This is how Eating Las Vegas would present its restaurant reviews if it had the time, the money, a professional photographer, a videographer, an audio technician, a production faciltity, an editor and the backing of the New York Times. Stylish, concise and informative, it is probably the future of restaurant criticism in America and on the Web.
Category: Food
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
Desert Companion (‘zine) – Best Cheap Eats
If you shopped at Whole Foods in the past two months, and let’s face it who hasn’t?, you probably grabbed a Desert Companion magazine as you were leaving. Behind the hot chile pepper cover was an article by you-know-who, on where to find some of our town’s best ethnic (and inexpensive) eats. Here is the PDF of that article for your perusing pleasure.
FYI: You may be hearing big things about RAKU in the coming months…..the national food press has taken notice of our little Japanese gem (thanks to someone who needs no introduction), and universal recognition of its excellence may soon be forthcoming.