| rev:text | 	The Charcoal Room falls just a hair short of being five stars.  It is, after all, a steakhouse, and my bone-in ribeye was a first class steak - flavorful, tender, and well-cooked.  On top of that, it was reasonably priced and came with a fluffy baked potato and house salad included.  My wife ordered the sea bass, and she raved about it.  We both started with the French Onion Soup, which my wife liked but which I thought was a little salty.  It tasted a bit as if someone had taken a good bowl of onion soup and dropped a beef bouillon cube into it.  So, the food was mostly good.
Now let's back up.  Getting to the restaurant means making your way through the length and breadth of the Palace Station casino, which is somewhat akin to how I imagine travelling steerage on the Titanic must have been.  Once you arrive though, the ambiance is nice - appointed in dark red and black with a slightly retro design.  I would have liked it better if the casino was not visible from our table and - the common scourge of Vegas restaurants - big screen TV's were visible at the bar were playing "the game."  But soft background music ran the gamut from Dean and Frank to rock.  The tables were spaced a bit tightly for my taste, but sitting in one of the booths that ran around the edge of the room was comfortable.
The room was almost empty on a Thursday night, so we were seated immediately.  A nice variety of fresh breads appeared immediately.  Our server, Gary, was quick with the cocktails and quick to take our orders.  Each course was served promptly, and Gary remained attentive throughout the meal.
So, all in all, this was a nice dinner and we will go back.  Also a nice value - cocktails, wine, tax and tip included we  were out the door for about $150.  Pretty good for a high end steak house. |