Carnevino

Last year, I had the best dining experience of my life at Carnevino .  My friends and I enjoyed this place so much, that we made sure we made reservations to go back while we were in Las Vegas this year.  Carnevino is an Italian Steakhouse owned and operated by Mario Batali.  This establishment is located in the Palazzo Hotel and Casino, but Batali recently opened up a second Carnevino restaurant in Hong Kong. During our visit in 2012, we had read some great reviews of this place and couldn’t wait to try it.  Last year, the service was spectacular, the food was amazing, and I was blissfully content when leaving the restaurant. 


Tough deceisions: How many bottles of the 1990 La Tache, Domaine Romanee Conti should we order for the table?

The food was so amazing during our visit in 2012, that I would have turned down a date with Kate Upton if I had to choose between her and Carnevino.  I am sure my wife would also be pleased with that hypothetical choice.  Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who agreed that Carnevino is the bomb.  Travel and Leisure rated it as one of the top 30 steakhouses in the U.S.  The Robb Report has chosen Carnevino as the best steakhouse in Vegas.  Men's Health even rated Carnevino's Dry Aged Bone-In Ribeye (the same steak we ordered) as the best steak in America.  If you are a wine drinker, they have a rather extensive wine list as well.

This year, we sat down to dine with the anticipation of children on Christmas Eve.  We were right on time for our 8:45 reservation and were seated immediately.  While looking over the menu, the wait staff brings out bread, butter, and lard.  That is correct, lard.  If you are one of those people that think butter is just too low in cholesterol, you can spread lard on your bread too.  All kidding aside, the lard gave the bread a nice salty tasty and added to the flavor of the sweet butter.  They also give you complimentary Francine (fried cheese balls) while you await your appetizers.

Butter and lard

Francine, aka fried cheese ball

The menu had several appetizers that looked appealing.  The table could not decide on one choice, so we ordered two.  The fried calamari was very crispy and served on top of a spicy marinara sauce.  We also ordered the steamed clams, which were very flavorful and had a hint of garlic.

Calamari

Clams

For our main course and for the second year in a row, we chose the bone-in ribeye.  The menu claims it can feed two, but it easily fed three when ordered with another entrée to share.  We ordered this ribeye and requested it medium.  It was delicious once again, but the steak we had this time had a little too much marbling for my liking.  Still, the steak had a perfectly charred crust and melted in your mouth.  It was an absolutely fantastic steak that was bursting with flavor, but it still wasn’t as good as the one we had last year.  I have never had steaks as good as the ones I have had at Carnevino.  For a side, we ordered the Mascarpone and Guanciale Mashed Potatoes.  It was delicious and served with a poached egg and un-smoked pork cheek bacon on top.

Our bone-in ribeye before the waiter cut it into sections that would fit on a plate.

The steak right before we began to devour it.  Sadly this establishment frowns on patrons who gnaw on the bone.

Mashed Potatoes topped with egg and cheek bacon.

I couldn’t go to an Italian steakhouse without ordering some type of pasta, so two of us also shared an order of the “Spago” with lamb ragu.  If I had not liked anything else at Carnevino, this dish would have made the entire visit worthwhile.  Normally I am not a big fan of lamb, but the pieces of lamb were cooked perfectly and were extremely tender.  The fourth member of our party was happy with their choice of the Spaghetti ai Frutti di Mare, which is a pasta dish with clams, shrimp, lobster, and calamari. 

Spago with lamb ragu

All four members of our party were very pleased with the meal and very full, but I ordered dessert anyway.  I chose the traditional Italian favorite of Tiramisu.  When it arrived, I was shocked to see it in a glass.  Although prepared differently from other Tiramisu I have had, it was still a very fine dessert.


Tiramisu?  Very different than any I have had before, but still delicious.

Our experience was so good last year that I was prepared to give this place a 20 on a 5-point scale.  Although the food was once again fantastic, the service was somewhat lacking this time around.  It wasn’t that the service was bad, but they just didn’t fawn over us like the wait staff did the last time we dined here.  I would still give this place a 5 on a 5-point scale.  I will definitely dine here again and it is still my favorite steakhouse.   My disappointment over the service this time should also serve as an example to all the single people out there.  Never set the expectations too high on the first date, because your date will expect the royal treatment every time after that!