Las Vegas… Solo! Food
Las Vegas from New York - September 4-7, 2025
TOTAL COST OF TRIP: $826.19
Flights: $125.15 (between NY & LV)
Hotel: $168.94
Food: $176.66
Entertainment: $209
Gambling (Entertainment Extended): $50
Local Transportation (including airport transfer): $96.44
I’ll go into each of the above topics in separate posts. Let’s see how that goes.
FOOD
I love food, but my focus on it tends to be less when I travel alone. Also when I am traveling on a budget.
Sometime I want to go to Las Vegas and splurge for a big fancy buffet with all the things. But I want to do it with other people. Don’t get me wrong, there was a little voice telling me it could be fun to do with no witnesses, but ultimately I opted to skip it.
I was working a lot on this trip. But I wasn’t sent by anyone, so there weren’t going to be any reimbursements. For the most part, my food was uninspiring. Some of it was embarrassing.
Here is all the food I spent money on.
Day 1 - Thursday
Starbucks/Marketplace - $6.77 (coffee)
Bobby’s Burger Palace - $19.79 (burger, no sides, no drink)
The Sphere - $7.05 (water)
Hotel Vending- $2.00 (Diet Coke)
I was so hungry. I’d done all the travel with only a couple little snacks on the plane and some cashews and trail mix in my bag. I’d hit my hotel room and started working. I went all day before realizing I should eat something before the evening’s entertainment (The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere).
A quick Google search led me to a hot chicken spot which looked like it was near a monorail stop. I headed that way.
This was when I realized that just because I live in New York City and travel all over the world, I can’t assume I can easily find something in Las Vegas. Is it in a casino? Is it on the street? If in the casino, what level is it at? Do I really need to go through a parking lot area where there are cars moving and no sidewalk? GPS is a little less accurate inside a casino. And casinos don’t want you do find your way out.
I meandered through hallways and out doors and to level after level and even though my map showed that I was SO CLOSE, I could not get there.
So I ended up at Bobby’s Burger Palace. Bobby as in Bobby Flay. I got a Bobby Blue Bacon Burger. No drink. If you look on the website, that burger is $9.75, but not in Vegas. It tasted ok. It fell apart. The bun had a soggy bottom. I’d spent about $20. Very disappointing. I recently had a $34 burger in Brooklyn, but it was one of the best ones I’ve ever had.
But I had food in my belly! I then got a $7.05 water at the Sphere.
That was it for Day 1!
Day 2 - Friday
Zeffer’s - $29.93 (grilled cheese, tomato soup, coffee)
Joe’s New York Pizza - $52.11 (12” pizza, Greek salad)
Hotel Vending - $2 (Diet Coke)
I woke up hungry. It was 6 a.m. I went down to reception and asked if there was a breakfast at the hotel. There wasn’t. And their little Starbucks/Marketplace didn’t open until 7. I asked for a breakfast recommendation and the young woman shrugged her shoulders. I asked if there was a list that the hotel kept. She dug out a piece of paper and handed to to me, saying she didn’t know what was open.
I looked at it and opened Google Maps. One of the places was specifically breakfast and brunch. It was open from 6-3 every day. And it was in a hotel/casino about a 12 minute walk away. I headed that way.
After my experience trying to get to the hot chicken place, I went into Sahara and immediately asked an employee where Zeffer’s is. They seemed to like Zeffer’s and directed me. I liked it too! I assumed I’d get something breakfast-y, but then they had grilled cheese and tomato soup on the menu and it was available at 6:30 a.m. An added bonus was that it was one of the cheapest things available. I also ordered a regular coffee, which turned out to be… $7.
I worked all day and made it to dinner time before needing more food. I looked at the printed list again and decided to order something to be delivered to the hotel. I know better, but I ordered from a place called Joe’s New York Pizza. Sometimes when I’m traveling I want pizza that isn’t NY pizza. I was pretty sure this would fit the bill. To make it even less “New York”, I ordered half Hawaiian (!!) and half black olive and mushroom. (The first half is the part that would be frowned upon in New York.) And I got a Greek salad. My plan, which worked, was to have half for dinner and keep the other half for the next day. The pizza was exactly what I’d expect. The salad was weirdly extra delicious. Between this and my last trip to Vegas, I can say they serve up great salads from all sorts of dining establishments.
That was it for Day 2!
Day 3 - Saturday
Leftovers from Friday - $0
Tacos El Gordo - $12.52 (two chorizo tacos and a horchata)
Pinkbox Donuts - $4.47 (donut)
Fat Sal’s - $15.41 (cheese fries and Diet Coke)
Hotel Vending - $2 (Diet Coke)
Although I question my decision on Friday’s delivery of pizza and salad, it was nice having some left for breakfast on Saturday. I tend to wake up hungry and it’s nice to have something available.
Another day of mostly work, but I managed to go out to get some lunch at Tacos El Gordo, which my boyfriend Rod suggested. He hadn’t been there, but it was on his list. It looked like a hole in the wall from the outside, but was much bigger than it appeared inside. There was a long counter and you could go to different spots depending on what you wanted. There were some loaded fries that were in the $20+ range, so I was pretty curious about that, but not willing to do it alone. I debated on whether I should get two or three tacos, but decided on two chorizo. I could always yet more. I also got a cup for serve it yourself, refillable horchata.
This was one of my favorite meals of the trip and it was also the cheapest. I will go back next time and try more things! The tacos were delicious and having a refillable drink to go for only about $4 was something I didn’t see anywhere else I went.
It was crowded and everyone there seemed happy. There were young women wearing tiny bathing suits with barely anything covering them up. There were elderly couples. There were families. There was a group of six men who were all eating popsicles. Next time I’ll get a popsicle.
After some more work, I headed to
Day 4 - Sunday
Zeffer’s - $19.51 (grilled cheese and tomato soup)
Vending Machine - $3.10 (water)
Since I’d had good luck with Zeffer’s, I went there again on Sunday. Once again, I ordered the grilled cheese and tomato soup. This time, though, I added tomato to my sandwich and I skipped the $7 coffee.
I took the monorail to the end so that I could walk around from there and take photos. It was hot and I’d forgotten to bring water, so I got a bottle from the vending machine.
My flight wasn’t until very late, but I still headed to the airport early afternoon. You’re only supposed to get into a lounge three hours before your flight time, but I took a chance and got in line. They didn’t ask me what time my flight was. They just scanned my Priority Pass and my boarding pass and let me right in. So the rest of my food for the day was free.
I had my first alcohol of the trip and didn’t have to pay for it! The bartender made me a margarita. It was a good choice to go with the food that they had available. Quesadillas, tortilla soup, and rice and beans. I sat at a table and got a lot of work done while snacking here and there until I needed a change of scenery and went to my gate. I lucked out.
Not the most exciting food trip! But it worked.
Next time I go to Vegas, I hope to have company to find good food with!
