Vegas Goes Vegan

For a long time Las Vegas was known for its incredibly cheap food options. $3.99 steak dinner at 3 a.m., anyone? Then the tables turned, with the explosion of upscale restaurants with famous chefs at the helm. Now, the latest food frenzy to take the town by storm, is the inclusion of several vegan options on every menu of Wynn property restaurants.

Rumor has it that Steve Wynn has gone vegan himself, along with a number of his right-hand men.

"This would be like having vegan menu options at every food outlet at Disneyland," said Elizabeth Turner, editor-in-chief of Vegetarian Times in an article for AOL News. "I wonder if Steve Wynn is really vegan, but even if he isn't, he's sort of recognizing that this is a growing need."

David Snyder, executive chef keeping watch at the Wynn and Encore resorts, claims that vegan options have always been readily available, they're just more blatantly visible now. "Our chefs took it as a new challenge –– and it definitely has challenges –– but we've found almond milk and things like that work well as substitutes," Snyder said.

Wynn's resorts have always stood out from the rest of the pack on the strip. The vegan options just add one more element to their accommodating style.

"Ten years ago, the buffets were just horrible cheap food, but Vegas has really evolved to be a cool place to eat," Turner continued. "It's sort of the next step. It gives you the choice to eat things you can feel good about in between all those free cocktails in front of the slot machine."

Photo by jimg944 via Flickr.