Legendary casino and ranch owner Benny Binion was passionate about his meat, and back in the early days of the World Series of Poker he'd oversee the players' buffet, always adding some unusual items like buffalo steaks, rattlesnake, or bear meat.
The historic Coachman's Inn, which first opened at Eastern, near Desert Inn, back in 1971, was renowned for its fresh seafood, perennial Christmas tree, colorful clientele, and such exotic menu items as elk, boar, and rattlesnake.
Anasazi, which opened in the Desert Passage mall at the (new) Aladdin, now the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, offered a late-night menu featuring such delicacies as ostrich and kangaroo, while Louis' Fish Camp at Town Square served flash-fried alligator.
While these are all long-gone, and Rio's VooDoo Lounge has apparently dropped crocodile from its menu, Las Vegas still has plenty of options left for those with a curious palette. For example, if game's your thing, Circo at Bellagio serves a wild boar stew and the Bellagio Buffet frequently features exotic meats, like ostrich and elk. Luxor's Tender Steak and Seafood features a wild game tasting for $36, which includes Nilgai antelope osso buco, axis venison medallion, and wild boar loin with farro, fig chutney & huckleberry venison reduction, on a dinner menu that also features bison.
Rhythm Kitchen (6435 South Decatur Blvd.) serves alligator tail and frog legs, while HK Star Seafood (3400 S. Jones), which is a good spot for late-night bargains, features more than 100 menu choices, including such protein options as pigeon, swallow, and frog, not to mention a shredded snake and chicken soup.
Finally, west-side newcomer PoshBurger (7860 W. Tropical Pkwy.), our latest gourmet-burger restaurant, serves an array of decidedly exotic patties, including organic lamb, wild boar, venison, elk, tuna tartare, salmon, duck, oxtail, and ostrich.
If you've come across any additional weird, wonderful, or downright scary menu items in Las Vegas, please drop us a line and we'll add to this list (we distinctly recall David Myers' Comme Ça at Cosmopolitan serving a seasonal menu of exotic meats, but the representative we spoke with was somewhat vague and refused to be pinned down on anything specific...)
