Granted, many of the jaw-dropping prices are the result of more Kobe beef being served. Take Shintaro, the Japanese eatery at Bellagio, where the 10-ounce Washugyu Kobe tenderloin is going for $190. Shintaro's 12-ounce sirloin commands $170.
Over at Bradley Ogden, the high-end restaurant at Caesars Palace, the 8-ounce Kobe steak goes for $175.
Also cracking the $100 barrier: Craftsteak at the MGM Grand, with a 10-ounce Kobe filet mignon price at $100. On the cusp: a 14-ounce Kobe ribeye for $98.
So much U.S. beef has topped the $50-a-steak mark that we couldn't count them. Among the highest: Michael's at the Barbary Coast offers a 20-ounce New York prime aged Black Angus sirloin for $75, and filet mignon for $68.
Yes, it's outrageous, agrees Russell Anzevino, assistant maitre d' at Michael's, "but it's got to do with the availability of prime beef. In the days of the $20 steak, prime beef was plentiful. Now one percent of beef is deemed prime now."
Prime beef, he said, "is deemed just like a vintage wine. It goes through an auction. It's very rare, almost like diamonds."
