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3.23.2009

mrkt.

As Aliante Station is the "little sister" in the Station Casinos family, more compact and less luxurious than Summerlin's Red Rock Resort, so MRKT will be the lesser known and appreciated sibling in Station's steakhouse roster. And this is not a surprise.

The decor in MRKT is stylish and sophisticated, with its oval glass bar, subtle colors and 5,000-bottle wine list. The service is just fine. The meat is just fine. But the menu and overall experience is missing the small touches that make a meal memorable and force you to come back. You can find those touches at Red Rock's T-Bones steakhouse, and I've had great experiences, if somewhat surprising, at Santa Fe Station's Charcoal Room. But it's just not meant to be at MRKT, the epitome of good-not-great. Where's the soul in this food? Drop the price on your $37 porterhouse, I say, and you may have a winner.

The two bar-top meals we've had here were good. Not great. The jumbo crab cake was pretty jumbo and full of meat, but under-seasoned and without any oomph. Butternut squash soup is terrific and served in a rather large bowl. Spinach salad with pancetta is a little overpowered by sharp dressing, and not as good as the chopped salad, that new steakhouse staple. The side dishes here are flat out boring and I don't want to order any of them. Bone-in New York, ribeye and grilled salmon, all okay. Everything here tastes good enough to tease. Maybe I'll go back to the Charcoal Room after all.

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