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Best Gelato
Art of Flavors
Half the fun of this petite shop is just seeing what’s in the case. Pastry chef-turned-gelato goddess Desyree Alberganti can make almost anything into gelato — from savory surprises like fried chicken and waffles or leftover Thanksgiving dinner to sweet temptations like creme brûlée and warm apple cobbler. Sample till you find your frozen soulmate, then settle into creamy, creative bliss. 1616 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #103, 702-676-1027, facebook.com/pages/art-of-flavors SF
Best Frozen Drinks
Serendipity 3
While it may not be necessary to don a parka on the Strip during Las Vegas winters, we’d gladly suit up to get our hands on a frozen hot chocolate at this upscale soda fountain, which offers its patrons wildly decadent dessert treats, drizzled with syrup and mounds of whipped cream. Your head will spin with all the variations: Oreo, peanut butter, white chocolate, amaretto almond and more. Caesars Palace, caesarspalace.com JP
Best Frozen Treat
Sasa Pops from Chillspot
Brother-and-sister team Joe Vergara (manager) and Liza Vergara-Gross (chef) sell their creative frozen pops only locally. The fruit pops (such as blackberry lemonade and mango chile) and dessert pops (such as Mayan chocolate and blueberry cheesecake) are made by hand with few ingredients. On a triple-digit day, the calamansi-lime pop is as refreshing as a rope swing into a mountain lake. Container Park, 707 Fremont St. #1300, 702-900-7873, chillspotlv.com TL
Best Cheap Eat
KoMex Fusion
KoMex Executive Chef/owner Sonny Yi knows no self-restraint. And his inability to grasp moderate portion sizes makes his fusion specialties some of the Valley’s best deals. From billowing plates of fried rice to overstuffed bulgogi cheesesteaks to mountains of fusion nachos, you’re guaranteed to not go home hungry — at a pittance of a price. 4155 S. Buffalo Drive, 702-778-5566, komexexpress.com JB
Best Pasta
Portofino
Since taking over the Mirage’s Italian restaurant, Michael LaPlaca has elevated its cuisine to true fine-dining status. That means dishes like agnolotti stuffed with burrata cheese and served with lobster in corn butter; a flat, hand-torn noodle the chef calls ripatelli in a lamb Bolognese with roasted peppers and mint pesto; and what may be the best carbonara in Las Vegas. The Mirage, 866-339-4566, mirage.com AM
Best French Food
La Belle Terre Bread
Which of these gives La Belle Terre indisputable frog cred? A) It still serves quiche Lorraine in 2015. B) French culture and conversation clubs meet there regularly. C) Its website features a food-porn video of a guy decked out in 1980s gym gear getting physical with bread dough. That’s right: all of the above. 8390 W. Sahara Ave., 702-685-7712, labelleterrebread.com HK
Best Korean Barbecue
Honey Pig
The Honey Pig experience is all about the sizzle and the sides. Meats like marinated beef short ribs are seared by staff members at the center of circular tables, while multiple bowls of Korean condiments such as kimchee, miyeok muchim (shredded seaweed) and nokdumuk (mung bean jelly) put chopsticks to serious work. 4725 Spring Mountain Road, 702-876-8308, facebook.com/honeypiglasvegas GT
Best Place for a Pint of Guinness
Ri Ra
Ri Ra was meticulously disassembled from several Dublin theaters and pubs and reassembled in Mandalay Place to be Vegas’ quintessential Irish pub. Once you have a pint of draft Guinness poured the right way, in an Irish pub, by an Irish barman, with Irish music and Irish food, there’s no going back. The Shoppes at Mandalay Place, 702-632-7771 www.rira.com/las-vegas MW