Restaurant News
Postrio...
One of the Venetian Hotel & Casino’s three restaurants located directly upon the St. Mark’s Square area, Postrio offers a intriguing place to enjoy a fine meal. The Venetian has made a splendid effort to re-create the feeling that permeates the real St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy. From the classic architecture to the crooning musicians in formal attire, the faux St. Mark’s Square of Las Vegas provides visitors a chance to experience a sampling of the real thing. Of course, it cannot compare to the real St. Mark’s Square, but it does allow one to wet one’s appetite for such a trip. And it provides the Las Vegas visitor with a great chance to people watch, just like the real Square in Venice.
At Postrio, the diner may choose to enjoy his or her meal within the quiet elegance of the inner dining room, or out on the patio located on the Square. In the formal dining room, wooden columns, marble floors, nicely spaced tables with white tablecloths, and rich décor help put the diner relax in a quiet ambience that gives a respite to those who need a break from the frenetic pace of the Las Vegas action. The dining room also features a large and well-appointed bar where diners may enjoy some aperitifs while waiting for a table. The café/patio dining provides a great opportunity to take in all the sights and sounds of Square while enjoying a fine meal with a glass of wine. A chance to take a break, while still taking in the sights and sounds going on in the Square. So in a very real sense, Postrio is two restaurants in one, depending upon where you decide to dine.
Legendary chef Wolfgang Puck opened the original Postrio in San Francisco, where it received a host of accolades. He has teamed up with one of his protégés, John LaGrone, to open the Las Vegas Postrio in 1999. LaGrone, a celebrated chef in his own right who graduated with honors from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, assumes the role of executive chef and associate partner at the Las Vegas Postrio. He has created such signature dishes as the Lobster Club sandwich and Wild Salmon with Herb de Provence Compound Butter, two of the featured menu items. These items are not always available.
As to that menu, it changes quite often. The formal dining room has a separate menu from the café/patio, and the dining room does not open until 5:30pm. Cafe service begins at lunch and goes on through the evening. On a recent evening, the formal dining included 11 different entrees, ranging in price from $29.00 for Pan seared salmon to $55.00 for grilled prime tenderloin. All entrees come with interesting well-paired side dishes, so that the dinner entrée constitutes a full meal. The formal dining menu also features a plethora of tasty and unique appetizers.
The evening I dined at Postrio, I opted for the outdoor ambience of the café, and ordered the lobster sandwich for $28.00. It comes on grilled country bread with apple smoked bacon and arugula. It was a different and delicious taste treat. I had also brought a nice bottle of super Tuscan wine, and so ordered an appetizer of mixed sausages with paired home made mustards that paired well with the wine. The lobster sandwich is often not available on the dinner menu, and supposedly never available in the formal dining room. On the night I dined at Postrio, the server, a young man named Chris, provided excellent service and had a good knowledge of the menu and wine and food pairings.
On the subject of wine, Postrio has adopted a wine friendly policy towards patrons and thus allows diners to carry in bottles of wine for a corkage fee of $20.00. For a Las Veags Strip restaurant, this is a modest corkage fee. Note to wine lovers who want to enjoy a special bottle from their private collections with a gourmet dinner: the other two restaurants in the Venetian’s St. Mark’s Square, Canaletto and Enoteca San Marco, do not allow carry-in bottles.
Postio’s wine list has received the Best Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. This says a lot about how seriously this restaurant considers the subject of wine. The wine list, 27 pages in length, includes a nice selection of wine from all regions. It lists the vintage of each bottle as well as the maker, something missing in many wine lists. To provide an example of how thorough the wine list is, Postrio lists 31 different bottles of Burgundy Pinot Noir with prices ranging from $50.00 up to $795.00. As for California Cabernet Sauvignons, Postrio offers 29 different bottles, including such prestigious producers as Colgin, Araujo, Harlon and Diamond Creek. Prices for a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon range from $48.00 to $765.00. Overall, Postrio’s prices seem reasonable considering the quality and location of the restaurant.
From the patio/café and its view of St. Mark’s Square, to the luxurious setting of the formal dining room, Postrio provides something for everybody. Give it a try the next time you visit the Venetian Hotel & Casino.
The Sicilian Caffe’
Pietro and Domenica, who own and manage the Sicilian Café, use time honored family recipes brought from their native Sicily to create traditional style Italian meals in this great little restaurant. Located at 3520 East Tropicana in Las Vegas, this charming eatery caters mostly to families, but proves a great find for anyone yearning for authentic Italian cuisine at reasonable prices. The restaurant has the informal but comfortable atmosphere of an old fashion local Italian restaurant.
The rather extensive menu features home made soups, lots of appetizers, and a good selection of salads. As for entrees, the Café offers 24 pasta dishes ranging in price from $15.00 to $17.00, pizzas, and 37 different meat or seafood creations, each prepared Sicilian style. These meat based meals are priced between $17.00 to $29.00. All dinners come with soup or salad, and all meat entrees are served with a vegetable side dish. Sometimes the chef will feature specials of the night not regularly on the menu. The Sicilian Caffe’ serves generous portions of food.
On the night I dined at the Sicilian Caffé, our group had lasagna, spaghetti with lobster, chicken Portobello and the osso bucco special. We shared the food and everyone came away very satisfied, both with the quality of the cooking and the quantity of the food.
The owners have adopted a customer-friendly policy with regard to wine. Diners may bring in bottles from their own collection and pay only a $12.00 corkage fee. The restaurant has a basic wine list of reasonably priced red and white wines from California and Italy. The red wines range in price from $26.00 to $142.00 per bottle. Most of the wines come with a price tag of less than $40.00. Customers may also purchase wine by the glass.
If you want an authentic Italian meal and want to avoid the crowds and prices of the Strip, the Sicilian Caffé makes an excellent choice for dinner. Call (702)458-2004 for reservations, or check their website www.siciliancafe.com for more information.
The Venetian’s St. Mark’s Square...
St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy...
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