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| - I've thought about this for a bit now, and I've raved about two of the items I had at B&B enough that it has to be 5 star. Two buddies and I dined here during our last trip to Vegas, and I fulfilled a desire to eat here that was left over from my last stay at the Venetian.
First, the grilled octopus in limoncello vinaigrette. Great, great octopus. Amazing, firm, meaty texture without being too squeaky rubbery or unchewable. Add to that some great grilled flavor in that perfect dressing, with great citrus flavor...I'm hooked. The serving wasn't just tiny tentacles too - these were big meaty slices of octopus, pieces maybe an inch in diameter and several inches long, meaning you got a real taste of the meat. Amazing.
We started with the gnocchi with lamb and mint. I think this is what I want to eat just before I die. The gnocchi are I think the best I have ever had. Clearly handmade, perfectly tender with a slightly al dente center, with a rich tomato sauce, absolutely melt in your mouth braised lamb, and fresh mint leaves that were an unexpected but perfect compliment to the heavily savory lamb and broth. Simply and utterly fantastic.
After those two things, I feel like the meal could only head downhill, and so it did. But not very far. My last course was the slow roasted lamb shoulder, which was delicious - also extremely tender, fall off the bone with good flavor, but the cannellini beans were a bit under done. This was very good, but when you put it next to those antipasti and primi courses, I don't think anything could really have held its own.
We skipped dessert, as nothing really jumped out at us, but were treated to a fun little complimentary sweet course. One thing I forgot to mention was a little chick pea bruschetta to start the meal, which was very good.
I will say that this place can get expensive fast. Lots of good stuff on the menu and portions that are on the smaller side means the bill can add up quick. Is it worth it? Yeah, the meal I had totally was. But just, fair warning. Did we leave full? Yes, we did, but not stuffed. That's probably a good thing. All I know is, if I ever find myself back at the Venetian, I will not miss a chance to come back and repeat those opening courses. Holy cow.
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