Ron’s Steakhouse a tasty, affordable experience despite service delays

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All of the talk recently about a steakhouse about to be opened by a former Las Vegas mayor — that would be Oscar’s, by Oscar Goodman, and due in late October — brings to mind another steakhouse that already was opened by a former Las Vegas mayor.

That would be Ron’s, at Arizona Charlie’s on Decatur Boulevard, where its namesake, former Mayor Ron Lurie, is executive vice president and general manager.

So how will they compare? Reports are that Oscar’s is going to have sort of a flashy, bombastic personality, much like the man himself (and a quality that has brought him fans worldwide). Ron’s, on the other hand, is rather understated and low-key but still manges to get the job done — much like the man himself.

Like many of its middling-to-older brethren across the valley, Arizona Charlie’s brings to mind an old-timey, smoky atmosphere, but it’s actually a bit ahead of its time with a nonsmoking slot area, which we skirted on our short journey to Ron’s, just off the casino floor. Once inside its doors, we found a tranquil space, with muted colors and lighting and a Frank-and-Dean soundtrack so soft as to be barely discernible. We were immediately greeted by a friendly hostess and led inside to the smallish space with stone-topped tables that were well-spaced and chairs that were comfortable.

And then, well, we waited.

I’m not sure what was going on with our server; it appeared she may have had too many tables. So maybe the delays weren’t her fault but the fault of management, but the only flaw during our dinner at Ron’s was that we found ourselves waiting too long — for our server to make her initial appearance, for our soup and salads to appear, for our entrees and for the check.

Most of the rest we liked very much. Dinner at Ron’s includes a bread basket overflowing with thick slices of a crusty white bread, equally thick slices of a truly wonderful walnut-raisin bread and a sheaf of sheets of cheese-flecked lavosh. They were accompanied by a trio of butters — regular, timid herb and fantastic cinnamon. So, major props there.

They also were accompanied by soup or salad, which on the evening of our visit was a fairly standard minestrone and crunchy mixed greens, piled up and bounded by a couple of long, thin slices of cucumber, the plate decorated with a few tiny grape tomato halves. In these days of steakhouses charging in the mid-$40s for a steak on a naked plate, these inclusions with dinner indicated quite a bargain.

So, too, did a starter of oysters Rockefeller ($10). The spinach was maybe a little too creamy, so that it tended to dwarf the oysters a bit, and the touch of Pernod that provides a nice anise counterpunch was missing, but overall, they were appealing.

We noticed the same obsession with overly creamed spinach in a side dish of, well, creamed spinach ($5). One of those large-enough-for-two propositions, it was a generous serving, and the spinach had a nice leafy texture, but instead of just cloaking it, the sauce drenched it. It was nice and creamy, flavored very faintly with the nuttiness of Parmesan, so the overall effect was that of spinach Alfredo, and we found ourselves pondering what that might be like over pasta. It was good — very good — but odd.

A 14-ounce New York strip ($24) was not only a veritable bargain these days but also possessed of a lot of beefy flavor, and was medium-rare as ordered. It was accompanied by a tiny dab of mashed potato and a large slice of waffle-cut potato, which prevented the steak-on-a-plate look.

But even better was Charlie’s Steak au Poivre ($28). The filet mignon medallions were appropriately tender, the filet’s characteristic mild flavor enhanced by a just-generous-enough coat of crushed black pepper and a creamy, cognac-enriched sauce. I’d ordered the medallions rare, and they were indeed, and perfect with the sauce. The potato duo was present here as well.

So this former-mayoral steakhouse is a winner, and has us looking forward to Oscar’s.

And wondering when Caesars Entertainment is going to name a spot for Jan Jones.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.