LAS VEGAS

Recently I did a little Strip staycation, something I’ve only ever done a handful of times. While the Las Vegas Strip may seem like the center of life for people who live here, it’s actually the place most avoided, unless you have to come down for work or have visitors in town. Otherwise the locals avoid the area like the plague and for good reason. Las Vegas has seen an incredible amount of growth in the last few years, especially on the Boulevard and downtown. With the introduction of a ten year contract with F1, the Oakland Raiders at Allegiant, and now a brand new stadium being built on the remains of the Tropicana hotel, that three mile stretch of luxury is a fucking nightmare. But, as I said, when you have friends in town, so staying Strip side is exactly what we did.

After a few days of lounging at the pool and ordering overpriced room service, we decided to venture out of our comfort zone at the Aria. One of the things I hate the most about being stuck on the Strip is being forced to pay astronomical prices for food and drink. I mean $20 for a water is just highway robbery. So after my stash of ramen and gummy bears was exhausted, we went out seeking a casual meal that wouldn’t break the bank.

Several of my friends kept talking about this amazing pizza at the Cosmopolitan, which happenes to be the next hotel over from Aria. However, in real life, is more like a mile long walk through a casino, shopping complex and over a city street. The name of this amazing pizza joint? No one knew. Interesting because nothing in Vegas is a secret so I took to Google to provide some answers and perhaps a location. Turns out the place is actually called Secret Pizza because the location…is a fucking secret! I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Las Vegas casinos but it’s not uncommon to get lost parking your car so the idea of a hidden restaurant in a 200,000 sq feet building struck me as somewhat impossible. Lucky for you, we found it and I’m gonna tell you just how to get there.

What is Secret Pizza?

Secret Pizza is a hidden gem tucked away the third floor of the Cosmopolitan. A New York style pizzeria with off Strip prices, this cool little spot is not only super affordable, it’s literally open til the ass crack of dawn, or 4am in laymen’s terms.

How do I get there?

I’m kind of a dufus and didn’t realize that when I set out, the place wasn’t even open yet so instead of being met with a hallway to deliciousness, I instead found a door facade and spent an additional 15 minutes wandering around like an idiot. But anyway…

Depending on whether you’re coming from the parking garage, valet, or the street entrance, the easiest thing for you to do is find the Chandelier. You can’t miss it. It’s an enormous chandelier made of like a million crystals in the center of the Boulevard Tower of Cosmo, the main shopping and casino tower. On the floor level is a round bar and the chandelier hangs several stories above that.

Take the escalator up to the third level and it will exit to a dead space. There’s a speakeasy to your far right and a seating area to your left, a round configurations of stools shaped like dice (honestly some of the coolest furniture I’ve ever seen).

As soon as you exit the escalator, the hallway to Secret Pizza is directly across from you to the right of the seating area. Look for a slim hallway with record tiles. Otherwise, if you’re an idiot like me and the place isn’t open yet, there will be a wood paneled makeshift door. Grab a drink and chill on the dice til it opens.

What’s on the menu?

Pizza, duh. But New York style, thin crust pizza that hangs off your plate on all three sides and almost always starts the argument: to fold or not to fold. They’ve got four different types to choose from and then additional toppings are $1 each, EACH SLICE. This is where we got super fucked up. The slices were only $6 but then we got three toppings on each slice at four slices total plus two Cokes and it came out to like $45!! Still not bad for an awesome lunch on the Las Vegas Strip but believe me when I say my math skills were working overtime.

Afterthoughts…

After a hard partying weekend of sun, booze, and things I can’t exactly talk about here, Secret Pizza really hit the spot. The thin crust was amazing and even as a self proclaimed crust hater, I still smashed the whole thing. Sauce was tangy and on point. They weren’t cheap with the their cheese coverage. All in all I’d give it a 10/10.

Only downside - you gotta be down that way because there’s no way I’m crossing Las Vegas Boulevard on foot again for a slice of New York’s finest.