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| - The wife and I started Day 2 in Vegas with lunch at Giada. We arrived a few minutes before our 11:30am reservations on a Monday. The restaurant was at the top of the stairs up from the casino floor. The hostesses were nicely attired in stylish, classy, yet still sexy off-white dresses. I mention this because the wife liked them enough to ask one of the hostesses if they were restaurant provided uniforms (they were) or something that she bought somewhere in town. The hostess asked if we'd like to sit at a table by the windows overlooking the Strip (we did), and informed us that it would be a few minutes before our table was ready as the restaurant was transitioning from breakfast service to lunch and some of the breakfast crowd were still finishing. No worries. A few minutes after our reservation time, we were seated at our table. Even though the windows were open, street noise from the Strip was barely noticeable and didn't impede conversation.
The lunch menu was an abbreviated version of the dinner menu with the pasta selections being the greatest area of divergence. We shared the Wood Roasted Mushrooms with toasted marcona almonds & ricotta salata ($14). In my estimation, it was a bit smaller portion than I would've liked for the price; however, the dish was delicious. The wife ordered G's Baked Pasta of the Day, which was Lasagna ($24) and came with a small arugula salad. I had the Tubetti ($24) with caramelized onions and bacon in a carbonara sauce. Both pasta dishes were nicely executed and flavorful, albeit a bit pricey given their portion sizes. I'm not usually that big of fan of pasta in carbonara sauce, but this one made me a believer. My tubetti (which looked suspiciously like penne) came out a perfect al dente. The sauce was surprisingly light and contrasted nicely with the caramelized onions, bacon, and fresh herbs. After tasting both dishes, my pasta was the clear winner. Service was satisfactory as it wasn't memorable, either good or bad.
Frankly, I had reservations about the place. I hoped for the best, but was prepared for a disappointing experience. I had nothing to worry about. Giada was solid. My only critique was that I thought the pricing/portion sizes weren't well aligned. In spite of this, Giada is a place that I'd be willing to try again for either lunch or dinner.
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