CLOSED – Trader Dick’s, Sparks, Nevada

Posted on January 16, 2014 by The Jab

I was recently saddened to hear from a friend that The Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada (near Reno), was purchased by a large corporation, Global Gaming And Hospitality, and they will be closing the 55-year-old tiki bar and restaurant Trader Dick’s, most likely in early March (but perhaps sooner). Trader Dick’s has been a favorite tiki bar and restaurant of mine since I first went in 2001, despite its mediocre tropical drinks. I wouldn’t even put it in my top ten of tiki bars in the U.S., but I just have a lot of fond memories of the place so it’s going to be hard to visit Reno/Sparks after it’s gone.

image by Roadsidepictures on Flickr

In 1955 Dick Graves opened the Nugget coffee shop with a few slot machines on U.S. Highway 50 (the Lincoln Highway) in Sparks (other Nuggets opened in Reno and Carson City) and hired John Ascuaga as general manager. In 1960 John Ascuaga bought the Nugget with a loan and owned it until the recent sale, expanding greatly in the 80s and 90s. Until the sale it was one of the last family owned hotel casinos in Nevada.

Trader Dick’s original location on the Lincoln Highway (now Victorian Ave) – image by Roadsidepictures on Flickr

Trader Dick’s opened in 1958, as a Trader Vic’s copycat restaurant with decor by Eli Hedley, grandfather of Bamboo Ben, tiki bar designer extraordinaire. Vic Bergeron sued Dick Graves for copyright infringement but lost, so it remains Trader Dick’s to this day. In the 1980s expansion Trader Dick’s was moved underneath the new I-80 and remodeled into its present appearance, with a spectacular 6,000 gallon saltwater fish tank as the bar’s centerpiece (sadly it will probably be removed in the upcoming remodel).

The Jab sampling Trader Dick's drinks, 2001 - all the mugs came with the drinks then, even the hat, which comes with the Cha Cha!

The Jab sampling Trader Dick’s drinks, 2001 – all the mugs came with the drinks then, even the hat, which came with the Cha Cha cocktail – image by The Jab

I’m not going to go into much detail about the restaurant and bar in this post, because it is closing so soon. But if you can go, take the trip. Make a reservation for dinner, but show up earlier so you can have a cocktail while watching the fish swim around the tank (happy hour is before 6:00 daily). Enjoy a steak (they come from the Nugget steakhouse so they are very good) and for dessert perhaps some baked Alaska, flamed tableside, or maybe the Volcano, a cocktail that comes to your table “erupting”. I was able to pay my last respects last weekend with a group of friends and it was a very nice sendoff. Mahalo and aloha, Trader Dick’s. You will be missed.

The Volcano – image by The Jab

Trader Dick’s
1100 Nugget Ave, Sparks, NV 89431
(775) 356-3300
Open Fri-Sat 5:00pm-10:00pm Sun-Mon 5:00pm-9:00pm, closed Tue-Th
(but call first as hours may be cut before the closure)

The Steak House, Circus Circus Hotel / Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

Posted on February 27, 2013 by The Jab

Part three of Le Continental’s Las Vegas steak house tour.

I know what you’re thinking. “CIRCUS, CIRCUS? It can’t be good!” The Steak House with no name in the 1970s circus themed casino has long been on my list of steak houses to try in Las Vegas. It is the highest rated steakhouse in Las Vegas in Zagat Survey for food at 28 points (out of 30), with a very respectable 24 for decor and 27 for service. There are nine steakhouses in Las Vegas in Zagat that scored close – 27 for food – but they are all newer, not classic in appearance like The Steak House.

Circus Circus opened in 1968 and has expanded many times since then, with The Steak House opening in the 1983 expansion.The decor was well done (for 1983) in a men’s club style with lots of wood, brass lamps with green shades, and framed pictures of western scenes and cattle.

photo by Christopher DeVargas, vegasinc.com

After navigating the casino filled with families with screaming children you enter an oasis of calm and elegance. On entering you pass the dry aging room with windows so you can see the meat aging inside and a small bar area. The restaurant was nice and dark; just the way I like it. I was seated on the upper level with a good view of the dual mesquite charcoal broilers and prime rib carving station. Music by Dino and Sinatra was playing at a low volume.

I liked the leather bound menu with a steer’s head gracing the cover. Dinners come with a choice of black bean soup or salad, excellent house made breads, vegetable, and choice of potato. Considering you get all that the prices are not unreasonable at around $50 for an aged prime steak or aged prime rib (as most high-end steak houses in Las Vegas are ala carte, so by the time you order a starter and sides you are way over $50). The black bean soup is their specialty and it was without a doubt the best black bean soup I’ve ever had. It comes with a small pitcher of dry sherry and minced shallot to add to the soup if desired.

I ordered a New York Strip ($47) “Pittsburgh” style, which was my downfall this time. I have ordered a steak this way in the past and a couple of times it was burned beyond the desired dark brown char of “Pittsburgh”, so I was gambling with such an expensive steak.

Grill chef flaming my steak

I was pretty disappointed this time with the results. Although my steak was done just right (medium rare) on the inside, the crust was black, so it had a bitter flavor. I cut off the sides and ends but it didn’t save it. I could have sent it back but I was running late to catch a show I had a ticket for across town, so I ate it as is. I learned my lesson. I won’t be ordering my steaks “Pittsburgh” again, except at places where I know they won’t burn it (like at the Golden Steer).

The service was excellent, the atmosphere just right, and the food was delicious with the exception of my steak. I would return to The Steak House again and try the prime rib, which looked excellent (my pic above did not do justice), or another steak.

The Steak House
2880 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 794-3767
Open Sun – Fri 4pm – 10pm; Sat 4pm – 11pm

The Golden Steer, Las Vegas, Nevada

Posted on February 22, 2013 by The Jab

Part two of Le Continental’s Las Vegas steak house tour.

The Golden Steer has been my favorite restaurant in Las Vegas since I first visited with friends while attending the Viva Las Vegas weekend in the late 1990s. Originally opened in 1958, expanded by adding the bar and lounge in the 1970s, and remodeled in the 1990s, it retains an old-fashioned Victorian steakhouse ambiance. It is the third oldest restaurant open in Vegas, after El Sombrero (opened in 1950), and Bob Taylor’s Ranch House (1955), which I covered last week in part one.

You can’t miss the place for the spectacular sign out front, but the building itself is nondescript, part of a small strip of shops with parking out front (and no valet service). Once in the bar, have a seat on one of the red bar stools and order a Manhattan. It will be served in a huge cocktail glass. You’re getting a double so it’s worth the high Vegas price, but I prefer my cocktails smaller. The cocktail should be a short, cold drink, so it can be enjoyed before it starts getting warm (which is why most vintage cocktail glasses you find are 3 ounces). Some of my favorite steakhouses (like Harris’ in San Francisco) serve cocktails in a 3 ounce glass with a mini-shaker or pitcher on the side, so you can medicate at your own pace. I wish the Golden Steer did the same. But it’s a minor quibble. I love everything else about this place.

The dining room at the Golden Steer continues the Victorian club steakhouse atmosphere with wood-paneled walls, button-tufted booths, and paintings of Wild West themes. Take a look at the plaques on some of the booths honoring celebrities who have dined here, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., John Wayne, Elvis, and many, many more.

For an appetizer I suggest their specialty escargots de Bourgogne. Le Continental always goes for tableside preparations so I also highly recommend the Caesar salad, prepared tableside of course. The Golden Steer serves aged prime corn-fed Midwestern beef and the steaks are excellent. I usually order the 20 oz. bone-in rib eye. On my recent visit with some local Vegas friends I asked for my steak done medium rare ‘Pittsburgh’ style, which means it’s cooked with a good dark brown crust, and it arrived perfectly done. Warning: use ‘Pittsburgh’ when ordering steaks with caution. As you will see in my next post you could get burned, literally!

The perfect steak!

The potatoes and the sides are always good at the Golden Steer. This time we had creamed spinach and sautéed mushrooms. Both were delicious! The baked potatoes are huge and fluffy and you can also get old-fashioned Lyonnaise potatoes.

After dinner how about a flambéed desert, such as Cherries Jubilee or Bananas Foster? Both are made tableside and are the perfect way to end a fabulous meal at Las Vegas’ best steakhouse.

Before…

and after! (taken in 2003)

The Golden Steer
308 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 384-4470
Open daily 4:30p – 10:30p

Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House, Las Vegas, Nevada

Posted on February 15, 2013 by The Jab

Part one of Le Continental’s Las Vegas steak house tour

An oasis in a desert of suburban tract homes and chain stores on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House stands on a large plot of land that makes you feel like you are on a cattle ranch when driving up their long driveway lined with a wooden fence and wagon wheels. Bob Taylor opened the restaurant on 80 acres of remote desert in 1955 as the Ranch House Supper Club. He personally cut and cooked the steaks over mesquite coals for his guests until 1980, when he sold the restaurant and the new owner changed its name to Bob Taylor’s Ranch House.

Upon entering the low ranch house style building there is a bar with a large lounge on your left with a great number of TVs in it, but continue ahead past the hostess stand and right in front of you proudly sits the mesquite grill, so that everyone who enters the restaurant can see and smell the meat cooking away. If it doesn’t make your mouth water you are probably a vegetarian (haha, just kidding my veggie friends). I visited at lunch time on a Saturday, and I was saving my appetite for dinner at the Golden Steer, so I had a hamburger. It was tasty after being grilled over mesquite coals, though it was cooked medium and not the medium rare I had ordered. The bun was nice and fresh and the onion rings I had on the side (for a small extra charge) were good.

The dining room is in classic rustic western style, with (most likely the original) wood tables and chairs, white tablecloths, and appropriately vintage looking candle lanterns on each table. There is a nice big fireplace that was filled with wood during my visit but it was not lit, despite the cold temperatures outside. Western themed pictures cover the rustic wood walls. Unfortunately, so do some large TVs, which thankfully were turned off when I was there. I can imagine the room might look nice at night as long as they don’t turn on those damn TVs.

I expressed concern to the waiter that the Ranch House was surrounded by recent development and is right next door to a large road or canal project (visible in the first photo above). But she assured me that the place is very popular and it isn’t going anywhere. Still, just imagine how much the land is worth (you could build several houses on its lot) and you can see how the Ranch House should be on your list for your next visit to Las Vegas, because who knows how long it will remain?

Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House
6250 Rio Vista St Las Vegas, NV 89130
(702) 645-1399
Open Sun-Thurs 11am -10pm, Fri-Sat 11am – 11pm

Postcard Panorama

Posted on March 8, 2012 by The Jab

Harold's Silver Dollar Bar, Reno (from my personal collection)

Le Continental

dining and drinking with The Jab

Category Archives: Nevada

CLOSED – Trader Dick’s, Sparks, Nevada

The Steak House, Circus Circus Hotel / Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Golden Steer, Las Vegas, Nevada

Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House, Las Vegas, Nevada

Postcard Panorama

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