If you are a poker player you know there is only one place to be in the month of June and beginning of July. It is Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker.
Poker players all around the world converge on Las Vegas for this annual six-week trip to the holy grail of poker. And, they need to eat. When playing or grinding for long hours you need good food for energy but not something that’s going to make you sluggish and want to take a nap.
One of my favorite meals is sushi and a favorite stop is a short drive from the Rio at Sushi Neko (5115 W. Spring Mountain Road) They are open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight.
You can get good sushi at a reasonable price with their All You Can Eat lunch and dinner deals. Lunch is $20.95 and dinner is $26.95. Order what you want, made fresh off the menu. I always try a few different appetizers to get started.
Their spicy garlic edamame is excellent. I usually get an order of Gyoza, which is a nice start to the meal. Next up is some fresh sushi; my favorites here are the Garlic Tuna, Yellowtail, Cajun Albacore and Super White Tuna. The Super White Tuna here is my favorite in the city.
After the sushi it’s time to try some rolls. They have the classic along with their specialty rolls. There is a section of spicy, tempura and deep fried. Rolls can fill you up so you usually only get to try one or two at most places, but that’s not the case at Sushi Neko. One of my favorite parts about dining here is you can order half rolls instead of the full, like at most places. I love this as I can try more rolls each visit before filling up.
All the rolls are made to order, and I always love the names they come up with. One of my favorites is the Chanel Roll, made with shrimp tempura on the inside and tuna, salmon, super white tuna and whitefish on top with screaming O sauce. It’s usually my go-to roll; then I rotate through the menu trying different ones. Honestly, I haven’t had a roll I didn’t like.
Each all-you-can-eat meal comes with a dessert and Sushi Neko has one of the bigger selections. Almost all of the Sushi places in town have Mochi Ice Cream and Tempura Fried. Sushi Neko also offers Deep Fried Bananas, Green Tea Panna Cotta, Tiramisu and Mini Honey Toast served with vanilla ice cream.
The quality of the sushi at Sushi Neko is outstanding. The décor is very nice and the wait staff is very attentive. The dinner price of $26.95 is very reasonable. If you don’t want All You Can Eat, you can order off the menu as well. I give Sushi Neko a rating of 3.75 forks.