Coffee
Las Vegas is spoiled when it comes to coffee, but my first pick for a cup of Joe is Vesta Coffee Roasters downtown. Jerad Howard's Vesta ushered in a new era of downtown specialty coffee shops after its opening in 2016. My advice? Try everything on the seasonal menu, take home a bag of their blends, and always get the soup.
Howard recommended downtown neighbor PublicUs and Dark Moon Coffee Roasters out in Henderson; the latter, he notes, buys great coffee and roasts it well.
Kyle Porterfield, owner of Dark Moon, says they pick up coffee from local e-commerce brand Luminous, who roasts out of their facility. "We love to support the community that supports us!" he says.
This includes Savor Coffee, where I talked to owner Veronica Degefu. Her bright and modern shop adjacent to Sunset Park makes its syrups in house, including lavender, honey vanilla, snickerdoodle, and blueberry basil.
Degefu sent me over to Sunrise Coffee, near the northern border of the park, for their butterbeer latte. Owners Juanny Romero and Josh Walter also own Mothership Coffee Roasters. Sunrise is the longest-running independent coffee shop in Las Vegas (since 2008), so it feels fitting to end this journey here.
Beer
We’ll start at The Silver Stamp, a 2-year-old beer bar in downtown Las Vegas. At the helm of this throwback, Midwestern basement-style bar is Rose Signor and Andrew Smith, who’ve racked up accolades for their impressive selection and immaculate vibes.
Signor and Smith sent me to Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits in Silverado Ranch, with wine by the glass or 20 beers on tap in their lounge, as well as a large selection of bottled beverages. “We tend to gravitate to the lighter and hoppier beer styles on their rotating draft list, but love splitting sour bottles with friends from their expansive bottle shop,” Smith says.
From there, hop over to Henderson or back downtown for CraftHaus Brewery, which Khoury's owner Issa Khoury picked for its Czech Pils or Hop Vegas West Coast IPA.
Then remember this name, because you'll see it again: Rebellion Pizza, where CraftHaus owners Dave and Wyndee Forrest sent me, saying, "They are as passionate about their craft beer program as they are about their super tasty pizza."
Lastly, Rebellion co-owner Ricky Lewis added to those already mentioned the Downtown spots SerVehZah, Horse Trailer Hideout and Able Baker Brewing. "It’s been a great time to support other friends with their great concepts," Lewis says.
Pizza
Looking for a damn good slice of pizza in Las Vegas? Well, in my opinion, it's at Yukon Pizza, where they’re killing it with their classic margherita and specialty pizzas.
Co-owners Alex White and Dani Garcia-White sent me down Maryland Parkway to the punk/tiki-themed Red Dwarf for their $20 lunch special: a cheese Detroit-style pizza and a pitcher of beer (AKA "Dwarf Piss"), saying, “It’s a nice change up from our thin pies. Quick, easy, and consistently delicious.”
Dwarf's Russell Gardner, the owner and founder, sent me back to Yukon (I can't blame him). So, I headed to Jason Harris's best pizza pick, Rebellion (the Inspirada pizza is *chef's kiss*).
Co-owner Ricky Lewis and his partner "eat a lot of pizza," so they could confidently recommend Las Vegas Pizza Alliance member Good Pie, led by pizzaiolo Vincent Rotolo. Like many of his peers in this industry, this man eats, sleeps, and breathes pizza.
At least once a month, he says, he goes to Pizza Rock for a grandma-style pie, New York, or Detroit. If not there, he'll go to Chef Giovanni Mauro's spots: Pizzeria Monzu or Old School Pizzeria. "My wife loves Gio's food. For date night, we go there as much as we can," Rotolo says. "Some of the best dough in the city. It's a nice night out but you can cheat and get pizza, too."
