Silver Peak OK, If You're Already There

The Westin Casuarina has earned the same kind of reputation in Las Vegas that Westin hotels have earned elsewhere: comfortably upscale accommodations at solidly upscale prices that mainly appeal to business travelers and people who prefer dependable name brands. Modify that statement slightly and you have a good description for the Westin's main restaurant, the Silver Peak Grill: comfortably upscale food at solidly upscale prices that will mainly appeal to the people staying in the hotel.

I wish I could say that the Silver Peak grill has a lure that would make it worth going out of your way for, but the more I thought about it the more I thought that while it does a lot right, it doesn't do it right enough. For instance, the room is lovely, with comfortable booths and tables, rich woods, nice fabrics and dramatic-yet-soft lighting schemes that lend a comfortable, just-this-side of luxury air to the whole thing. But then the designers went and left it open to the casino. Even though this particular casino is tiny and not usually very busy, it still generates noise, and that's not the kind of thing you want intruding on a nice dinner.

The menu is another example. The place comes across as a nice steakhouse and has quite a bit of that kind of food on its menu, but it's open 24 hours a day, so what you wind up with is a much wider mixture of offerings that evokes more of an upscale diner.

So let's talk about that menu. It definitely gets points for originality, with traditional appetizers such as crab cakes and shrimp cocktail accompanied by unique items such as Thai spring rolls, a roasted poblano and chorizo quesadilla, a tapas platter with bacon-wrapped dates and lobster beignets among others, and chicken lettuce wraps to name a few. My party sampled the last of those, and although they have been done to death in trendy restaurants, these were a delightful example of why. The butter lettuce leaves were, well, like butter and the chicken filling, done spicy with scallions and chili sauce, was perfect. A terrific way to start a meal.

And check out the frittatas section. Essentially a baked omelet with options including bacon, onion and Swiss cheese; sausage, peppers and onions; and other flavor combos, this is something you don't see on just about any menu, much less a place like this. Kudos for trying something new.

Salads and soups are about what you'd expect, but they also have a substantial section with sandwiches, paninis and pasta. There are a few burgers, including one made of tuna (believe it or not), a crispy lobster sandwich, a pulled barbecue chicken, and a traditional Cuban panini with roasted pork loin, smoked ham, Swiss cheese and pickles.

Entrees include the typical steak and seafood selections that you usually see at these kinds of joints: filets, chops, chicken and the like.

Myself and one of my dinner companions were in a beefy kind of mood, so I went for the cowboy steak, a 32-ounce bone-in ribeye done with a bourbon glaze, served over potatoes and topped with French fried onion rings. It was intimidating to say the least, but it turned out to be just about right for a meal, since I hard a hard time finding a portion of it that was cooked consistently.

The outer edges were a little over done, while the center was slightly underdone, so that didn't leave much that was just right. Granted, it's tough to cook a piece of meat the size of a small Buick and expect perfection throughout, but the hit-to-miss ratio was a little lower than I expected. Having said all that. the portions that were done to my liking were terrific.

The other beef option came in the form of the filet, a juicy and tender slab of beef done just right, with a black peppercorn sauce and garlic whipped potatoes. It was definitely the hit of the dinner portion of our evening.

The last entree we sampled was from the pasta section, a fusilli with rock shrimp, lemon cream and garlic that was one of the least appealing things I've ever tasted. Of course, other than the garlic there isn't a lot on that ingredient list that appeals to me anyway, and the person who ordered it enjoyed it.

For dessert we went with the cheesecake and the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and raspberries on the side and polished off those plates very quickly.

So, overall ... a successful meal, but then you have to figure in the prices. Our meal with an appetizer, a salad, three entrees, two desserts, a couple of glasses of wine and a cocktail, tax and tip came out to about $200. To be fair, we did order two of the most expensive things on the menu, but even if you go with one of the cheaper entrees or a sandwich instead of a full-on meal you're going to have a hard time getting out of here for less than $50 a person when all is said and done.

Heck, the 10-ounce bacon cheeseburger is $14, so throw in an appetizer, a couple of cocktails, dessert, tax and tip and that's at least $30. And that means you're heading to a nice restaurant to have a cheeseburger.

I wanted to like the Silver Peak grill, and I did. If you are staying at or near the Westin and just don't feel like fighting the crowds to find a good meal, this place is a perfectly acceptable alternative (especially if you can put it on your expense account). But if you're not a guest of the Westin, you'll probably be able to find better for less.

The Silver Peak Grill
Westin Casuarina
160 E. Flamingo Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 836-5900
Open 24 Hours

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