A:
Firstly, thank YOU! We enjoy writing this column and learn a lot from researching your eclectic queries, but your positive feedback is always appreciated.
As to your query, there are plenty of examples of restaurants/shows that pair to offer pre- or (or less commonly) post-show dinner packages, plus some restaurants that independently cater to the show crowd with "quickie" early menus that afford diners the opportunity to sample some high-end fare for a relatively bargain rate (we're thinking in particular of L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand, where from 5:30-6:30 p.m., you can sample an amuse bouche, an appetizer, and the "roast of the day" from the "Chef of the Century" for the relatively bargain price of $45 per head -- and without the obligation of purchasing any show ticket), the kind of experience you're inquiring about has pretty much become a thing of the past with the disappearance of the the more intimate lounge-cum-showroom venues that accommodated that kind of experience.
The closest examples we can think of to what you know you are referring, would currently be:
- Pia's Place: Back in the day, Pia Zadora played the big rooms, often opening for Frank Sinatra a couple of decades back. After a long break from the live circuit, she recently opened with a weekend gig at Piero’s -- one of those few remaining old-school hangouts left in Vegas -- and it's a throwback to the Rat Pack days you're yearning for in some respects, although not with that "showroom" touch. Her performance of Rat-Pack era classics is backed by a live 4-piece band, led by Sinatra’s former musical director, no less, but the venue is what used to be called the Monkey Bar, so you can order from the menu (including their famed osso bucco) if you bag a seat at the bar, but don't expect that formal dinner-and-show scenario. Tickets for the show, which you can catch Thurs. - Sat. at 9 and 10:30 p.m., are $30 and include two (adult) drinks.
- Casa di Amore on East Tropicana is another of those "Rat Pack" era throwbacks that's a classic Italian joint with live cabaret nightly, and they offer a free limo pick-up and drop-off service to and from the Strip, but it's a restaurant with live entertainment, as opposed to a "show" with dinner. The same goes for Bootlegger Bistro (7700 Las Vegas Blvd. South).
- If you're open to an interactive experience, Tony 'n Tina's Wedding, which first opened in New York in 1988, performed for a long time at the Rio, and is now at Bally's, is a show where the audience gets to be a part of the "wedding" and tickets include an Italian buffet, glass of champagne, and wedding cake served during the performance (tickets start at $104.60, inc. tax/fees).
- Marriage Can Be Murder, now performing at the D downtown, is even more geared toward audience-participation. Billed as "an interactive comedy murder mystery dinner show," tickets start at $67.90 and include a three-course meal.
That's the closest we can think of to what you're after that's currently performing; for more details on times and other ticket prices for these shows, plus information on dinner packages (at separate restaurants) available for other productions, check out our Production Show listings.
Update 29 November 2013
Thanks to the readers who wrote in, as this one did. Yes, we had a "Rat Pack" headset on and, hence, totally forgot about one long-running -- but certainly atypical -- dinner show:
"
Tournament of the Kings at Excalibur includes dinner. After what is likely dozens -- possibly over 100 -- visits to Las Vegas, this was the first and currently last show I have seen. You eat with your hands (or did when I went) and pound on the table during the jousting. A rather strange evening." [Ed: We're almost certain that the whole thing is utterly authentically Medieval, however :-)]
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