Coeur d’Alene Casino adds dry-aged beef at Chinook Steakhouse

Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel is trying to make Chinook Steak, Seafood and Pasta stand out in a busy regional dining market with a specialty that takes time before it ever reaches the grill: dry-aged beef.

The Worley resort said Chinook now has a new dry-aging unit that holds beef for three weeks or longer before it is cooked. The process controls temperature, humidity and airflow so the meat develops a deeper, more concentrated flavor, then it is finished over fire. Executive chef Alex Santos-Cucalon said the program requires “time, precision and patience,” adding that those qualities match the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s approach of aging beef “slowly, intentionally, respectfully.”

For the resort, the new program is as much a business move as a culinary one. Chinook already bills itself as an award-winning restaurant that serves Northwest ingredients and wood-fire-grilled meats, and the casino says the restaurant has earned a Club & Resort Chef 2023 Top Ranked Culinary Experiences award. By adding dry-aged beef, the resort is giving guests another reason to choose the property for a date night, celebration dinner or destination meal rather than a standard steakhouse stop in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene market.

That strategy fits a broader resort model built around keeping visitors on site longer. The casino says it has more than 300 hotel rooms, a 60,000-square-foot casino floor with nearly 1,200 gaming machines, a championship golf course and a world-class spa. Food and beverage programming has become part of that mix, and Chinook now gives the resort a more distinctive culinary story to sell alongside gaming, golf and lodging.

Chinook is not a new name at the property. The restaurant was relaunched on Nov. 11, 2020, with an updated name, revamped menu, new cocktail program and chef Adam Hegsted returning to lead the kitchen. This latest investment suggests the resort wants Chinook to be seen as more than a place to eat after the casino floor or a round of golf. It wants the restaurant to function as a destination in its own right, with premium beef as the new hook.