Social media icon Salt Bae continues to toss caution to the wind along with a dash of salt here and there by opening a new steakhouse in Las Vegas. Why should you care? Well, Salt Bae is not exactly as he appears. Salt Bae is the alter ego of restaurateur Nusret Gokce. Gokce came to prominence with viral videos of his unorthodox – some consider just plain wacky – salt-sprinkling technique. Let’s just say you need to see it to truly appreciate the idea. Remember, it’s not edited, enhanced with CGI, or any other video tricks. What you see is what you get and it normally involves a lot of salt. This is not for those who are watching their intake of sodium.
But Why Las Vegas?
It was back in December 2020 when the rumor mill started buzzing loudly about the potential of Salt Bae taking up residence either on The Strip or within salt-sprinkling distance of the most famous stretch of casinos, hotels, and resorts in the world. It was within days of filing paperwork to outline the project that Gokce announced online his intentions of putting a two-story Nusr-Et Steakhouse into vacant space D5 at The Park. This would be another in a series of Nusr-Et Steakhouses joining ones already in operation in New York, Miami, Boston, and Dallas, and expansion plans to Los Angeles.
The Location Perks
The spot at The Park is next to Sake Rok and is within sight of the T-Mobile Arena and the Bliss Dance sculpture. Although the building the steakhouse now occupies sat empty for six years following the launch of the outdoor dining and retail district in Vegas, Gokce had lofty plans even in December 2020. The plans at the time included $4.5 million in construction costs. The early design called for kitchens on both floors, a pair of dining rooms, a patio, and balcony seating.
The Menu
Okay, this may explain the extravagance of the design and location. The menu at Nusr-Et Steakhouse is not your ordinary steakhouse. It makes sense considering that Salt Bae is more than just your ordinary chef and butcher. There are some – shall we say – extreme entries on the menu. Probably at the top of that list is the Golden Kafes. This is an entire rack of lamb. But not your average rack of lamb. This one comes covered in edible gold. Read that last line again – edible gold. The price tag? A hefty $1,250.
Speaking of edible gold, if a full rack of lamb is more than your appetite can handle, you can opt for the Golden Burger or Golden Baklava. Yes, they are also coated in edible gold and for some reason are not priced proportionate to the rack of lamb, coming as an affordable $180 for the burger and $100 for the baklava. We won’t even try to slip in a joke about the Golden Arches. The rest of the menu is what you would expect from a high-end steakhouse – large chunks of meat with gigantic prices to match.
Other menu items include dishes that are not coated in edible gold, in case you were wondering. Examples from the New York Nusr-Et Steakhouse menu include a 10.5-ounce Istanbul steak with a $100 price tag, a non-gold coated rack of lamb coming in at $250, and the Salt Bae bone-in tomahawk steak weighing in at 20-ounces and priced at $275. Oh, and there are optional sides with that meal that will set you back between $12 and $15 depending on what you choose.
What’s The Attraction?
As it turns out, Salt Bae is popular. Not just online. The steakhouses have quickly become the favored hangouts of celebrities – and not just the social media-type celebrities – some A-listers can be found somewhere in there with the B-listers and assorted other social media influencers who are keen to rub elbows with A-listers chewing on gold-covered hunks of meat. In other words, this is a place where carnivores of all walks of life can be found. You could say that Gokce has found a trending niche and is riding that wave while it still has some momentum. Call it surfing The Strip, if you must.
More On Salt Bae
Nusret Gokce was born in Turkey in 1983. His unconventional meat seasoning technique became an internet meme in January of 2017. In addition to the series of American steakhouses he has opened, Salt Bae has others in Greece, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. It is interesting to note that his first name, Nusret, is what he uses to name all of his steakhouses but spells it as Nusr-Et. The “Et” part of his name is Turkish for “meat.”
The Salt-Sprinkling Technique
The activity that has garnered Salt Bae all the social media attention is how he seasons meat. Instead of sprinkling salt directly from his fingers to the steak, he drops it from his fingertips down to his forearm. The seasoning then falls from there onto the dish being prepared. It may sound a bit odd, but the eclectic nature of the act seems to have captured the imagination of many amateur chefs and backyard grillers.
Final Thoughts
He is interesting. Nusret Gokce has turned a social media alter ego known as Salt Bae into a brand. With that brand, the Turkish chef and butcher have created a network of high-end steakhouses that feature massive portions with prices in the same range. Plus, to stand out even further from the crowd, the menu includes dishes that contain edible gold. The most recent of the Nusr-Et Steakhouses to open is in Las Vegas in the center of all the action. After all, what is the point of sticking your reputation on the line if you aren’t going to do it in a high-profile location where all your peers can examine what you are doing? It only makes sense considering the entrepreneur behind this new food trend has the word “meat” in his name.
