This place kicks so much ass. Probably my best meal in Vegas and I'm not even that into Italian food. I tend to avoid Italian places when outside of the northeast due to them not usually being as good as the food in places like Federal Hill in Providence and usually being twice the price. Otto proved me wrong.
I started with a selection of two cheeses, taleggio and fontina. My girlfriend ordered the roasted tomato and cucumber panzanella.
I think about that cheese like fourteen year old girls think about Justin Beiber. It was one of the best things I have ever had. I enjoyed it with the table bread and it was served with some type of blueberry, another type of preserved apricots and some incredibly good, fancy honey which appeared to have truffle in it. I'm not 100% sure what was in the accompaniments but it was all fantastic. Creamy cheese with the honey on crusty bread mmmmmhhmmm. I knew right when I was eating it that I would miss that plate until the next time I visit. Cant stress enough how much I liked this.
My girlfriend said the same about the panzanella. I took a bite and agreed. It wasnt something either of us would normally order but it all came together so perfectly. I'm not one to take a bite of plain tomato but I would eat mountains of this.
My entree was the Rigatoni with Ragu Napolitana. Big perfectly al dente rigatoni noodles with a veal ragu that was pretty much just stunning. It got better with every bite. At first I wasnt that impressed. Then I kept tasting it and noticed how perfectly and simply flavored everything was. Just another incredible dish..
My girlfriend had the Bucatini. I'll just say she thought everything of her pasta that I did mine.
The service was fine. Attentive but not overbearing. nothing incredible but certainly passable. No complaints.
I never really liked Batali much on tv but after eating his food I feel a little differently.