0:00 And what does Vegas Phil eat when nobody's filming? >> Interesting. I like simple go-to's, but these days it's mainly Korean food. Um I think like a great sundubu with all the banchan is usually my jam these days. >> The banchan then too. I mean Korean phase happens every year. >> Where do you like to go? >> [laughter] >> Oh and also also what's the best uh BOSSAM IN VEGAS? >> OH, good question. >> He likes it cold though. >> I do love me some >> Comes out cold you idiot. >> [laughter] >> And then he makes it even colder. >> I do love me some pork belly, but the thing is with bossam is it's always like a gigantic portion. >> I don't know what his terrible >> can't get like a single portion. I need to have like four people or I just look like an ████ eating this gigantic plate of pork belly, but I'm going to go with Gariyuban on the Spring Mountain.
0:50 >> What is it called? >> Oh Gariyuban? >> Write that right there. >> Gariyuban? >> Yeah. >> Send it to me. Send it to me. >> And then Mugungry uh on Decatur and Twain. And that place is good. >> I go with Joe all the time. We go to that place. >> We go at least once a week. >> The bossam and the pork neck stew are stellar. It's all Korean. >> next to like African market or African restaurant? >> Oh I know which one you're talking about. I've been to that one. >> Mugungry Sundae. >> Is it the one that >> I I don't know about the African >> Yeah, it's like an Ethiopian restaurant next to it. Yeah. >> Okay. Yeah. >> I have to add this to my Yelp list. Okay, continue. So you're in your Korean phase? >> Yeah, so those two would be definitely my go-to's. A lot of times I get delivered and so Soyo, which is open super late. Anything pork belly is my thing and those would be my top
1:43 ones these days. But yeah, it's all Korean food all day long. If left up to me, that's what I would choose. >> Wow. My favorite galbi town place closed out here. >> Oh yeah. No, isn't Did that Is Is the one that turned into Ondal or whatever? >> Yeah, yeah, it's >> Oh, yeah, yeah, that whole yeah. >> And in San Francisco, I think they have a Michelin star. And then they moved here and I was so happy and I would eat there at least once a month. And I don't think the food's the problem cuz it's like smashes on every other Kalbi tang in every other restaurant. So I think it's the thing that Koreans usually do which is they backstab each other. I >> [laughter] >> So I think >> Yeah, there's a lot of infighting with a lot of these owners and restaurants, yeah. They'd be like siblings that hate each other but they own >> So I think it's probably more it's probably more business partner related than the actual food. So ████ sad.
2:34 >> I hope so because it was so good. >> but that's right. I never saw it popping. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, that too. >> It's true. >> Too much fighting, you can feel the vibe in there. >> [laughter] >> So ████ good though. It's so good that place. >> was good. I think just couldn't wait till H Mart opened. But yeah. >> Oh. >> Yeah, maybe once they waited for them to open then the traffic would come maybe. >> Well, the cool part is that at least now you'll get two different Korean places out of this. >> [laughter] >> Out of the divorce. >> It's like the church system. >> Yeah, other quick fixes I like, I really like Parsley a lot for kebabs and salads. >> Parsley's good. They have wraps, yeah, Parsley's really good. >> Um so that's a it's a simple go-to if I want to keep it lightish. Um that's where we go. And spicy Chinese food. To be honest is is my last one. Yeah, Mala. Yeah, that's one type of
3:26 food I want to burn my face off. >> [laughter] >> And have this I you know, I'll bring a towel to Mala Town. >> Oh, just cuz you know you're going to be sweating your ass off. >> I'm that guy. Yeah, for sure. >> Oh, okay. >> Same. >> And I love that stuff. >> Do you have a favorite like Hainan chicken place? >> Not really anymore. I don't think a lot of places Yeah, since Nero Bistro closed, I don't think there's a place doing legit Hainan chicken. >> Yeah, every place I go I go to it's kind of like ah it's all right. >> Yeah, it's all right. They keep it on the menu just for >> But I would never go there just to get that. >> No, I mean the ginger scallion generally isn't on point. But I guess it would be Wing Kee HK Barbecue would be my go-to. >> Oh, okay. >> Um but it's not that authentic. It's still kind of warm or hot when they serve it. >> I see all the time. >> When like a restaurant or something like hits you up for a collab or anything to
4:16 have you come out, I'm sure that there's so many different varieties. I'm sure that sometimes you get a collab where you're like, all right, cool. But I'm also sure that sometimes you get some version of food and you're like, ████ yeah. >> Like what what food is that? >> I mean any place that I would generally go to on my own without social media. Those are the ones that peak my interest the most. I and and I try to reply even to the ones that I'm not interested in and say, "Hey, you know, thanks for the email, but I would not actively dine at your restaurants on my own, so I'm not interested in posting it on social media." >> that transparent? >> For sure. >> That's so cool. Cuz you also don't want to go there and give a bad review. You just don't want to eat it. >> I never post bad reviews on mom-and-pops. Um if I go there to shoot and the food is not good, I'll just go tell them why I'm not posting. >> Mhm. >> And that's >> Cuz you don't want to ruin their business or something. >> I don't want to ruin their business. It could have been a bad day, things like
5:06 that, but I want to point out the things that maybe they should be correcting. Um and so unfortunately that probably happens like five to 10 times a year. Um where it was quite a lackluster experience and I just you know, if some buddy sees my post and uses their harder money to go to restaurant, I want to make sure that I can personally back it 100%. All right, because if I lose their trust, then I'm done. >> Do you ever find yourself in a situation where like somebody or a restaurant like does take that advice and you go back and then there's >> I rarely give a second chance. >> Ooh. >> Yeah, unfortunately, because I don't want to I don't want to go back there and say, "Oh, well, thanks for all the free food. It sucked again. >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> I feel like such an ass. There was one restaurant where I was like, "Can I just pay for this food? Cuz I don't want to post this ████ I feel bad that you
5:56 brought us stuff out." >> Yeah, what was so What was so bad about it? >> It was just, you know, all It just doesn't hold up. It's just not a place I'd go back to. Um I can compare it to other restaurants that do the dishes better. And so, unfortunately, that does happen. I try to do my best to see, you know, what the restaurant offers and and hope and think that it will be good and sometimes it's just not. Yeah, but um yeah, I try to be as transparent as possible to because the people trust my opinion. It's It's pretty crazy. Yeah. >> Do you do uh does diarrhea ever play a role in your reviews? Cuz you know, some places taste so good, but then you have diarrhea. >> diarrhea? >> like Sichuan [laughter] places sometimes. >> So, you're like like King Taco? >> So, you're like um yeah, you're like, "It was ████ bomb." And then do you ever like, but then the next day you're
6:46 like ████ your brains out and like, "Mhm, maybe I shouldn't say it was that bomb." >> [laughter] >> I'M I'M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT what goes in instead of what comes out. I don't I don't really base it on cuz there's probably a lot of other variables, honestly, with diarrhea. You could blame it on dinner, but it could have been, you know, all the six beers I drank. >> Exactly. It's not fair. >> But some foods you know. >> Well, no. Remember that one we went to a Sichuan place in Monterey Park that one time and we were like united with the same diarrhea? >> Yeah. >> Afterwards. >> Yeah. >> But that's the exact same identical You You couldn't tell whose toilet was whose. >> [laughter] >> It was so perfect. And we're like, that but we loved it. It was like, "Send me Send me a photo of yours." It was like that. >> It's just part of the deal. >> Yeah, it was the third act. >> It's baked in. >> It's more of a body cleansing thing. Think of it that way. Yeah. Yeah. >> It's karate even. >> That'd be nice if like you, you know,
7:36 for your deep cut fans, you add like a little bomb emoji at the end so they know like, "Okay, I'm going to pay for this later. >> Day one rating, day after rating. >> But it's worth it, yeah. >> Yeah, cuz the cuz the poop emoji's [laughter] too direct. >> You're going to have a 28 days later experience. >> Going to hold more weight though. >> If you could have like any Vegas restaurant build a kitchen directly into your house and then they could serve you like every day, which one would it be? Would be like your go-to? >> And you can't say Sbarro cuz it's an obvious answer. >> [laughter] >> Sbarro? >> SBARRO. >> WHAT THE ████ >> HE just said daily calzones. >> [laughter] >> Sbarro, you can't say that. >> Spinach and cheese, please. >> Well, it have to be a pretty diverse menu if they're going to be in your house, right? So >> Like Auntie Anne's. >> Auntie [laughter] Anne's.
8:27 >> Cinnamon pretzel. >> Lavo. >> [laughter] >> I would probably go Mott 32 to BE HONEST. YEAH, FOR SURE. >> THAT'S BALLER. >> YEAH, that's how you know it's good. If you're willing to live with that food, you know it's good then. >> Yeah, they got everything covered. The meats, they got veggies, all the stuff in between, um comfort food, high-end stuff. I think that would be my choice and then everyone would want to visit my house. >> You're right. >> And uh come on over and have like a ████ you know, 10-person Chinese feast. Uh that or like a great sushi chef. I think it would be incredible. Like Katsuya in my house. >> Just chain him to the wall. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, exactly. >> What do you mean the rice isn't done yet? >> Leave all the the crazy Japanese knives and swords like on the wall and they can just start ripping into a tuna. >> Are there any all you can eat
9:17 restaurants that you really like? >> I don't actually do reviews on all you can eat spots at all. I think there's a level of fish that they have which is just ████ >> Oh, really? >> Yeah, and I'm just not into it. I've turned down every offer to do AYCE sushi. Um I get hit with it all the time and I'm such a sushi snob at this point that I'm just not into it. >> Ah, I see. I see. Cuz they are going to cut corners for an all you can eat, right? >> Absolutely. You're just feeding the masses. It's like a farm or a zoo where they're just >> Commissary. >> Right. They're just feeding all the people these ████ rolls with tastes like my ex-girlfriend sauce or whatever. >> He's cranking them out, yeah. >> Cream cheese, not my thing at all. >> Yeah, I agree. >> ████ that ████ That should be illegal. >> I hella agree. >> Who guys all like a Philly roll? >> [laughter] >> Where did that even come from anyway? >> I do like Philly rolls, too. >> I don't like Philly rolls.
10:07 >> We have We have a garbage palate, though. >> But it's a separate category, you know? It's like it's >> Get the ████ out of here with your categories, dog. >> It's a fun food. It's fun. >> You know what I'm talking about, you liar. >> Dude, cream cheese and sushi is ████ Get out of here. >> Can't do it. Can't do it. >> I can't do it, either. Oh, random. How about this? All of Vegas, don't worry about the food. Which spot just got the sickest like customer service or like the nicest staff? Just like, man, so tight to just go to this spot. And again, you can't say Sbarro. >> [laughter] >> But you can't say Auntie Anne's. Same rules apply. >> I never really thought about >> Just service. >> So, growing up in, you know, a Chinese family, going to Chinese restaurants or whatever, I just don't give a ████ about service. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, that's a real answer, dude. That's very real. Okay. >> If the food's awesome and I don't and the service sucks, I still think the restaurant's great. >> Yeah, the more they yell at you, the
10:57 better the food might be. >> Right. They just slide it in and don't even say anything and never come back, it doesn't matter. >> Or like you just love these owners. They're just like the nicest and you just Oh, there's a lot of them here in town. Holy ████ Um one is Marrakech. I don't know if anyone's >> Oh, I've always wanted to go there. Yeah, it looks cool. The Moroccan place? >> Yeah. The owner, who's owned the place since like 1995. >> Looks like a party in there all the time. >> Always a party, yeah. And it's a $75 six-course dinner. It's great for a group because, you know, you don't have to think about who's ordering what. It just comes out as a set thing and you can host anywhere from uh just a date night to like 15 people if you wanted to. >> Yeah, so it's kind of a no-brainer. But, I think they do an awesome job kind of interacting with people and there's live belly dancing and it's just a really fun
11:47 vibe and they do a really good job of kind of making you feel like you're not in Vegas anymore. >> That is cool, yeah. Are there any places that failed that you actually thought were really good and shouldn't have closed? >> Oh, so many. >> Yeah? Like what? >> A lot of them are >> Like some of the You remember how they had that food court down south? That was like an Asian food court. I think it was at the the Commons. >> Oh, on Commons? >> On Commons, yeah. Was anything good there? Cuz they like wiped out a whole thing. They're redeveloping that whole thing. >> I saw that, yeah. They're making a new thing, yeah. >> Yeah, they're trying to open up Sticks Asia, which is the one in Honolulu. >> Yep, that's where Ramen Bar is going to be. My favorite ramen place. >> What if he's like, "Ew." >> [laughter] >> He throws up. >> They haven't filled up the place at all. I I know they're actively pitching a lot of the brands in in Vegas to still go in there. >> It's ████ expensive though. >> What's a restaurant you'd resurrect that that was like taken from you too soon?
12:37 >> Sbarro. >> [laughter] >> Oh, the North Vegas one, yes. >> Definitely Carnevino. I don't know if you guys knew that place. It was It was at Palazzo. It's where Hassulan is now. Uh Carnevino was Mario Batali's uh steakhouse and they did dry-aged steaks, but they were the greatest ones ever. Like 90-day dry-aged, longer than that. But, yeah, he got into all that sexual harassment, all this other stuff. >> Oh, it was a sexual reason? >> Oh, man. >> Venetian shut it down like literally the very next day. >> Separate the art from the artist. >> They took down all the signs and then never to be heard from again. Little literally. >> Oh, what a bummer it was over something non-food. >> That was my favorite It was an Italian steakhouse and the beef quality was just outstanding. And that's the restaurant I would resurrect in a heartbeat.
13:27 >> Is there like a um like a restaurant no one's ever heard of type place like in a casino that you would recommend? So, like for example, um I I think my another barber and he was telling me like there's certain some restaurants that are in like those big casinos that aren't even really that they're not famous to the public, but there's die hard cult followings and people always like go there. Do you know any of those? >> It's definitely Tekka Bar at Cosmopolitan at the Block 16 Food Hall. Our hand roll restaurant, super casual, you go in and go out. Um maybe 45 bucks and they just make continually give you like six or seven hand rolls. You just eat it. It's a quick uh quick sushi fix. >> And it's super good. >> And the quality's great. The seaweed is what really gets it for me because they roast it. You have that quality snap when you bite into it. >> Wow. >> And uh yeah, I think that definitely has
14:19 quite a cult following >> Oh, yeah. >> in town. So, Tekka Bar. Quick quick in and out. >> Sounds like that one LA spot. Um not Sugarfish, but the >> Is it Kazu Nori? >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, Kazu Nori. >> Same idea. Uh and there's a few of those in town now, but for me Tekka Bar is is my favorite one. I love the staff there. They have a nitro uh matcha cold brew. >> Wow. >> Um that pairs so well with sushi. >> This is going to be like randomly the JK video I'm going to go back and watch a lot of times because I just need to go back to all these actual wrecks. >> Is there a place that you loved and something happened and they just don't make it the same anymore and it kind of fell off? >> Oh, like uh uh the ████ Thai spot Lotus of Siam. >> What do you mean? You don't like that one? >> You talking about the Red Rock one? >> It just tastes different now? >> The Red Rock one, right? Well, that one closed down. >> Well, the Red Rock one was ████ >> That's what I'm saying. >> Everybody knows that.
15:09 >> The real one? >> I I think Lotus is great, but Lotus Red Rock was was a pile of dark ████ I mean, the the green curry there was more similar to fettuccine alfredo sauce than an actual green curry. >> What were they doing? >> For some reason there was some crazy licensing agreement >> deal. >> It was like a family drama thing, too, right? >> Yeah. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> Yeah, weird. Good riddance, right? >> Yeah, good riddance. Really cool space. I went to the brunch there once, which was super fun, but I didn't eat anything. I just got loaded and super drunk and left my car there. >> I've only heard bad things about that location. >> Yeah, so hopefully Red Rock, you know, does something in that space, but we'll see. Um a place that I used to love that I don't love anymore >> Yeah, like it changed in some way. >> I mean, honestly, just AYCE Korean barbecue in general. I think they're using lower quality meats. >> So, they're finding more tactics. >> Ungraded beef, for sure.
16:01 >> What's a What's a non-AYCE Korean barbecue place you like? >> So, I would say 8 oz Korean steak >> That's what Drew Belcher said. >> Yeah, yeah. Drew turned me on to 8 oz years ago. >> Okay, I'll check it out. >> And uh he loves that place. That's the only one he goes to. >> Is that the one with like the wooden doors and like um it's almost like the You can't even tell which one it is. You know what I'm talking about? And only Koreans go there. >> You might be thinking of Hobak. >> Yeah, I think it's Hobak you're talking about. >> Oh, okay. >> Hobak is good. >> Yeah, Hobak and they do dry-aged beef there, which is really good. >> Okay, so 8 oz is different. >> But I've heard different things about Hobak. I mean, it's either a great experience or terrible. There's no in between, whether that's service or I'm not sure why. >> Oh, you know what place I ████ absolutely loved and they closed? Have you guys been to Chonko? >> Oh, yeah. >> So, Chonko
16:51 >> was a cool space. >> It's It was the It was the closest thing to Shinsengumi in Monterey Park, cuz they did shabu-shabu and yakitori. So good, meat quality good, everything, and I don't know why they closed. Probably Koreans, too. >> Yeah, yeah, probably the owner had a gambling problem, and then [laughter] they just closed. >> But it was so good, dude. >> Yeah.
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