First look inside chef James Trees’ new steakhouse in the sky — PHOTOS
Chef James Trees showed his hand at High Steaks Vegas on Wednesday evening, gathering friends of the house to preview the new steakhouse atop the Masquerade Tower at the Rio. The public opening will be Tuesday for Trees’ sixth Las Vegas restaurant and his first in a casino.
High Steaks replaces VooDoo Steak, which occupied the space for about 30 years before closing in July to make way for the steakhouse. VooDoo’s exuberantly ecumenical decor — images of skulls and bovine hindquarters, carpets with ribbons of color, chairs upholstered in zebra or backed with lion heads — has been superseded by a serene bosky minimalism.
As in hunter green walls, booths upholstered in mallard green plush and gunmetal accents everywhere. Vibrancy comes courtesy of a hand-painted mural enrobing a cylindrical central support, the image an abstract rendering of lights hanging from neon bars. The surround-sound views of the Strip and the Vegas Valley remain.
The skinny on chops
Beef thoughtfully sourced from leading sustainable ranches leads the menu. Smoked prime rib, thickly sliced, arrives in petite cut (10-ounce), classic cut (16-ounce) and double cut (24-ounce) portions, a small beaker of jus poured on tableside. Wild game, as Trees promised when Neon broke the news of the restaurant, includes a boar chop, an elk chop and venison backstrap.
Chef Joe’s scalloped potatoes have already emerged as a highlight among the sides and vegetables. Cheddar gratin tops the potatoes; caramelized onions form the base. The combination is at once crunchy and saucy — an unexpected twist on an American classic.
Starters shine
Prime rib sliders featuring sliced beef in potato buns with horseradish cream and cheese sauce draw inspiration from a traditional roast beef and gravy sandwich — while tasting better than tradition ever did. “It’s like fancy Arby’s,” the chef joked when he sat down briefly with Neon during a busy dinner service.
A wedge salad, another steakhouse standard, also merits notice. This version includes confit tomatoes, avocado and a soft-cooked egg planting its flag on top. The salad is chopped, served in a bowl and perfectly finished with Maytag blue cheese dressing spiked with dill. Why aren’t more restaurants serving the salad chopped in a bowl — much much easier to eat — and with a true blue cheese dressing?
The photos accompanying this story gorgeously complete this first look inside the questing culinary intelligence of a chef who makes the case there is still something new to say about the Vegas steakhouse.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
