Category: Celebrity Chef Hell

Two Lunches – MIMMO FERRARO’S and MESA GRILL

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for something basic and uncomplicated, wouldn’t you agree? No fancy plate stylings or exotic garnishes, just a bowl of good old spaghetti and clams (aka pasta alle vongole),

and boy can Mimmo Ferraro’s fill that bill. This may be the best version of this Italian-American classic we’ve had since we visited Umberto’s Clam House in NYC’s Little Italy years ago, to see where Crazy Joey Gallo bought the farm.

As we were double-booked for lunch (a common occurrence for ELV), we then hightailed in to Caesars to Mesa Grill to chow down on a Bobby Flay Cuban burger — that was tastier than anything we’ve had there in a long time. Equally surprising: good grilled mahi-mahi tacos, a quesadilla more agressively spiced than we remember the food being here, and a cornbread pudding dessert that had three grown men fighting for the last bite.

To hear how tough I’ve been on Mesa Grill in the past, click here. And to read Frank Bruni’s review in the NYTimes (echoing my thoughts of three years earlier), click here.

To hear a past review of Ferraro’s, click here.

Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant

5900 West Flamingo Rd.

Las Vegas, NV 89103

702.364.5300

Mesa Grill

In Caesars Palace

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

877.346.4642

www.mesagrill.com/lasvegas/

Michelin Ratings Revealed

Here they are sports fans….the 2009 restaurant ratings of Las Vegas swanky eateries from the mother of all guidebooks Le Guide Michelin. ELV will be commenting more on these ratings in the near future, but for now:
Notable changes from last year: Mesa Grill lost its star.
Biggest disappointment: Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare and RM Seafood not gaining one.
Biggest surprise: Andre’s and Alize keeping theirs.
Most satisfying “I told you so:” The too-good-for-this-world DJT being recognized for its short-lived excellence.
MICHELIN RESTAURANT RATINGS
ONE STAR (*) (by neighborhood)
ESTABLISHMENT NEIGHBORHOOD HOTEL
Alize West of the Strip Palms
Andre’s (Downtown) Downtown
Aureole The Strip Mandalay Bay
Bradley Ogden The Strip Caesar’s Palace
Daniel Boulud Brasserie The Strip Wynn
DJT The StripTrump InternationalHotel & Tower
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon The Strip MGM Grand
Le Cirque The Strip Bellagio
Michael Mina The Strip Bellagio
miX The Strip Mandalay Bay
Nobu East of The Strip Hard Rock
Restaurant Charlie The Strip Palazzo
Wing Lei The Strip Wynn
TWO STARS (**) (by neighborhood)
ESTABLISHMENT NEIGHBORHOOD HOTEL
Alex The Strip Wynn
Guy Savoy The Strip Caesar’s Palace
Picasso The Strip Bellagio

THREE STARS (***)

ESTABLISHMENT NEIGHBORHOOD HOTEL

Joel Robuchon The Strip MGM Grand

NOBHILL TAVERN

Let’s get a few things straight between us, shall we? NobHill “Tavern” is many things. It’s an attractive restaurant with stylish decor, good service, and an interesting wine list. It is also the domain of one Sven Mede, a German by birth who cut his teeth at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Oxford, England; came of age at Bradley Ogden, and now struts his considerable talent in the service of keeping the Michael Mina brand intact and in good form throughout Mina’s MGM-Mirage restaurant empire.

What NobHill “Tavern” isn’t is a tavern. It doesn’t remotely resemble one (uber-designer Tony Chi took care of that), nor does its food pander to anything like the lowest-common-denominator denoted by those words. If Mina and his minions are trying to capture the culinary zeitgeist of the seminal Gramercy Tavern in New York City, we can forgive them that. But if they’re pulling this verbal sleight-of-hand as a way of seducing the slack-jawed hordes in the MGM to give the place a taste, they’re doing a disservice both to the know-nothings and to those who might appreciate Mede’s cosmopolitan food stylings. Because if you wander into this “tavern” expecting tavern-like food, you will be disappointed. If your expectations are much higher, you will be enthralled.

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