Whole menu, not just pie, makes Southwest Diner worth Boulder City jaunt

Restaurant tips come to me in all sorts of ways. In the case of the Southwest Diner in Boulder City, it was through an item in my Taste of the Town column, which runs Wednesdays.

A reader had contacted me in search of a restaurant that served strawberry-rhubarb pie, so I asked for suggestions. Southwest Diner cropped up in the ringing endorsements of two readers, one of whom mentioned that the diner's pie had the best crust she'd ever tasted. As a fan of that sort of attention to detail, and also of straight rhubarb pie (which the diner also serves), I decided it was time for a visit.

What I found was a charming little spot decorated with old-timey accents, such as suspended ladders serving as plant shelves and a glass-stoppered bottle of pancake syrup on each table, plus a menu that's a mix of Mexican and American comfort food.

With few appetizers on the list, we started with nachos ($8.25). After answering beef ($2.50) to our server's question of, "Chicken or ... ?", I expected the standard taco-seasoned ground. But, nope, the nachos (based on flour-tortilla chips, for a nice light touch) were heaped with tender and very well-seasoned carne asada, plus the usual guacamole, sour cream, re-fried beans, tomato and cheese in great profusion.

For entrees, we bridged the menu's Trumpian divide with chicken enchiladas ($11.25) and Homemade Pot Roast ($11.25), and both were laudable. The enchiladas were loaded with chicken, the sauce kicky but not incendiary. There were beans and rice on the side, both much better than average.

The pot roast was perfect, tender and moist, with mashed potatoes and gravy that tasted a little more commercial than I would've expected but were quite tasty nonetheless. The only real clinker of our visit was the half ear of corn served with the pot roast. Frankly, I don't know why any restaurant serves corn on the cob, as I've never had one that wasn't soggy. It's just too difficult to keep warm; cutting it off the cob and sauteing would make for a much more appealing side dish.

And, of course, we had a (rather large) piece of rhubarb pie ($4.95). It didn't disappoint, with a nice tart filling and a flaky and buttery crust.

As I arrived, I noticed that readers had apparently taken the Taste of the Town recommendations to heart because a chalkboard outside directed pie buyers in one direction and restaurant customers in the other. After eating it, I'll say the pie certainly is worth a trip. But then again, so is the Southwest Diner as a whole.

— Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at reviewjournal.com and bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.