ELV has been a pretty busy boy lately, whipping out articles left and right for a variety of traditional and on-line media. As we said in an earlier post, the national and international media has stopped assigning our dining scene to the warmed-over steam table, and everyone seems interested in Las Vegas again.

Click here to read our take on the current status of our dining scene — written for Real Eats, Barbara Fairchild’s newest, online food ‘zine.

…and because he taught us to cook — both in person and in his seminal La Technique et La Methode cookbooks.

Believe it or not, boning a whole chicken is not that hard. Just follow the master and you’ll be doing it blindfolded in no time.

Looking for some great last minute takeout for this Sunday — to munch on during that football game you might have heard something about?

Then you can’t beat one of Chris Herrin’s magnificent muffalettas (and macarons) from Bread & Butter…

…or some good ‘cue from Memphis Championship Barbecue…

…or a New York-sized pie from Anthony & Mario’s Broadway Pizzeria (within a stone’s throw of ELV’s humble abode)…

…or a sack of cheeseburgers and a Chili Mac from Steak ‘n Shake (In Sight It Must Be Right).

As usual, you’ll have to scroll down to the 36:18 mark to watch ELV stuffing his pie hole, and listen to him expound on our town’s best sandwich in the cheesy, meaty, spicy, overstuffed tones for which he is known!

Lobster bisque

No one loves to bag on bad Italian like ELV.

For twenty years we’ve maintained that you can throw anything on a noodle, smother it with cheap tomato sauce and cheese, and the world (or Americans at least) will beat a path to your door.

With a few exceptions, we avoid neighborhood Italian restaurants like Demi Moore does sobriety tests.

One of those exceptions is Parma by Chef Marc, a restaurant that, to these taste buds, just keeps getting better and better.

Pastas have always been its strong suit, but it was Marc’s lobster bisque that made us sit up and take notice last week. It was intensity in a cup. Full of lobster-ness without heaviness, classic in style and supremely slurp-worthy.

If you scroll through the pictures, you’ll also see a pristine red snapper over squid ink-infused polenta, a spaghetti cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), and a skirt steak — all properly seasoned and cooked to a “t”.

From the looks of things last Tuesday night, we’re not the only ones who’s noticed how tasty this joint has become. The joint was jumpin’ (how many restaurants can say that on a Tuesday night?), as the pastas were flying out of the kitchen and Marc worked the room (and touched every table) like an old pro who knows how to keep his customers happy.

From the prices (everything priced in the teens to low 20s — i.e. a serious bargain) to the wine list (limited but also quite reasonable), everything about this place is designed to keep you happy. Except the name.

Yes, it seems Chef Marc, charming, hard-working guy that he is, loves to confuse people*….especially when it comes to what things are named…including him. The sign on the door (and the menu) says “Parma by Chef Marc”. Marc’s last name used to be Sgrizzi, then it was Ritz. Now it’s back to Sgrizzi. If you google “Parma Las Vegas” you get a website that says “Chef Marc’s Pastavino & Deli,” which also happens to be the sign you see from the road as you drive down Buffalo, yet the website address www.parmabychefmarc.com. Urbanspoon lists him under Chef Marc Parma, while Yelp calls it Chef Marc’s Pastavino.

Schizophrenic? A little. Perplexing? Yes. Forgivable? Absolutely…especially when a chef’s knack with gutsy Italian food (and certain soups) renders such imprecise nomenclature irrelevant to the enjoyment at hand.

ELV’s dinner for one, that was more like a dinner for three, came to $40 since Chef Sgrizzi or Ritz or Sgrizzi or whatever he’s calling himself these days didn’t charge for several items.

CHEF MARC’S PASTAVINO & DELI (we think)

7591 West Washington #110

Las Vegas, NV 89128-4342

702.233.6272

www.parmabychefmarc.com

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* What we have got here is what the Captain might call a “failure to communicate.”

The definitive ham and cheese sandwich

ELV’s love of all things croque is well documented. Whether it’s monsieur, madame, gagnet or novégien, this ultimate ham and cheese sandwich is our preferred way to start the day…although we draw the line at croque bolognese or a Croque McDo.

The name is based on the French verb croquer (“to crunch”) and means there should always be a certain crackle (and not too much béchamel)  in your ham and cheese creation. The “madame” portion of the name is said to come from the fried egg resembling a certain kind of flattened ladies’ hat in France.

Payard Bistro and Patisserie’s version remains the gold standard for this sandwich in our humble burg — made with beautiful brioche, lightly-cured ham and good, nutty Gruyère. One bite takes you straight back to the Rive Gauche…which is what we think Francois Payard had in mind when he put it on the menu.

Best of all, it only costs $17, and one good-sized sandwich will easily feed two.

Just thought you’d like to know.

PAYARD BISTRO AND PATISSERIE

In Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109-8924

702.731.7849

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

Grilled pizza

Sometimes, nothing fancy will do.

Sometimes, all you’re in the mood for is a simple, crispy, grilled, cheese pizza and some nice, homey, house-made pastas — like a classic fettuccine Alfredo and a meaty spaghetti Bolognese.

Sometimes, we forget how satisfying these standards can be, especially when turned out by a kitchen that takes great pride in its techniques and ingredients.

Sometimes, we wish the Cafe at Valentino was easier to get to.

Sometimes, we wish Luciano Pellegrini would give a seminar to all of our lousy Italian restaurants about how to do the little things right.

But then we remember how most diners don’t demand much of their Italian food (which explains the popularity of Brio among others), and then we sigh a little (and die a little), but recover by remembering how fortunate we are to have Valentino’s excellence as a counterweight to all that meretricious meatball mediocrity.

And then we dig in.

VALENTINO

In the Venetian Hotel and Casino

3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.414.3031

www.pieroselvaggio.com

On the plate, it was a very good year. In revisiting their best bites of 2011, the Weekly food critics will get you salivating for 2012.

John Curtas

1. Oxtail Bucatini with Oxtail Sauce (Le Cirque, at Bellagio) This Gregory Pugin dish looks like a plain, savory custard but unspools to reveal bucatini strands hiding insanely rich braised oxtail. It’s a meat dish made by angels with a devilish calorie count, and it might be the biggest umami bomb of the year.

2. Roasted Sea Bass over Arugula (Due Forni, 3555 S. Town Center Dr.) Take a talented Italian chef (Carlos Buscaglia) and give him an 800 degree oven and a juicy piece of branzino—in a minute or two he can turn out a crispy, succulent seafood wonder, atop a bed of tangy arugula sprinkled with capers. The best off-Strip seafood dish I had this year.

3. Dover Sole Meuniere (Eiffel Tower Restaurant, at Paris Las Vegas) Simple and sublime fish, served with just the right crust and just a touch of lemon. Sure, it’s expensive ($69), but it’s also one of the best tasting fish in the world, and they don’t charge for the view.

4. Mascarpone Cheesecake (RM Seafood, at Mandalay Place) Theresa Gwizdalowski’s deceptively simple concoction of sublime sophistication performs the seemingly impossible feat of being both adult and childlike. It combines silky, grown-up cheesecake with three flavors (caramel sauce, bubble gum sorbet and malted milk foam) straight from the kiddie-pleasing playbook.

5. Cheddar Cheeseburger (P.J. Clarke’s, at the Forum Shops) Meyer Ranch beef, the perfect grind, seasoned right and cooked to medium rare—this is the gold standard of Strip burgers, for $5-$10 less than those at most steakhouses. The squishy bun is a plus and a must.

Photo: Beverly Poppe

At KoMex, you might get a dish named after you.

Jim Begley

1. Bulgogi-Fried Rice (KoMex Fusion Express, 633 N. Decatur Blvd.) KoMex’s menu is strewn with dishes requested by—and named for—its patrons. You can find this smoky, sweet offering under “Jim’s fried rice.”

2. Caramel Budino (D.O.C.G. Enoteca, at the Cosmopolitan) Sweet and salty? Yes and yes! The Italian pudding at Scott Conant’s casual Cosmo eatery comes adorned with sea salt for a simple flavor contrast in every spoonful.

3. Pad See-Yew (David Wong’s Pan Asian, 2980 S. Durango Dr.) David’s name is on the marquee, but his wife Lisa does the hard work, wok-frying this wide-noodle dish just long enough for perfect smokiness, caramelization and texture.

4. Oxtail Eggs Benedict (Comme Ça, at the Cosmopolitan) Chef Brian Howard’s maniacal mastery brings us braised oxtail, poached eggs and organic spinach atop a Gruyere and pepper pastry—all smothered in bone marrow and truffle Hollandaise sauce.

5. Pepperoni and Meatball Panzarotti (Papa Geo’s, 5597 S. Rainbow Blvd.) Mama Geo hand-prepares each wonderful pocket of joy. If you ask nicely, she’ll combine her housemade meatballs with some pepperoni for a cheesy, meaty extravaganza.

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

Scarpariello is Italian for delicious. Not really, but this Rao’s dish is.

Brock Radke

1. Zooza Benny (Zoozacrackers, at Wynn Las Vegas) Old-school deli gets decadent with chef Sammy Morse’s housemade pastrami and corned beef stacked on crisp potato latkes with poached eggs, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. I just drooled on my keyboard.

2. Ricotta Ravioli with Smoked Salmon (Aureole, at Mandalay Bay) This incredibly refined starting dish—a smoky, creamy masterpiece augmented with baby artichokes, sugar snap peas and a lemon-thyme sauce—packs enough flavor for an entire meal.

3. Chicken Scarpariello (Rao’s, at Caesars Palace) Perfect poultry and spicy-sweet Italian sausage swim in a sea of vinegary peppers and garlicky butter sauce. It’s tough to pick a favorite dish at Rao’s; it’s even tougher not to order this one.

4. Maple Glazed Quail (Vic & Anthony’s, at Golden Nugget) The Nugget’s steakhouse is Downtown’s best restaurant overall because of inventive dishes like this, a beautifully caramelized bird that looks as good as it tastes.

5. Chips and Irish Curry Sauce (Rí Rá, at Mandalay Place) This is the guilty pleasure pick, full of simple savory goodness: crispy French fries (doesn’t matter what they call them across the pond) are drizzled with a powerful curry-ish gravy. Consider it Irish poutine.

Yes, another dry-aged strip sirloin…this time aged for four months and paired with a filet given the same treatment.

As good and gamy as it was, we had to admit to SS Executive Chef Doug Bell that we preferred his 50-day wonder — a cut that seemed to have the right balance of minerality, tenderness and a touch of funk. It could’ve just been the cut, but the extra 2+ months didn’t add much to the equation, and validated what Carnevino’s  Zach Allen maintains is aged beef’s sweet spot — right around the 60 day mark.

As for the filet, dry-aging doesn’t do a thing for filet mignon — the meat being too tender, lean and mushy gain much benefit from it.

As for the spicy crab in lettuce cups, it might be our favorite app ever at SS — packing some serious heat along with silky smooth, slight sweet and creamy thousand island-like dressing.

That sirloin isn’t always available. Bell tells us he tweets and texts his best customers when these aged beauties are ready, and they generally sell out in a night or two. Meaning: all this beef beneficence is for meat geeks only…and all you budding Josh Ozerskys out there should go get on Bell’s good side, if you want to taste the best in beef.

That super-aged sirloin is $61 — making it something of a bargain in the super-dry-aged-steak sweepstakes.

Just thought you’d like to know.

STRIP STEAK

In the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino

3750 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.632.7414

www.mandalaybay.com/dining/signature-restaurants/stripsteak.aspx

ELV loves public relations people.

He loves it when they beg him for free publicity about their chefs and restaurants, and loves it even more when they “forget” to tell him when key chefs and personnel quit or are fired from their posts.

Such as former Sommelier of the Year Willi Sherer and the mega-talented Megan Romano – who were both shown the door at Mandalay Bay over a month ago. This in the same month she was named Pastry Chef of the Year by a local ‘zine (and after twelve years with the restaurant).

We’re big fans of both Willi and Megan, and wonder what this augurs for the future of Aureole?

A loyal scout and Official Friend of ELV puts it best in a missive/inquiry today:

Dear ELV,

Not sure if you have heard this, but Willi Sherer, Megan Romano are out at Aureole. They also are re-assigning Kevin Dimond elsewhere in Charlie Palmer Empire. Supposedly MGM wanted a move in a different direction,

Charlie fought with them, but in the end he had to cave to the Casino property. Two very very talented individuals who will be impossible to replace. Kevin took care of his customers and ran a good ship.  Hopefully Vincent doesn’t get spooked and move on. IMHO a really bad move for Aureole. I am one of their top customer’s and am pissed off by the news.   It would be interesting to hear if you have any other commentary/information on what happened.

Sound’s similar to what you noted at Wynn awhile back. Don’t you agree?

Sincerely,

A Frustrated Fan

Dear Frustrated,

ELV knows not what direction the MGM behemoth is taking Mandalay Bay, but can assure you that the p.r. department will tell us when they’re good and ready to get some free publicity for whoever replaces them.

To your larger point about a wholesale change of direction for the F & B Department at MB, ELV doubts there’s going to be an abandonment of chef-driven restaurants a la Wynn/Encore in ‘09-’11. Think about it: over the course of three years, the Wynncore let Daniel Boulud slip away, lost (or fired – it’s hard to tell sometimes whether someone was canned, not renewed or forced out) Fredric Robert (a master patissier), Boris Villat (a baker with serious chops), Grant MacPherson, Marc Poidevin, Alex Stratta, Richard Chen, and Jet Tila.

Sure, there’s a story behind each one of these decisions, but someone in charge obviously thought their salaries were no longer worth it. So, about three years after all that hoopla about Wynn’s passion for great chefs, the powers that be decided to cut costs by cutting talent….the same way NFL teams occasionally do. The restaurants you’re left with aren’t bad, but neither do they soar the way they did when they had name chefs manning the stoves and ovens.

We don’t expect the same from Mandalay, mainly because they have some solid performers firmly in place via management agreements with Charlie Palmer, the Two Hot Tamales, Rick Moonen, Alain Ducasse and the Mina Group. If the Wynn retrenchment proves anything, it is that leased eateries (a la Venetian/Palazzo) and management agreements (a la MGM resorts) are the current business model for upscale dining, and Steve Wynn’s hype about paying top toques to stay in-house was a failure. He’ll never admit it (and neither will his p. r. folks), because it’s in their DNA to put a positive spin on everything! Even their mistakes.

That’s why we love them so.

Publicity-wisely yours,

ELV

December is turning out to be a busy food month in our depressed city. Dom DeMarco’s has only been open a week and is going great guns. (There was a 40 min. wait for tables on Sunday night.) New York’s Old Homestead is slated to open in Caesars on December 23rd (and bringing the original steer sculpture from 9th Avenue and Pat La Frieda’s beef with it), and Public House follows a few days later in the old David Burke space along restaurant row in the Venetian.

We got a quick glimpse of Public House’s construction design yesterday and thought we’d share it with you. The powers that be promise a beer list and menu soon, and our staff couldn’t be happier. Corporate Executive Chef Anthony Meidenbauer promises a moderately-price gastro-pub menu (only two burgers), that should give Pinot Brasserie and the Grand Luxe Cafe some serious competition.

We’re looking forward to it’s groovy-cool decor, and 24 beers on tap, and whatever gourmet goods Meidenbauer and chef Hugo Capistran have up their sleeves.

BTW: the G.M.’s name is Hugo Moreno…causing ELV to dub the launch of this joint A Tale of Two Hugos….as in: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….”*

Yep….that pretty much sums up Las Vegas in December, 2011.

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* It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, English novelist (1812-1870)