During football season, I try to go to a lot of sports bar-themed places for my reviews. But as we all know, 2020 has been extremely difficult for a lot of local restaurants.
So I am trying to have a good mix of the places I go to and review. This week, I tried a place that had opened last November and even though this place is just three minutes from my house, I hadn’t been there yet, mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chianti is an Italian restaurant located at 4275 S. Durango Drive, Suite 100. The owners of Chianti have two other restaurants, both of them in the state of Washington. The first was opened in 2011 and the restaurant featured homemade recipes — pasta, desserts, fresh seafood, and a wood-fired pizza oven. Their whole family worked there, parents, kids, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
For me growing up in an Italian house, food and family were one in the same. And from their first restaurant in Kirkland, Wash., to Chianti here in Las Vegas, I got that same feeling here.
When you walk in, you might think you are at a wedding with all the white decor. But honestly, it would be a great place to have a small wedding dinner at. The ambiance of the restaurant will make you feel like you’re in a Tuscan village about to enjoy good food with family and friends and that’s exactly what we had.
We started the meal off with salad and moved on to two of our favorite dishes. Lori ordered Chicken Parmigiana as she usually does and I ordered Veal Parmigiana which is always followed by the look and remark from Lori, saying, “You are eating a baby cow” and I answer, “Yes I am, and that chicken is so grateful you let him grow a little longer before he became your dinner.”
Both dishes were spot on. Lori had hers with a side of mixed vegetables while I went with a side of spaghetti with their house marinara. The veal was very tender, and the breading complimented the meat instead of overpowering it. In fact, when we ordered these dishes, the waiter asked if we wanted the dishes prepared with or without being breaded. I have only been to a few places that ever gave that option. The breading was excellent, and both the pasta and veggies were good side dishes.
Save room for dessert as they have several good options and I narrowed it down to two choices. The Limoncello Mascarpone Cake or the Blanca. When the waiter returned, I asked him what his favorite dessert was, not telling him what I narrowed it down to. He replied quickly with the Blanca being his favorite. So, the Blanca it was. It is a hazelnut cookie base topped with a layer of hazelnut crunch and chocolate sponge cake filled and topped with vanilla flavored cream studded with chocolate chips and coated in a white chocolate. Or for the short version, an amazing dessert.
Chianti had live music when we were there on a Saturday night and the place was packed, with social distancing of course. I highly recommend making reservations. Everyone is so friendly here and very attentive so all your needs. I give Chianti a rating of 3.75 Forks.