Where to eat in Las Vegas as a pescatarian

Today I'd like to share something simple, delectable and helpful for pesky pescatarians, such as myself.

As you know, the Review-Journal employs a world-class food critic in Heidi Knapp Rinella. Heidi has never misguided me with restaurant advice in 15 years. She's a consummate pro.

But as a layman, I have my own personal ode to Vegas pescatarianism. My girlfriend, Alicia Goldsmith, and I don't eat animals that walk dry land. But we do consume seafood and dairy (unlike vegetarians and vegans). So we sat down and came up with favorite dishes, to assist other eaters stuck in our unusual niche.

— Mon Ami Gabi's baked goat cheese, scallops gratinees, and French bread. We always dine at the patio bar, facing Las Vegas Boulevard and the Fountains of Bellagio, from this Paris Las Vegas gem. Normally this is our favorite romantic atmosphere. Incidentally, it is near the scene of Sunday's devastating sidewalk attack, a mind-boggling act of horror. I just keep trying to remember, where there is tragedy, there is life.

— The Artichoke Joe 18 pizza, plus calamari with aioli sauce, at downtown's Pizza Rock, 201 N. Third St. Alicia grew up a New Yorker, so we travel to Pizza Rock once a week to satisfy her pizza-folding cravings.

— India Palace for the Baingan bharta, bhindi masala, dal makhani, aloo saag, aloo gobi, onion kulcha, vegetable biryani, and naverton korma; the daytime buffet is good, too. At times, India Palace, 505 E. Twain Ave., is my favorite restaurant food in the city. It's yummy and affordable. If it was by my house, I'd eat there once a week.

— Bagelmania's Nova salmon with veggie cream cheese, everything bagel and a poppy twist, to go. We buy this once a week for noshing Saturday through Wednesday. We've had salmon at restaurants across the valley and Los Angeles but never as tasty as at Bagelmania, 855 E. Twain Ave., No. 120.

— Chocolate cake with hazelnut and raspberry at Carbone in the Aria hotel. Alicia is very fond of the octopus salad. And the bread basket is excellent. Carbone sits in a dead-end hallway in Aria along with two of our other very favorites: Jean Georges Steakhouse, and Bardot Brasserie. That's the most impressively condensed restaurant crevice in the city.

— Cheese dip and the vegetarian burrito, ordered enchiladas style with green sauce, at Casa Don Juan in Summerlin (1780 N. Buffalo Drive) or downtown (1204 S. Main St.). I eat this once, sometimes twice, a week. My comfort food. The Summerlin location offers free shuttle service — and two Modelo beers for $5.

— Caesars salad at Andiron Steak & Sea in Downtown Summerlin. Andiron is my favorite restaurant from the husband/wife duo of chef Kim Canteenwalla and Elizabeth Blau, even though Honey Salt is delicious, too, because Andiron's Caesar may be the best Caesar I've ever eaten.

— Every fish, and the squid pasta, at Lago in Bellagio. The colorful interiors, with a glass wall revealing the Strip, is the most uplifting new look in the corridor. Attention to detail with food and setting is incredible.

— Every fish at Sushi Roku in the Forum Shops at Caesars. We go for albacore often, but the fresh quality of every fish we've had here has been hard to beat. Terrific happy hour.

— The ravioli ai porcini in truffle cream sauce at Il Mulino, also in the Forum Shops. So very good.

— The Monica Roll and Something Sexy No. 2 at Sushi Fever, 7985 W. Sahara Ave., No. 105. I grew up in the South. I crave dips. These two dishes are rolls that come with big bowls of dip. Mmm, dip.

— The onion ring tower at Mr. Lucky's in the Hard Rock Hotel, and the onion rings with Parmesan dusting at Serendipity III at Caesars Palace. We also enjoyed visiting the Four Seasons' Charlie Palmer Steak Bar for onion rings and bloody marys but management discontinued onion rings.

— The curries at Hue Thai, 5115 Spring Mountain Road. This city has a lot of great curry, so you might argue for other places. We pick up Hue Thai occasionally, because the curry is quite good, quick and inexpensive. The atmosphere is the opposite of luxurious.

— No. 1 Boba Tea in the Las Vegas Chinatown Plaza, 4255 Spring Mountain Road, near where we grocery shop sometimes at 99 Ranch Market. We've tried other Boba spots. This is the one we confidently recommend.

— Truffle lobster mac 'n' cheese at Holstein's Shakes & Buns in The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. We frequented Holstein's more regularly until management took away onion rings.

— And the chocolate almond croissant at Patisserie Manon, 8751 W. Charleston Blvd., No. 110.

One last thing: I've not included specific dishes at upscale eateries such as the MGM's Joel Robuchon Restaurant (even though it was flawless both times I've gone) and Caesars Palace's Restaurant Guy Savoy (where I've never sat), because that's the kind of money we save all year to fly across the globe. Also, the Wynn's Bartolotta used to be my favorite place in town but it's gone.

Bon app, mes amis.

Doug Elfman can be reached at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. On Twitter: @VegasAnonymous