the best restaurant in downtown las vegas.

Downtown is full of interesting developments these days, not the least of which is tonight's street food festival near the historic El Cortez hotel-casino. But sadly, there still are few outstanding places to eat in our city's original hot spot, particularly on the main drag of Fremont Street. The aging neon casinos are struggling in this still troubled economy, and cutting costs means cutting back on restaurants. (The most notable restaurant to open down here in quite some time, Firefly at the Plaza, may or may not re-open when the casino's renovations are complete. We'll see. Doesn't look good.)


There are still some classic gourmet rooms in the area, including Hugo's Cellar at Four Queens, the Flame at the El Cortez, and the under-appreciated Second Street Grill at the Fremont. And then there's Vic & Anthony's, which easily outpaces anything else downtown. It's not a surprise; the Nugget is by far the best and biggest resort in old Vegas, especially after the recent addition of a new tower of hotel rooms and another seafood-happy restaurant, the Chart House. When Landry's Restaurants honcho Tilman Fertitta bought the joint around six years ago, his first move was to change the existing, decent Nugget steakhouse right off the main lobby into an updated version of Houston's acclaimed Vic & Anthony's. It's a cool room, dark and comfy with a vintage vibe to it. You can call dibs on a live Maine lobster on the way to your table, if you like. Or you can stick to traditional cuts of beef expertly prepared; the filet mignon was one of the tastiest takes ever on this usually boring cut.


My favorite part of the menu here, as it is anytime I visit a great Vegas steakhouse, is the appetizer selection. Here, everything is a winner, but you cannot miss the maple glazed quail, a sticky-sweet-crispy mini-bird that will have you considering a double order, or the all new seared scallops with apple slaw and bacon tabasco vinaigrette. Scallops are another ordinarily dull dish, but the kitchen brings some serious kick here. I'd have been happy with this pretty plate of three large bivalves, the sweet, fruity salad, a bottle of wine, and a healthy slab of badass bread pudding with dulce de leche ice cream. Didn't even need the steak, or the lobster tail. Or the crabcake. Damn, that crabcake was really good, too.


Vic & Anthony's isn't much of a secret. It's hard to hide in the Nugget. But the food here sets the downtown standard and wouldn't be out of place in a hotel on that other famous Vegas boulevard.