Vegas food tasting tours offer a royal flush of fun, history, yummy bites

A Taste Buzz Food Tour of the Arts District in Las Vegas offered a fun outing for Bruce Keller

and Christene "Cookie" Meyers. Consider Taste Buzz for a refreshing break from gambling. 

A happy group of foodies posed in the arts

district of Las Vegas on a delightful food tour.

TASTE BUZZ FOOD TOURS GIVES A SAMPING OF VEGAS OFF THE BEATEN PATH -- OR ON IT

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

Soulbelly BBQ offers tasty

barbecue, craft beer and live

 music in an attractive space. 

IF YOU LOVE Las Vegas -- (count me in) but need an occasional break from the casinos, gambling and glitter, here's a winner of a tour.

Taste Buzz Food Tours offers three unique tasting tours in Las Vegas and we highly recommend this lively, thoughtful trio of options. 

We opted for the Arts District tour, to get us off the Strip which we love but know well, so were happy to find something different. We picked a winner with the arts tour which took us to a unique, unexplored part of the city. We learned so much about this area new to us, between the famous Strip and older downtown.

If you think Las Vegas is only a place to lose

money and see great shows, here's another option

 for your next foray to Sin City: a food & art tour.

We felt like locals as we prowled the streets, stopping at a popular wedding chapel, neighborhood bar and several small, high quality galleries. Our touring was divided into four tasty samplings -- appetizers to desserts.

OUR FIRST "bite" was a delicious empanada with zingy homemade salsa and a fresh, flavorful ceviche at Misterio Mezcal. Then strolling past vintage shops, we admired murals and cottages from the 1920s and  '30s, some reconfigured as attractive galleries and shops.

Our spirited guide April described the area as "the real Las Vegas -- an up and coming local neighborhood." It felt very much like that -- a neighborhood coming into its own, adapting to changing times and trends.

Empanadas and ceviche at Misterio Mezcal

delighted our hungry Taste Buzz group.

Our insiders' look took us past small businesses, coffee shops, cafes, breweries, barbecue and other specialty restaurants and the city's oldest bakery, Freed's, a much loved institution since 1959. It's famous for its pastries, cookies and elaborate wedding cakes.

The Vegas food scene seems to be exploding, and our tour confirmed that. We sampled fabulous barbecue at SoulBelly and pizza better than that we've sampled in Naples at Good Pie Pizza.  We walked that off with a stroll past the inventive Majestic Repertory Theater, a proud cornerstone of ALIOS, the arts district. The theater was named for an early 1900s Vaudeville house. Fun to learn this history.

WE REALLY did feel like Vegas locals as April guided us past bright murals, antique and coffee shops and funky bars, chatting and informing as we walked.

The two other Taste Buzz tours offer the same variety and fun activities as our arts tour -- a blend of sights, history and tastings. One of the other two focuses on Freemont Street and the old Vegas, the other on the newer and more flashy Strip. Each of the three Taste Buzz tours offers four to six local tastes, all  at favorite, highly rated eateries endorsed by loyal locals as well as tourists.

This gallery offered lovely pottery and wall

hangings for sale and to admire between tastes.

 TASTE BUZZ has created a successful, highly rated mix of food stops, top attractions and insight into cultural landmarks that make Vegas unique.

Bruce Keller pauses at a favorite

neighborhood bar, Silver Stamp.

A beautiful mural is one of many eye-catching

attractions on a walking foodie tour in Vegas.

We learned many fun facts and interesting Vegas history. At tour's end, we truly felt we'd experienced  local culture through art, food and history. Our  cheerful and knowledgeable guide was a delight, lingering at the end to share personal recommendations for more places to eat, drink, and play during our stay.

Going off the Strip for a few tasty hours offered a wonderful trip down Memory Lane with the latest trends in culinary delights.  Taste Buzz offers a trio of top food tours, not to be missed next time you're in Sin City.

More information or to book: www.tastebuzzvegas.com 

Keller and Cookie braved the cool and found sunshine on world famous

Santa Monica Pier on a recent fun trip with Hollywood Bus Tours.

COMING UP: We're always on the lookout for the off-beat, the "undiscovered." So on a recent theater jaunt in Los Angeles, we hooked up with Hollywood Bus Tours. What a fun day. We spent a delightful afternoon in a small bus with a lively international group of fellow travelers. We visited famous attractions -- from Santa Monica Pier to Griffith Observatory.  We cruised past stars' homes and hangouts, well known hotels and restaurants and family attractions including the popular Farmer's Market.  Join us, remembering to take time to explore, learn and live. Visit us weekly for a fresh spin on travel, nature, the arts, family and more:

www.whereiscookie.com

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