LA COMIDA Doesn’t Get Enough Credit

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We at ELV have been big fans of La Comida since the day it opened. We consider it the jewel in the crown of Michael and Jenna Morton’s local restaurant empire, and the only one of their places that oozes soulfulness,  instead of corporate calculation. (Sorry La Cave and Crush, but everything about your operation screams “For Tourists and Conventioneers Only.”)

The food here has always been solid, and several recent meals tell me that Paloma Cuellar’s menu has only gotten stronger and more consistent. No one in town does a better queso fundido:

…and her puerco ahumado (mesquite smoked shoulder in adovada sauce):

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….is worth a special trip all by itself.

We’re not sure spare ribs get any better than these beauties bathed in a green tomatilla salsa:

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…and we’re equally sure no taco stand in town does theirs with better ingredients than are on display here. Cuellar and her staff also have a fine way with Mexican fish — something rare among Vegas’s morass of mediocre Mexicalis.

If those weren’t enough reasons to keep us coming back here, the tequila bar is something to behold:

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That diminutive gentleman behind the bar there is named Gabe. And whether you’re a tequila aficionado or a novice, he can take you on a journey through almost every alcoholic permutation known to the agave plant.

And if you’re someone like ELV — someone who swore off tequila years ago after one too many Cuervo Gold hangovers — he can show you anejo and reposado nectars that will remind you of fine brandies or well-aged whiskey.

We say La Comida doesn’t get enough credit because it is truly one of the anchors of the downtown revolution that’s been going on for five years now. Amidst all of the bars and gimmicks and controversy, it provides the kind of food, decor and service that signals something significant has occurred here, and that real progress has been made, and will continue to be made, in turning this area into a true neighborhood.

Muchos gracias, Michael, Jenna, Gabe, Paloma and Rafael.

LA COMIDA

100 South Sixth Street

Las Vegas, NV 89101

702.463.9900