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If cooking school students had looked like Nicole Grimes when ELV was considering going to one in the early 80s, he might have rethunk his decision to remain a lawyer-at-law. Back then, most aspiring chefs looked like this rather than the cute-as-a-button Ms. Grimes, so we decided the better course of action was to represent, rather than associate with dudes like this.

Chef de Cuisine Grimes has been running the Rao’s kitchen ever since Carla Pellegrino departed, and from what we tasted the other day, everything is in good hands. The red sauce here still kicks the ass of every other Italian in town, and Grimes has re-configured the meatballs (making them somehow lighter and meatier) to bring them more in line with those served at the original on Pleasant Avenue in Harlem.

As for that red sauce, they go through at least 13 gallons of it a day, and it’s made in vessels you could fit a Smart Car in. So big in fact, Grimes has to stand on a crate to stir the stuff.

Stirring or standing, she seems to be up to the task of keeping this kitchen humming along at the forefront of our Italian-American eateries.

Is it too late to go to cooking school?

RAO’S LAS VEGAS

In Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.731.RAOS or 877.346.4642

http://www.caesarspalace.com/casinos/caesars-palace/restaurants-dining/raos-detail.html