T-Bones Chophouse & Lounge

Station Casinos clearly upped the ante to construct its nearly $1 billion Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, so it’s no surprise that its steakhouse makes a strong impression. T-Bones has everything going for it—a chic design, a smart menu and a 6,500-bottle wine cellar. Book early, or bring a book to read while you wait.

Red velvet booths, faux candle chandeliers and enough stonework to fill a quarry are just part of this design, which also includes high ceilings and fire features both indoors and out. Chef Joseph Kudrak, formerly of Austin’s Steakhouse at Texas Station, has lots of brilliant conceits, but they are all centered around his beef, USDA Prime, aged 48 days, hand-cut and cooked over mesquite at 800 degrees.

Even the breadbasket is a dazzler, stuffed as it is with cheese-crusted flatbread, pretzel bread and at least three other good ones, all made on the premises. Starters are indulgent, such as crispy rock shrimp tempura and a lobster and new potato corn chowder as rich as a bowl of cream.

Personally, I’d go the lighter route here (of course, I had to, seeing as how I was dining with a dietician), such as the sesame oil-drizzled tuna poke or a tomato and mozzarella salad. If you want to go a bit more decadent, try the T-Bones steakhouse salad, a chopped bacon and avocado affair with a few greens mixed in.

The only misstep to our meal was when my dietician date ordered wild salmon, only to get Atlantic salmon. “We couldn’t get the wild salmon,” a manager apologetically said.

But happily, the meats and side dishes more than made up for that. The bone-in filet mignon is amazing, crusty, juicy and more flavorful than anyone has a right to expect. Pork chops are glorious as well, and so is the Strauss veal chop, all thanks to that mesquite broiler.

Seven delicious sauces are available on request, and you’d be remiss not to order one, such as the creamy horseradish or rich red wine reduction. Eighteen different sides are available, including pea tendrils and snap peas, creamed corn, and the terrific house hash browns.

For dessert, there is a gooey maple pecan square, coffee and doughnuts (really a creamy pudding served with a homemade doughnut), and a banana split cart.

Ante up.

-- By Max Jacobson