The Golden Steer Steakhouse is the oldest steakhouse in the city of Las Vegas. Its history dates back to 1958, when Sammy Davis would use what was referred to “The Escape Door,” with friends Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Joe Di Maggio. During that time Joe Kludjin was the owner up to July 1st, 2001 when Dr. Michael Signorelli bought it.
Dr. Signorelli knows his history. He remembered as a kid going to The Golden Steer, which is why he kept the reputation of the restaurant to where it’s at today. Through word of mouth, the original clientele has returned not to mention folks such as Mario Andretti, Nicholas Cage, Mayor Carolyn Goodman and our former illustrious Mayor, Oscar Goodman. In fact, I remember when I would conduct live radio broadcasts on KDWN, interviewing many of the strip personalities there.
On this memorable evening, Stephanie Steele the night manager escorted Tony Wilson and me to the back booth, right were the door to a wine selection leads to the trap door, referred to as “The Escape Door.” This is where Sammy, Frank and friends would enter the restaurant and leave.
The main dining area, decorated with beautiful oil paintings was added in later years, while the front area was the back of the restaurant. As you enter this area, the original black leather booths where Sammy Davis Jr. and friends would sit are still used today. Now it’s time to journey on to partake in USDA Prime Steak. Alex Casas, our waiter gave us some history on The Golden Steer. One of his associates, Fabian has been with the Golden Steer for 40 years and he has been there for 15 years. Both gentlemen wear Tuxedo’s and attend to the patrons every need.
We first ordered a Caesars Salad, prepared table side with Romaine lettuce, first preparing the sauce with mustered, one egg, cheese, croutons, anchovies, lemon peel, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and black pepper. This is the proper way to prepare this type of salad. Although today, there are only three restaurants in the city of Las Vegas which are allowed to prepare flambe dishes and such. Our main entrees consisted of a USDA Prime Rib Steak with bone and a Prime Rib of Beef, [Diamond Cut] 24oz.
All the meats are aged and hand butchered at the Golden Steer. Condiments which were served on this evening were creamed spinach prepared with Patron licorice, sauteed mushrooms, and twice baked potato. After trying to finish that 24oz Diamond cut Prime Rib, I had to take a deep breath, to make room for the all time historical Cherries Jubilee.
Auguste Escoffier originally prepared the desert for Queen Victoria at one of her Jubilee celebrations. It is another moment on a special occasion to watch the preparation of this dish. The first step in preparing Cherries Jubilee is to use one pound of ripe, sweet cherries, add a half a cup of sugar, one lemon, 1 third cup of golden rum and a pint of vanilla ice cream. Haagen-Daz ice cream is my favorite for this delight. I especially love the flame that blares up when preparing the dish. Remembering those special occasions, don’t forget September 24th as National Cherries Jubilee Day.
