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| - The wife and I went to dinner at Esther's Kitchen on a Wednesday night. We both love Italian food and Esther's Kitchen came highly recommended to us by the chef at Sparrow + Wolf. We certainly couldn't ignore the word of a talented chef at a restaurant we'd just dined at and loved. Even though it was a Wednesday night a little after 6PM, the dining room was packed and most of the seats at the bar were taken. Thankfully, we had dinner reservations and were seated immediately.
We ordered a couple of appetizers to share, the Ricotta Gnudi ($15) and the Polpette (meatballs) ($11). As I learned, the name of the dish "Ricotta Gnudi" is actually a bit redundant since gnudi by definition is a gnocchi-like dumpling made with ricotta. Regardless of its name or definition They were fluffy, light, ricotta pillows complimented nicely by beets and pistachio pesto. The polpette were moist, juicy, and flavorful and served with a piquant red sauce. For my entrée, I had the Bucatini alla Amatriciana ($16). We were informed that all of the pasta was made fresh in house. My bucatini, a pasta style that I had not previously tried, definitely had that taste and mouth feel of fresh pasta. It was paired with a nicely seasoned, spicy, red sauce. My dish was absolutely delicious. For dessert, we shared a Budino (butterscotch pudding) ($8) and a glass of amaro ($9). It was a sweet, but not overly sweet, ending to our meal. Service was exceptional as we were made to feel like guests in someone's home. Esther's Kitchen offered outstanding quality, new (for me) Italian food experiences, and value. It was the most pleasant surprise of our time in Vegas. For locals and tourists, Esther's Kitchen is definitely worth a trip out to the Arts District.
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