Craftsteak is located in the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas. I visited the location on my very first trip to Vegas in August 2001 when it was the Brown Derby restaurant. Craftsteak replaced the Brown Derby by the time I returned to Vegas in 2005.
While the Derby evoked images of the classic American steakhouse (red leather booths, tuxedoed waiters and Cobb salad prepared tableside), Craftsteak is in line with the modern American chic look favored by celebrity chefs of today.
Tom Colicchio, who I am told was on Top Chef or Hells’ Kitchen or one of those shows I don’t watch, is the chef here at Craftsteak where his restaurant looks (and sounds) like a lounge, the dishes are artfully presented and priced accordingly (read: high).
This is not Ponderosa Steakhouse.
The grades of beef available range from standard prime beef to the choicest and rarest cuts of American, Australian and Japaense Kobe and Wagyu. We opted for the skirt steak and the ribeye. Both were nicely marbled and quite huge. No one at the table ate even half their steak. 12 oz. didn’t sound like a lot, but when presented it was far too much for one person to eat. They are served in their own pans already sliced. At $69 ea for the skirt steak and $105 for the ribeye, well, no one was leaving any meat on their plate. We all took it back to our hotel rooms.
Before dinner rolls were a prelude to all three of us getting Lobster Bisque. This was a quite large helping of a fine lobster bisque, though the lemongrass tended to overpower bites that included the garnish.
Pan fried white corn and soft polenta with Maytag bleu cheese was excellent. A vegetarian could easily make a great meal out of the side dishes available a la cart.
Bottom line: Craftsteak was very good, but not really my cup of tea. You’re better off heading to a traditional steakhouse and avoiding the trendy (and pricey) alternatives dished up at Craftsteak.
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