Hickory Pit Steakhouse
Edgewater Resort and Casino, Laughlin, NV
Date of visit and review: May 2013
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The Hickory Pit features *what used to be* a very good Surf and Turf special from 4 to 6pm.
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| Choices of the Surf and Turf Special |
The price has risen over the past two years from $16.99 to $19.99 (currently). The special is served with a choice of potato or rice pilaf, veggies, and a salad.
*You have to have a players ACCESS card from the Edgewater or Colorado Belle to receive the special price. These are FREE at the customer service in either Casino so drop in and pick one up even if you are not going to use it in the Casino. The regular price on the "menu" for the special is $49.99. Though we did note that on our check it was $25.99 and the use of our card dropped it to $19.99.
This special is the only reason we have ever visited the Hickory Pit. In the past we really enjoyed the meal and experience. This time, however, was a polar opposite. As the prices have gone up the quality and service has fallen off. The food was not bad enough to complain about too much, it just was not what we remember and certainly not a great meal.
Just the two of us went and we both ordered the special. One NY Strip with Lobster Tail. One Filet Mignon with Lobster Tail. Both with a baked potato and side salad.
Upon arriving at the restaurant there were only a couple people in line at the hostess podium. We noticed that oddly enough the Live Lobster tank had no lobster (still had water). Without going on too much of our normal rant about the lack of service in most restaurants in Laughlin, once again we were met with a display of complete indifference to customers. The hostess didn't even bother to look up or say anything to anyone waiting to dine. Not even a hello, a welcome, a "it will be one moment". She just kept looking at her little reservation book. Finally, she looked up and said "how many" to the couple ahead of us and silently took them to a table. Then she did the same for us, only remarking our server Kyle would be along soon. We watched her repeat this for the entire time we were there. Very unwelcoming and unfriendly. On top of it her name tag indicated she was the lead or head hostess. Would hate to see how the a non-lead hostess would act. So much for hospitality.
On to the food. A basket of bread and butter was dropped off right away. Three kinds of bread, all of it was fresh and decent.
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| Bread Basket |
Kyle took our drink orders and they came promptly...but...both the glass for a beer and the wine glass filled with wine was extremely wet, covered in water drops. As if they were just washed but not dried. Sort of unpleasant to see.
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| Water on the Wine Glasses. Just washed but not dried???? |
Already our enthusiasm about dinner was dropping.
We split a shrimp cocktail ($11.99 for 5 large shrimp). They were pretty good, but definitely not as good as one we had at another Steakhouse in Laughlin. Personally, I do not think each shrimp is worth more than $2 each.
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| Shrimp Cocktail |
Salads were fresh and good, a standard house salad. Dressings were average, nothing special there.
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| Salad |
We enjoy a leisurely dinner, especially in a nicer place when going out for dinner. Nothing is worse than each course coming out too quickly. Except a overly long wait between them. It was more than 25 minutes after we had finished our salads before Kyle finally reappeared with our entrees. Given there were only about 10 tables seated this was not acceptable. He did not even come by during this time to check if we needed anything.
Baked potato's are fixed table side with your choice of toppings. The veggies on the plate were a mix of and some sort of squash, not very good.
The filet mignon was very good, cooked just right as ordered. Keep in mind this is a very, very small cut of steak, perhaps 3-4 ounces max. It even looks out of place on the plate. Don't expect a standard size filet you will get in most restaurants when you order this special. The lobster tail on this entree was ok. For some reason they pull it out for you and throw it on top of the shell though.
The New York Strip actually tasted better than it looked. It was overcooked to a medium well instead of medium. There was really nothing spectacular about it as a steak, similar to one you could get in any moderate quality steak place. The lobster on this entree was way overdone. Almost tough, the shell had scorch marks. Not sure how they cooked one on the first entree different than this one.
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| Surf and Turf - NY Strip with Lobster Tail |
For $19.99 this special now comes across as the restaurant trying to cut corners on the size and quality instead of giving you a quality meal at a great deal. It is not really a special if you get less quality than you would if you paid full price. The staff also seems slightly annoyed or irritated when people order this special. Either make it good or don't offer it.
We skipped dessert after Kyle half-heartedly asked us if we wanted anything else. On a side note, Kyle was nice enough, pleasant, but not quite the professional sort of server you would see in a Steakhouse. Perhaps the Buffet or Pints Microbrewery and Restaurant would be a better place for him.
Hickory Pit was one of our favorite places in Laughlin for a steak in the past. At this time we really don't recommend it, even at the special pricing. Our tab with the app, and drinks still came to 80+ dollars plus tip. For that much we expect better service, quality, and atmosphere. This really did seem like just a notch or two up from a Ponderosa feeling.
...and on the way out as we went past the "Lead Hostess" she just looked at us and said not a word. No thank you for coming, have a great night, ki** my ***, nothing!
Skip the Hickory Pit for now and go to a good Steakhouse.
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