I wouldn't even dream about eating here without ordering a bowl of the chef's murky, dusky chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, a dark brown soup served with a heap of rice in the center. A much milder choice is the Red Rock soup, a yin and yang of mushroom and tomato bisques, delicately separated by a swirl. One of the signature dishes is Nevada Nick's Special Salad, and it is indeed worthy of bearing the owner's name. It is a molded Cobb, except that Stilton cheese replaces blue, and notes of shallot and chili permeate the dressing. The salad arrives in a timbale shape.
Steaks are mesquite-grilled and powerfully smoky.
The best choice, hands down, is the smoked filet mignon. Graham tops his filets with an almost obscenely rich lobster leek bordelaise reduction. Sure, but what a way to die. Another dish not to miss is the lacquered duck, a beautifully roasted bird brushed with an exotic coffee-orange glaze that gives it a flavor I've not tasted elsewhere. There are more than 150 wines on a list that is as eclectic as Nick's kitchen, many available by the glass.