Rao's in las Vegas.........The Last Supper from this latest Las Vegas trip

I put together a group of friends for our final meal in Las Vegas and we all decided after a few suggestions to go to Rao's.  This was the same group pretty much that went to Mesa Grill so I knew we all would have the opportunity to try many different dishes.

The New York Famed eatery is located in Caesar's Palace on the strip and is decorated from what I'm told, similar to the New York landmark.

We had all heard about the famous Meatballs and the simple order of 6 went out.  These massive meaty spheres came to us bathed in their famous sauce.  Top it off with some fresh grated cheese and you have an appetizer worth oohing and aahing about.  I think at that point was the quietest our table was the entire evening.

After we devoured the meatballs and mopped up all the sauce, we waited patiently for the mains.  Two of us got the Chicken Scarpariello that had tender chunks of Chicken laid next to hot and sweet sausage.

My friend Roger had mentioned to me when we talked about coming here that Uncle Vincent's famous Lemon Chicken is supposed to be really great.  I'm not one for ordering chicken when I go out for a meal just because I make it so much at home.  But this Chicken was so delicious.  It had a refreshing flavor that wasn't sour which is what you might expect from lemon chicken.  Charbroiled chicken sat in a shallow layer of lemony broth that kept the whole dish moist.  If you are a chicken fan, you must try this.

One of the things I really love about a restaurant like this is that if there is something that you want and don't see it, just ask and more times than not, you'll get it.  Such was the case with the Veal Piccata that made it to our table.  Not on the menu, the caper dotted dish was a welcome addition the well rounded selections that we had chosen.

One of my friends who had come here a few days later said that the Osso Buco was over the top.  And I had to agree with him because it was my dish.  Problem is with this dish is that you really need a completely empty stomach to finish this dish without feeling over full when you finish it.  The problem is that it tastes so good that you don't want any of it to go to waste.  leaving any of this dish not eaten is food abuse.  The fork tender veal sits on top of risotto which is bathed in a veal reduction sauce.  Yeah, it's a little rich.

Finally I'm sorry to say that I didn't take a photo of the Veal Parmesan.  This dish is the most popular and after trying it, I can see why.  The door mat size of pounded Veal came to the table hanging over the plate.  This is not an exaggeration.   It was huge.  As was the flavor.  Next time I'm here, that is what I will get.

If you love old school Italian food and happen to be going to Las Vegas, make a reservation and prepare your stomach for a great meal.

For information about Rao's and to see the menu please go here: Rao's Las Vegas

Carmine's in Times Square....Now that's Italian

If you have never been to Carmine's in New York City, then you haven't really experienced the pinnacle of family style Italian food.   This place is an absolute Landmark in Times Square.  We decided on a whim on a Saturday to battle New York City at Christmas time to see the tree and sites.

I have been to Carmine's before and know it to be a madhouse to get a seat.  So I thought I was smart and called at 9:30 am to make a reservation for that night.  I thought since we were seeing a show, an early dinner of between 4:30 and 5:00 would be a possibility but I was dead wrong.  The earliest reservation they had available was 11:00 am.  So we had done a trick once before and it had paid off this time.  We walked in and looked at the bar area.  The bar area is fairly large but packed. There are many bar stools along the very long bar and about 10 tall small tables.  These tables are really designed to hold drinks while waiting for a table but for many it could hold dinner.  The trick is all placement and timing.  First move is to scope out a table that has people eating on it.  The tables with drinks could last forever.  But with food, you know you can see where they are at in their meal.  These tables are meant for eating and leaving.  you won't find people sitting there for a long time talking because it's really loud and pushy.  So once you find your table or tables with food, you see where they are at with their meal or blatantly ask.  We scoped two and then asked both of them. One of them was not leaving anytime soon and the other was finished.  Cool, no one else laid claim to it as it would have been identified at first look.  It's New York remember?  I'm Waitin' Here!!!!

The table cleared out maybe 5 minutes after talking so the timing couldn't have been better.  A reservation wouldn't have gotten seated faster.   All menu's are on the wall.  All your classic Italian dishes are served from Baked Clams Oreganata, Hot Antipasto to all the pasta you can think of.  All the dishes are meant to be shared.  Now when I say shared, a single dish can feed probably six.  So be ready to eat.  We started off with the Carmine's salad which was a mix of fresh greens, olives, pepperoncini's, and dried tomatoes in a light vinaigrette. You can't go wrong with this other than getting scolded by some real Italians saying you have that at the end of the meal.

We also got the Fried Calamari since it is a favorite of my kids.  The batter it was fried in was not a super heavy fried batter and the marinara sauce for dipping was delicious.

For our main dishes we wanted one pasta dish and one meat dish.  So for the pasta dish, we saw the Lasagna from the previous diners and it looked amazing.   So we decided to order that.  Normally we get just meatballs and spaghetti or something like that so this was a change for us.  Again the portion is huge.  We only finished 1/2 of it but it was really good.  For Lasagna Lovers, this is a winner.  Again the Marinara sauce that is used is so tasty.  Bits of oregano and spices float in the gravy as it is layered in soft noodles, Ricotta Cheese and Chopped meat.

The meat dish we chose was Chicken Parmesan.  A staple in Italian cooking.  Plus again we didn't want to get too adventurous with the kids because if they didn't eat it, we didn't have room or space for another dish. Again, this dish was done so well.  Carmine's takes the tender Chicken Breast and pounds it so thin that it must cook through on contact.  Topped with the Marinara sauce and Mozzarella Cheese makes this dish complete.  I highly recommend it.

Eating in the bar area comes quick so we were done in less than 40 minutes from when we sat down.  No sooner were sitting back did we feel a tap on the shoulder.  A woman was there asking if we were finishing soon.  And the cycle starts over again.

Carmine's has two location.  One on 44th street off Broadway and the other is on Broadway uptown near 91st street.  For a loud fun family style meal, you won't go wrong at Carmine's.

For More Information please visit them on the web at www.carminesnyc.com/

Via Sforza Westport......A little bit of Tuscany in Fairfield County CT

I was very happy to have gotten home from my trip and had an opportunity to go to dinner with just Anita, my wife.  We decided to to go to Via Sforza in Westport CT which is located on the Westport Norwalk Border.   The outside looks like something you would see in Tuscany Italy (not that I've been there but I've seen photos) with it's round stone facade and rustic wood door.  Inside when you walk in, your greeted by the Brick oven that is roaring to cook all the pizzas that are so popular.

Since we had pizza earlier, we decided to get some of the other things on the menu.  Anita had started with the Insalate Principe which was an elegant mix of Endive, Arugula and Radicchio.  The dressing was bright and refreshing like the rest of the salad.  A great way to start a meal.

I am a big fan of seafood and love Mussels.  So I ordered the Cozze in Brodo which is Mussels with white wine sauce. The sauce had a good amount of garlic and parsley and it was excellent with the rustic country bread that the restaurant served to mop up the sauce.  I think I returned the bowl dry.

For the Entree's Anita ordered Pappardelle il Forno, which were wide broad noodles that were served with Porcini mushrooms, sausage, peas, in a light creamy tomato sauce.   When it cam out I personally thought it looked heavy but after tasting it, it had a nice balance.  The sausage had a nice bite to it which went great with the sauce.

I ordered the Pasta a la Vongole.  Which is Pasta with Clam Sauce.   Its a personal weakness for me.  I love Linguini and white clam sauce and have a hard time resisting it when I see it on the menu.  Plus I have had it there before and it's real good.   The dish comes with capallini noodles which i'm not a fan of.  I requested linguini and they had no problem with the change.  There was lots of garlic in the sauce and the clams were cooked to perfection.   A great meal indeed.

Via Sforza can be found on the Post Road in Westport on the Norwalk border.   You can get more information here as well:  www.viasforza.com