Aloha Specialties Restaurant (Las Vegas)

Located in the mezzanine area of the California Hotel Casino in downtown Las Vegas, near the overpass to Main Street Station, Aloha Specialties Restaurant is a favorite of Hawaii residents who frequent the Boyd Gaming Hotels.

It offers all kinds of “Hawaii local foods” that Island residents are familiar with – saimin noodle soup, teriyaki beef, shrimp tempura, beef stew, bento plates … y’know, take-out food.

I finally decided to give it a try the last time I was in Las Vegas, since I was staying at the California Hotel. As I stood in line to make my order, I was in a quandary as to what to order. See, I don’t usually eat local Hawaii food in Las Vegas. I mean, why go to Las Vegas to eat something I can easily get at home?

This is one of those places where you stand in line to give your order, they give you a number to take with you and display on your table, and then they deliver your food.

I ordered their beef stew. Oh my, not a good move. The beef stew was much too salty and the meat was not tender enough. If you look at the picture, you’ll see what looks like two big hunks of potato next to the rice. It’s not potato. It’s fat. Big globs of fat attached to a couple of small chunks of meat.

The rice was a bit on the pasty side, which is a turnoff for some people, but not for me. I like it that way. Too bad the gravy was too salty.

The worst part? They don’t accept the Boyd Aloha coupon books.

Aloha Specialties Restaurant: California Hotel, 12 E. Ogden Ave., (702) 385-1222.