Restaurant at Mt. Charleston Lodge good way to beat heat

Can't stand another moment of summer? Cool off with a trip to Mount Charleston, and while you're there, check out the restaurant at Mt. Charleston Lodge, 5375 Kyle Canyon Road.

At an elevation of 7,717 feet, temperatures at the lodge are typically 20 to 30 degrees cooler than they are in the Las Vegas Valley.

Outside, patio dining overlooks tree-lined peaks. Canine companions are welcome on Dennis' Doggie Deck, where the menu items for four-legged friends include a hamburger patty, a turkey burger, carrot and celery sticks and Milk-Bones.

Inside the lodge, tables surround a fireplace in a rustic dining room with big windows. A full bar lines one wall, and in the back, the Holiday Shoppe is packed with collectables to browse while you wait for a table. Go for lunch on a Saturday, and that wait could be substantial.

Appetizers include beer-battered Maui onion rings served with chipotle ranch sauce, giant Bavarian pretzels, chicken wings served plain or tossed in hot sauce, spicy fried green beans, fried mozzarella, chicken fingers and a Southwestern chicken quesadilla. Then there's spinach salad topped in mushrooms, crumbled bleu cheese, raisins, hard-boiled egg and red onion with a raspberry vinaigrette; or try a Caesar salad, a garden salad or the chopped salad, a toss of romaine with diced turkey, smoked ham, red onions, tomatoes, egg and bacon. The French onion soup is available every day as is a rotating soup of the day.

Entrees include brick oven pizza, grilled flatbread, fish and chips, St. Louis-style barbecue ribs, New York strip steak, grilled salmon fillet and a variety of sandwiches from a classic Reuben to a turkey melt.

Burger meat options include Angus beef, ground turkey and even free-range buffalo or elk.

The lodge's signature mountain chili is slow cooked with a house blend of spices. The chili comes with or without beans, and for those who choose beans, there's a choice of pinto or kidney. Get it in a bowl, topping chili nachos or on a chili dog.

The twilight dinner includes a soup or house salad and a choice of ribs, spaghetti and meatballs, grilled chicken penne with pesto Alfredo, grilled teriyaki shrimp and a choice of dessert for $20. The twilight special is not available for groups of more than six guests.

A children's menu is available with items such as pasta and hamburger sliders.

For those who prefer to skip the crowd and dine in the hills, the restaurant offers boxed lunches to go.

Live music is scheduled most Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, and the restaurant is a popular wedding reception location.

Breakfast is served from 8 to 11:30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. through 9 p.m., and the twilight dinner menu from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The bar is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Visit mtcharlestonlodge.com or call 702-872-5408.