Appetizers take center stage at Center Cut

Beverly Poppe

Try not to drool over the bacon satay trio at Flamingo’s Center Cut Steakhouse.

By Brock Radke (contact)

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 | 5:12 p.m.

The steakhouse is flourishing on the Strip, especially at Caesars properties where they’ve opened three beef-centric joints in six months. Hidden in the back of the Flamingo, Center Cut Steakhouse doesn’t have a celebrity chef like Gordon Ramsay or a century of tradition like Old Homestead. How will it stand out? Bet on bacon.

The appetizers impress at Center Cut, especially the impossible-to-ignore trio bacon satay ($16): three thick swine strips augmented with cayenne pepper, applewood smoke and blue cheese, all riding a block of pink rock salt. There are more tasty touches on this starters menu, like meaty crab cakes with maple-dijon sauce ($18), a lovely yellow heirloom tomato cocktail sauce that comes with the shrimp cocktail or chilled seafood tower, and succulent lamb riblettes with sweet, spicy barbecue sauce ($15). If you save room, the steaks are terrific, too.