If you’re like many Vegas visitors, you’ve checked out the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower at some point for the awe-inspiring views. Whether to dine in the renowned Top of the World restaurant or to find your thrills on one of the rides crowning the tower, many beeline directly to the double-decker elevators with limited notice of rest of the property. If you pass by McCall’s Heartland Grill just off the casino floor, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Stratosphere executive chef Rick Giffen is well known for innovative menus, and that creativity is evident from the beginning with his starters. Braised beef short rib sliders, accompanied by a green-apple horseradish and braised in local Tenaya Creek Hauling Oats stout, are fall-apart tender and well-balanced. Applewood bacon- and jalapeño-wrapped prawns are a foodie’s dream, with a mixture of smoke and heat. Most interesting of all may be the PBB&J crostini, where peanut butter, bacon, blue cheese and jalapeño jelly combine in a myriad of flavors and textures—sweetness, sharpness and smokiness combine in a symphony for the senses.
The Asian-roasted chicken salad is an unexpected treat; served with a light orange miso dressing that provides a hint of citric sweetness, the dish is garnished with one of the more addictive toppings you’ll encounter: candied chili macadamia nuts. These bite-size morsels of goodness are halved and flash-fried with sambal, a chili sauce of Malaysian descent, resulting in both saltiness and spiciness while contributing a crunchy foil to the greens. They’re so addictively good you’ll want a to-go order once you try one.
Applewood bacon- and jalapeño-wrapped prawns
McCall’s isn’t an ordinary steakhouse, however, as your standard cuts are nestled on the menu with a few more unique entrées. The horseradish-crusted ground chuck steak is a play on your mother’s meat loaf … if your mother had the wherewithal to crust her ground chuck with the spicy condiment. The addition provides a nice contrast to the savory meat. And the blue cheese-crusted center-cut New York strip evokes a long-duration dry-aged steak with the addition of the sharp cheese.
As is true of most steakhouses, much care is lavished upon the sides. Smoked cheddar croquettes provide smoky ooziness, while the creamed spinach is elevated with the addition of poblano chilies. But best of all may be the Blue Lake green beans served with those addictive macadamia nuts. You just can’t escape them, but why would you want to?
For dessert, there’s the pièce de résistance. The house-baked Granny Smith green apple pie “deconstructed” with dulce de leche ice cream is a dish that must be experienced to truly appreciate. Giffen and Co. present a cored whole apple deep-fried in pie pastry, stuffed with caramel and served alongside the sweet ice cream. After diving into this dish, you’ll never look at apple pie in the same way again. And it’s only at the Stratosphere.
Stratosphere, 3-11 p.m. daily. 702.380.7777
