TENDER Steak & Seafood is doing what comes naturally
If you’ve ever wondered what’s in a name, TENDER Steak & Seafood says it all when it comes to being a restaurant that has “juice.”
The 9,400-square-foot venue at the Luxor lets its cuisine do all the talking. Every item on the menu is dedicated to ensuring that the natural flavors of the meat and seafood are at the fore, without covering them up or smothering them with heavy sauces or seasonings.
“We maintain the steak and seafood appeal but take it to another level,” says K.C. Fazel, Chef de Cuisine at TENDER. “Everything is managed. All the meat and seafood comes from specialty ranches and farms and we make sure that our sources treat the animals humanely. None of our meat has any growth hormones or antibiotics – it’s kept as clean as possible so that our guests taste what beef used to taste like. Our fish also come from a managed habitat where natural resources aren’t being depleted and the water is cleaned at both ends before fish enter or are taken from the river system.”
In cooking, Fazel appeals to the five senses – of the tongue. He explains that the tongue has different areas that pick up different sensations – sweet, salt, sour, spicy, and savory, and he seeks to balance those into a full taste experience for guests. The menu is based on the seasons and what is available at the farmer’s market and seasonally from the restaurant’s suppliers.
TENDER has six sources of beef – New Zealand organic (which means that it’s grass-fed), Angus domestic, Hereford domestic, Japanese Kobe, Japanese Kobe, and natural Dutch friesan Brandt beef. The menu also offers natural free-range lamb, veal and pork as well as free-range chicken. Seafood items available in season include Maine lobster, Australian rock lobster tail, diver-caught day boat Maine sea scallops, Loch duart Scottish salmon, Hawaiian yellowfin tuna, Hawaiian blue prawns, and Australian barramundi seas bass. Hudson Valley moulard duck is also on the menu.
For those who prefer sauces, béarnaise, hollandaise, bordelaise, and green peppercorn cognac sauce are available as an accompaniment at a $3 charge. Another accompaniment is gold-mine aged shaft’s blue vein cheese ($4) and organic mushroom creamed demi-glace ($3).
“We feel that we have a personal responsibility to take care of the earth we’re living on,” says Fazel, who grew up around his grandparents’ farm in Iowa and remembers when meat had a distinct flavor as opposed to the nondescript taste it has taken on in the last 5-10 years. “Most people are used to corn-fed or grain-fed flavors. Grass-fed beef, together with my process of aging, offers the fullest flavor.”
- by Bobbie Katz, Las Vegas Reporter for HelloMetro
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