TABLE TIPS!
Let me toot the horn for a pair of Las Vegas restaurants that have caught my
fancy.
One is Bull Shrimp
at Green Valley Ranch. My wife and I invited Mike and Sandy
Mecca to join us for Easter dinner at the Las Vegas Country Club. Mike
accepted the invitation, but wanted us to have dinner at the newest Station
Casinos steak and shrimp eatery. We did and we were pleasantly surprised.
Since it was Easter
there was a ham dinner special, which I ordered. The others went in different
directions. Everything from start to finish was served to perfection. And, more
importantly, the eats were good.
Gustav Mauler,
who owns Bull Shrimp and a number of other Las Vegas restaurants, is a guy who
enjoys eating. That’s very important in his business. I’ve been catching him
on TV a lot lately on the food network. Look at his eyes. It’s a big tell for
a chef who is happy with what he does.
The other
eating spot that has taken my fancy is, naturally, an Italian place ”” Roma
Deli & Restaurant on west Spring Mountain Rd., near Jones Blvd. If you
want real Italian soul food, this is the place to go.
Growing up
Italian, seldom did we eat out in restaurants. First of all, there were no
Italian restaurants. And, secondly, who could compete with Grandmom’s linguini
and sausage?
Times have
changed. Now there are plenty of good Italian restaurants right here in the ÂÂÂvalley.
But, Roma Deli, owned by Roberto Tedeshi, is a winner. My favorite dish
there is frutti di mare. It is a combination of seafood ””
calamari, scallops, shrimp and clams ”” served on a bed of linguini with red
gravy. (If you want to sound authentic, never call it sauce.)
TAKE A WALK IN THE
PARK! Although I haven’t had a
chance to eat there yet, I’ve heard some great things about the new Central
Park West restaurant in the Sahara Pavilion (Sahara and Decatur).
The joint is the
brainchild of long time restaurateur, Ron Smilow, who used to run Jerome’s.
They have a 24-hour menu that features such taste treats as juicy burgers,
wood-fired pizza, piled high deli sandwiches, Coney Island hotdogs and my
personal favorite (you knew this was coming!), homemade pasta. From the latter I
can’t wait to try the Fulton Street Special ”” Red or white clam gravy (I
understand you can count the clams!) over ÂÂÂlinguini served with garlic bread
sticks.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority the gambling
budget for the average Las Vegas trip in 2001 was $607. The amount is off from
$665 in 2000.
NEIL KNOWS!
New York Post columnist Neil Travis tells us that Caroline
Hunt of the Texas Hunt clan is ÂÂÂgoing to make an offer for the Bel Air
hotel.
Caroline sold the
property 10 years ago to Japanese ÂÂÂinvestors. The Sultan of Brunei
bought it and now is ÂÂÂrumored to be willing to unload it. And, Caroline has her
checkbook in hand.
“HELP SCREENS!”
That’s what New South Wales is calling its poker machines that tell players
how much they’ve won, how much they’ve lost and how long they have been
playing.
If the technology wins approval, the help screens will be displayed on machines at the touch of a button.