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| - I've always been a fan of Giada's. She's one of my favorite Food Network celebrity chefs. I've met her twice and own Giada autographed cookbooks. She's also a UCLA Bruin which is pretty cool. When I found out that I'd be in town for a family event, I booked a reservation at Giada on our free night via Open Table. I had to adjust the reservation slightly when we booked a show on the same evening which wasn't a problem. We arrived at the Cromwell and the valet asked if we were dining at Giada which we indeed were. He even offered to give us directions to the restaurant. It was pretty easy to follow the path and signs within the Cromwell.
Our reservation was at 5:30 pm and we arrived at 5:15 so we took advantage of the free photo booth and took some pictures. There's an option to print them right there, send via email or post on Facebook. We opted for the print and received 2 copies. After the photos, we sat and waited until they were ready to take us into the restaurant. There were a few parties ahead of us who arrived at the time of their reservation and they were seated before us, no big deal. I did notice that all of the hostesses seemed to be wearing very short LBDs. No judgement as it is Vegas, but according to my boyfriend, my LBD was modest compared to theirs. We were escorted past the big window and seated against a wall. It would have been nice to have been seated by the window but I could see the view just fine from my seat and the bright lights of the Bellagio signage. Our waiter was fantastic and he brought an iPad for us to peruse the different types of antipasti, cocktails, wines, and beers they offer, while he went to get us some water. We opted for two of the film inspired signature cocktails ($15): Serpico and Barbarella. Of the two, the Serpico was my favorite with the smooth bourbon and the fun ice sphere with a "G" inside of it. The Barbarella was fruity but not too sweet and gin based. It was also made with ginger beer so it was like a Moscow mule but with gin.
For our meal, we decided on the spinach & buffalo ricotta pizzette with roasted garlic purée & porchetta ($14), mustard crusted rack of lamb served with braised beluga lentils,
roasted rainbow cauliflower & vincotto ($51) and the Barolo braised Australian wagyu beef short rib served with soft polenta and garden vegetables ($52). They brought out a spectacular complimentary bread tray. It came with parmesan bread sticks, cheesy flat crisps, rosemary garlic roll along with lemon butter and pesto sauce. Can I just say that Oprah's "I have bread everyday" came into my head as I ate this? Because if I could have this bread tray everyday, I'd be a happy girl.
Our pizzette came out and looked amazing, until we tasted it. It had an overwhelmingly fishy taste to it. I had a slice and so did my boyfriend. I asked him if he tasted the fishiness too and he confirmed my suspicion. There was nothing on the menu that indicated it was seafood based so we could only assume that they cooked the spinach in the wrong pan. When our waiter asked how everything was, we asked if the pizzette was supposed to taste fishy. He immediately offered to take it back and asked if we wanted to replace it. We felt bad since we had eaten half of it but he assured us that if we didn't like it, he would take it back and take it off the bill. That was an amazing gesture and I applaud him for his hospitality. Our entrees arrived shortly after and I have to say, the braised short rib is fork tender, delicious. The lamb chops were perfectly cooked too. The lentils were savory and had an amazing flavor. Normally, I'm not a fan of lentils but I was a fan of these. We were impressed by the meal, ambiance, and service at Giada. We didn't have time for dessert, but I did take a look at the dessert menu and I would have ordered something chocolate hazelnut. Buon Appetito!
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