You can go to any number of retro soda-fountain replicas (such as Johnny Rockets) and theme restaurants that pretend to be cheap diners, but why bother when the real thing is just past the end of the Strip? The decidedly unflashy soda fountain/lunch counter at the White Cross Pharmacy was Las Vegas's first 24-hour restaurant, and it has been going strong for 60 years. Plunk down at the counter and watch the cooks go nuts trying to keep up with the orders. The menu is basic comfort food: standard grill items (meatloaf, ground round steak, chops, and so on), fluffy cream pies, and classic breakfasts served "anytime" -- try the biscuits and cream gravy at 3am. They also serve gyros and the like. But the best bet is a 1/3-pound burger and "thick, creamy shake," both the way they were meant to be and about as good as they get. At around $5, this is half what you would pay for a comparable meal at the Hard Rock Cafe. And as waitress Beverly says, "This is really real." Places like this are a vanishing species -- it's worth the short walk from the Stratosphere. Note, however, that the neighborhood remains stubbornly rough in appearance, full of litter and dubious-looking people, and that can be a turnoff. Keep alert if you come here at night.