Description
"This is not a restaurant," our critic wrote during his first visit to Grand Lux. "This is a time-warp trip back to the Rome of the Caesars...a gilt-edged and bejeweled palace filled with polished marble, fire, lacquer, iron and gold with glowing lamps and statuary and fiery angel choirs singing from atop massive pillars..." But while, yes, the physical reality of Grand Lux Cafe is grand, indeed, the food is considerably less so. The first Grand Lux, a sibling of the Cheesecake Factory, opened in Vegas to wild success -- no surprise. Operating 24/7 and seating 550, it looked like a set from an abandoned production of Caligula and served, among other things, chilaquiles, duck pot stickers, Maryland crabcakes, Neapolitan pizzas, Carolina barbecue sandwiches, steak frites, sesame tofu, wienerschnitzel and Kentucky hot brown. The link in the chain that landed at Park Meadows is only slightly less luxe, much more an experience in excess than in eating.
