Trumpets Restaurant
David Berman
restaurant critics and is starting to build a following among the
general public, it is time to call to your attention to this sleeper of
a dining gem located in my own back yard.
Trumpets is in the Anthem Center, the 75,000-square-foot residents’
recreation facility in Sun City Anthem, the age-restricted Del Webb
community in Henderson that we moved to in August of 2000. But while the
rest of Anthem Center is open to residents only, Trumpets, like its
counterpart at Sun City Summerlin in the northwest part of the Las Vegas
Valley, is open to the public.
The first thing that jumps out at you when visiting Trumpets is the
spectacular view of the Valley and the Strip, about 15 miles away. The
restaurant is 2,833 feet above sea level, affording diners a vista that
can extend all the way to Red Rock and Mt. Charleston on a clear day.
The view of the Strip is dramatic enough during daylight hours, but it
is even more breathtaking after sunset, when it seems the entire Valley
and Strip are laid out in a carpet of twinkling, glowing lights. Every
table in the restaurant offers this view through sweeping,
floor-to-ceiling windows that face toward the north.
As columnist Ken White wrote in the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “It’s a
bit of a drive from the center of the city, but Sun City Anthem’s
Trumpets restaurant offers American fusion cuisine and an expansive view
of the Las Vegas Valley that’s especially impressive at sunset.”
The Review-Journal’s restaurant critic, Heidi Knapp Rinella, gave
Trumpets a “B+” rating for food, a grade of “A” for atmosphere and for
service, and an overall “B+.” “Service throughout was exceptional,” she
said. “Our waitress discussed wines with us, served ours properly and
came back frequently to refill, and even summoned a manager when she
thought our appetizers had taken too long (we really didn’t think they
did). She obviously cares about her customers, which is a rare and
wonderful thing.”
As Rinella summed up after lauding the view, “Combined with the soothing
interior design, the great service and the creative kitchen, it makes
for an experience worth trumpeting.”
The ads for Trumpets in the local newspapers refer to the menu as
“Spectacular American Fusion Cuisine.”
In part because Trumpets knows its Sun City customers dine there
frequently, the menu changes daily, though it is built around a small
nucleus of favorites that remain by popular demand. And the menu is also
changed with the seasons.
One of Trumpets’ signature items is conch chowder, which I usually start
with when we go to lunch there. It comes as a zippy tomato-based broth,
loaded with minced conch pieces.
I tend to favor salads at lunch, especially pecan chicken salad made
with diced chicken, dates, jicama, cucumber and roma tomato. I also like
the southwestern cobb salad, composed of grilled breast of chicken
pieces, applewood smoked bacon, goat cheese, tomato, olives and pinenuts
over field greens with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Rosalyn’s favorite
lunch item is a veggie wrap served with fresh fruit.
Popular dinner entrees include pan-seared marinated sea bass;
pepper-crusted New York sirloin with maytag bleu cheese and caramelized
cioppolinis; crispy chicken breast served over Udon noodles with
snowpeas, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers and a light
ginger-scallion broth.
Trumpets also serves a good but not spectacular Sunday brunch from 10:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m., priced at $14.95, or $18.95 with unlimited minosas,
champagne and bloody marys.
There’s a happy hour from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to
7:00 p.m. on Saturdays. And a very accomplished pianist plays in the
lounge area on Fridays from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 6:00 to
9:00 p.m.
I won’t list the rest of a typical menu here, because those interested
can see a more complete list, with prices, at the following site:
www.anthemlasvegas.com/sca/Food/Menus.htm
In addition, the following is a link to a few photos I have taken of the
Anthem Center and Trumpets Restaurant:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=657150&a=10490921
You wouldn’t want to pay for a cab to reach Trumpets from the Strip, so
access to a car is probably necessary. If coming from the Strip, take
I-15 south a couple of miles to the I-215 (McCarran Airport) turnoff.
Then take I-215 (The Beltway) for three or four miles to Exit 5, the
Eastern Ave. Exit. Turn right onto Eastern, then follow it past St. Rose
Dominican Hospital and bear left into Anthem. Stay on Anthem Parkway
until you see the Anthem Center ahead in the distance.
Trumpets will gain in recognition as not only a wonderful restaurant for
a gourmet meal at a fair price, but also as a place that will be more
and more recognized as a recommendation when one is looking for a great
meal combined with a romantic view.
--Happy holidays from David in NV
Tom Bennett
back to the recreation center, and Trumpets. We had a window seat and could
see some golfers teeing off below us, and the strip below. We agreed it was
a billion dollar view. We had the veggie rollups, and they were great.
Although it is too far for me to go to have a meal, if I was in the
neighborhood, I would make it over there.
Tom
Marcia Rovins
Marcia
SJack61391
Stan
David Berman
> Are they going to be open on New Year's Eve? What a great place to
> watch the fireworks!
>
> Marcia
>
They will be closed to the public on New Year's Eve, Marcia. The entire
rec center will be devoted to the residents' NYE party, which Trumpets'
staff will cater. We're paying $150 a couple, and the menu looks
scrumptious. There will be serving stations throughout the center, two
bands, and who knows what else. We'll be looking toward the Strip to see
what the fireworks look like from that distance, so it should be
interesting.