🍽️ New must-try restaurants in Vegas

🚨 Cows: From Passengers to Victims in Highway Crash

A semitractor-trailer truck was in a rollover crash near Downtown on a Spaghetti Bowl ramp, killing 16 of the 28 cattle on board. Maybe I don’t understand how this stuff works, but that sounds like a lot of cattle in one tight space. (I’m not even sure you could fit 28 people in one trailer comfortably.) [KVVU]

👋 Gov. Lombardo Blows Off Lawmakers on Vegas Loop

We’re just over a month into 2026 and the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop already has its first OSHA complaint of the year, following seven last year and nine more since 2020. The detail was revealed in an oversight meeting of state lawmakers about the underground transportation tunnels — a meeting Gov. Lombardo, the Boring Company, and the Nevada Transportation Authority all declined invitations to attend. [Nevada Current]

🤑 Polymarket Blocked Before Football’s Biggest Game

Last we checked, Polymarket says the Seattle Seahawks have a 69% chance of winning the Super Bowl this weekend — but Nevadans can’t place a bet (or “buy shares” on the probability), since a judge blocked the world’s largest prediction market from offering contracts in the state. [Nevada Independent]

• Nevada gaming regulators argue that Polymarket acts as unlicensed sports betting. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
• Sports fans in Nevada are expected to spend nearly $200 million on food and other fun leading up to the Big Game. [KLAS]
• Bars and viewing parties are taking reservations as we speak. [City Cast Las Vegas ✍️]

🍔 Super Bowl Sunday is one of the busiest days of the year for wings, beer, pizza, and yes — burgers 😋 So City Cast Las Vegas did the tough research and named our top picks for the best burgers in Vegas. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

We saw a wave of new restaurants hit Las Vegas around the end of the year — so many we couldn’t fit them all in our fall/winter update of new openings. So we’re back with more dining spots worth your attention, from the Strip to the suburbs 👀

🥩 Butcher & Thief

Cory Harwell wants Vegas steakhouses to not only be great, but affordable. That’s the idea behind Butcher & Thief at The Bend. But this ain’t a discount dining deal. The space is beautiful and modern with an open kitchen and roll-up garage doors. A few dishes (Philly Cheesesteak eggrolls, peanut butter bacon) share the spirit of playful mashups found in Harwell’s other restaurant, Carson Kitchen, but the real fun is the steaks (especially zabuton and bavette cuts you don’t see everywhere else) sous-vided, grilled on a flattop, and finished over an open flame before the tallow butter soaks in.

🍝 Carbone Riviera

Carbone Riviera took over the old Picasso space at the Bellagio, expanding the outdoor patio to include a dock for its very own yacht. Rides are strictly for hotel VIPs, but the restaurant remains an experiential treat with tall ceilings, lakeside views, and soft amber lighting that matches the flavors in Mario Carbone’s Italian cuisine. It’s easy to appreciate the quirks — like an Old Fashioned made with rum and a splash of whiskey or chicken parm reimagined with jumbo Madagascar shrimp as the protein — but the pastas stay true to simple presentations that allow every ingredient to shine.

🍛 Gymkhana

Much like Tamba at Town Square, Gymkhana proves that Indian food can work in an elevated, upscale environment. The restaurant — an offshoot of the London original that earned two Michelin stars — is named after a British-colonial term for Indian sports clubs, offering an air of exclusivity and spectacle at the Aria. From the moment you walk in, it’s impossible not to notice the posted names of the service captains and the dense aromatics that fill the air. The dishes are robust and spicy, from the Gol Guppas (basically bread and veggie shooters) to the Kasoori Chicken Tikka, which balances the heat with yogurt and fenugreek leaves. A margarita with a tangy mezcal infused with — yes — weaver ants is worth your time and curiosity.

🍕 How Ya Dough’n

Boca Raton’s How Ya Dough’n comes to the Las Vegas Strip with scenic views on the third-floor open-air deck at The BLVD. The pizzeria takes pride in its sourdough, fermented with wild yeast over a long 8-12 day fermentation period. The result is a thin crust similar to a Neapolitan-style pizza, but a little crunchier. A sauce-free recipe with pistachios and truffle oil is a house favorite.

🐷 SMKD

Henderson is now home to SMKD, a new barbecue spot by “Top Chef” veteran Alex Reznik. The cozy but contemporary restaurant has its own strip mall corner with a smoker in the parking lot to bring brisket, pork, and other meats to life, slow and low over post oak and hickory. Just make sure to order the candied bacon and house-made onion dip to start things off right. And I love how self-serve La Colomb coffee is on standby — even at night — just because.

🍸 St. Felix

Think of St. Felix as a Hollywood lounge that happens to carry food — a place with mid-century modern decor, bright pops of pink, chandeliers, and late-night hours for the “vibe-dining” crowd in the Southwest Valley. You can’t go wrong with the braised short rib and goat cheese mashed potatoes, but the sampler platter has a little bit of everything — steak skewers, sliders, deviled eggs, tacos, popcorn, and more — for groups to share.