I know what you are thinking…who the hell would want to write reviews about strip club food. Well, me. But I bet what you really want to know is why?

So, let me start from the beginning…

First, full transparency: I love strip clubs. I do. Strip clubs are a magical place filled with music, lights, drinks, men, and well of course, the women. But not on this list, which is the whole reason why you are here, is the food. And that is where this journey begins.

One night, after many of my after drinking nights with friends, we ended up at Crazy Horse III. I have been there plenty of times and thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere. How all nights end after drinking for extended periods of time, we were hungry. I heard about strip clubs offering food (I’m a native) but like most people who hear about food in a strip club, my initial perception was to stay away. Boy, was I so very wrong. I’ll admit, after desperation of hunger (you know because if I didn’t eat right now, I was just going to die), we ordered some bites. Fortunately, we had a table with bottle service so it was the perfect situation for such a food experience.

At the time, a friend of a friend was with us on our excursion, and I learned that he was previously a chef at CH3. I was completely intrigued by his story (stay tuned for his interview!). He shared how their kitchen was like any other well-respected restaurant in Vegas only this one was now serving up a 24 Hour new menu and had launched their new craft cocktail bar. Yes, I said it, 24 HOURS/7 DAYS A WEEK! He went on and on about food preparation and the quality ingredients. I was completely floored and at the same time felt ashamed. I had judged a book by its proverbial cover. It’s usually the butt (no pun intended…well, maybe a little) of a joke about strip clubs: try the food there, you’ll love it, which is inevitably followed by laughter. Believe me, I once did that too. What I didn’t realize was that I was laughing at the real talent and skill it takes to create quality food in an environment where the food isn’t often respected-something I would never do in any other restaurant. My perception and attitude toward food at the strip club changed that night as soon as the food arrived.

A Sample: Crazy Horse III (Brief Review)

We ordered the quesadilla roll ups and pizza. I’ll start with the roll ups. As a Latina , I am always critical of the types of latin foods I consume. Now, imagine my level of pending hyper-criticism when these, albeit, delicious looking quesadillas arrived next to our vodka bottle. I was told by my friend’s former CH3 chef (and was confirmed by the website) that what made these quesadillas more flavorful than they used to be was the use of real, fresh ingredients. CH3 offered fresh chicken or sirloin steak and a blend of Mexican cheeses, topped with sour cream and their own house-made salsa. Did you miss it? Yes, house-made salsa. Like, in their actual venue, this strip club venue, they make salsa, which was tasty! Definitely not my grandmother’s kitchen. Now, listen, I get that Mexican food sometimes appears easy to make because it appears easy to put together, but it’s really more about the flavors that not everyone can execute. And they executed!

We had the steak version, and let me tell you, the flavor of the steak was outstanding and each piece had a nice little char to it that enhanced the meat flavor, yet still juicy enough so that it wasn’t tough meat, which sometimes sirloin cuts can be. I much prefer the sirloin to a flank for these types of dishes because of the flavor. While a traditional quesadilla is often served flat and cut into triangles, it was served as a roll up instead. I truly appreciated this style particularly because my hand eye coordination at that point was questionable. I mean, the roll up was a nice touch to keep all the ingredients inside and made for a nice two bite (my big mouth) nosh. No cheese connecting to the other triangle when being lifted off the plate. No pieces of meat falling out on either side. The sheer ergonomics of it all for drunken people made sense to me. Hats off to that one chef!

The Pizza. Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! The pizza came out after our quesadilla starters. To be honest, I could have stopped there but you know, drinking, which we still were. The visual of this pizza already made me excited to eat it. I would say the smell did it, but we were still in a strip club and well, lots of fragrances running through the place. But hey, if we have a visual that’s strong enough to be desired (CH3’s women do this too!) then we are already on the right track. I did not know at the time the pizza was made in a stone oven. However, once I tasted it, I could tell we weren’t dealing with a conventional oven here. The dough was thin and crispy, just the way I like it. I am not a fan of the dough taking away from the pleasure of the sauce and fresh ingredients. I was informed by our chef friend that the sausage is made in-house and the pepperoni is imported and (perfect for their meat lovers pizza). Even during my current inebriated state, I could taste the quality of the meats. Cheap, fake meats are never good on pizza or anywhere for that matter. While we didn’t have a whole lot of vegetables or herbs on ours, I was informed they worked with a variety of veggies: mushrooms, grilled zucchini, broccoli, sweet red onions and more (perfect for the veggie lovers pizza). Have we forgotten we were at a strip club yet? Me too.

Unfortunately, my experience was a short one, but I will be back because I am eager to try the rest of the menu as well as the craft cocktails in order to share more of what CH3 food and drink scene has to offer. For everything else review of CH3, I suggest visiting Yelp (hey, that’s fair).

Now What?

So here I am, launching this new blog all because of my initial experience with CH3’s menu and enjoyable eats. My goal here is simple: there is good food out there, especially in Vegas. But, there is also good food out there, especially in the strip clubs in Vegas. There are people who do the hard work to bring these foods and craft cocktails to the strip club going patrons and we should know about it (if they don’t already). I want to share the food and cocktails, share the stories behind the people who make these foods in hopes that all those who share the same passion and love for food and drinks as I do can sit around and eat the flavorus food, imbibe on quality craft cocktails, and enjoy the aesthetic of all that is a strip club!

Now, let’s go to the strip club

Cheers!

-The Queen V.E.E.

All images are courtesy of Crazy Horse III – All rights reserved.