Ciao Bella!

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Ed. note: ELV – that notorious nosher of noodles, inveterate investigator of ingestion, and lover of all things Latin — will be out of the country for the next week re-calibrating his pasta palate. Three guesses as to the city he will be visiting…and the first two don’t count.

To say we are a tad bored with the Las Vegas food scene these days is an understatement. (Perhaps it’s a post-coital-like letdown after the recent publication of our book. (And by post-coital letdown we mean Anita Ekberg.)  Or maybe it’s just that we’ve eaten in every Las Vegas restaurant worth eating in so many times (see graphic to your immediate left) , there seems to be little point in revisiting any of them, unless there’s either a seasonal menu change, or a new chef.

Sadly, even seasonal menu changes fail to excite us, because usually only about 10% of the menu gets changed…because that’s the way the bean counters like it.

FWIW: The new Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino does offer some respite from the tedium of our corporate/convention dining rooms. It may be tiny (203 rooms, 3 restaurants), but the F&B program is the real deal — bring superb dim sum and that wonderful gongfu tea ceremony to a niche casino that fills a niche in our need to eat legitimate Chinese food closer to the ELV palatial manse.

We will be reporting in depth on that dim sum (and the other food venues at Lucky Dragon, once we return.

In the meantime….

Arrivederci to our loyal readers (for the next week or so), and buon appetito to all. (We will resume our weekly postings on December 20.)

As usual, if you want to follow our travels, please join us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

 

John Arena’s Roman Holiday

ELV note: We’ve been to Rome twice in our life and enjoyed every second and every morsel. Unfortunately, due to the depression (and the depressed dollar), a trip to Europe has been out of the question for the past few years. Thankfully, we have foodie friends like John Arena with the palate and writing skills to capture the sweet and savory essence of the Eternal City for us, and make us hungry for another trip there (although from his conclusions, maybe it’s just as well we stay home for awhile and appreciate the buon gusto! we have at our doorstep).

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Rome still stands… but Las Vegas may be gaining on it.

by John Arena

There is a famous quote that links the fate of civilization to the continued existence of the “Eternal City”. This idea may be an exaggeration, but Rome is certainly an international center of art, religion, culture, and of course food. After a 3 year hiatus I felt that a return to Rome was long overdue. Considering all that has happened on the local food scene I was curious to see how Las Vegas is measuring up to one of the world’s great culinary capitols.

Continue reading “John Arena’s Roman Holiday”