Craftsteak (Las Vegas, NV)

Craftsteak is a Tom Colicchio restaurant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.  Carli and I celebrated my birthday there last Sunday night.  Must say it was kind of an up and down meal.  We started with the Warm Frisee Salad (with bacon, blue cheese, and a poached duck egg) and a variety of fresh oysters (UP!).  Both were fantastic and the salad was a favorite of mine.

We then ordered a 32 oz, 90 Day Dry Aged Ribeye and Sauteed Butternut Squash.

The ribeye was cooked well and had amazing flavor, but a 90 day dry aged cut of prime meat shouldn't take 5 or 6 cuts from a steak knife to slice off a piece (down).  The cooking of the butternut squash was inconsistent as well; some were very firm, some were much more tender (down).  Hard to argue with the flavor though.

For dessert, we ordered the Chocolate Ganache Cake and Hazelnut Chip Ice Cream (UP!). 

I wish I would have taken a picture of the ganache oozing out of the cake, but it didn't last long enough to take a picture.  We enjoyed a bottle of the Radio Coteau Zinfandel throughout the meal.  Good finish and flavor, but a little too sweet for our tastes, especially for Carli, who enjoys a very dry red wine.

I think we were both disappointed in the meal overall, partly because we had such high expectations of Craftsteak.  But in the end, it was a fantastic way to celebrate a birthday. Also hard to complain about some of these views we had from the balcony of our suite at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas...