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.
Wine Prices Receding? Read Here.
The staff at ELV is always begging us not to post too many things in one day. But this article in today’s SLATE by Mike Steinberger (one of our favorite wine columnists) makes the argument (or more accurately, the forecast), that the recession will cause restaurants to lower their outrageous markups on wine. So it was too timely and (hopefully) prescient to pass up.
And guess where he mentions as having some of the greatest gouges? Yup, our humble hamlet.
Presaging this article, we spent last week tooling around LV restaurants with Alan Richman (the ex-husband of Lettie Teague quoted in the article), and all we heard from The Hitman was how unfair and crazy the pricing on our lists were. To quote him directly: “Something’s gotta give with the outrageous prices all these restaurants charge for wine.” To be fair, he was referring not just to our top shelf spots, but those across the country who think they can continue to get away with 300% markups on a non-perishable product.
But let’s face it: The high-end restaurants of Las Vegas are the worst offenders; and the GQ columnist, and his ex-wife the Food and Wine wine columnist, and every wine pro in America knows they are.
Here’s a link to Lettie’s article….and let’s hope they’re all correct in their predictions…and that the recession restores some sanity to this system.
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