Steve
11-19-2005, 11:55 AM
Restaurant Review: Center Stage Restaurant
By Rick Garmen
The Center Stage Restaurant is one of those landmark places many people don’t even know exists. Oh sure, anyone who has been to The Fremont Street Experience has seen it hovering there – a glass dome at the end of the street in front of The Plaza, perched on a pedestal like some sort of 70s era space ship. But don’t feel badly if you didn’t know there was a restaurant in there – now you do and now you don’t have any excuse for not visiting the next time you hit the area.
And visit you should. Although Vegas is overrun with steakhouses like this one there aren’t that many worth noting in the Downtown area - and there are none with the ambience of The Center Stage.
This is old school Vegas, complete with caricatures of the famous and powerful lining the walls, a grand piano being played softly in the corner, dim lighting, a tuxedoed maitre ‘d, and a fabulous bar where you can practically feel the ghosts of the seventies lurking in the shadows. The whole place has been redone recently so it’s all spiffy but we’re grateful they didn’t throw away the heritage when they painted the joint.
But it is the main dining area under the dome that is the true lure here. This is important since there are dining areas elsewhere that don’t afford the view so be sure to specify, perhaps with a generous tip, where you want to be seated.
The dome has several tables and booths all offering a terrific view of the light show that is The Fremont Street Experience. When the show begins, the lights in the already dim dome dim even further and they pipe in the music being played down on The Street. True, it isn’t the concert level sound you’ll hear if you’re standing outside and the oblique angle means you might not be able to tell exactly what that particular blob-like animation is supposed to be, but it’s still impressive to watch especially at the end when all of the lights of Glitter Gulch come back on. Say hi to the cowboy Vegas Vic.
Ah, but you came here to eat didn’t you? Sure, why not? As mentioned, this is not the best steakhouse in town. But the food is very good, the service is great, and the prices are a bargain compared to the places considered to be the best steakhouses in town.
You could start with appetizers like a traditional shrimp cocktail or clams chardonnay just to go with that old school Vegas feeling. We went a different direction and tried the bruschetta (toasted bred with fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic) and were not at all disappointed. Each will run you in the $8-9 range.
They only have a couple of salads – a Caesar and a house – but you can order it as a meal for $8 or with your entrée for only $3. But you don’t really need to do that since each entrée comes with bread, your choice of house salad or soup, and one side dish of your choice. That’s a heck of a lot of food so don’t waste space with a big Caesar salad.
Speaking of entrees, the seafood and poultry section of the menu features Chicken Angelo, a breast sautéed in white wine and cognac with artichoke hearts and mushrooms; Cornish hen; orange roughy; Pacific salmon; and crab legs and lobster tails. None of us were in a seafood or chicken mood so we can’t vouch for these selections but if you feel like sampling it’ll cost you around $15 for everything but the market price crab and lobster.
We of course went straight for the meat section. Hey, it’s a steakhouse! To heck with the cholesterol, full speed ahead! There’s a 14oz New York steak served with crispy red onion rings or a giant version called the Magnum cut. Their filet mignon is served in a thyme infused port demi-glaze reduction or a less adventurous béarnaise with sautéed mushrooms. The 20 oz. Porterhouse comes with a Creole dipping sauce. And of course don’t forget about the Queen or King cut roasted prime rib – we didn’t.
The prime rib was the best thing we sampled. Don’t be fooled by that Queen/King thing – the Queen cut was big enough for dinner and lunch the next day. It was tender and dripping with juice just the way prime rib is supposed to be and we heartily recommend it.
The filet mignon was less successful but only in comparison to other filets we’ve had elsewhere. Viewed on its own, the cut was ample and quite satisfying.
The porterhouse was the big disappointment of the night but we’re taking some of the responsibility for that. It was cooked as ordered – medium-well – but that’s too much cooking for this piece of meat. Had we asked for a standard medium preparation we think it would’ve come off much better. It’s too bad because we really did dig that Creole dipping sauce, a kicky twist to an otherwise standard steak.
Prices in the steak section ran from $16-22, quite a bargain considering all of the things that come with the meal.
Among the side dishes at your disposal are garlic mashed or a giant baked potato, lemon herb rice, and a bunch of veggies. As mentioned you get one with the meal but if you want an extra (trust us, you won’t need it) it’ll run you $5.
A full dessert and after dinner drink menu follows. We were wiping the chocolate off our faces for hours and that’s all you really need to know.
We’ll admit it – if the Center Stage was located in a Strip mall on Maryland Parkway we wouldn’t be talking about it here. It was good but not fantastic and with a billion steakhouse options you should choose the fantastic ones first. But the Center Stage isn’t in a strip mall, it’s commanding the throne of the Fremont Street Experience and that turns what would otherwise have been a okay meal into a lively dining experience.
Center Stage Restaurant
The Plaza Hotel Las Vegas
1 Main Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-386-2110
By Rick Garmen
The Center Stage Restaurant is one of those landmark places many people don’t even know exists. Oh sure, anyone who has been to The Fremont Street Experience has seen it hovering there – a glass dome at the end of the street in front of The Plaza, perched on a pedestal like some sort of 70s era space ship. But don’t feel badly if you didn’t know there was a restaurant in there – now you do and now you don’t have any excuse for not visiting the next time you hit the area.
And visit you should. Although Vegas is overrun with steakhouses like this one there aren’t that many worth noting in the Downtown area - and there are none with the ambience of The Center Stage.
This is old school Vegas, complete with caricatures of the famous and powerful lining the walls, a grand piano being played softly in the corner, dim lighting, a tuxedoed maitre ‘d, and a fabulous bar where you can practically feel the ghosts of the seventies lurking in the shadows. The whole place has been redone recently so it’s all spiffy but we’re grateful they didn’t throw away the heritage when they painted the joint.
But it is the main dining area under the dome that is the true lure here. This is important since there are dining areas elsewhere that don’t afford the view so be sure to specify, perhaps with a generous tip, where you want to be seated.
The dome has several tables and booths all offering a terrific view of the light show that is The Fremont Street Experience. When the show begins, the lights in the already dim dome dim even further and they pipe in the music being played down on The Street. True, it isn’t the concert level sound you’ll hear if you’re standing outside and the oblique angle means you might not be able to tell exactly what that particular blob-like animation is supposed to be, but it’s still impressive to watch especially at the end when all of the lights of Glitter Gulch come back on. Say hi to the cowboy Vegas Vic.
Ah, but you came here to eat didn’t you? Sure, why not? As mentioned, this is not the best steakhouse in town. But the food is very good, the service is great, and the prices are a bargain compared to the places considered to be the best steakhouses in town.
You could start with appetizers like a traditional shrimp cocktail or clams chardonnay just to go with that old school Vegas feeling. We went a different direction and tried the bruschetta (toasted bred with fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic) and were not at all disappointed. Each will run you in the $8-9 range.
They only have a couple of salads – a Caesar and a house – but you can order it as a meal for $8 or with your entrée for only $3. But you don’t really need to do that since each entrée comes with bread, your choice of house salad or soup, and one side dish of your choice. That’s a heck of a lot of food so don’t waste space with a big Caesar salad.
Speaking of entrees, the seafood and poultry section of the menu features Chicken Angelo, a breast sautéed in white wine and cognac with artichoke hearts and mushrooms; Cornish hen; orange roughy; Pacific salmon; and crab legs and lobster tails. None of us were in a seafood or chicken mood so we can’t vouch for these selections but if you feel like sampling it’ll cost you around $15 for everything but the market price crab and lobster.
We of course went straight for the meat section. Hey, it’s a steakhouse! To heck with the cholesterol, full speed ahead! There’s a 14oz New York steak served with crispy red onion rings or a giant version called the Magnum cut. Their filet mignon is served in a thyme infused port demi-glaze reduction or a less adventurous béarnaise with sautéed mushrooms. The 20 oz. Porterhouse comes with a Creole dipping sauce. And of course don’t forget about the Queen or King cut roasted prime rib – we didn’t.
The prime rib was the best thing we sampled. Don’t be fooled by that Queen/King thing – the Queen cut was big enough for dinner and lunch the next day. It was tender and dripping with juice just the way prime rib is supposed to be and we heartily recommend it.
The filet mignon was less successful but only in comparison to other filets we’ve had elsewhere. Viewed on its own, the cut was ample and quite satisfying.
The porterhouse was the big disappointment of the night but we’re taking some of the responsibility for that. It was cooked as ordered – medium-well – but that’s too much cooking for this piece of meat. Had we asked for a standard medium preparation we think it would’ve come off much better. It’s too bad because we really did dig that Creole dipping sauce, a kicky twist to an otherwise standard steak.
Prices in the steak section ran from $16-22, quite a bargain considering all of the things that come with the meal.
Among the side dishes at your disposal are garlic mashed or a giant baked potato, lemon herb rice, and a bunch of veggies. As mentioned you get one with the meal but if you want an extra (trust us, you won’t need it) it’ll run you $5.
A full dessert and after dinner drink menu follows. We were wiping the chocolate off our faces for hours and that’s all you really need to know.
We’ll admit it – if the Center Stage was located in a Strip mall on Maryland Parkway we wouldn’t be talking about it here. It was good but not fantastic and with a billion steakhouse options you should choose the fantastic ones first. But the Center Stage isn’t in a strip mall, it’s commanding the throne of the Fremont Street Experience and that turns what would otherwise have been a okay meal into a lively dining experience.
Center Stage Restaurant
The Plaza Hotel Las Vegas
1 Main Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-386-2110