Dinner last night was at Waverly's Steakhouse in the Cannery far away from the strip near Nellis AFB. First of all, getting there is no small task from the southwest part of town. Knowing the freeways were full and undesireable, I chose a scenic route across DI to Eastern, north to Cheyenne, and jog over to Losee.(not recommended)
I had only been to the Cannery a few times and never paid it much attention. It was always difficult to get to and always a major construction zone. This time I noticed hotel rooms that I have not noticed before and I did not see any construction on my quick in and out. I parked in a big parking garage that I never noticed before.
When I got off of the elevators and stepped into the casino, I had a bad first impression. The cigarette smoke was very strong. It wasn't just the smoke either, it had the old stale wet ashtray scent too. It was pretty bad. I quickly found my dining spot and went right in. Waverly's has a bar right at the entrance and most of the restaurant is behind the bar. The restaurant doesn't have a lot of wow factor in appearance. It is fine and it's comfortable and probably the nicest dining room in the area.
A beverage server brought me water and a bread basket right away. My waiter was kinda busy and didn't show up until after bread and water service. He was a good waiter though and I had no problems. I showed him my $50 gift certificate from the KWNR website I wrote about in another thread. He assured me it would be redeemed and I could leave it on my table for now. I ordered sizzling shrimp and a large cut of prime rib, medium rare, and iced tea.
The sizzling shrimp are 4 shrimp that come out on a sizzling cast iron pan. The waiter takes them off of the pan and plates them in a regular saucer and pours a lemon/garlic sauce on them. They were good. I don't know if they were worth the $11 price tag.
My "Waverly Cut" of prime rib arrived shortly after the shrimp plate was cleared. It was a great looking cut of meat with a nice crust on the outside, good color, and came with Yukon gold mashed potatoes and stir fry veggies. There were separate bowls of au jus and horse radish. The prime rib was very good. It was almost two forks thick from a nice 4 prong fork. This was no dairy cow. It was a happy cow. It cut nicely with a knife and even cut with a fork without too much effort. It was a very good meal.
After the meal, my server suggested dessert. As I thought of a nice way to decline, he said there was room on the comp and he could make it to go if I didn't finish. He recommended a chocolate cake that wasn't on the menu and added a scoop of very good vanilla bean ice cream because it was good and the comp would cover it. The guy was right, as it was a good chocolate cake and the ice cream was a perfect accompaniment. I asked why that cake wasn't on the menu and he said that it's one they use for birthdays and other special celebrations. They do have a chocolate lava cake with ice cream on the dessert menu for about $7.
I played in the casino about 5 minutes until the smell got to me. It was about 8:30pm and I decided to take a chance on the freeway. Good grief, this is dangerous. I made it from Craig Rd to Flamingo in one piece. People survive that route every day. There are a lot of strikes against you that worsen the odds from a normal drive. The lanes jog back and forth frequently, there are concrete barriers at the edge of the lanes, the lanes were not clearly marked and the marks change a lot as they change lane routing, there is little or no lighting, you never know when there will be an entrance ramp or what side of the road it is coming from, and the big trucks don't negotiate the jogs and turns as agile as a regular car. Combine this with the normal bad drivers and it's just not a good route.
My steak dinner was good and I'd like to go back for more prime rib and to try a porterhouse steak. I don't know if I would want to make the trip unless I had a good coupon in hand or was already in the area. I'm still not sure what the ideal route to the Cannery is either. The freeway north of downtown is under constant change with construction cutting out one direction of traffic and putting north and southbound traffic on the same side of the road.
The Waverly has a lot in common with Carve at the Eastside Cannery. The bread basket seemed familiar, my sizzling shrimp ended up much like the scampi I had at Carve, and there are other hints, here and there. The prime rib is definitely different though.
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