Question of the Day - 12 August 2012

The short answer is: not many, and they've been falling like flies in recent years, with the closure of the Sahara, Cappozzoli's restaurant now transformed into Flavor Flav's fried chicken joint, and the demise downtown of White Cross Drugs and Atomic Liquor, the latter until very recently holding the lifelong record Las Vegas' oldest bar (there's hope for an Atomic reopening, but not anytime soon).

So, your options have been significantly narrowed since the last time we tackled a similar query, a good few years back. Here's what springs to mind that's still around:

• The Golden Steer was the LVA "Local Corner" in the Feb. 2007 issue, and what we wrote back then still holds true:

  "In the all-new Las Vegas, it's sometimes fun to take a step back in time. And that's what you do when you walk into the Golden Steer, located about a quarter mile west of the Strip on Sahara. This place is old-school and it should be —- having opened in 1960, it's one of the oldest restaurants in Las Vegas. The bar and dining room are furnished in heavy dark wood, plush semi-circular high-backed booths, and memorabilia from the Rat Pack days. Frank, Dino, Sammy, Joey, and a host of heyday celebs ate here regularly, and plaques designating where they sat hang over selected booths (other famous guests include John Wayne, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, and Elvis).

  "Many on the wait staff have been here well over a decade (some over 30 years) and if you schmooze 'em a little, they just might 'take care of ya' (we were given two $12 martinis on the house, just because).

  "The food? It's good. Steaks range from $32* for a petite filet to the $65 28-ounce porterhouse (most are $37-$42). Italian specialties are $24-$29, appetizers are $12-$16, sides are $5-$8, and cherries Jubilee or bananas Foster prepared tableside go for $12. You’ll like the meal, but the food definitely plays second fiddle to the joint."

  *NOTE: The menu has changed a little since we last dined there, and the porterhouse is no longer on the menu, while steaks now start at $38 for the 8-oz petite filet.

• What is now called Piero's Italian Cuisine, but was known as Villa d'Este in Frank's day, was another actual Rat Pack hangout that you can still enjoy. It's located near the Convention Center at 355 Convention Center Drive. Joseph Pignatello, the former owner/chef back in the Villa d'Este era, recalled the Chairman of the Board with affection when interviewed by the L-V Sun upon the news of Sinatra's death:

  "He was such a legend and -- if you knew him -- a real good man, but he was a hard man to get to know. He was a wonderful person who loved life and loved to eat."

  Pignatello recalled how Sinatra's favorite meal was homemade cheese ravioli and calamari salad, always washed down with a bottle of Chateau Lafitte. Ole Blue Eyes was apparently also a dessert nut, his favorites being biscotti, St. Joseph pastry, and Boston cream pie -- all of which he would order, to round of his meal.

• With the Sahara closed, that knocks out one of the few remaining venues where the Rat Pack actually played, but we still have the Riviera, which commemorates Frank's stay there with an engraved plaque on the door of Suite 2902 in the Monaco Tower penthouse. The 2,040 sq. ft. Frank Sinatra Suite is where he stayed while performing there in 1990 and '92. We checked on availability and it was $459, plus tax, for the night of Aug. 17. It will probably be higher by October.

And that's about it. There are some other places with an old-school vibe, like the Bootlegger Bistro (past the south end of the Strip) and Casa di Amore (E. Flamingo), but the former post-dates the Rat Pack and we're not aware of them ever hanging out at the latter, although it's still a favorite of old-time Italian mobster types and has the vibe you're looking for.

A reader adds: "Hugo's cellar is old school and boasts that Sammy and Frank used to come in for steaks all the time back in the day. They tell stories that Frank used to come in with packs of women and friends and buy the entire restaurant drinks."