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