Bob Taylor’s Ranch House

You will find Bob Taylor’s Ranch House where the outer suburbs of Las Vegas give way to hundreds of miles of barren desert. Vegas’ oldest steakhouse, it hosted legends of Western films and music (Roy Rogers, John Wayne etc.) and has been a local favorite for generations since. Over the years, the Ranch House become more of a history lesson than an institution for fine dining. We’re happy to report that the old classics are still good.

Steaks are grilled over mesquite in an open indoor pit. (We’ve seen live-wood pits in restaurants, but never one so dangerously close to wall-to-wall carpeting!) The famous cut is prime rib, which is cooked outside in smokers all day. This seems much safer.

At lunch, the only way to have some of the famous smoked prime rib is to order a French dip. Although it is hardly a prime rib experience, it’s a fantastic sandwich, the meat shaved Philadelphia-thin and re-grilled. It’s more like sandwich ribeye than prime rib, but that’s not a bad thing. It is a fine French dip made from delicately smoked rib steaks on a soft roll with a classic glutamate-rich jus and some provolone to boot: one of the best French dips we’ve tasted. Steak fries on the side are from a freezer bag, but they are fried golden and crispy.

What’s really impressive are the unique and nostalgic steakhouse sides, especially crab-stuffed mushrooms dressed in cream sauce with a spritz of lemon. These little bites remind us of bygone dinner party hors d’oeuvres.

Even better is Cajun shrimp scampi, a gloss on New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp. With less spice and more cream than you’d find in Louisiana, it’s basic elements are present, including butter sauce with flavors of Worcestershire, a hint of cayenne pepper, and garlic. Yes, it is imitation Creole cooking from the 1950’s, but boy, it’s delicious. You won’t be worrying about where it comes from when you’re fighting over the last plump shrimp and jockeying for position to mop up its sauce with bread or steak fries.

You can get a good steak in many places, but we know of no other restaurant to get prime rib that’s cooked all day on smokers, or, more importantly, to get the Cajun shrimp scampi.