsonville that just can’t be replicated.
“I’ve eaten a million Frijolito burritos and I haven’t found a burrito like Frijolito around here,” he said. “And Cassidy’s Pizza, oh I miss Cassidy’s Pizza. Don’t get me wrong, there’s amazing pizza here, but Cassidy’s is different and it’s unique. And I don’t care that people hate on Taylor’s Hot Dogs, but when you grow up there, you need a Taylor’s hot dog.”
