Fiore, the steakhouse at Harrah's Rincon in Northern San Diego County

There are many casinos which have the best restaurants, but most of these casinos are not "local" and involve a special trip. Caesars Palace in Las Vegas has several world famous chefs who operate gourmet and casual restaurants at the resort.

But there is an absolutely superb restaurant in a casino in northern San Diego County, and it is close enough for locals in San Diego and Orange and San Bernardino Counties to make the drive to have a special occasion dinner here.

The restaurant is Fiore and it is the steakhouse at Harrah's Rincon Casino. Take the 15 Freeway to the Pala exit. It's about 15 minutes from the Pala Casino.

I've been to this restaurant three times for special occasions and each time my rib eye steak was absolutely delicious. I love how they prepare and the steak I had on my last visit had a bleu cheese sauce, and you have a choice of several sauces.

I also had a shrimp cocktail and these were jumbo shrimp to be sure, and it is served with a special sauce, not the usual cocktail sauce. And what was amazing were the lobster tails. These are not your "Red Lobster" lobster tails but really big lobster tails-- and two of them make an entire meal. Get the lobster tails grilled.

I've never had room for dessert but they have New York Cheesecake. I've had the New York Cheesecake at the 24-hour restaurant at Rincon and that was excellent so I expect that the Cheesecake at Fiore will be excellent also.

Okay, let's talk prices. Dinner for two including appetizers (shrimp cocktail and salad) plus the rib eye with a lobster tail for one entre and two lobster tails for the second entre, plus two family-sized sides (sauteed spinach was one, mushrooms was the other) with tax was just under $200. That's not cheap but not overly expensive.

The service was terrific. The decor was both elegant and casual.

And the best part is that along with the regular a la carte menu there is now a special fixed price dinner menu which includes a steak, salad and dessert for $75 per person. While we didn't order the "special" we are sure it is just as good as the more expensive steaks and seafood dishes.

And yes, you can use your casino comps to lower the cost of the meal or cover the entire cost -- but not the tip.