The TV show “Yellowstone” on the Paramount Network has already inspired multiple spinoffs, including prequels that trace the Dutton family’s origin stories. But now there’s a spinoff for fans and anyone else who just wants to eat like a wealthy rancher.
Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse opened in mid-September at Wynn Las Vegas. Rather than a permanent concept, it’s a nightly pop-up dining experience at the hotel’s Tableau restaurant that will run through early 2025. It comes from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, who in 2022 — along with an investment group — purchased the legendary 6666 Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, which already served as a purveyor for Wynn properties.
In a statement, Sheridan said that the restaurant is “dedicated to celebrating the authentic cuisine of the cowboy.”
Chef David Middleton is leading the concept and has created a menu featuring cowboy cuisine and steakhouse classics. Much of the meat comes from 6666 Ranch, while Japanese purebred wagyu beef is sourced from Grazing Star Ranch in Freedom, Wyo. The kitchen is embracing authentic preparations, like using cast iron pans to cook steaks, and it’s enlisting 6666 Ranch’s signature seasoning rubs.
The menu includes steaks, seafood and this Texas wedge salad with wagyu beef burnt ends
The menu begins with a caviar tower featuring potato tots, kettle chips, country fried chicken tenders, and Texas toast, and the raw bar is serving oysters, red king crab, and jumbo shrimp cocktail with michelada sauce. From there, starters move into a cowboy caviar chopped salad, a Texas wedge with wagyu burnt ends, and prime steak tartare that’s prepared tableside with egg yolk, shallots, roasted serrano peppers and Texas corn tostadas.
Mains include lobster, salmon, and a dry-aged tuna chop, but steaks are the star of the show, with cuts ranging from filets and rib eyes to a 40-ounce porterhouse. There’s also a section of sauces and enhancements, like applewood smoked bacon hollandaise and Texas Twinkies, which are chiles stuffed with smoked wagyu brisket and cheddar and then wrapped in bacon.
One standout item is the 48-ounce Japanese Purebred Freedom Wagyu Tomahawk. It’s exclusive to Wynn Las Vegas and costs $999.90 (or 6666 upside down) and is served with beef tallow and Gruyère cheese.
Middleton calls the wagyu tomahawk “a remarkable feat,” explaining that the cattle it’s made from are descendants of the original three Japanese black wagyu cattle that were transported to the U.S. in 1993 to introduce the breed. The animals have never been cross-bred and are pasture-raised on more than 600 acres of Timothy grass, which is grown on mineral-rich, volcanic soils fed by natural mountain springs along the Salt River at the base of Black Mountain in Wyoming.
“The marbling is similar to American wagyu, and the strong flavor is a result of the microclimate,” said Middleton.
Other “Yellowstone”-inspired accents are found on the cocktail menu. The resort’s mixologist, Mariena Mercer Boarini, created drinks that emphasize Texas ingredients, seen in cocktails like the Campfire Old Fashioned, which is smoked tableside, and the Wide Open Spaces, a play on the Ranch Water that features blanco tequila and house-made watermelon soda.
Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse is open nightly for dinner. Tableau still serves breakfast and brunch before transforming into the ranch-themed restaurant each evening. To make it happen, staff stock the dining room with new chairs and table settings, cowboy photography goes up on the walls, and western paraphernalia are strategically placed throughout the space to evoke the desired atmosphere.
