Every casino resort with a fancy food hall understands the importance of variety. Most people want to eat around the world in one sitting.
But every now and then you just want a great bite from coast to coast. Venetian’s Via Via Food Hall, which arrived in the summer of 2025, is full of delicious concepts from some of the best food cities in the country—LA, New Orleans and New York. Here are some of the tastiest things we tried on a hungry afternoon.
Fried bologna sandwich at Turkey and the Wolf ($16) Chef Mason Hereford doesn’t hold back with his sandwiches. The founder of New Orleans favorite Turkey and the Wolf has a history of creating playful, inventive sandos, like the Ultimate Collard Green Grilled Cheese, and my personal favorite, fried bologna. This is the sandwich of my childhood. It’s a combination of fried bologna, melted American cheese, hot and tangy mustard and potato chips wedged between two pieces of Texas toast. It nails that sweet spot of texture, crunch and acidity while also being pleasantly nostalgic.
Ivan Ramen
Tokyo Shio at Ivan Ramen ($18) This esteemed ramen shop earned its stripes in Tokyo before becoming a Manhattan staple. Via Via marks its first and only West Coast location, so I couldn’t resist seeing what all the hype was about. My bowl of Tokyo Shio, with its roasted tomato and oceanic hint of dashi, delivered a hit of umami I wasn’t fully expecting but welcomed. Ivan’s toasted rye noodles were springy and flavorful, and they soaked up that broth beautifully. Frankly, I couldn’t stop slurping … and slurping and slurping.
Scarr's Pizza
The Hotboi at Scarr’s Pizza ($10) Scarr’s Pizza lands on a lot of New York tourists’ bucket lists, and we Las Vegans are lucky enough to have one. The beloved pizza shop mills its flour in-house, creating dough that’s both chewy and flavorful. With that in mind, I went for a Sicilian-style slice of Scarr’s Hotboi, which features jalapeños, Ezzo’s pepperoni and Mike’s Extra Hot Honey. Trust me, that syrupy sweet drizzle balances the jalapeño kick nicely, delivering perfection bite after bite. The crust also came out beautifully baked, next-level fluffy and full of air pockets. That’s how you serve a slice.
Howlin' Ray's
Jumbo tenders at Howlin’ Ray’s ($15) Nashville hot chicken by way of LA? All right, I’ll bite. Before I committed to a chicken sandwich, I wanted to try the Howlin’ Ray’s tasty tenders alone, without all the fanfare—though sauce remained a must. The orange-hued Comeback Sauce is a game changer on this chicken. The tenders were already quite crunchy, terrifically seasoned, but that tangy blend of spices launched it to another level. Pair it with housemade spicy dill pickles and this is a truly tasty take on Nashville hot chicken.
