This is a new venue. It is located in the lower level of the Franklin Hotel. Yes, in other words where Durty Nelly's Salloon used to be. For those without recent Deadwood history, the Franklin is Deadwood's version of a grand dame of an old hotel. Built in 1903, the Franklin is a commanding presence on Main Street. This is one of several buildings that will remind you that Deadwood was the epicenter of commerce and culture in western South Dakota back when Rapid City was just a hay camp. Be forewarned though, this ain't the Brown Palace and Durty Nelly's could make the Crow Bar look rather ritzy in comparison.
Well, it's all gone. All the busted furniture. The bar. The stage. The poker area. The scary bathrooms. Gone. All gone.
Now it is a relatively bright, well furnished dining area with a separate bar. Bare rock walls. Hardwoods. White tablecloths. Nice lighting fixtures, even though they are using them all to make the room quite bright.
The staff is gracious and helpful. The menu is very steak-centric. There are five steak choices on the menu plus a chicken and lamb selection. Steaks are sirloin, ribeye, filet ( two cuts) and a prime rib. There are also pasta and dinner salad choices. All steaks are CAB cut and aged in-house. And get this! Legend's is bucking the trend of offering a la carte sides, so with your order you have a choice of potatoes or a rice and a choice of soups and salads! Kind of refreshing.
Great wine selections by the glass or by the bottle.
We had steaks at our table. And here's the low down. Not bad. The ribeye was good and tasty although not cooked to a barely medium rare as I prefer. But it was good and well seasoned. The salad was fresh and tasty- a steakhouse salad of greens, olives, blue cheese in a basil vinaigrette. Other choices included Caesar and a wedge. My au gratin potatoes were good. One of my guests had mashed potatoes. They included gravy, which I found odd. Nice wine glasses and great service. Did it blow my mind? No. Was it like a trip to a meat museum like Peter Lugar or another legendary protein palace? No. Was it outstanding? No. But for a party of four the entire tab was under $150 before tip and that included an $80 bottle of cab because I am dangerous with a wine list. At that price, I can't bitch and really, there was nothing to bitch about. Had that meal cost $400, there would be hell to pay. It was a reasonably good, well-prepared and well-presented meal at a very, very reasonable price. I'd go again.
A couple things to pass on. One, if you are up to the challenge, go for the prime rib. A ribeye is $19.99. The prime rib is $29.99. I had to be reasonably functional for a business thing the next day, so I blew the 10 bucks on better wine instead of a more serious case of the meat sweats. Next time, it's prime rib. Remember the Flintstones intro where Fred gets that huge hunk of meat? Well, that's basically what you're going to get at Legend's. I'm getting sweaty thinking about it and teary because I didn't get it. Next time. Two, get there early enough to go have a drink on the veranda. It has also been refurbished and the view is awesome.
Trust me. Legend's is one of the best bets you can make in Deadwood. Just make sure to call for a reservation.
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