No, we don't all eat at buffets. No, we don't eat French molecular gastronomy or prime rib all the time. No, we'd rather not go to the Strip if we don't have to. Although the Strip does have a lock on our high-end and gourmet restaurants, the rest of Las Vegas is hardly a desert when it comes to serious culinary experiences. With a car and a trusty GPS, you'll be able to eat like a well-versed (and hungry) local.
Le Thai
Even hipsters deserve good Thai food. The menu at this tiny hole-in-the wall ...
No, we don't all eat at buffets. No, we don't eat French molecular gastronomy or prime rib all the time. No, we'd rather not go to the Strip if we don't have to. Although the Strip does have a lock on our high-end and gourmet restaurants, the rest of Las Vegas is hardly a desert when it comes to serious culinary experiences. With a car and a trusty GPS, you'll be able to eat like a well-versed (and hungry) local.
Le Thai
Even hipsters deserve good Thai food. The menu at this tiny hole-in-the wall (with a heated, screened-in patio in the back) is concise, keeping things easy, but you'll be completely surprised by what you thought were your old favorites. Familiar options such as pad Thai and curries aren't the sickly sweet, Americanized versions that you find in your regular neighborhood Thai joint. Here the pad Thai is actually a nuanced, well-balanced mix of salty, sour and a little sweet, close to what you'd actually get from a hawker stall in Bangkok. Other menu items are just as enlightening.
Settled just a block away from the bright lights of the tourist-heavy Fremont Street experience, Le Thai often has a line out the door made up of the artist and hipster industry types who call Downtown Vegas home. Fortunately Le Thai recently started taking reservations for dinner.
Honey Salt
Pull up a chair and get comfortable. Helmed by Las Vegas culinary power couple Elizabeth Blau and Kim Canteenwalla – she's a longtime restaurant consultant, he's the former chef of Society at Encore – Honey Salt was always intended to be an extension of the hospitality they'd show in their own home. They had already spent plenty of time building restaurant empires on the Strip, so they decided to build something in their community for their neighbors and friends.
The farm-to-table menu consists of favorite, comfort dishes they routinely served to their close friends and family at dinner parties, including fried chicken, a New England fry made with Ipswich clams, and a classic backyard burger topped with beehive cheddar. Honey Salt's Summerlin location may be a bit of a jaunt from the Strip, but once there, you'll feel right at home.
SEE ALSO: 10 Best's top seafood picks in Vegas
Marche Bacchus
Yes, this is still Las Vegas. Nestled within the residential community of Desert Shores, Marche Bacchus, part wine bar, part French bistro, is one of the few spots where you might forget all about the Strip. Vegas locals flock to the restaurant's lakeside patio for classic French fare such as house made pâté, escargot persillade swimming in garlic butter and duck confit cassoulet. Observe a little slice of Sin City from this cute spot: ladies who lunch, live jazz, and plenty of oenophiles. The attached wine shop has one of the most carefully curated collections in town, and if you'd like to drink a bottle with your meal, it's only $10 above the cost in the store.
Raku
As in any decent food city, there's where the locals eat and then there's where the chefs eat. Both dine at this Japanese restaurant. Instead of creating a sushi joint, Chef Mitsuo Endo's forte is on the grill, heated with intense lump charcoal. Foodies in-the-know show up during dinner hours. Come midnight or so, when the other kitchens close, the Strip chefs come in for the creamy, cold tofu that's made in-house (best drizzled with some soy sauce), grilled bits such as Kurobuta pork cheek or Kobe beef filet, and udon noodles in a foie gras custard soup. You definitely need reservations, even late night if you want to rub elbows with some of Vegas' best culinary talent.
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As more and more carryon space it taken up by tablets, laptops, and smartphones, finding an available outlet at the gate before your flight can be a challenge. After adding extensive power stations at 20 of its busiest hubs in the U.S., Delta is adding now adding new recharging areas in 13 airports.
 Delta is adding new recharging stations to 13 airports (Courtesy Delta Airlines) A dozen of the new stations will be in American airports including Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Houston in Texas plus Denver; Philadelphia; Anchorage; Phoenix; Milwaukee; New Orleans; Syracuse, NY; Kansas City, MO; and Ontario, CA. The 13th will be the first of its kind abroad. Tokyo's Narita International Airport will have stations at four gates, each with six standard U.S. 110 volt outlets. One reason to make sure all your devices are charged: Delta is also adding in-flight WiFi to 150 international aircraft.
How important are recharging stations to you? Do you always find yourself scrambling to plug in before flights, or do you always make sure you are at full charge before leaving for the airport?
MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL:
11 Surprisingly Lovable Airlines
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4 Common Airport Security Questions—Answered!
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 Best Western hotel listings now feature the Trip Advisor rating Everyone has their feelings on Trip Advisor—some take the reviews as bible, others take them with a shaker full of salt. But whatever your feeling, more and more hotel companies are adding links directly to the site whether there are negative reviews or not.
Best Western is the latest chain to do so, adding Trip Advisor ratings front–and–center when you search for hotels. Part of an overall site redesign, the new look also includes the five most recent Trip Advisor reviews for the hotel.
Back in March, the Wyndham hotel group announced a partnership with Trip Advisor to display ratings in reviews on the site for the Wyndham Rewards loyalty program, with plans to add the content for their more than 7,200 hotels, spread across brands including Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, and Travelodge. Are hotels concerned that negative reviews will turn off potential guests? “Most of the reviews we see out there are positive,” Michael Morton, Best Western's vice president of member services, told the Los Angeles Times. “If negative reviews come up, we respond. It’s another way for our hotels to show our priorities.”
Of course, not all hotel chains are jumping on the Trip Advisor bandwagon. The Starwood hotel group (which is made up of Le Meridien, Westin, Aloft, and Sheraton hotels, among others) launched a program last October for guests to post reviews after their stay directly on the hotel's site. To cut down on fraudulent reviews, guests have to enter a Starwood Preferred Guest number or confirmation number to even write a review.
How important are Trip Advisor reviews to you? Does seeing the rating up front help form your decision, or save you the time it would take to search Trip Advisor directly?
MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL:
30 Hotel Chains Every Traveler Should Know
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6 Simple Questions that Will Save You Money on Vacation
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 How do you deal with fewer flights, higher fares, and increasing fees? (Courtesy caribb/Flickr)On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a report, Aviation Industry Performance: A Review of the Aviation Industry, 2008-2011, that outlines some of the major trends in the airline business over the past few years, including challenges and successes, and concludes that as a result of less competition and high fuel costs, travelers are facing fewer flight options, higher fares, and an increase in fees for services that were once included in the price of a ticket. Some of the report’s findings include:
FUEL COSTS REMAIN VOLATILE
Fuel costs have risen sharply over the past decade and remain volatile. While fuel accounted for about 10 percent of airline operating costs in 2002, it reached 40 percent in 2008, a high point. Over the past year, fuel prices have been extremely volatile, reaching 35 percent of operating costs in 2011, when U.S. airlines spent $31 billion for fuel, three times the amount spent in 2000.
51 AIRLINES FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY SINCE 2000
Both major airlines and regional airlines have faced financial strain, with a decline in air travel due to the recession. Since 2000, 51 passenger and cargo airlines have filed for bankruptcy, but the pace has slowed in recent years.
AIRLINE MERGERS SPELL FEWER FLIGHTS FOR SMALLER MARKETS
Airline mergers and consolidations have had a significant impact on the industry. In 2000, 10 airlines accounted for about 90 percent of U.S. airline capacity. By 2012, five airlines controlled about 85 percent. If U.S. Airways successfully merges with American Airlines, the number would drop to four. This has helped increase profitability by cutting costs. The report sites the example of the merger of Delta and Northwest, which reduced hub operations in Cincinnati by 63 percent and in Memphis by 36 percent. As a result, Americans who live in smaller markets and rural areas have less access to commercial flights than they once did.
AIRLINES HAVE INCREASED REVENUE BY INCREASING FARES
Airlines have increased revenue by increasing fares. Fares have increased in part because the number of available flights have decreased, but it’s interesting to note that the report refers to the airlines’ “attempts” to increase fares: A fare increase is considered successful only if competitor airlines also adopt the higher fare. In 2012, for instance, airlines have attempted eight fare increases and four of them have been successful.
AIRLINES ARE CHARGING FOR SERVICES THAT USED TO BE FREE
Airlines have also increased revenue by introducing new fees. We’ve all been talking about this one, of course—some services like checking baggage, selecting seats, food, and blankets, which used to be included in the price of a ticket, now come with a fee attached. Baggage fees alone contributed $2.7 billion in revenue to the airlines in 2011.
How have you been affected by fewer flights, higher fares, and increasing fees? Do you think that airline travelers require new consumer protection? —Robert Firpo–Cappiello
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What's Your Biggest Pet Peeve When You Fly?
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When you are setting your vacation budget, it's easy to overlook taxes as you calculate airfare and hotel rates and even reasonably priced restaurants. But a recent report may have you adding them to the budget.
The Global Business Travel Association published a report exposing the average amount of taxes travelers pay per day in 50 popular cities by factoring in local sales tax as well as taxes on car rentals, hotel stays, and meals. The most expensive cities for taxes are not a huge surprise—Chicago ($40.31 per day), New York ($37.98 per day), and Boston ($34.83 per day). Other cities in the top 10 include Minneapolis, Seattle, and Cleveland (not cities you would think of as pricy), where travelers also pay around $34 per day in taxes.
The good news, especially if you are planning a beach vacation, is that the three least expensive locations were the coastal Florida towns of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, and West Palm Beach, where taxes were calculated at $22.21 per day (Orlando was the other Florida city on the low–end, with taxes of $24.50 per day). Portland, Oregon, was also in the lowest bracket with taxes around $22 a day, $12 cheaper than its Pacific Northwest buddy Seattle.
Would high local taxes make you change your mind about a destination? Let us know! MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL:
6 Simple Questions that Will Save You Money on Travel
7 Common Expenses that Take Travelers By Surprise
How to Pay for Your Vacation
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Last Oscar season, we revealed our top picks for the most travel–inspiring films of the year. But why should the big screen have all the fun? This year, four television shows are inspiring a serious case of wanderlust. Make sure to check this list before you make any plans: Not every show is filmed where it’s set!
Homeland
Showtime, Sundays at 10 p.m.
Without giving too much of the twisty plot away, season two of the Emmy–winning political thriller takes certain characters to Beirut amidst political turmoil. Instead of Lebanon, the show filmed in Tel Aviv and Haifa to capture the feeling of an old Middle Eastern city—think winding alleyways, sun–bleached buildings, busy marketplaces, colorful garb. (Check out the show’s YouTube channel for on–location videos: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.) Fun fact: The American version of Homeland is actually based on an Israeli hit called Hatufim (“Abductees”).
Survivor: Philippines
CBS, Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
Season 25 of the reality juggernaut brings the castaways to the Caramoan Islands, an archipelago off the eastern coast of the Philippines. The islands have already hosted a number of international versions of Survivor, and it’s easy to see why: The mix of sandy beaches, waterfalls, lush green hills, and dramatic rock formations will have anyone hoping to get stranded for a few days.
Revenge
ABC, Sundays at 9 p.m.
The glitzy soap opera charts one woman’s quest for, well, revenge in the high–class world of the Hamptons. But the show’s creators may be just as deceptive as Emily Thorne’s (Emily VanCamp) enemies: The series is not shot on location on Long Island! If you’re looking for the beach houses featured in the first season, you’ll want to head to North Carolina, especially in and around the beaches of Wilmington. Exteriors of Emily’s house from the series pilot were filmed in the nearby town of Southport—but all subsequent interiors are filmed on studio lots in California.
666 Park Avenue
ABC, Sundays at 10 p.m.
Looking to stop by the creepy apartment building in ABC’s new horror drama? If you head to 999 Park Avenue (near East 84th Street), where the fictional Drake apartment building is set, the neighborhood is reliably posh—but you won’t find the shows stars, Vanessa Williams or Terry O’Quinn, anywhere in sight. To see the actual Beaux–Art exteriors, you’ll have to cross Central Park to the Upper West Side: The Drake is actually played by The Ansonia, which is located at 2109 Broadway (between West 73rd and 74th Streets).
Which new or returning shows have you packing your bags for a TV–inspired vacation? MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL
The 10 Most Travel-Inspiring Films of the Year
The 6 Most Inspiring Travel Films of the Year
PBS's "Downton Abbey" Returns, and Travelers Plan Their Trips to England
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Our friends over at Hilton are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their points program by giving away a prize a day for 25 days in the month of October.
I'm not usually one to get too exited about giveaways (call me a pessimist, but I never believe I'll actually win—and I rarely do), but there are some pretty nice giveaways on offer during this promotion and more than one chance to win. Today's offer, for example, is a three-night stay at any one of Hilton's 3,900 hotels worldwide. Other prizes include one million free HHonors Points, which could be used for anything from a trip to Bali to a golf trip to Scotland, a $5,000 Hilton HHonors gift card, and tickets to the Grammy awards.
You'll find the rules, entry form and the list of prizes at HHonors.com/25days
(Some of the fine print: The contest is open to U.S. and U.K. citizens age 18 years or older who are members of the HHonors Program; signing up to win will automatically enter you in the awards program).
SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL:
Nominate Your Town for America's Coolest Small Towns 2013
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To Charge or Not to Charge: The Hotel WiFi Debate
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When I first visited Walt Disney World’s Epcot, I felt as if I’d been there before.
A little background: One of my earliest memories is of trooping among the colorful pavilions of the 1964 New York World’s Fair as a toddler. Sure, my recall is selective and hazy, but the exhibits dedicated to the nations of the world obviously made a huge impression on my budding consciousness. I remember seeing life–size models of dinosaurs, the debut of the “It’s a Small World” ride (I especially loved riding in a little boat that glided down pretend canals), and, in a feat that would prove logistically impossible these days, Michelangelo’s Pieta—shipped over from the Vatican to Queens for the occasion.
 Walt Disney World’s Epcot has been packing in visitors seeking education, entertainment, and great food since October 1, 1982. (Courtesy mmiwig/myBudgetTravel)Years later, as a (very) young adult, I made my first trip to Epcot, which was then only a few years old and known as EPCOT Center (an acronym for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”). I had a great day combining some light education with serious multi–cultural eating and an overall upbeat environment. I remember one moment in particular, as my fake boat meandered down a fake river that passed through, if I’m not mistaken, a very real Latin American restaurant, saying aloud, “Hey! This place is just like the Worlds Fair!”
But Walt Disney’s original vision for Epcot was as a real community, with about 20,000 residents. Reality slowed progress on that dream and in the end the place opened after Disney’s death, striking a balance between exhibits focused on the future and those focused on the cultures of different countries. (Disney lore has it that two teams of Imagineers came up with competing plans and ended up merging them into one design.)
This week, visitors to Walt Disney World can have a little brush with history. October 1 is the 30th anniversary of the opening of Epcot, and true to the park’s educational mission, plans for the celebration included a blend of futuristic speculation and international culture, including talks scheduled for Monday afternoon about “Designing the Future—Past and Present” and “Epcot: How It Changed the World,” with well–known Imagineer Marty Sklar. Appearances by musical artists the Voices of Libery and Mariachi Cobre were also planned, along with an extended “IllumiNations” show on Monday evening.
What are your memories of Epcot? Were you there for its opening back in 1982? Are you there now for the anniversary? We’d love to hear your impressions—and see your pictures! —Robert Firpo–Cappiello
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 Use these apps to get the most out of your cruise (Courtesy whimsyj/myBT)Even the most experienced cruises would benefit from downloading these three apps that give you the inside scoop on all the boats before you board and the ports you'll be visiting along the way.
PortPal
Make the most of your shore excursion with weather updates, ship itineraries, and guides to over 800 ports. Available for iPhone, free
Cruise Finder
Search deckplans, photos, and schedules for 220 ships across 20 cruise lines. Available for iPhone and Android, free
Cruise Cam
Take a peek through the webcams of nearly 100 ships and 150 ports worldwide. Available for iPhone, $1.99
Rather spend your vacation on dry land? Download our Ultimate Road Trips app today! MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL
10 Common Cruise Myths—Debunked
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Your Top 5 Money-Saving Cruise Questions—Answered
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Advantage is one of the many local car rental agencies that can save you money (Courtesy Atomic Taco/Flickr)Their names—Advantage, ACE, E–Z, Fox, Payless, Triangle—don't exactly ring a bell. In fact, you might not realize they're in the rental car business. Yet in recent years, as the rental industry has boomed, regional and off–brand rental companies have been making more of an impact, thanks to Kayak, Priceline, and other websites that include lesser–known (and less advertised) companies in their searches. Are they worth taking for a spin?
In general, the answer is yes. Regional companies typically offer the same cars as their bigger competitors and at a better price, says Neil Abrams, president of Abrams Consulting Group, which tracks car rental trends. Prices vary widely depending on company and location, but you can save up to $20 per day by going off–brand, says Abrams. For example, Advantage Rent a Car, a subsidiary of Hertz with more than 100 facilities worldwide, will book you a Chevy Aveo or Cobalt for under $130 a week at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in mid–September; an economy car from Enterprise at the same location will run you more than $250. Some of these smaller companies also have loyalty programs just like the big boys. Members of Payless Perks Club, for example, can save up to 5 percent on rentals. E-Z Rent-a-Car, which has 36 locations worldwide, gives its program members up to 2 percent off all rentals, and its Facebook fans get 3 percent off on top of that. On the other hand, these smaller companies sometimes aren't partnered with airlines to offer frequent–flier miles.
The booking process—reserving online or on the phone—will be the same as you're used to, and insurance rates will be comparable to the major agencies, too. But ask if there's a fee for returning the car to a different location—or if you can even make a one–way rental at all. Some indie companies don't have storefronts nationwide, which could limit potential drop–off choices.
Overall, inconvenience is the price you'll pay for a better deal. There could be longer lines at check–in and longer wait times on the phone. But not all indie customer service is under–whelming: ACE Rent a Car ranked highest in customer satisfaction in a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey, beating out Avis, Hertz, and the rest. One recent renter told us that he experienced long lines at the LAX counter of Payless Car Rental, which has 80 locations worldwide, but he saved $100 over four days compared with a major agency. "For the price, I'd put up with that slight pain again," he says.
You may also have to let go of easy airport access. Triangle Rent a Car, a family–owned company in the Southeast, picks renters up at four airports and shuttles them to offices that are up to 20 minutes away. Research your company's location before you fly: Fox Rent a Car, for instance, has 20 U.S. offices, but some are not located with the other agencies and others are off–airport entirely. Think of it as the new rules of the road: Trade a little time for a decent chunk of change.
—Hannah Wallace
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The race for America's Coolest Small Towns 2013 is on! For the seventh year, we're setting out to find the best small–town communities around the country. We're still reeling from the excitement of last year's contest, which resulted in 368,000 total votes (crashing the site!) and ended with our first ever tie between Beaufort, NC, and Hammondsport, NY. Think you live in one of America's Coolest Small Towns? Nominate it now thru Oct. 15th! As of 1 p.m. on Friday, Bay St. Louis, MS, is in the lead with 6,146 votes, and Watkins Glen, NY, is right behind with 5,782. Eagle River, WI, is in third with 1,924 votes, while Elkhart Lake, WI, is in fourth with 1,759. Camden, ME, is currently in fifth place, holding its own with 1,293 votes.
 Nominate your favorite town now! Before you nominate your favorite small town, check to see if it is already on the list—if it's already been nominated, just add your vote and leave a comment about what makes it so special. Towns must have a population of 10,000 people or less, and should have a certain quality that sets it apart from the rest, whether it's known for the arts, home to plenty of quirky shops, or just has a special energy about the place.
Hoping to get more votes for your town? Share any of the contest–related posts from our Facebook page, or tweet about how great your favorite small town is on Twitter and use the hashtag #AmericasCoolestTowns to help spread the word from Budget Travel's Twitter feed. Or visit the Coolest Small Towns board on the Budget Travel Pinterest page and repin! MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL
12 Awe-Inspiring American Castles
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20 Places Every American Should See
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