Waverly’s Steak House an affordable throwback that blends old, new

"This is the best-kept secret in North Las Vegas," we heard the chef tell the people at a nearby table. And, after we gave it a bit of thought, we decided that wasn't quite the hyperbole it appeared to be.

Waverly's Steak House is of the old school, with enough new stuff thrown in there to keep things interesting. Does it break any new culinary ground? Will you get a steak as good as you'd get at, say, Gordon Ramsay's new place on the Strip? No, and no, but for this one, you won't have to carry your money in a wheelbarrow.

The look of Waverly's owes much to the past, with subdued lighting, sprawling horseshoe-shaped booths and tables truly draped with linens - so much so that the hostess, when seating, grasps the tablecloth to make it easier for guests to slide into the booths. (We figure that practice came about after they lost a few wine glasses.) But there's nothing old-school-steakhouse about the coffered ceilings and the wall decor with its appealing monumental depictions of fruits and vegetables.

Our waiter also was a bit of a throwback; if he was trying to emulate a particular game-show guest of the '60s, he was doing a very good job. But he did a very good job at the important things, too, being just friendly enough, stopping in just frequently enough, asking just enough questions. At no point did we feel either neglected or pestered, and that's a balance that any server should strive for.

The food's pretty old-school, too, but with some updated touches. The bread basket, for example, contained the requisite crusty French-style bread and lavosh, but also a bread shot through with nuts. And the menu, heavy on steakhouse favorites, is freshened with more modern cross-cultural listings like she-crab soup and calamari.

I don't know if we were in a throwback mood or what, but we decided to cleave to the basics, which meant a Caesar salad ($9) and French onion soup ($8).

First, the latter: The veal-stock broth had been lightened somewhat with chicken stock, and the end result was a lovely mix with a really nice depth of flavor and - praise the culinary gods - no surfeit of salt. The onions were in just the right proportion, perfectly caramelized and at the right place on the sweet-to-pungent continuum. The only disappointment, and it was a very slight one, was the cheese, which had a fair amount of flavor but still was a walk on the mild side.

The Caesar was basic, which was fine. The romaine had been cut into chunks to make it easier to eat, and the dressing was creamy, with the slightly acidic edge that reveals the use of anchovies somewhere along the way.

I was, I have to say, impressed by the rib-eye ($30). This is a flavorful cut, which is why I chose it, and the kitchen augmented that by gracing it with a seasoning that was both unidentifiable and very appealing - in both cases because it was charred. The steak was perfectly rare, as ordered, and quite a bargain, when you consider today's steakhouse prices.

Veal Oscar ($32) is definitely a throwback that you don't see on menus much anymore, and this one reminded me that that's kind of a shame. It was far from excessive - the usual pronouncement of a dish that starts with veal and adds asparagus, crabmeat and a bit of Bearnaise. The veal was delicate, the crabmeat fresh and sweet, the asparagus still slightly crisp, and there wasn't much sharing going on with this one.

Both dishes were accompanied by potatoes, and our waiter had taken pains to tell us that one would be au gratin, one mashed, and to ask if that was OK, which it was. We were a little surprised, then, to find that they were identical - mounds of the rich, creamy mashed. Well, all right, then.

Dessert was out of the question, so we just sipped the rest of our wine, from a list that was reasonably well varied and even more reasonably priced.

And as we sipped we listened to the music, a steakhouse soundtrack that mixed the classics of Torme with the best of Buble - one more example of the skillful mixing of new and old.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or hrinella@reviewjournal.com.