Photo: Beverly Poppe
Every restaurant in Vegas would be a steakhouse if it could be. Ask any restaurateur on or off The Strip and they will tell you that steaks ’n’ spuds are what sells, and nothing whets a Las Vegas tourist’s appetite like a big plate o’ prime beef. What follows are our top 10 beef emporiums, listed according to the quality of their meat (and the cooking of that meat), how interesting and well-done their nonsteak items are, and the overall restaurant experience you will have when dining in them. These are the best in town (and, by extension, among the best steakhouses in the world). None of them are cheap, because great prime beef isn’t, either. But at any of them, you will get some of the best beef money can buy, and a superb dining experience no matter what you order.
A note about “wet-aged.” There really is no such thing. “Wet-aging” seals the meat in airtight plastic that actually inhibits the aging process. When done right, dry aging tenderizes and intensifies the flavor of the meat. “Wet-aged” is a marketing ploy that chefs like because there’s less shrinkage, and they can therefore make more money on more volume (but less flavor). But by valuing size over substance, they deliver a product that has a serumy/bloody/metallic edge, rather than the naturally tenderized, luscious, mineral-rich, brown-roasted, beefy flavor that true carnivores crave.
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The best steak in town? The answer is simple. If you’re a connoisseur of aged beef, order one of the 6-to-8-month-old, dry-aged beauties from Molto Mario’s Italian steakhouse in The Palazzo.
Think 30 days is “aged”? Those are for vegans. Sixty days seems like an old piece of beef to you? A mere tyke. The last one of these ancient porterhouses we had was 260-plus days old and tasted like beef from another planet. The texture is almost ham-like, the flavor like steak infused with some vague, subtle, blue cheese essence. You know you’re eating steer muscle, but it’s beef that has transcended its humble roots and metamorphosed into something ethereal—earthy, funky, silky and soft—with an umami depth charge that lasts a full five minutes after you’ve swallowed a morsel.
Carnevino chef Zach Allen tells us they are the only steakhouse in America aging their beef for this long, and if youvwant one of these “riserva” steaks, you need to call in advance. Those just wanting the second-best steak in town—Carnevino’s 60-day, dry-aged strip or rib-eye—can get one any night of the week, or also at lunch.
Continue reading “Las Vegas Weekly: The 10 Best Steakhouses in Vegas”