cohen yes. http://www.redrocklasvegas.com/dining/salt_lick.php Salt Licks headed for the bright lights of Vegas Casino thinks barbecue joint with roots in Central Texas will be a ringer out West. By Shonda Novak AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, February 08, 2006 Owners of the Salt Lick are making a big bet on Las Vegas as they prepare to open replicas of their Hill Country institution in three hotel and casino properties in Sin City. The new Las Vegas eateries will mimic the Salt Lick's original barbecue restaurant near Driftwood. The first will open April 18 in Station Casino Inc.'s $925 million Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa in Summerlin, Nev., a new luxury community about 10 minutes west of the strip. Other Salt Lick locations will follow by mid-2007 in Station Casino's existing Santa Fe Station Hotel & Casino in northern Las Vegas and its Sunset Station Hotel & Casino in southern Las Vegas. Station Casino executives estimate that each of the three 275-seat Las Vegas restaurants will serve more than 200,000 carnivores a year and cost several million dollars to develop. The company isn't disclosing revenue projections. "Obviously we feel these can do an enormous amount of volume, or we wouldn't have made a commitment for three of them without having opened the first one," said Jeff DiVito, the casino chain's corporate vice president of food and beverage development. A typical Saturday at the Salt Lick's original location attracts 2,000 meat eaters, necessitating a sheriff's deputy to direct traffic, owner Scott Roberts said. Along with his wife and daughter, who are co-owners, Roberts will open a new Texas location in Grand Prairie, southwest of Dallas, by early 2007. It will be followed by a new Salt Lick in Round Rock, adjacent to the Dell Diamond, that will feature the restaurant's trademark weathered limestone, rock patios, windmills and splitwood fences, along with children's play areas. Roberts is also in early talks with Leander officials to lease land for a restaurant there. The Robertses will own and operate the Texas locations. They will lend the Salt Lick name to the Las Vegas restaurants, which Station Casinos will build, own and manage. But to ensure the restaurant mirrors the feel and flavor of the original, "everything has to be approved by us," Roberts said. Founded in 1968 by his father, Thurman, the Salt Lick has undergone several expansions, transforming it from a single-pit smokehouse into a 275-seat restaurant that draws locals and tourists alike. It has been featured on cable television's Food Network and in The New York Times, Southern Living, Bon Appetit, People and Gentle- men's Quarterly. DiVito canvassed the country, sampling barbecue from Texas to Tennessee before choosing the Salt Lick for Station Casino's properties. He liked the Salt Lick's dry-rub style as well as the vinegar-based sauce. "Scott's concept is the best, bar none," DiVito said. "There's nothing else like it in Las Vegas." Based on the performance of the Salt Licks in Las Vegas, Station Casino has "an ongoing commitment to Scott to give him the first opportunity to develop more restaurants," DiVito said. In the meantime, Roberts has his hands full with other projects surrounding the original Salt Lick. A new 9,000-square-foot building houses the company's headquarters and additional wedding and banquet space. Then there's the first phase of a vineyard that eventually could encompass 65 to 100 acres. Roberts also plans to build a specialty smokehouse to supply the mail-order business and a future general store, and he's tilling dirt for herb and vegetable gardens. He's applying for permits to build a 200-room resort and spa, and he hopes to open Salt Licks in Houston and San Antonio. "We got kind of busy," he said, laughing.
thanks for the sarcasm. bullfan and i lost money playing craps with bobby flay, then on top of that, we ate at his restuarant. it was overpriced, bullfan feels jaded toward flay because he was so bad at craps.
Couple of good place in the Caesars Palace Forum Shops. One is Spago's (Wolfgang Puck's Restaurant) and the other is Bertolini's, which is a pretty damn good Italian restaurant. If you have some cash to blow, have a steak at Delmonico's at the Venetian. It's worth the coin. As far as buffets, the Aladdin Spice Food Market is great because they have food from every part of the world, including Middle East and Indian. Try the Bellagio buffet for Sunday brunch, but get there EARLY. The Rio Seafood Buffet was terrific a few years ago, but I haven't been back since it's so out of the way. For cheap eats, I'll usually hit up the NY NY food court, which has pretty good selection.
been to spagos and delmonicos. havent tried bertolinis. sounds good. i wonder if i can do 3 buffets and the salt lick in 3 days? that would seem tough.
Theres this wonderful seafood buffet in the Rio casino/hotel that I went to while i was in Vegas. Hands down the best buffet I have ever experienced. h Here's a link http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rlv/dining/dining_detail_012.html
i still need to check it out. i know its probably 10x better than the old San Remo. anyone ever go to Rehab (the big pool party) at the hard rock? do you have to look like a steriod using dude to get in?
tinman...if you like sushi and Asian seafood, try this place... http://www.usmenuguide.com/makino.html My wife absolutely loves it!!!
One of the best restaurants I have ever been to - Red Square (a Russian Steakhouse in Mandalay Bay). This place is freakin bad ass!
Filet Mignon with mashed potatoes and goat cheese. And of course a bunch of vodka martinis. Seriously, I can't emphasize how bad ass this place is. It is of course a bit expensive. If I remeber correctly the steak was about $30-$35. But worth every penny of it. I love the gothic-lounge style thingy they have going.
Aladdin buffet (that IS the world buffet isn't it?), Rio seafood buffet. If you don't mind spending money, Smith & Wollensky's.
In the Bellagio, they have a sandwich/snack shop in the casino area. I forget what it is called, it may be called "snacks" or something like that. They have the best club sandwich I have ever tasted.
well im back. the buffet at the Red Rock was great. they have a gelato station, plus their asian was good. they even had steammed buns (pork!). the hotel was nice, however, the dealers/hosts were amateurs, you can tell they are brand new. fortunately the luck on the tables was good. we got screwed on our compts. but we got vip access to the club, vip lounge, and vip elevator. so not too bad. the rooms had voice over ip nortel touchscreen fones. plasmas, tv in the bath area, high quality pillows beds. bose stereo. martini set. oh, the salt lick in vegas was good. however, these were las vegas people working at texas joint, so the service wasnt up to par as the real salt lick. the food tastes the same and the place has plasma screens all over. also ate at the noodle place in mandalay bay. pretty good, not too overpriced.
way off the strip, you need to take a car there. http://www.vegas.com/resorts/redrock/index.html?vc1=2&vc2=fhtl_txt_rdrk i always stay on the strip, just wanted to try something new.
