Will the Golden Gate Shrimp Cocktail Be Revived at Circa?

Any word from Derek Stevens on whether the famous Golden Gate shrimp cocktail will be available at the Circa when it opens, or am I flogging a dead horse?

You're in luck! No dead horses in this answer.

So Derek Stevens "loaned" the recipe for the original Golden Gate shrimp cocktail to the 7th and Carson, a kind of upscale sports bar a block off Fremont Street downtown (note that it has a small open-air patio in back if you're looking for COVID comfort). Stevens of course owns the Golden Gate; thus, it's "his" recipe, even though that shrimp cocktail was decades old when he acquired the product.

Anyway, 7th and Carson rolled out the shrimpies in May 2019. We went and ate it in order to review it in the June Las Vegas Advisor and found that it was somewhat the same: several dozen little cold-water Bay shrimp served in the same tulip cocktail glass.

However, the cocktail sauce was noticeably hotter than the original (we don’t remember our mouths burning for a half-hour after eating it -- and we ate scores of them over the years), the lemon was skimpier, and it didn't come with crackers. Also, we paid $9.99, ten times the price of the historic deal and more than twice the $3.99 it cost when last served at Du-Par’s in the Golden Gate in 2017.

We haven't eaten it since, so it might have changed between now and then, but the cocktail is still available at 7th and Carson and the deal is still the same: $9.99 a la carte, though you can get it for 99 cents with the purchase of any other food item.

We were told at the time that when it opens, Circa will serve the shrimp cocktail, though for how much, we can't say.

We can say that when you think about it, $9.99 is probably what a restaurant has to charge to make a profit on this side dish, which just goes to show what a great loss leader it used to be. It’ll be interesting to see what it does cost when it’s resurrected at Circa. It won’t be $10, but we’re laying 10-1 that it won’t be anywhere near 99¢ either -- not if the prices that Circa is charging for rooms is any indication.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Have a question that hasn't been answered? Email us with your suggestion.

Missed a Question of the Day?

Have a Question?

Tomorrow's Question

Has Clark County ever considered legalizing prostitution?

Comments

rokgpsman Jul-17-2020

Onward we march

Folks with a few years of trips to Las Vegas have noticed many changes that brought about new resorts and remodeled old ones, plenty of dazzle and opulence, nightclubs and fancy restaurants. Corporate owners seem to be vying for younger adults, hoping to get them interested in a lifelong interest of visiting Vegas. In the process they are tossing aside many of the things most repeat visitors liked by ending lowcost fun things such as meal deals and free attractions. As gambling becomes less of the overall take for a resort they continually reduce the payoff percentages of machines, raise the minimums at table games and install unfavorable rules to the games - then wonder why people are playing less. Couple that with higher total costs to visit due to resort fees and parking fees and you find many folks opting to vacation elsewhere. There'll always be new people visiting, but will they become lifelong fans? Many people come due to the allure of Vegas-past, then find it's not the same.

Reno Faoro Jul-17-2020

SWIMPS

GREAT memories  of the GG pre 2000, great food at the front deli, everything was a-1. .99 shrimp cocktail and if you were winning the $3 large shrimp cocktail. soups were also a-1 . GO FORDSON !!!

David Jul-17-2020

I would love to see a picture of this shrimp cocktail

I envision tiny shrimp as opposed to what you might see in the shrimp cocktail at Joe's Crab or Old Homestead.

gaattc2001 Jul-17-2020

I have many fond memories of downtown Las Vegas in the old days....

and I enjoyed the Golden Gate shrimp cocktail many times. Then in 2013 I got hit with a "surprise" parking charge on departure at Binion's after spending an entire afternoon in their casino, and I haven't set foot downtown since.
Rokgpsman is absolutely right. Some folks may be willing to play 6-5 Blackjack and triple-zero roulette, and pay parking and resort fees and then $10 for a shrimp cocktail; but probably not many, and probably not more than once. Personally, I think I'll watch the Circca saga from the sidelines.
Just for comparison, TGI Friday's at Orleans has a shrimp cocktail costing something like $10; but that one is enormous with huge shrimp, practically a meal for one person or an appetizer for two or three.
Cheers.

SoCalDude Jul-17-2020

Food!

Some of my fondest memories of Vegas involve going to the Stardust on a Saturday Morning, getting there before the 9A games started, and watching games all day but come time for food going (almost) next door to Slots-O-Fun and getting a 99-cent 1/2-pound dog or Shrimp Cocktail. I was in my 20s so I could eat like that and I have such fond memories of it

Brent Jul-17-2020

Nostalgia is a helluva drug!

I'm always amused when people who claim to love Las Vegas---a city that has always been characterized by constant change and reinvention---get angry when something changes. If you want everything to stay the same always, stick to a retirement home.

Also, the shrimp cocktail at GG debuted in 1959 for $.50. In today's dollars that would be $4.43.

In 1991, the price went up to $.99, which would have been $.21 in 1959 dollars and $1.87 in today's dollars.

BIGLAR73 Jul-17-2020

Memories...

One the best memories of my very first visit to Las Vegas in 1975 is sitting at the bar in the afternoon sipping on a cold bottle of Coors and enjoying the Gate's shrimp cocktail.... total cost for both was $1.00 ....living large

Brent Jul-17-2020

$1.00 in 1975 was not such a great deal

BIGLAR73, $1.00 in 1975 would be $4.79 today. You could get a shrimp cocktail at the Fremont, 3 beers at the Stage Door, and still have some change left over.

BIGLAR73 Jul-17-2020

Good deal...all relative

Being two years out of college earning $15,000/year, a dollar went a lot farther than using a formula to extrapolate what today's dollar is worth.  I paid cash money...$4,375.00 for a brand new 1975 Olds Cutlass right off the dealer lot back then.  You could not get a Coors  beer in the Midwest in'75. Yeah, I think I was riding the crest of the wave that day sitting at the Gate.

Teeye Jul-24-2020

Golden Memories

BIGLAR73, a sweet, brand new, 75'Cutlass, being young and your first, exciting trip to Las Vegas, sitting in the beautiful Golden Gate with a cold Coors and a tasty shrimp cocktail - you WERE riding the Crest of the wave..and don't let anyone tell you different.

Question of the Day - 17 July 2020

Comments