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| - Time Out - shame on you! The trusty city guide Time Out gives Trevi a top write-up. And with literally 100's of Italian restaurants in Las Vegas from which to choose, why not believe them? Mistake.
With outdoor temperatures running at about 38* C, it seemed like a good option to seek out the air-conditioned luxury of one of Vegas' top Malls to have lunch. Las Vegas, as you know, is fantasyville, a kitsch creation where the splendours of the World are brought to life in a never-ending series of cloned buildings, monuments and other landmarks. Trevi itself sits alongside a life-size reproduction of the Fontana di Trevi in Rome.
The menu offered recognisable delights from Italy: Antipasto Misto, Fritto Misto, Risotto, Pizza, Liguine with clams, Scalloppine, Tiramisu, Sorbetti. And there the resemblance to Italian food finished. The proscuitto was pre-sliced - days ago, it seemed - and dull red instead of pink; the roasted vegetables had been pickled; olives were out of a jar. The pasta was dried and tasteless - industrial quality when for $25 a plate you'd have expected freshly made. Pasta had been dropped straight into its sauce, water and all, so that the sauce became a light water-based emulsion. Clams and prawns had definitely been frozen at some stage of their existence.
I had a little word with the manager, Marcello. Good name, I thought, he'll sympathise with me. Marcello turned out to be Mexican, as were his chefs. That explained why the sous-chef who brought me my pasta and clams offered to sprinkle it with parmesan cheese! Marcello knocked 50% off the bill, but I'd rather have had decent food than a discount.
Just as well the Mafia no longer run Vegas, because if they'd gone to Trevi they'd have blown it up.
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