Old Homestead Steak House offers fresh take on classic

Mooovers and shakers.

That's the recipe at Caesars Palace's newest restaurant, the Old Homestead Steak House.

Of course, "new" is a relative term when it comes to the Old Homestead, a New York City staple since 1868.

After expanding to Atlantic City's Borgata hotel-casino, however, Old Homestead proprietors Greg and Marc Sherry found "a happy marriage" in Las Vegas for their first West Coast venture.

Caesars was looking for a steakhouse to replace Nero's, according to Paul Slagle , general manager of Old Homestead's Las Vegas location, which opened Dec. 21. (One of the mooovers in attendance: Annabelle, Old Homestead's signature brown-and-white cow, who's now perched above the entrance to the 16,000-square-foot Caesars location following a cross-country trek.)

Although the Las Vegas restaurant, which seats 250, may be new, the Old Homestead features a variety of traditional items the Meatpacking District original has "become famous for," Slagle notes, including its USDA prime beef, hand-selected and dry-aged for a minimum of 30 days.

Las Vegas has "a lot of steakhouses," Slagle acknowledges, but "no one else has our product," he says.

"Have we reinvented the wheel? No," he says, adding that the Old Homestead hopes to offer "a fresh take on a classic."

That attitude extends beyond signature steaks (including the 32-ounce "Lollipop" ribeye, a Nero's holdover) to such items as the "Kitchen Sink" salad (which includes, among other ingredients, shrimp, salami, bacon, avocado and hearts of palm).

Even with something as seemingly simple as a Caesar salad, Slagle says, "it has to eat well."

Along with eating well, Old Homestead patrons have plenty of drink choices. In addition to a wine list topping 15,000 bottles, the cocktail menu features such libations as the Cherry and Chocolate Martini. The latter serves as drink and dessert in one.

The desserts themselves "are big enough to feed two," Slagle notes, "although, maybe, the crème brûlée I could eat by myself."

Old Homestead Steak House at Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South, is open from 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays and 5 to 11 p.m. weekends, although "as long as there's a line at the door," Slagle says, "we'll keep seating people."

Appetizers: Kobe meatball, $19; Maryland crab cake, $22

Raw bar: Colossal shrimp cocktail, $22; shellfish platter (Maine lobster, king crab, shrimp and oysters), $72 (premium)

Salads: Yvette's Caesar, $15; Kitchen Sink, $17

Entrees: Empire cut prime rib, $49; Gotham Rib steak on the bone, $58 (26 ounce), $64 (30 ounce); Dover sole meuniere, $58; Lollipop ribeye steak, $85

Side dishes: potato gnocchi with truffle butter, "tater tots" with Fat Boy sauce, Grandma's creamed spinach, Homestead mac and four cheeses, $12 each

Desserts: Cast-iron baked chocolate cookie with vanilla bean ice cream, red velvet cake, $12 each

Information/reservations: 731-7560

By CAROL CLING