Siegel’s 1941
Coffee
Chocolate Nutella Pancakes w/ Vermont Maple Syrup
Chicken & Waffle – Boneless Chicken, Sausage Gravy & Pure Maple Syrup
Challah French Toast – Vanilla, Cinnamon, Confectioner’s Sugar & Pure Maple Syrup
Fat Irish Corned Beef Hash – Crispy Home Fries & Poached Eggs
White Toast and Butter
Monte Cristo – Shaved Ham, Gruyere Cheese on Grilled Brioche with Fries
Miami Cuban – Ham, Pulled Pork, Swiss & Pickle with Slaw
Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich – Coleslaw on Sesame with Fries
Chicken Pot Pie with Steamed Broccoli
Spaghetti w/ Hand Rolled Meatballs and Garlic Bread
Chicken Parmigiana with Spaghetti and Garlic Bread
Salted Caramel Turtle Pie – Chocolate Mousse Topped w/ Salted Caramel & Pecans on Ginger Snap & Graham Cracker Crust w/ Tahitian Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Brioche Bourbon Bread Pudding – Tahitian Vanilla Bean Ice Cream & Bourbon Sauce
Perhaps the most aspiring downtown hotel dining project in recent memory, and one that instantly sparked interest given the 24/7 concept within the historic El Cortez, it was with three friends that a four-course feast was enjoyed at Siegel’s 1941, the sizeable space and immense menu showing promise of great things to come despite only officially being open for five days at the time of our mid-morning arrival.
Inspired by Bugsy Siegel, an early investor in the El Cortez, with a soundtrack that veers vintage as Rat Pack classics float beneath gilded ceilings overhead, Siegel’s 1941 features several touches harkening the era for which it is themed and with Virginia Hill gazing on over wood and red leather the menu is wide-reaching with breakfast, ‘all-day,’ and late-nite versions offered depending on the time, the transition from breakfast occurring at 11:00am proving the impetus for the party’s 10:15am reserved table.
Managed by Scott Farber and conceptualized by ESPLV, a design group behind several local restaurants with varying degrees of value, it would seem obvious that a concept as aggressive as Sigel’s 1941 would be marred by a few issues in its opening days, and fully admitting that staff/kitchen transitions are one of those ‘kinks’ it was no-doubt a pleasant surprise that saw Scott diligently looking over his team throughout the stay, a middle-aged Hispanic woman providing almost universally impressive service given the complex coursing of the order, while a few kitchen delays and errors in execution seemed a bit more egregious – the chicken sent in place of requested eggplant, while a side of meatballs was instead served as the spaghetti centered entrée with a whole lot of watery noodles eventually going to waste.
Beginning with breakfast, a few cups of coffee as well as orange juice, milk, plus a cocktail all brought along with water with refills rarely requiring a request, course one saw four plates delivered and while the flaccid pancakes with a simple spread of nutella could have benefitted from a bit more imagination both the chicken and waffles beneath peppery sausage gravy and the challah French Toast were as good as any served within a local diner, the use of 100% pure maple syrup a definite highlight, as was the quality of house-made corned beef acting to anchor a hash that featured golden-brown potatoes and lightly seared red peppers alongside a pair of poached eggs.
Designating round two as ‘the sandwich course,’ it was on the advice of EatingLV that ‘the city’s best Cuban’ was ordered, and served with fries on a silver tray one would be hard pressed to argue with such an assessment, particularly as relates to authenticity, as each ingredient melded nicely between layers of toasty pressed bread, the ‘Monte Cristo’ equally tasty and loaded with ham despite missing an opportunity to be the only deep-fried version currently offered in Sin City while the ‘Carolina’ pulled pork was unfortunately quite dreadful, a total lack of vinegar in either the pig or the slaw not at all resembling the stuff served in the Southeast while the bun was a soggy mess mere seconds after arrival.
Receiving repeat apologies for a delay that stretched just under forty minutes at the midpoint of the meal, it was almost as though the extra time only served to confuse the kitchen since the aforementioned mistakes were sent out despite being correctly listed on the ticket, but thankfully not meeting any harboring a distaste for animal flesh as the enormous chicken parmesan was an exceedingly high quality rendition with light breading and good sauce while meatballs were unfortunately a bit dry and almost entirely devoid of spice, the pot pie undoubtedly proving a far more worthwhile bite as golden puff pastry formed a buttery dome over a creamy potage chockablock full of chicken and vegetables that outdid many more expensive versions found elsewhere in Sin City.
Not yet dialing in the dessert menu, and as such unable to offer the Strawberry Ice Box Pie while also admitting that breakfast pastries are currently brought in from an outside source, the meal conclude with a duo of Bread Pudding and Turtle Pie, the former a dense block of brioche swimming in bourbon infused sauce beneath slowly melting ice cream while the later was an absolute must-order for those fancying caramel or chocolate, the filling a spot-on rendition of the inspirational candy with a graham cracker crust crisp too the tooth and heavy with spice.
THREE AND A HALF STARS: Already rivaling anything downtown for 24-hour fare, and only likely to get better with time, Siegel’s 1941 is the sort of retro-rebrand that places such Roxy’s at the Stratosphere have long aspired to emulate – a place where tourists and locals alike can get a good meal at a fair price, all while experiencing the old-school Vegas vibe that flows throughout its longest continuously running hotel and gaming space.
RECOMMENDED: Chicken Pot Pie, Miami Cuban, Chicken Parmesan, Salted Caramel Turtle Pie, Fat Irish Corned Beef Hash.
AVOID: Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich, Meatballs.
TIP: Parking is available for free within the El Cortez Parking Garage for those with a player’s card, something to consider with the recent $2/hr monetization of all downtown meters.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor