Restaurant Review: CraftSteak, Las Vegas

CraftSteak is Tom Colicchio's steakhouse in the MGM. It's got serious company/competition, because MGM has a collection of restaurants laid out by the best of the best: Emeril, Wolfgang, Robucheon. CraftSteak has a gorgeous interior. Rough leather seats, spacious layout. The service was impeccable. Our waiter was extremely knowledgable, gave me a number of great recommendations, and didn't try to get me to buy the most expensive thing on the menu.

Which...I considered buying the most expensive thing on the menu. CraftSteak features some of the highest quality steak that you can get in an American restaurant. As the waiter informed me, the Japanese rate beef on a 12 point scale. American beef usually rates a 3 on this scale. CraftSteak offers Grade 7 and Grade 10 beef, in a number of cuts. The most expensive of these is a $150 Grade 10 filet mignon. Which I deeply considered ordering. You only live once, right?

Well, the waiter talked me down. So I went with a Grade 7 skirt steak. I also ordered the quail to start, and Brussels sprouts on the side. Starting with the quail, I thought the quail was good. But nothing amazing. I was a little disappointed, because I love quail, and had such high expectations for CraftSteak. And the quail had good flavor, but I didn't feel like they had added anything to it.

Here's my fantastic tip of the day, and you'll do well to remember this. My grandparents were with me, and for their 61st Anniversary, I bought them the dinner and a show package at MGM, which included a 3 course meal at CraftSteak for 2 and 2 tickets to KA. The value on this package is unbelievable. My grandparents' meal started with a bed of fresh greens with a light dressing, a full plate of prosciutto with a bit of fig preserve on the side, and a plate of roasted red peppers. With the starters they also served drop rolls in an adorable little cast iron pan. These rolls were so good! They had been brushed over the tops with salted butter, so they had great flavor. And they were served warm, and stayed that way courtesy of the cast iron tray. A lovely and delicious touch.

I took this little detour to describe the dinner-show package, because CraftSteak served the entrees family style. Which was a wonderful touch, because it allowed us all to share the fantastic variety that the show package provided. My grandparents' meal included baked chicken, hanger steak, a couple of scallops, pureed potatoes, and marinated mushrooms. It was....SO MUCH FOOD! Everything was delicious, but it really was way too much food. I ended up taking it on the plane with me the next day!

In a brief run down, the chicken was wonderful. I never get chicken, because its usually boring, but this was simple, moist, and incredibly flavorful. The scallop was well prepared. The hanger steak was great, with a little char on the outside. And the Grade 7? It was very lightly seasoned, so that it was really about the flavor of the meat. It was perfectly prepared. A great steak.

Oh, and the sides? Awwwwesome. I love Brussels sprouts, and these were pretty fab. They were all small in size, and were roasted until they had a nice crisp outside. The mushrooms were great with the steak. And I loved the potatoes, and was sad that we ended up sending so much of them back, because there was just no more room!

Finally. And this has been a long post to get to the finally. Dessert. They served us a personal size new york style cheesecake with a blueberry compote. The compote was big on the blueberries and scant on the sauce, which I prefer. That dessert was pretty good, although nothing I haven't had before. But the other dessert....MONKEY BREAD! What a great treat! They served us an individual sized bundt of monkey bread, with a side of vanilla bean ice cream, drizzled with caramel. I want that bundt pan! But I could also go for this dessert again, because it was warm, gooey, and delicious. Loved it. And, because this restaurant rocks my socks, they wrote "Happy Anniversary" on the plate! I didn't even tell the reservationist that I was doing this for my grandparents anniversary, just mentioned in passing that I had forgotten to call because their anniversary was the day before I made reservations. How thoughtful! And delicious!

So, CraftSteak definitely gets my seal of approval. Great service, great food, lovely ambiance. Everything you want in a fancy steakhouse!

Enjoy!