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EAT This Week: Lone Eagle Grille’s Elk Strip Loin

This week’s featured EAT dish is Lone Eagle Grille’s Elk Strip Loin.
Robert Galloway/Tahoe Daily Tribune

To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge — there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

I’m not sure how many people see wild game (such as elk) and throw the thought of eating it away because they think that they will not like it. If any of you are one of those people, you have to reconsider – especially when it comes to elk.

Elk very well might be my favorite protein of all time. If I had to describe the flavor, it’s a little cleaner than beef, but with more flavor and perhaps a tad sweeter. I don’t find any “gaminess” flavor to it whatsoever, so if you find yourself at the Lone Eagle Grille, taking in one of the best views in Tahoe, I’d recommend you dive into this week’s feature.



Each eight-ounce portion comes from Duncan Ranch and is given a very simple treatment of a dried chili crust and laid to rest over a blueberry gastrique that has been reduced down to amp up the flavors that pair so well with the elk’s subtle sweetness.

In my opinion, the best cook you can give a steak like this is a nice crust on the outside and a beautiful medium-rare on the inside, which is exactly what was delivered. The charred exterior is a little smoky, a little salty, but works well to balance the blueberry, which bursts with flavor in each bite.



There’s a little garnish of arugula that, when you get it with all the components, gives you yet another flavor to ping off of, adding its traditional peppery bitterness to the party.

While elk is a fairly lean meat, you are not searching for juiciness – it’s packed in, and makes each bite one you want to slow chew so you can savor each moment, texture, and flavor.

Don’t let the “wild game” monikers send you running for the hills. Embrace something different – and what better way to start than this week’s dish.

The Lone Eagle Grille is located at 111 Country Club Dr. in Incline Village. For hours of operation and menu information, visit them online at loneeaglegrille.com or give them a call at 775-886-6899.


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