(LifeWire) - Location: Hooters Hotel & Casino
115 E. Tropicana Ave.
Las Vegas, Nev. 89109
Phone: (702) 597-6028
Website: www.hchvegas.com/flash.cfm
Hours at Dan Marino's: Open around the clock.
Cuisine at Dan Marino's: Upscale sports bar fare, with a little steakhouse on the side.
Menu pricing: Appetizers range from about $7 to $12, while entrees range from $13 to $29.
Reservations: Optional, but encouraged for large parties
Dress code: Casual
What it's like: Dan Marino's restaurant is a low-key, casually elegant respite from the Hooters Hotel & Casino atmosphere, which features scantily-clad Hooters girls sashaying about in their trademark uniforms amid watering holes like Dixie's Dam Country Bar and the Nippers Pool Bar. The restaurant is part of the brand created by former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and his only outpost outside of Florida. The modern decor incorporates muted colors, chiseled stonework and leather banquettes.
As for the menu, call it sports bar nouveau: The exhibition kitchen turns out classics like Maryland crab cakes, a Caesar salad with homemade croutons and chicken parmesan, but shows its range with fare like an Asian pear salad with blackened shrimp and a host of seafood options. Try the nut-crusted mahi-mahi sesame seared tuna or select any of the daily fish options done up one of six ways, including "bronzed" with a six-spice rub.
Dan Marino's serves 21-day-aged Sterling Silver premium beef in a few different cuts, including a center-cut skirt steak with caramelized onions, a filet mignon slathered in garlic butter and a 10-oz. sirloin rubbed with a house mix of seasonings. The Quarterback Cut, an 18-oz. bone-in rib eye, is one of the most popular items on the menu.
For dessert, order the strawberry shortcake for the story alone: Supermodel Nikki Taylor birthed the recipe (which features warmed pound cake and white chocolate shavings) in Florida back in 1995.
The horseshoe-shaped 13 Martini Bar turns out a long list of signature drinks for thirsty patrons. Try one of the novel martinis (like the one infused with melted Jolly Rancher candies), or order from the impressive wine list, offering nearly 200 bottles.
Suggestions: Upgrade anything from the grill by asking for it "Oscar style," with asparagus, fresh lump crabmeat and Hollandaise sauce.
