US Airways - September 2013 - (Page 23)
explore
Wine & Dine
Taste, Savor,
Enjoy
PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: by SvEn A. KIRSTEn FROM ClassiC Dining: DisCovering ameriCa’s Finest miD-Century restaurants, by PETER MORuzzI (2), And COuRTESy OF GOLdEn GATE HOTEL & CASInO
Classic
Cool
The golden era of
Las Vegas dining
didn’t end with the
Rat Pack. It’s alive
and well — if you
know where to look.
by Larry Olmsted
When Bob Miller,
Nevada’s longest-serving
governor, was growing up in
the 1950s, Sunday family
dinner at the Hickory Room
was a sacred Las Vegas ritual,
as he lovingly recounts in his
memoir, Son of a Gambling
Man. Miller’s father was a top
casino executive who mingled
with stars like Liberace, Harry
Belafonte, and Frank Sinatra,
many of whom dined at the
posh Riviera Hotel restaurant.
Like many first-rate Vegas eateries of the era, its menu was full of now largely
forgotten classics such as cracked Dungeness crab,
escargots à la Bourguignonne, turtle soup, and frog’s
legs meunière.
Las Vegas dining had its first heyday in the late
’50s, an era called “classic cool” by the Center for
Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas. It was a time when “casinos raced to open
‘gourmet rooms,’ ” and “high-end restaurants . . .
for the first time sought to give patrons something
more than steakhouse fare.” Alongside the Hickory
Room were Sultan’s Table, the Dome of the Sea at
the Dunes, the House of Lords at the Sahara, and
Bacchanal at Caesars Palace. Frequented by the
Rat Pack, Elvis, and Marilyn Monroe, most featured
tuxedoed captains and elaborate tableside food
★
preparations. But by the ’90s the Riviera showcased
a Burger King instead of the Hickory Room, and
now the Bacchanal at Caesars is a buffet.
In the 21st century, the food scene on the Vegas
Strip has revolved around celebrity chefs and restaurants cloned from other cities, more glitz than the
glamour of the city’s bygone culinary era. But while
classic cool Vegas dining has been largely driven off
the Strip, it’s far from extinct, with several eateries
that have stood the test of time. Places frequented by
Dean Martin and the King still serve as if the Rat
Pack might walk in at any moment.
The ultimate classic Vegas experience can be
had at michael’s Gourmet room, a fine-dining
restaurant that was recently ranked among the top
five restaurants in Vegas for service by the Zagat
usairwaysmag.com
Clockwise from
top: dining at
the Golden
Steer, the
restarurant’s
iconic sign,
shrimp cocktail
at Du-par’s, and
the Golden Gate
Casino
SEpTEmbEr 2013
23
http://www.usairwaysmag.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - September 2013
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: Top College Football Rivalries
Hub Crawl: Montreal-Trudeau International Airport
Adventure: Falconry
Wine & Dine: Las Vegas Dining
Golf: Pacific Links International
University Spotlight: Salisbury University
Style Spotlight: Yacht Club
Gear Up: Cookout Tools
Travel Feature: Jamaica
US Airways: Countdown to Departure
Great Tastes: Fearrington Village, NC
Professional MBA: Wake Forest University
Travel: Apps for Business and Leisure
High Style: Fashion by Peter Millar
Great Dates
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Window or Aisle?
US Airways - September 2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_december2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_november2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_october2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_september2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_august2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_july2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_june2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_la_cultureguide
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_may2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_april2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_march2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_february2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_january2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_december2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_november2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_october2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_september2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_august2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_july2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_june2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_may2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_april2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_march2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_february2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_january2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_december2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_november2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_october2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_september2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_august2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_july2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pace/usairways_june2012
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com