The epic LVA prime rib survey took place over a three-month period in spring 1996 and was published in the July '96 issue.
To complete it, Anthony Curtis ate every prime rib special in Las Vegas for $7.95 or less, plus a random sampling of higher-priced offers. In the end, he consumed 58 prime rib dinners in Vegas, plus one each in Sacramento ($16.99) and San Diego ($15.99) for price-comparison purposes (he rated them both "below Las Vegas' top-ranked selections in the $4.95-$6.95 range").
It's interesting to note, more than 10 years later, that the best values in all three ranges (low-, medium-, and high-end), plus the three worst meals, were all at casinos that no longer exist: Lady Luck (best for all three ranges) and Westward Ho, Klondike, and Silver City (the three worst). Also, the best prime rib special on the Strip was at the San Remo (now Hooters). The best-quality prime rib at any price, he found, was at Sir Galahad's at Excalibur, which is still going strong.
A side survey determined the meat-for-meat and price-per-pound of the two heftiest cuts available. These were the "spectacle" prime ribs of their time, the ones that turn into prime rib sandwiches, prime rib and eggs, even prime rib dog food for a week after taking home the leftovers from the restaurant.
We compared the "Fred Flintstone" 56-ounce monster served at Jerry's Nugget with the 24-ounce bad boy at Lady Luck. We bought them at the restaurants, took them out (Deke Castleman drew the take-out duty at Jerry's, which is another story), brought them back to the office, and weighed them on the postage scale, first intact, then again after cutting away the fat (from both) and bone (from Jerry's).
How did they compare? The true weights were Jerry's 47.5 and LL's 20.5 ounces. The meat-only weight was interesting: Jerry's 31.7, LL's 17.9 ounces. Price per pound: Jerry's $8.93, LL's $11.61. Jerry's was the obvious winner.
Anyway, we posed your question about doing another survey to Anthony and his response was immediate. He didn't hesitate. He didn't equivocate. He didn't prevaricate. In fact, the force of his answer surprised even us.
He said, and we quote: "NO!"
We were tempted to leave it at that, but we figured you'd like an explanation.
"It was the worst research I ever had to conduct. To make the deadline, as I recall, I had to eat 19 prime rib meal deals in 18 days, including six in the last three days. Worse, I had to try to remain objective at the end, eating two a day. It was brutal.
"I couldn't stand to look at so much as a picture of a prime rib in an advertisement or the words 'prime rib' on a casino marquee, or even think about eating one, for more than three months afterwards. Even today, I feel a little sick when I see the photo of the Fred Flintstone cut on the cover of the prime rib issue of the Advisor.
"I might consider another prime rib survey, but I'd only do the five most expensive prime ribs in the best restaurants in town.
"I'd truly hate to have to do a comprehensive survey ever again."
