Marino's Restaurant Is A Slam Dunk Success

Dan Marino was the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins from 1983 to 1999 who broke virtually every measurable record in football and is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. (The only reason I know that is because I looked it up.)

Luckily for folks like me, this review is not about sports, but about Marino's post-quarterback career as, among other things, a restaurateur. I know nothing about football, but I know food, and I can tell you that if this guy was half as good on the field as his new Vegas restaurant is, he deserves all of the Stanley Cups he has on his mantle.

Dan Marino's Fine Food and Spirits has a few outlets in Florida, and this Vegas version is located at the Hooters Casino Hotel in what is undeniably one of the most brilliant synergistic moves in history, since football and girls in short shorts and tight T-shirts are practically synonymous. And I mean that in a good way.

The room is stunning, with sleek dark woods, lots of elegant stonework, dramatic lighting and a big glass wall showing off the kitchen, lending an air of sophistication without being pretentious or stuffy. A large outdoor dining patio with a fireplace will be lovely on warm nights, and an intimate cocktail lounge is a perfect place for a drink or 12.

The menu goes far beyond traditional steakhouse fare, a delight in a town that seems to have little or no imagination in the genre. Appetizers include a honey mustard or barbecue flat breads done up with chicken, mozzarella cheese, peppers, and other accoutrement; Thai chicken lettuce wraps with a teriyaki dipping sauce; crab cakes; and Buffalo chicken fingers, to name a few. My table sampled the three-cheese spinach dip, which doesn't sound all that imaginative until you hear that it is topped with sour cream, onions and bacon and served with colorful tortilla chips. It was a fantastic twist on a done-to-death item.

Salads and soups are next on the menu, and include the traditional Caesar and Southwest chicken but we were more interested in the soups. I sampled the delightful French onion, which sweetened its namesake vegetables with a sherry flambe and couldn't have been more satisfyingly rich. We also sampled the tomato basil bisque, a puree of tomatoes, red peppers, basil and cream, and it was another runaway success. The experience was sort of like combining tomato-based pasta sauce with a cream-based Alfredo sauce and turning the whole thing into a soup. Delicious.

Entrees run a wide gamut, from lemon portobello chicken to baby back ribs to steaks and seafood and beyond.

I tried the bacon-wrapped meatloaf, oven roasted and topped with a mushroom merlot sauce over a bed of mashed potatoes. It was a chunky, tasty delight from start to finish, just tangy enough to make you forget that you are basically eating a giant bunless hamburger.

My dining companions went straight for the prime rib and the filet beef tips served in the same mushroom merlot sauce. The prime rib was not the most tender we've ever sampled, but it absolutely was one of the most flavorful, done in a smoky woodhouse way with traditional Lawry's seasoning and fresh vegetables as accompaniment. The clear winner at the table, however, was those filet tips, served over garlic mashed potatoes and piled high with crispy onion strings. The meat was succulent and the flavor combos between the merlot, garlic, onion and beef were darned near perfect.

Most entrees come with some sort of vegetable included in the price,, but there are plenty of side dishes to add to the proceedings including broccoli florettes, rice, spinach, fries and more.

The dessert menu was equally impressive, with all manner of tempting treats, but we settled on the concoction that essentially created a thick, chocolate chip cookie in the shape of pie wedges and covered it with ice cream, chocolate and caramel. It was a throwback to the kind of waist-expanding caloric delights of my Midwestern upbringing.

The service was perfect and the prices were exceptional. Appetizers are mostly under $10, soups and salads mostly $5 to $10, entrees start at $14 and peak at $28 (and don't forget those prices include a side dish or two) and desserts were all around $6. The three of us did wine, an appetizer, soups, three entrees, a dessert, tax and tip for around $90, a remarkable price for a restaurant of this caliber in this location.

Dan Marino's Fine Food and Spirits is an absolute slam dunk!

Dan Marino's Fine Food and Spirits
Hooters Casino Hotel
115 E. Tropicana Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 597-6028
Open daily, 11 a.m. to midnight

The Full Story

• Hard Rock Cuts Off Expansion Plans
• South Coast Nice, But Where's The Fun?
• Marino's Restaurant Is A Slam Dunk Success
• Vegas Q&A: Does Vegas Have Biggest Bowling Alley?

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