Quote:
Originally Posted by *TT*
In my opinion Strata is at the bottom end of the high end Italian American high-end strip joint in Vegas, I'd rather eat at Martorano's and Nove, neither of which I particularly liked because of the heavy garlic coering to mask the true flavors of the ingredients. If your looking for classic Italian American then Rao's might be the best of the bunch you mentioned above. I dont't understand why you included Circo (French inspired Italian due to Sirio's childhood home), B&B (rustic Umbrian mixed with delicacies from all over Italy and tasting menus that are chosen based on the region), or CarneVino (Tuscan & Parma inspire menu), thats like comparing apples to oranges. Circo, B&B, & Carne are real Italian cuisine, while Strata, Raos, and Nove are Italian American, they have only their roots in common and shouldn't be compared to one another IMO.
PS: If we add Bartelota into the mix it would be hard to compare to Circo & Carne because Bartelota is mostly a Mediterranean sea inspired menu where as Carne and Circo specialize on the fat of the land.
Finally get a chance to post my review of dinner at Rao's on 1/19/10. Cliff's = average food but overpriced and service was a big disappointment.
Wife and I had reservations for 7:00, got there a little early, but seated right away. They put us towards the back of the restaurant looking out on the Caesar's pools in a very loud room (concrete floor, high ceilings.) No waiter even approached us for over 10 minutes despite the fact that there were several active tables right around us. No one seemed to notice us. Wife finally asked a passing waiter if someone was assigned to our table, this guy took over after mumbling something about our assigned waiter being busy with other tables.
Appetizers were bruschetta and the baked clams. Wife said the bruschetta was good, and I thought the clams were very good, too bad they were the highlight of the meal in terms of food.
I ordered a half-order of the linguini and shrimp that was basically tasteless. Shrimp were cooked well, but just had no flavor in the dish, a real disappointment.
Wife had the shrimp fra diavolo and I had the veal parmigiana. Wife said the shrimp were pretty good and the small bite I got was pretty good. The veal was a good sized portion, but unevenly cooked especially near the bone where part of it was almost raw. What was cooked well was delicious, but the milanese I've had at Sinatra was much better.
For dessert wife had the pate a chioux with ice cream and chocolate sauce, I had the tiramisu. Both were good, the tiramisu was nice and light, not dense like it so often is.
Wife picked out the wine, and I have to admit I had no idea what is was (she is the wine guru and I always leave it up to her.) She was a bit taken aback when the waiter wanted us to let him decant it. (Apparently b/c it was too recent a vintage to need decanting.) But it was very good, and she was impressed by the wine list overall.
Final grades:
Atmosphere D+ loud crowded room, nothing special about the restaurant itself.
Service C slow start, but was acceptable despite the poor advice on the decanting. Again, nothing special.
Food D overall below average because of the linguini dish and the uneven veal. This is especially true if I factor in value. The bill came to just over $300 before tip.
I was disappointed b/c I had high hopes for this place as I like this kind of menu (Italian-American). Doubt I'd ever go back unless someone else was paying.