Omelet House has earned place as hometown favorite

By HEIDI KNAPP RINELLA LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

10 years ago

Server Shirley Vaughan, center, speaks with patron Linda Smalls, left, of Pahrump, at Omelet House, 2160 W. Charleston Blvd., May 15, 2015. Omelet House has a variety of hearty omelets as well as traditional diner fare and has been serving the Las Vegas Valley for decades. (Ronda Churchill/View) (Click for more photos)

Server Valerie Korbel, right, takes an order at Omelet House, 2160 W. Charleston Blvd., May 15, 2015. (Ronda Churchill/View)

Patrons can be seen dining through an opening in a wall at Omelet House, 2160 W. Charleston Blvd., May 15, 2015. (Ronda Churchill/View)

Soups and specials are posted on a board at Omelet House, 2160 W. Charleston Blvd., May 15, 2015. (Ronda Churchill/View)

People walk up to Omelet House, 2160 W. Charleston Blvd., May 15, 2015. There are also two locations on Boulder Highway in Henderson. (Ronda Churchill/View)

Regular readers know I value restaurants with menus that change — but not too much. Seeing the same menu all the time gets boring, but we all hate to see a favorite dish vanish. Restaurants with staying power usually know how to walk that fine line.

They would include Omelet House, around since the ’70s in various locations, the one at West Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive being a constant. That’s where we went on a recent weekday and where we saw on the specials board something I couldn’t have envisioned: a chicken-fried steak omelet.

If you’re conversant in things Southern, you know chicken-fried steak as beef steak pounded thin, breaded and fried and napped with cream gravy. An omelet version didn’t sound real appealing, but in this job, I often find myself ordering things that don’t sound real appealing, both to try something new and to find out if the kitchen has lost its collective mind.

And quite contrary to expectations, this one worked. The meat was exceptionally thin and cut into bite-sized pieces. The omelet (we had a “baby,” $10.06, which was huge but not as huge as the regular size) had been folded around the meat and some mild melted cheese. Then a thin layer — and this was a crucial point — of cream gravy had been applied to the top of the folded omelet. All of the classic tastes were there, none overwhelming.

A hot pastrami sandwich ($10.19) was something new to the menu, and again, we wondered how they’d treat it — as a kosher-style deli would, or an Italian deli, or what? It sort of split the middle, the meat well-trimmed and sliced paper-thin, then piled high on marble rye (a French roll was another option).

With both, we had the house’s signature house-made thick potato chips, plus its signature (and addictive) pumpkin bread with the omelet.

And a half-order of fried zucchini ($5.99), so large we were glad we hadn’t gone for the full. These were long, thick spears, obviously house-made, thinly coated, fried crisp and served with ranch, cheese sauce or both.

If you’ve been to this Omelet House location, you know that it’s deceptively large and charmingly decorated with tchotchkes and collectibles. But here was an even more charming touch: We were seated in a booth that was marked, with plaques and photos, as reserved for the Mayors Goodman, who apparently weren’t coming in that day or already had. It made us feel we were in a small-town hangout — in a good way — and provided further evidence that Omelet House has earned its place as a hometown favorite.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at reviewjournal.com and bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.