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| - Rao's in New York City is a bit of an urban legend / myth. It exists, but you can't eat there. Seats are more less owned and resold for literally thousands of dollars a pop. Seemed foolish to pass on the opportunity to eat at the same restaurant in Vegas since the one in NYC will likely never happen.
We were able to get last minute reservations on a Thursday for 9:30. Restaurant has a very cool feel to it, kinda like something out of an old school Italian mob movie.
Bread basket - surprisingly enjoyable. What really makes this is the free different types of butter served with the bread. Don't ask me what they are; no one told us.
Meatballs - these were highly recommended by our waiter; he said they always sell out of these. 15 minutes prior to closing, they still had them. When I think of excellent meatballs, I think of places like Lavo or Carbone where the meatball is full of texture and you can plainly see and taste the different meats. This was more of a uniform, over mixed meatball. It's fine, but nothing to wax poetic about. The meatballs at Lavo are.
Frito misto - so, so, so much food. This could easily serve five people comfortably, and really was good. The calamari was super, super tender, as was the shrimp. This was one of the two dishes that truly excelled.
Mozzarella Carrozza - this is basically a giant mozzarella stick. It's good, for what it is, but let's be honest about what it is. Again, it's fine, but nothing that special.
Pastas had a cool presentation factor, and were brought to you table side in stainless steel pots and mixed there, then served.
Penne Vodka - this is excellent. Pasta tastes fresh with a nice chew factor and the sauce is rich and creamy.
Linguini and Clams - there is no reason to order this. Seriously. It is spaghetti and clams with basically no real flavor. Resist temptation and skip this. We barely are it and didn't bother to bring it home.
Veal Parm - the other dish that the waiter said they always run out of was also still available at 9:45. The only thing that really distinguished this veal park from most every other one I've ever had was that it comes on the bone. Like the meatball, it's fine, but nothing you could have and call life changing.
The biggest thing this place has going for it is the novelty of what it is, and the allure to anyone from NYC that you can actually get in here. It's more less standard, expensive Italian food. If you are really dying to try Rao's in NYC and can't, coming here will satisfy the urge and make you feel like you didn't really miss out if this is the same as the original.
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