heidi’s picks

Heidi's Picks is a weekly selection of restaurant suggestions from Review-Journal critic Heidi Knapp Rinella. Price symbols are based on the cost of an average entree: $ = entrees less than $10; $$ = entrees between $10 and $20; $$$ = entrees between $20 and $30; and $$$$ = entrees more than $30.

CANAL STREET

The Orleans, 4500 W. Tropicana Ave.; 365-7111

Prices at steakhouses across the valley have gone sky-high in recent years, and in most cases, they're not worth it. So we were particularly pleased to find good value at the elegant Canal Street, where we enjoyed a salad of mozzarella and peppers, oysters Rockefeller, a filet mignon, Parmesan-crusted veal cutlet Tuscan and a chocolate lava cake. Excellent (but not snobby) service put the icing on the cake. (6/29/07)

Overall: B+ $$$

PEPPERMILL RESTAURANT

2985 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 735-4177

If you haven't eaten at the Peppermill you should, because it's nothing if not unique. A very cool throwback whose magnolia-and-neon decor looks like a Southern plantation exploded and rained down on the set of a futuristic '70s TV show, it also happens to serve good (and reliable) food, and in copious portions. We ran into a bit of a service snag but loved the Pastrami Burger with creamy potato salad, and the Walnut Creek Salad with pear-cilantro vinaigrette and rosemary focaccia. And don't miss the lounge, complete with fire-breathing fountain. (3/16/09)

Overall: B+ $$

SINATRA

Encore, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 248-3463

We're thinking Ol' Blue Eyes himself would be proud of his namesake restaurant, which blends just enough traditional favorites with enough innovative dishes (and lots of seafood) to keep things interesting. We liked the carpaccio with endive, watercress and quail eggs; Cioppino; an excellent, traditional lasagna; and pistachio and vanilla panna cotta. And we also loved the music and portraits of the Chairman of the Board. (3/12/10)

Overall: A- $$$$

STREETS OF NEW YORK

7570 Norman Rockwell Lane; 221-1010

The restaurant and surrounding area don't feel much like New York -- more like a quaint village in the Midwest -- and it could be argued that the food has been run through a Scottsdale filter, since that's where the company's based. But garlic cheese bread was both garlicky and cheesy, and other winners included an appetizer of meatballs, the New York Combo pizza (with bell peppers, onions, black olives, mushrooms, meatballs, sausage, pepperoni and mozzarella), and garlic chicken pasta, based on a creamy Alfredo sauce. (10/24/08)

Overall: A- $$