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.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/84122
SO MANY DINNERS... SO LITTLE TIME PUFF DADDY Beef Wellington has never exactly gone out of style, but the last time it was featured on an American steakhouse menu Gordon Ramsay was probably in diapers. Considered by some to be the ultimate luxury dish, this amalgam of filet of beef, coated with a duxelles of mushrooms and baked in a pastry crust, lay dormant for decades, just waiting for some enterprising chef to revive its sophisticated deliciousness. Ramsay was the right man for the job. "Some nights it seems like everyone in the place is ordering it," says chef de cuisine Kevin Hee—proving that even dated classics can have a comeback as long as they come with the proper pedigree.—JC Pastry chef Steve Yi (LEFT) creates desserts such as this sticky- toffee pudding with brown-butter ice cream—served with a butter knife. continued from page 66 sauce in a combination that's more Guy Savoy than Peter Luger. Ramsay's steakhouse is both an homage and a cheeky British spin. When it came to planning his steak menu, Ramsay and chef de cuisine Kevin Hee took it easy on themselves by putting their meat in Pat LaFrieda's capable hands. LaFrieda handpicks steaks for some of the best houses in New York, and here they get the royal treatment, as dry-aged cuts are wheeled to each table on a gleaming chrome cart that displays each as if it were a piece of jewelry. His fish and chips are given the upscale treatment by frying loup de mer (sea bass) filets with the skin on and serving them with addictive truffle french fries. Lamb lovers won't find a better shepherd's pie this side of London, and the side dishes—from mac and cheese to fire-roasted corn—show the eye-pleasing attention to detail for which Ramsay is famous. For dessert, everyone gets the sticky-toffee pudding (with a brown-butter ice cream that's so good it ought to be illegal), but it's a mistake to dismiss pastry chef Steve Yi's other offerings. Even his trifle is nothing to be trifled with. Ramsay hasn't redefined the American steakhouse as much as he has refined it—and given the Las Vegas restaurant scene a breath of fresh, British-accented air. "My customers are my harshest critics," he says, "but so far the response has been tremendous." Another bit of classic British understatement: So far, everyone is leaving Gordon Ramsay Steak singing "God Save the Queen." Paris Las Vegas, 702-946-4663; parislasvegas.com V 68 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM THE BEST TABLE IN THE HOUSE My father, a world- class restaurantgoer in his day, wouldn't have known what to make of the seating arrangement at Gordon Ramsay Steak. "Never let them seat you near the kitchen" was his mantra. "That's where they put the hoi polloi and other rubes who don't know any better." The thought of actually watching cooks prepare the food would've sent him straight to his third martini, but these days, diners want to be where the action is. There's no better place to do so than at one of the extended S-curve booths next to the open kitchen at GRS. Depending on which way you're facing, you'll either feel like you're part of the kitchen crew as you watch plate after plate get expedited or, if you're facing the other way, have the best people-watching venue in the house. Even Dad would've loved it—as long as we kept him facing in the right direction.—JC PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEVERLY POPPE