Mary’s Hash House, Las Vegas

Anyone who stumbled onto this blog searching for “hashish” might as well leave, because that’s not what this post is about.  It’s about good food, not good weed.

The Las Vegas food scene has changed a lot since I first visited the city many years ago.  Vegas used to be a place that catered mostly to hard-core gamblers (a description that in no way describes me).  Food was cheap, often not that great, and used to lure gamblers into an establishment.  For example, I recall “all you can eat” breakfast buffets for $0.99, lunch buffets for $1.99 and dinner buffets for $3.99.  Foot long hot dogs or large shrimp cocktail — $0.99.  Those prices were hard to beat!

(Mary’s Hash House, Las Vegas, Nevada)

Fast forward three decades and we have a very different Las Vegas.  All but a few of the old hotels and casinos are gone, replaced by expensive, expansive and elegant mega-resorts, many having thousands of hotel rooms each.  There’s still plenty of gambling, but not with as strong an emphasis as it used to have (except in Downtown Las Vegas, which still has much of that “old” Las Vegas feel to it).  Room rates are about the same as you’d pay in any city, certainly not a great bargain, and restaurants have gone upscale.  Some of the finest restaurants in North America are now are situated in Las Vegas.  Even those “all you can eat” buffets have changed.  The food is plentiful but more tastefully prepared, with more extensive selections and often a chance for you to customize some of what you eat (eg. omelet bars).  But count on spending $30.00 or more per person for a Sunday brunch buffet at many of the resorts.

(Mary’s Hash House, Las Vegas, Nevada) 

After a buffet or two, I grow tired of the massive food spreads, and I’m looking for a place with nice, solid, fairly-priced food in usual portions.  My best reference for finding places like this in the USA is the fabulous website, roadfood.com, which I highly recommend.  Using this website I discovered the “Hash House” several years ago, and I which I visited again recently.

 (Corned Beef Hash, Hash Browns and Fried Eggs)

Located in a strip mall several miles from the Las Vegas strip, this place caters to locals much more than to tourists.  It only serves breakfast and lunch, opening at 6 am and closing at 2 pm. every day.  Everything is fresh and many things are home made and home baked.  For example, the corned beef hash and hash browns don’t come out of a freezer bag or a can, they’re prepared with fresh ingredients and are really amazing!  Jams are all homemade, and our waitress brought a tray of jams and jellies to our table allowing us to pick from some unusual preserves, like watermelon jelly or jalapeno-apple jellies or berry jam.  The four of us also shared a huge freshly baked cinnamon roll and it was wonderful!  Take a look at their menu here.

(Corned Beef Hash, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit)

There’s another Hash House in Las Vegas which I don’t believe is affiliated with this restaurant and which I’ve not visited, so I can’t comment on it.  But the one I recommend you look up for breakfast is Mary’s Hash House at 2605 S. Decatur.  Not fancy place but with a great tasty breakfast!  Very recommended!

(Freshly baked cinnamon rolls)

(Homemade preserves are for sale and are excellent)