SLINKY-SIREN GOES TO VEGAS!
I love Las Vegas it’s such a dichotomy, the glitz and tackiness, there’s lots of daytime fun and a decadent nightlife, all the new hotels and the mystique of by-gone days. You can take the kids and have family time; you can just hang by the pool and relax, or go see a show or headliner, there’s also lots of gambling and places to party! Me, personally, I like to lounge by the pool, enjoy good food, take in a show or see one of the current headliners; do some shopping and a little gambling.
Sometimes I wish I had been around during Vegas in the 6o’s when it was an adults-only playground and the “Rat Pack” was there; I love seeing the old footage of them performing at the Sands Hotel CopaBogies death, the group referred to itself as the Summit or the Clan, the term “Rat Pack” was only utilized by journalists and became the lasting name for this infamous group of men.
On my most recent trip in July; while lounging by the pool I decide I am in need of some swingin’ 60’s Vegas. So I tell the fabulous man in the lounge chair next to me that we need to get tickets to see Jersey Boys and go to a vintage restaurant for dinner; I know just the place. When you want to have a wonderful meal and feel that you’re back in old Las Vegas all you have to do is ask any local or a long-time cabbie and they will tell you about The Golden Steer steakhouse. It was built in 1958 for Sammy Davis Jr. who was not allowed to eat in the restaurants on the Strip at that time.
As I get dressed for the evening I choose my Slinky Siren’s because she reminds me of a pair of sling-backs my Grandmother used to wear. Hers were a rich green raw silk on a wood stacked stiletto heel; they were made in a time when they didn’t use plastic in shoes. My Grandmother was a shoe model at high-end department stores in the 1950’s when shoe designers made their samples in a size 5 (and people tell me I have small feet (size 7)). I pair her with a new dress I bought just for this trip, it is a flowing short green, orange & hot-pink dress with a bead and sequin encrusted empire waist which makes me feel very flirty and girly. I truly feel I am paying the proper respect to Frank, Ava, Marylin, Sammy and the pack and would fit right in at their watering-hole with my choice of attire for this evening.
When we arrive at our destination my date is taken aback by the exterior; I reassure him he’s in for a marvelous surprise inside. We walk in and the feeling of steak joint meets speakeasy washes over you and you feel like you just stepped back in time. All the seating is red leather with rich dark wood tables and paneling up the walls. The walls are covered with photos and paintings of the Rat Pack as well as many other old Hollywood. All of the booths have a name plaque and we are told that it signifies whose “regular” booth it was; the tuxedoed maitre’d ushers us to the Marylin Monroe booth in the front. There is also a Joe DiMaggio booth in the back; which is where Frank had his table moved after he and Marylin divorced. Although in one of my favorite photos of Marylin she is barefoot and is wearing a tutu-skirted type dress; I can still see her in these lovely green stilettos, clickety-clacking through the restaurant. The staff here fawns over you from beginning to end it’s really like being in a black and white movie; this is an extravagance I could definitely get used to. We eat at a very leisurely pace just like in bygone days before everything was “rush, rush, rush”. We order like we’re in the old days of Hollywood and there is no 24 hour gym and we are oblivious to what all this rich food can do to our hearts; ordering filet mignon, asparagus with hollandaise, sautéed mushrooms and of course martinis. When this most spectacular meal comes to an end, I almost want to see all the men in the restaurant gather to have a cigar and after-dinner drink.
Once our decadent dinner is over we head out to see Jersey Boys and are definitely thrilled with the show and the fantastic music! For a few more hours I get to stay in my 60’s fantasy world and it is marvelous! My only complaint the entire evening is that most people have forgotten how to dress for an evening out; I mean flip-flops and shorts to a Vegas show?! At least put on some nice jeans, a decent shirt (sans stains) and real shoes. Also for those of us who have to look at you and smell you; please take a shower and brush your hair after a day of drinking by the pool!
At the end of the evening we head back to the Bellagio and I am reminded of an old Marylin Monroe quote I’ve always loved:
“Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world!”
