El Cortez has opened both halves of its remodeled restaurant on East Fremont, so the old Siegel’s room now does breakfast and lunch by day and steakhouse dinners at night. Alex Prime, a New York-style steakhouse named for owner Kenny Epstein’s late daughter Alex, serves USDA Prime cuts like a bone-in rib-eye and a 42-ounce tomahawk, plus tableside Steak Diane, prime rib, oysters Rockefeller and a raw bar with lobster Louie, and it runs 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Siegel’s 1941 is back daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with matzoh brei and country-fried steak in the morning, then patty melts, French dips, steak frites and a martini lunch from 11 a.m. The room seats more than 150 with emerald-green banquettes and cognac leather, Alex Prime takes OpenTable reservations, and Siegel’s takes walk-ins, all ahead of El Cortez’s 85th birthday on Nov. 7.
Morimoto at MGM Grand is turning 10, and it’s marking it with an à la carte menu of 10 guest favorites through Oct 31, including the 10-hour braised pork belly (kakuni), yellowtail pastrami, a crispy whole fish and a grilled pork chop. The White Lily and Wagyu Manhattan cocktails are on it too, and dessert brings jasmine panna cotta and crème brûlée doughnuts, with dinner from 5 p.m. nightly.
Beauty & Essex at The Cosmopolitan is celebrating 10 years in Vegas with more than a dozen new dishes from chef Chris Santos and team, and Las Vegas Weekly’s picks include a crudo with cucumber and avocado, fried eggplant, shishitos with honey chili crisp and a 38-ounce cowboy steak. The locals play is Beauty Mondays, a $55 chef’s selection menu of signature dishes for Nevada residents with ID, and the bar-only social hour runs 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
Green Valley Ranch is setting up its Backyard Vineyard for Wine Tasting Under the Stars on Saturday, Oct 24, from 6 to 8 p.m., with more than 46 wines, gourmet pairings, light bites and live music. Tickets are $150 for general admission or $200 for early entry (tax and tip not included), and it’s 21 and over.
Picnic in the Alley, the all-women food event in the Arts District, is back Sunday, Oct 25, from 3 to 6 p.m., and the posted lineup includes Nicole Brisson of Brezza, Sarah Thompson of Casa Playa, Jae Doan of Doanburi, Gina Marinelli of La Strega, Laura Vargas of Jaleo and Dani White of Yukon Pizza, among many others. Tickets are $150 (21 and over), and the money goes to the Women’s Hospitality Initiative.
Vegas Food News