The National Final Rodeos crowd loves good steak. Lucky for them, when they descend upon Vegas for two weeks in December, there are plenty of great steakhouses to whet their appetites. These prime palaces offer rare cuts of beef, both domestic and international, which carry price tags even greater than their grams of protein.
At Joel’s Chophouse, located off The Strip within the Ahern Hotel, enjoy a classic steakhouse menu with lots of surf to match the turf. Small plates and appetizers from the sea highlight lobster bisque, crab cakes, and pan-roasted Spanish octopus. Cuts of beef, including the domestic 30-day dry-aged bone-in ribeye, bone-in filet mignon, and prime New York strip, are seared to perfection and seasoned simply with garlic, fresh herbs, and Himalayan salt. Each steak is then basted with aromatic wagyu beef tallow and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and red wine bordelaise. ahernhotel.com
Adjacent to Ahern, look up and find The Strat’s Top of the World Restaurant. Ascend 106 floors and behold one of the best views in the city at the restaurant that makes a complete rotation every 80 minutes. Experience almost a dozen cuts of America’s finest beef, from the 16-ounce bone-in filet (Harris Ranch, California) to the 16-ounce prime rib (Creekstone Farms, Kansas). thestrat.com
At the opposite end of the resort corridor and off The Strip, One Steakhouse at Virgin Hotel Las Vegas features three styles of marquee wagyu from America to Japan, including a butter-soft Japanese six-ounce A5 New York strip. The pièce de résistance is the Tomahawk Feast—a 16-pound USDA prime tomahawk steak, carved tableside and served with six delectable sides, which feeds 10 to 12. virginhotelslv.com
