Are You Game?

Dining in Vegas makes a Bay Area transplant feel like a spoiled brat. Eating out in this town, I am suddenly more grateful for local produce from California's fertile soil. Even in the "upscale" restaurants of Vegas the food lacks. Why? Not necessarily because the chefs are inept or because the menus are off, but the taste of flown in, pales in comparison to farm fresh. I didn't realize just how much until we discovered Tender, a new Steakhouse at the Luxor Las Vegas. It's a good thing this town's culture is centered around cocktails or else they might not have any. K.C. Fazel's wild game trio, a nightly special, is made up of boar, venison and antelope meats. I couldn't tell you what the meats taste like because they were all slathered in a barbeque sauce that masked the true essence of the game. Texture wise these dishes were all wrong. The antelope is extremely fatty, and feels like chewing chunks of lard. The venison though tough, is tasty. The sauce goes well with the saltiness of the meat. If I didn't already know I was eating boar I might mistake it for a beef steak, it's not very gamey. Overall, very disappointed in the trio. My initial excitement about the dish was reduced like pan gravy at first bite. DISGUSTING. 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. South, (702) 262-4852