Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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so many dinners... so little time A rare glimpse at a secret back room inside Las Vegas's oldest steakhouse When Elvis was dropping by in the early '70s, there was a good chance John Wayne or Natalie Wood was also hanging out. ghosts of the golden steer OLDEST STEAKHOUSE. by john curtas PhotograPhy by jeFF green S CELEBRATE GOLDEN STEER DAY APRIL 7TH BY TOASTING ALL OF THE LEGENDARY REGULARS WHO HAVE COME IN AND OUT OF VEGAS'S it in any of the booths at Golden Steer on a busy evening, and the ghosts will start to work their charms. Notice that booth named after Frank Sinatra. Look around to see Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, and many more. These are no mere decorations. "This is where they sat," a tuxedoed waiter who has been at the Steer for decades told me. "When they were regulars, we wouldn't sit anyone at their booth unless we knew for sure they weren't coming in." Yes, the Golden Steer is one of the few places left in Vegas that can lay claim to being a liv- ing, thriving piece of the city's history. Joe Kludjian opened the Golden Steer in 1958. To give you an idea how long ago that was, the original address was 308 W. San Francisco St. (as Sahara Ave. was then called) and the signature Longhorn Steak went for $5.75. "Our history is not just in our booths, 74 vegasmagazine.com Fernando Camacho (middle), seen here with fellow servers Venko Nikolow (left) and Jay Lockhart, has worked at Golden Steer for 30 years. it's in the people," says Dr. Michael J. Signorelli, who bought the place from Kludjian in 2001. "It's waiters like Fabian Ong, who's been here for 40 years, or Fernando Camacho, who has been here for 30, or our general manager, John E. Burke, who started busing tables in 1983 at age 18. And our head chefs Sergio Medina, who has been here for 30 years, and Sergio Contreras, who has been here for 25 years. And our bartender, Joe Stellini, who dated Jill St. John when she was also seeing Sinatra." From the get-go, Sinatra, Dean Martin, and the rest of the Rat Pack were regulars. Those were the days when Las Vegas was as segregated as any town in the West, and Sammy Davis Jr., would come by after his shows, because the hotels he performed in wouldn't let him eat in their restau- rants. "Joe told me that Sinatra once got drunk at the bar," Signorelli says, "and stumbled through the entire restaurant, serenading every table." If any one of the old-school celebs walked in today, they would not feel out of place with the décor or menu. (Although Elvis might be taken aback seeing Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe in his booth, where he always insists upon sitting.) And what a menu it is: This is an old-school steakhouse, and beef and spuds are still the things to get. Begin with the tableside-made Caesar salad—as more than 90 percent of the customers do—and then dive into steaks that compete with any in town. I always get the New York strip ($42), but there's no denying the juicy beefi- ness of 18 ounces of prime-rib end-cut, or humongous 20-ounce rib eye. The huge baked potato is also a must. the When Elvis was dropping by in the early '70s, there was a good chance John Wayne, Eddie Albert, or Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood were also hanging continued on page 76