Prime Steakhouse   

A few steps up from upscale, the Bellagio's Prime Steakhouse offers delights in food and atmosphere that may only be experienced by a privileged few. Check your bank balance before making a reservation, as even the water here will set you back. The decor, rich in brass, velvet drapery and art deco accents, suggests the kind of after-hours hideaway where Nick and Nora Charles might have downed a martini. Try to get a table near the windows for a view of the Bellagio fountain show. The question is whether it's worth a visit at these prices for what is essentially a steakhouse. Fortunately, they don't get too fancy with the steaks. If the quality of the beef is there, as it assuredly is here, there is only so much you could or would want to do to enhance its natural flavor. Chefs settle for cooking them just right, and add a sprinkle of peppercorns. The veal chop, double-cut lamb chops and Dover sole are also popular. Their most creative offering is saved for dessert, a warm Valrhona chocolate cake with a molten center and side of ice cream. Prime Steakhouse has the only bottle of Chivas Royal Salute -- an extremely rare scotch distilled for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II -- not procured by a private collector. If you have a taste for the finer things, you can order a shot for the very Bellagio price of $1,050 an ounce.