:: the dishes ::• fresh churned butter & house-made lardo
• insalata romana
• fresh black truffle pasta
• potato with swiss chard gratin
• mashed potato with egg???
• aged bone in ribeye for two with a bearnaise and zabagilone sauces
• carrot torta
• sorbetto trio
:: the must try dishes ::
• [his pick] lardo & black truffle pasta
• [her pick] aged ribeye with bearnaise
[ he says ] Mario Batali's new steak joint at the Palazzo. The restaurant was relativey new and I haven't heard or read many reviews so I wanted to give it a go.
Man, loved how they start you off with a nice toasty foccacia with softened butter and the wonderful, glistening, lardo (basically, cured fatback from the pig, which takes several months to cure)...I honestly was happy with just the lardo. I imagined infinite possibilites with the yummy, white, fatty goodness. Lardo on pizza, on english muffins, with chips, cereal...you get the idea.
Next came the insalata, which was okay. Mrs. Bunnie thought it was salty but I thought the anchovies went pretty well with the salad.
The special of the evening was pasta with table shaved black truffles. This dish was definitely on the heavy side...but man, the pasta was cooked perfect...al dente al dente al dente...had a nice mouth feel. The dish was simply pasta, butter, and black truffle shavings...simple and delicious.
Next was the rib-eye for two which was carved table side. Now, table side service is great...but honestly, I would go for a nice sizzling piece of meat rather than a presentation which made the meat warm. The rib-eye had an excellent crispy char on the outside and the inside was a nice velvety cool pink. I was too full off of lardo and pasta to fully enjoy this steak.
The dessert was next...I really couldn't decide what to order...so I ordered a simple carrot cake...I liked Mrs. Bunnie's sorbettos better...it was refreshing and it was a better choice after a heavy meal.
Overall, Carne Vino satisfied my taste buds and I would definitely come here again. But for now, Mastros still is my favorite steak joint.
[ she says ] It says a lot when you feel full-on guilt for not being able to finish the rest of your ribeye. Granted the fresh black truffle pasta was slightly on the heavy side but hardly lacked on the flavor of freshly shaved truffles right onto your hot plate of butter drenched pasta. I wasn't too fond of the side dishes. Not saying that they weren't good... just nothing special. The sauces were perfectly complementary with our ribeye – but I liked the bearnaise just a tad bit more.
The insalata was on the salty side for me so after a few bites, mr. bunnie was the one to finish it off. Another highlight of Carnevino was their house-made lardons – pure pork fat. I was a little turned off by it just knowing what it was. If you think about it, it's pretty much like smearing lard onto rosemary scented focaccia bread. Ehhh...not that into it. I ended up trying it and, well, it was okay. Very rich and very good – just not one of my favs. Mr Bunnie, on the other hand, would probably smear it on everything he ate or possibly even smear it on himself if he could. I shudder at that thought. "Honey... what's that smell?"
The tableside carved ribeye for two was fantastic. Rich and velvety, slightly charred and yet still full of flavor and tender, practically melts in your mouth – Mario Batali's crew sure knows how to make a steak girl happy. A definite good contender for my love of Mastro's bone-in ribeye. Can't say I like one better than the other – they're just different. When meat, like Carnevino, is carved tableside, it rests too much to where it creates even a bigger dip in tempature vs. at Mastro's, which comes on a extremely hot sizzling plate. Hmm... just different. I wouldn't change a thing on either.
Next but not least were the desserts. Since I was so full from the meal, I opted to try their sorbettos – green apple, grapefruit, and cara cara orange. Refreshing and so true to the flavor (except for the apple...I'm not sure what it tasted like.) The grapefruit and cara cara orange sorbetto's were like biting into the actual fresh fruit. It was the perfect finish to a great meal. So, if you find yourself in Vegas and wanting to spend some good money on a great meal, Carnevino gets our thumbs up! But don't say we didn't warn you... not finishing your ribeye will bring tears to your eyes. Happy eating!
