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| - My girlfriend and I spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Vegas with our respective families. The original plan for Thanksgiving dinner was to go to Caesars' Bacchanal Buffet, but since we were staying at the Cosmopolitan, the logistics of getting the family together there scrapped that Plan A. Plan B was to go to the Cosmo's Wicked Spoon Buffet, but the three-hour plus wait resulted in us scrapping that one, too. As a result, we made our way to Scarpetta since everyone likes Italian (right?) and they could accommodate our party of eight without reservations at 6:30 pm on Thanksgiving Day for dinner. By this point, we were just happy that we found someplace...anyplace...for dinner.
We were seated in a nice, small, private room looking out over the Bellagio's fountains to the north. Matthew, our server, was exceedingly professional and knowledgeable about the menu, offering spot on food and drink recommendations. We started off with drinks while we looked over the menu. I had the Billionaire ($16) made with Elijah Craig, pomegranate syrup, Pernod Absinthe, and lemon juice. Frankly, the cocktail was well made and pleasing, however, for the price, I wasn't impressed with the choice of Elijah Craig as the base spirit unless it was for their 18 or 20 year old stuff. Of course, since they didn't specify, I assumed it was for the standard 12 year old bourbon. For starters, the table shared an order of Crispy Fritto Misto consisting of seafood, vegetables, artichokes, herbs & lemon ($18) and an order of Creamy Polenta topped with a fricassee of truffled mushrooms ($17). All elements of the fritto misto were fried to perfection, crispy, without a hint of sogginess, leaving the mix of shrimp, calamari and octopus tender. I like polenta. The polenta was creamy as advertised and as good a polenta as I've ever had. That said, it was $17 for polenta...a bit pricey. Chef Scott Conant and his Scarpetta are known for its fresh made pastas, so for my main course, I had the Pici, a thick, spaghetti-like pasta, with lobster, preserved tangerine & bottarga ($36). http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/scarpetta-las-vegas?select=EmJ-zvY2Ihq8gwDluU6IPQ#qPDstnGpczl7IsR5MB4p5g I'd never had pici before and it was a hearty, filling pasta. It was tossed with restraint with what I'm assuming was only olive oil, the preserved tangerine, bottarga (a dried, pressed fish roe), and tender chunks of lobster claw meat. The pasta dish was outstanding as the flavor profile and aromatics of each ingredient were present and in perfect balance. While it was one seriously pricey bowl of pasta, it tasted like it was worth every bite as it hit my tongue. The gf and I split a side of roasted mushrooms consisting of trumpet royale, beech, and shitake mushrooms, topped with pecorino and trucioleto vinegar ($11) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/scarpetta-las-vegas?select=EmJ-zvY2Ihq8gwDluU6IPQ#EmJ-zvY2Ihq8gwDluU6IPQ It was a nice plate of fungus and excellent complement to my pasta.
Scarpetta may not have been our first choice for Thanksgiving dinner, but it was definitely a good choice. The food was well-executed and delivered amazing flavor. Service was attentive without any hint of intrusiveness. The only downside was that it was quite expensive and some items seemed overpriced for what was received. Still, Scarpetta is a fine restaurant and perfect for a special occasion...even Thanksgiving dinner.
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