More than 20 years later, the city’s entire emergence as a world class food destination can be partially credited to pioneering Puck, whose success attracted dozens of high profile and often Michelin-starred followers. Playing a formative role in Las Vegas history helps, which is what makes Wolfgang Puck the only celebrity chef in town to achieve true classic status - he was the first to see the fine dining potential here on a national scale, and the restaurant industry scoffed when he opened his flagship Spago. It helps if your signature dish is part of Vegas lore, as is the case at Du-par’s, the 24-hour coffee shop in the city’s oldest casino, the Golden Gate, which gave us a Sin City icon, the 99-cent shrimp cocktail. Yep, the Chairman of the Board himself, Sinatra ate here, as did Elvis and DiMaggio and Ali, but more than a half a century after it opened, this off the beaten path standalone is suddenly in the middle of the hottest new part of town, and 2013 was its best year in history, with new 21st century regulars like Mario Andretti and Nicholas Cage.īeing Downtown also helps, since it is where what little left of colorful “Old Vegas” survives, and remains home to venerable and still thriving institutions such as Top of Binion’s Steakhouse and Hugo’s Cellar. So what does it take to stand the test of time and become a Vegas classic? It helps to have Rat Pack street cred, like the Golden Steer, the city’s oldest steakhouse. Kokomo’s in the Mirage, one of the longest running Strip standbys, closed last year, along with celeb chef Michael Mina’s NobHill in MGM Grand, plus Valentino, PoshBurger, PJ Clarke’s, Meatball Shop, Diego and many others - about two dozen notable Vegas eateries were shuttered in 2013 alone. Anyone remember the very brief life of House of Flavor, the fried chicken eatery brought to Sin City by rapper Flavor Flav? When kitschy Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ delivered surprisingly good real barbecue to the Strip, a place totally bereft of a standout version of one of America’s favorite foods, it seemed like a slam dunk, but instead closed quickly. Whenever a new restaurant opens in Vegas it gets lots of advance buzz, especially if it involves a celebrity chef, or just a celebrity - and whether it is good or not.
While there is always another plane of tourists unloading, many of them repeat visitors looking for what’s new, Vegas locals are notoriously finicky about food, making their loyal choices very significant. Longevity in the restaurant business here is something to brag about, and the tried and true usually stays that way for very good reasons. Surviving in Sin City is tough, which is why the few true Vegas classic eateries that have lasted are so impressive. One of the hottest see-and-be-seen power dining spots of Vegas’ golden fifties era, the Hickory Room, was replaced by a Burger King. Barely a century old and still one of the nation’s youngest cities by tourism standards, Vegas has nonetheless amassed an impressive list of long defunct grand hotels, casinos and restaurants. In other places, when a hotel gets tired or worn around the edges they refurbish it - here they blow it to smithereens, restaurants and all.
It’s hard to grow old gracefully in Las Vegas, a city that worships “newness,” where the latest is usually considered the greatest.
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