VegasChatter

1. Prime at Bellagio has been making steak lovers salivate for more than 10 years. It’s lakefront setting and bone-in rib eye steak have achieved near institution status, and even vegetarians go all quivery for Prime because of stellar sides like broccoli parmesan and gruyère cheese fritters with truffle salt.
Open 5 p.m to 10 p.m. daily.
[Photo: SomewhatFrank]

2. Botero at Encore is named for the corpulent statues by sculptor Fernando Botero that are a favorite of Steve Wynn’s, and the restaurant promises a culinary experience that is a “bold and voluptuous” as the décor. Try Kobe steak tartare or a duo of soup tastings (carrot-ginger or English pea, maybe) as a starter, then follow it with some crispy frog legs or oysters with champagne mignonette, a dry-aged New York strip bone-in steak with chimichurri and side of tater tots or grilled asparagus with lemon essence.
Botero is open for lunch Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday – Thursday, until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

3. Carnevino at Palazzo recently earned accolades from Las Vegas food critic and blogger John Curtas for the superior quality of its dry-aged beef. It’s no surprise that this outpost of celeb chef Mario Batali has a menu that leans toward the Italian side of the culinary spectrum, with all sorts of antipasti (grilled octopus, beef carpaccio) and pastas (black fettuccine with crab, jalapenos and shallots) offered as starters and first courses, respectively. The main event, of course, is the meat and Carnevino has numerous veal, beef, lamb and pork cuts to choose from, as well as characteristically Italianate sides like creamy polenta served with nutmeg mascarpone.
Carnevino Taverna is open for lunch beginning at noon and stays open until 2 a.m.; dinner seating in the restaurant lasts from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m.
[Photo: Lorendipsum]

4. Cut, also at Palazzo, is Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse known for its dry-aged beef aged 35 days and impressively diverse menu compared to most steer-centric joints. No fewer than 12 appetizers and salads are offered, including a Maryland blue crab and lobster “Louis” cocktail, Austrian oxtail bouillon with bone marrow dumplings and a warm asparagus salad with bacon vinaigrette. In addition to the dry-aged steaks, Cut offers authentic Japanese Wagyu beef at prices that make our eyes water ($160 for an 8-ounce rib eye), but it’s the real stuff from Kyushu, Japan – none of this phony American knock-off “Wagyu” that’s so popular these days.
Hours are 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The bar/lounge stays open until 1 a.m.
[Photo: EaterLA]

5. StripSteak at Mandalay Bay is probably the scene-iest place on our list. It has a lounge that fronts the promenade from the casino to the convention center, and it’s usually buzzing shortly after it opens at 4 p.m. each day. This is one of Chef Michael Mina’s first steakhouse, and he offers a selection of Angus and Wagyu beef as well as fish off the wood-burning grill, as well as Colorado lamb and a whole-fried organic chicken. When we dined there, the waiter brought out a small portion of duck-fat French fries along with our menus; they were ridiculously good, and representative of the sort of imaginative culinary touches you’ll find here.
Open from 5:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. daily.
[Photo: Dale Chumbly]