Photo gallery by Nick McCabe
My fiancé and I dined at Roxy before attending the brand new cirque show, Cirque Paris. Roxy is located inside the Eldorado just behind the Poseidon fountain.
The Eldorado Resort Casino has a killer dinner and show deal right now. Patrons can receive half off one entrée at any Eldorado restaurant with one full price show ticket with stub attached. One discount per ticket per person and the offer is valid the day of show only.
During our experience at Roxy, we selected an entrée and dessert on a prix fixe menu.
The menu included Mushroom Ravioli for the appetizer, the Roxy Caesar for the salad, our choice of Wood Fired Rotisserie Chicken, Filet Mignon, or Cedar Plank Salmon for the entrée, and the Roxy Sunday or Seasonal Sorbet for dessert.
The decadent ravioli were well cooked, tossed in truffle and porcini cream sauce, and garnished with Parmesan and chives. The filling was moist with a prominent mushroom flavor. There was a subtle hint of white wine in the sauce. I enjoyed every bite.
The Roxy Caesar consisted of a deconstructed Caesar salad. Two romaine hearts were tossed in a light Caesar dressing and topped with parmesan and lemon zest. I didn’t detect much lemon flavor, but I didn’t mind. On the side was a parmesan crostino topped with a boquerón, better known as an anchovy. The croutons in a Caesar salad are critical. I thought the crostino with Boquerón was an inventive replacement for the croutons. Overall, I thought it was a tasty salad.
My fiancé ordered the filet, and I ordered the salmon. In typical couple fashion, we opted to split our food.
The salmon was well-cooked and was served with Yukon and purple potato gnocchi, baby bok choy, snap peas, fava beans, and dashi broth. I enjoyed the bit of char on the salmon. The multicolored gnocchi alongside the vegetables and beans created a beautiful presentation, but I found the textures a little too uniform for my preference.
The delicate dashi broth fit well with the fish, vegetables, and beans, but the gnocchi in the broth seemed out of place. Although the dish didn’t quite land for me, my fiancé loved it.
The filet was served with sautéed asparagus, pickled onion, whipped garlic potatoes, and béarnaise sauce atop the steak. The whipped potatoes were not listed on the menu, but were a welcome addition to the meal.
I normally cringe at sautéed asparagus as it’s often overcooked, but not at Roxy. The asparagus maintained its body well. The steak was well-cooked to my fiancé’s preference of medium. The béarnaise was delectable and hit all the right notes. I enjoyed how the acidity in the pickled onion cut the richness of the béarnaise. Although I prefer my steak medium rare, especially with a filet, I thoroughly enjoyed this entrée.
Dessert was simple with raspberry sorbet and a chocolate chip cookie. Both aspects to the dish were well-executed. Who doesn’t love raspberry with chocolate?
After dinner, we headed down to the Eldorado Showroom for the Cirque Paris show.
Upon first entering the venue, the speakeasy bar in the center of the room and scantily clad performers set the scene for a good time. Showgoers could order drinks from the bar, take photos with performers, and explore the Great Gatsby-esque décor.
The show began with an outstanding host, Darren “Dizzy” Partridge, who specialized in physical comedy and sleight of hand magic. No disrespect to the other performers, but I thought Partridge’s antics stole the show. At one point, he wrangled unsuspecting spectators for an impromptu Dating Game. Near the end of the show, he took hijinks to the max with an unconventional use of latex.
The other acts focused on the more passionate side of cirque performance. Clio Tongi and her partner performed an acrobatic dance act in the Water Bowl. Duo Skaters, Leo Dias and Evangelia Alves, spun the audience up atop roller skates.
Duo Trapeze artists, The Owl and the Pussycat, dazzled the audience with high-flying sensuality. The Rossi Brothers performed incredible mid-air somersaulting in the Icarian Games. Aleksandra Kiedrowicz danced with smooth gymnastic movements overhead in the Aerial Sphere. Artem Lyubanevych used an impressive musculature to perform gymnastics on the Aerial Pole. Francois Borie put a spin on the crowd before taking stage with his lightning fast Speed Juggling.
The music was well chosen for all the acts. The tunes ranged from soul and blues to a rendition of Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang in French. The music struck a fine balance between sexy, mysterious, and exciting.
Date night at Roxy and Cirque Paris presents a great opportunity to don your nicer threads.
The Eldorado Resort Casino is located at 345 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89501. Call the Eldorado at 775-786-5700 or visit them online at eldoradoreno.com.
