Restaurant News
This contemporary Italian eatery located in the Las Vegas Hard Hotel & Casino combines modern style, avant garde cooking, and a very traditional wine list to make it a compelling destination for diners yearning for great food, extensive wine options, and a fashionable place to enjoy a meal.
The restaurant features a large open bar/lounge that the customer will first encounter upon entering the establishment. This area features a long bar with seating and televisions. Should the customer want a more discrete place while waiting for dinner, directly across from the long bar Ago has furnished the lounge with a plethora of comfortable love seats and coffee tables. The hard floors and subdued lighting give the place a sleek, hip ambience. The bar makes a great place not only to wait for a table, but to meet friends for any rendezvous taking place at the hotel or casino.
Once past the bar area, the diner will find the roomy main dining room. The hip feeling of the bar continues here. Ago has wisely separated the bar and dining areas, so that any noise from the former will not disturb dining.
The menu, printed in both Italian and English, offers some standard items cooked with innovative flair. For instance, instead of the traditional meat or marinara sauce, the spaghetti is cooked with clams and rapini. Instead of the heavy cream sauce associated with most gnocchi, Ago’s comes with prawns, cherry tomatoes and a very light sauce, probably based mostly on olive oil. This differs sharply from most American/Italian cooking, which often relies on heavy doses of sauce to provide the primary flavor to the meal. For those health conscience people who still crave pasta occasionally, on a recent night at Ago, only one of their eleven pasta dishes included red meat. The pasta dishes range in price from $18-$25.
The secondi entrée courses include ten eclectic selections which one would, again, not necessarily associate with a traditional Italian restaurant. The four seafood entrees include seared ahi tuna, grilled sea bass, roasted salmon and potato crusted turbot, ranging in price from $28-$34. I had the seared ahi and found it delicious. The non-seafood entrees include a 20 ounce Angus beefsteak, pork chop, veal chop, lamb chop, half-chicken and roasted squab, costing between $28-$42. I understand that the pork chop is to die for. The entrees all come with some type of small, paired dish to complement the meal. In addition to the above, Ago offers a nice selection of salads, side dishes, appetizers and deserts.
As a wine lover, I place Ago’s wine list in the near mind-blowing category when it comes to Italian wines. The entire list goes on for more than 15 pages, focusing mostly on Italian wines but also providing a good variety of American and French offerings. Some of the more notable Italian wines on the list include a nice selection from the renown winemaker Angelo Gaja, some La Spinetta Barbarescos, fine quality Brunellos from Valdicava and Casanova di Neri, and the sought after Super Tuscans Ornellaia and Sassicaia. Non-Italian wines of note include bottles of the 1982 Chateau Petrus, the 2003 Mouton Rothschild, 2004 and 2005 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2005 Caymus Special Selection.
While all those exquisite wines will put a significant dent in any wallet, Ago carries many other bottles that remain quite affordable, given the quality. For instance, they list a 2005 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon, a very tasty Napa Valley wine, at $80.00. They also sell a Justin Syrah for $58.00 and have a number of Chianti Classicos for less than $60.00. Ago’s wine list also has a respectable collection of white and sparkling wines for sale, as well as a good selections of wines by the glass for the light drinker. All in all, the wine list represents a very well-rounded selection, ranging from the excellent to the affordable, that should please any wine lover. As a further consideration to wine aficionados, Ago allows carry-in bottles of wine for a corkage fee of $35.00 per bottle.
Ago represents a unique place to enjoy innovative cooking and some great wine selections. Seek it out the next time you find yourself searching for a stylish, modern Italian restaurant in the Las Vegas area.
The White Chocolate Grill...
Ago...
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s sleek Italian eatery, Ago...
Catering to the wine lovers in Henderson...
Located at 9510 S. Eastern Avenue in Henderson, the White Chocolate Grill features fine dining and an accommodating welcome to wine lovers.
The restaurant has a comfortable and somewhat elegant ambience, with many tables having booth seating, all spaced far enough apart to allow for intimate conversation. High ceilings and subdued lighting add to the romantic effect. The large lounge area showcases a beautifully done backdrop to the bar, with staggered racking holding colorful bottles that soar from chest high to the ceiling. Full service is always available in the bar/lounge area, should the visitor opt to dine there.
The menu ranges from the basic to the sophisticated, but in keeping with the name, focuses primarily on a wide assortment of grilled meat and seafood. For example, sandwiches include a wide range of burgers, a grilled chicken, French dip, and blackened fish. These basics range in price from $10.00 to $15.00 for the prime rib. More supple offerings include a “dancing” crab cake, blackened mahi, rainbow trout, blue cheese crusted filet, balsalmic ribeye steak, Atlantic salmon, and center cut filet. Entrees cost between $24.00-27.00 and include a choice of one side dish.
In addition to the main component of the meal, White Chocolate Grill also has a good assortment of appetizers and salads to complement the dining experience. They serve a hefty portion of sesame crusted ahi (when compared to other restaurants) and have a delicious grilled artichoke. The salad possibilities include six different options, from some standards to the mildly exotic. Except for the ahi tuna salad ($15.79), all appetizers and salads are priced from $6.00-15.00.
Wine lovers should appreciate the White Chocolate Grill philosophy when it comes to wine; that it should be available to enhance the total dining experience, no matter what the diner orders. I can live with that…Accordingly, they have both a basic wine list, featuring more reasonably wines, and a reserve list with more elegant offerings.
The basic list includes such favorites as Rodney Strong Chardonnay, Row Eleven Pinot Noir, Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon and Hogue Merlot. For the basic wines, bottles range in price from $19.00-$47.00. The diner may also elect to order any of these wines by glass at a cost of between $5.00-12.00. The reserve list includes some truly fine selections such as Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon, Rubicon Estate, Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages and Etude Pinot Noir.
As a further consideration to wine lovers, and to show their sincerity to wine appreciation, the restaurant not only allows carry-in bottles, but charges no corkage fee for this privilege. Any serious wine lover should truly appreciate this concession and take this into account when tipping the server.
This restaurant provides a nice atmosphere, good food, friendly and helpful service. It really compares favorably with many Las Vegas Strip restaurants when one considers all those factors. Check it out for a pleasurable dining experience…Call the restaurant at (702)436-7100 for more information.
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