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 Gordon Ramsay Mouthwatering steaks are dry-aged. The Union Jack dominates the main dining room at Gordon Ramsay Steak. gordon scores! LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, MASTER CHEF- TURNED-TV-STAR GORDON RAMSAY FINALLY ARRIVES IN LAS VEGAS WITH A HIT STEAKHOUSE AT PARIS. BY JOHN CURTAS C alvin Trillin once said that going to a barbecue restaurant run by someone besides an African American is like going to a gentile internist. Things might turn out fine, but you're hardly playing the percentages. The same thinking could be applied to steakhouses not firmly rooted on American soil. We popularized them, and we Americans love our no-nonsense, masculine, clubby vibe and the large portions of whatever protein fits our fancy. Meanwhile, aside from a few pub-grub staples such as bangers and mash, British food is generally held in low regard by anyone who is not to the Isles born. Until a certain bombastic Brit came along, the very idea of a British steakhouse would have made as much sense as a haggis alfresco. But Gordon Ramsay is not a man who slinks from a challenge. "We've had some rough patches with our American restaurants," he says, referring to ventures in New York and Los Angeles. "But the time was right for us to bring our new concepts to the public. We knew Gordon Ramsay Steak would be popular, as steak is so popular here, and the Vegas market is so 66 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM " We are under a lot of pressure, but pressure is a good thing." —gordon ramsay vibrant. But the response has been like a volcano erupting. It's just about doing it a little bit differently." That bit of understatement doesn't explain how a Scottish-born, French- trained chef has so quickly mounted the greatest adaption of an American original since The Beatles hijacked rock 'n' roll. Call it the power of personal- ity, publicity, or having four television shows in heavy rotation on Fox, but Gordon Ramsay Steak has been packed since day one. It now averages more than 400 patrons a night and is one of the hardest tickets to find in town. The chef himself has been a monthly fixture in the restaurant since it opened in early May. "I wanted to plant a proper stake in the ground with my opening here," he says. "We are under a lot of pressure [to succeed], but pressure is a good thing. People get better under pressure." Since he brought it up, I ask him if his chefs and staff are intimidated by his television per- sona, as Ramsay is notorious for having a fiery temper on his cooking shows. "Not in the least bit," he says. "I'm brutally honest with them about what I expect, and they know it all comes down to what's on the plate." What he's brought to the steakhouse genre is both an homage and a cheeky British spin. Massive portions and artless presentations have been replaced by finely constructed plates that look as good as they taste. Short rib tortellini comes atop a foie gras emulsion and is garnished with sweet little bay scallops and Sausalito watercress, while the appetizer-size lobster tail gets dressed up with a chorizo stuffing and brandied lobster cream continued on page 68 PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEVERLY POPPE (ENTRANCE, STEAK); COURTESY OF GORDON RAMSAY STEAK (RAMSAY)