With that much competition, it’s hard to stand out. You want to do something original so that you aren’t the same as everyone else but you also need to stay true to the formula so as not to offend the traditionalists who just want a steak and a baked potato, gosh darnit.

Twin Creeks Steakhouse at the Silverton hotel and casino just south of The Strip manages to stand out from the competition in a variety of ways, but whether it’s enough to lure you away from some equally good options in your own hotel and the one next door (and the one next to that) is a question I haven’t quite come up with an answer to yet.

One way that the restaurant distinguishes itself is with the dining room, a sumptuous affair with a modernly retro design of big boxes of soft-lighting above, stacked stone and dark woods surrounding you, and a broad mix of seating options from full leather couches to high bar-style tables and comfy high-backed stools. One entire side of the main room is dominated by a stone wall that is bathed in changing, multi-colored light – one moment it’s cool, undulating blues and greens evoking an undersea reef and the next moment it’s blazing reds and oranges as if the volcano is getting ready to blow. It really is one of the most beautifully decorated restaurants I’ve been in for a long time.

The menu seems to be treading the fine line between originality and traditionality (I know it’s not a word, but it should be). Starters in the latter category including things like oysters, pan-seared scallops, classic Caesar salads, and the like while exceptional items such as foie gras, smoked duck wrap, and American Kobe beef carpaccio carry the flag for the former category.

In the main course section you have your standard steaks (filets, porterhouse, and New York strip) alongside such fresh takes as a chipoltle barbecued bone-in rib eye, roasted monfish, seafood gnocchi, and lamb chops or shank.

We went in several different directions for our dinner selections, although skewed more to the traditional than the original. The butter poached lobster sounded steakhouse traditional but came to the plate as a deconstructed tower of fresh, out-of-the-shell meat and other accompaniments. The roasted monkfish was a large grilled slab with delicate seasonings that didn’t hide the fishy flavor no matter how much the person at the table insisted it did. And the porterhouse was roughly the size of a house, cooked exactly as I had ordered it and yet still a little disappointing because of a little too much veiny toughness and not enough of the tender meat.

Sides include a variety of potato dishes (from puree to baked to fries) and other vegetables plus there are sauces (béarnaise, au poivre, red wine butter) to go along with your meat selections.

Prices are about average for this type of dining experience – starters range from around $8 for a soup of the day to $19 for the foie gras; entrees start in the mid $20 range and go all the way up to nearly $50; sides are $7-14. It ended up with a check for three of us including wine and tax for just under $200.

Taken in a vacuum the meal was a success, overall. The food was fresh, well-prepared, flavorful, and expertly presented but there was nothing at the table that made us jump up and say “wow.” It was as good as many of the steakhouses on The Strip and yet also no better, which brings up that problem I mentioned before about whether or not you will want to venture away from the comforts of your hotel to experience it. I’m still undecided.