MARIANI’S

September 2,  2007                                                       NEWSLETTER

 
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In This Issue

WHAT’S NEW IN VEGAS

or, Can’t Stop The Music!

By John A. Curtas

     New York chefs and restaurateurs continue their carpetbagging escapades in the High Mojave Desert with three new openings this year in two major hotels.  The latest invasion has seen David Burke at a namesake restaurant and Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich at B&B Ristorante, both in the Venetian Hotel and Casino, and the Pellegrino family of Rao’s fame in Caesar's Palace, all opened in the past 4 months. As with Vegas' Elvis impersonators, the guys cooking your food aren't going to be the celebrity chef whose name is on the door.  Given the heavyweight reputation of the first two and Rao’s lack of street cred among serious gourmands, the smart money was on B&B Ristorante and David Burke for who would deliver the tastiest goods.   After a number of meals at all of them, I think that just the opposite is true. Rao’s has emerged as the winner of the bunch, and despite having 200 seats, being open for lunch, and taking reservations from all comers, it is turning out to be as tough a ticket here as the 40-seat original is at 114th and Pleasant Avenue in Harlem.

David Burke at the Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
702-414-7111
www.DavidBurkeLasVegas.net

        Two meals at David Burke revealed a celebrity chef restaurant in the worst sense of the phrase.  Everything seems geared to impress the rubes and soak them at the same time. The flashy décor looks like an overblown coffee shop--albeit one that cost a few million dollars to build--while his winelist reads like an afterthought, basically an overpriced New World list (and a short one at that) befitting this “Modern American” restaurant (read: cold, sterile, over-publicized and overpriced), and its bizarre food.  Why he even bothers with only seven  red Bordeaux, a few red Rhônes, and a handful of Burgundies is anyone’s guess.  Smarter money would load up on lots of Opus One and leave the European stuff to restaurants where the customers aren’t afraid to pronounce the names on the labels.
          Moving to the menu, you first encounter Burke’s much-vaunted pretzel crusted crab cake ($18), which  just looks gimmicky these days and tastes full of stringy back-fin meat.  His famous crunchy and "angry lobster " was in way too good of a mood the night I expected to feel its wrath; instead the beast was none-too-spicy, crunchy or tasty, but that didn’t keep it from incurring my own anger over this minuscule critter costing eight bucks a bite (i.e., $24 for three).   Most of what the menu calls  "Burke in a Box" ($35) should have been renamed "Burke in a Deep Fryer," containing fried pork belly layered with tomato slices of no discernible breeding; a deep fried, Jack-In-The-Box-quality rolled taco with bland guacamole that tasted as if it came out of a can; tasteless “white truffle” mayonnaise on the chicken salad that might have been stolen from a  church social; and curried tuna tartare containing little of either as far as flavor was concerned. Dishes that promised more than they delivered were a scrambled Peking duck, the meat almost cold ($35), inexplicably and inexcusably tossed in a giant bowl with a huge, grotesque duck egg atop it, and a warm Caesar Salad ($15), topped with another large, unsightly egg, which  may be the last word in bad bastardizations of this classic dish.
     All of this is served at a noise level that competes in infamy with a ZZ Top concert (the Eliminator Tour, if memory serves) I attended fifteen years ago.  On the plus side, Burke, when he's in town, strolls around a lot, smiling and posing for pictures taken for no discernible reason but for his brilliance in pulling off such mediocrity, at such high prices, for such a credulous public.
       I should note well that the executive chef has just been let go by Burke, so I may want to alter what I've written sometime in the future.

B&B Ristorante at the Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
702-266-997
www.bandbristorante.com

     At the officially named B&B Ristorante, run by Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich, right across the hall from David Burke in the Venetian Casino Hotel, you also have to shout to be heard, but this time it’s over the din of what Molto Mario calls the soundtrack-to-his-life,which he insists you listen to as you parse a meal from his offal offerings.  Don’t even think of asking them to turn it down. I have no beef with Jimi Hendrix or the Flaming Lips, just not with my nicely done spicy lamb sausage inside mint “love letters” of folded pasta ($23; below, right), or even with a quite pedestrian fritto misto di mare ($19) that Rao’s version rolls past like a well-placed bocce ball.  Another fishy disappointment was a plate of four, tiny marinated fresh anchovies ($14) that tasted identical to the boquerones available at any Whole Foods, only at ten times the price.
     Describing your main course to your dining companion will be difficult over the din, but with some items, such as the vertically constructed and overcooked pork chop with onions, artichokes, and far-too-little aceto Manodori ($34), the less said the better.  Equally humdrum are fennel-dusted sweetbreads ($29) with (not enough) sweet-and-sour onions, distractingly heavy duck bacon, and a smidge of Membrillo quince paste vinegar.  The sweetbreads define what’s wrong with hotshot American chefs in that the dish is unabashedly more complicated, ingredient-burdened, and flavor-laden than it needs to be.  The pastas like the lamb's brains “francobolli,” seasoned with lemon and sage ($19), textbook perfect pappardelle alla bolognese ($22), and goat's cheese tortelloni with dried orange and wild fennel pollen ($22), are all pretty nifty.
     That said, the all-Italian wine list is broad and deep, with a fair share of bargains under a $100.
     That relentless rock-and-roll blare, however, only serves to distract from the food and teaches that the only things one should ever consume to "All Along The Watchtower" are two frozen pizzas (preferably unfrozen), and a dozen Krispy Kremes.

RAO'S
In Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South
702-731-RAOS (7267)
www.caesarspalace.com
 
    None of this hubris is evident at Rao’s, although you’d think after 114 years in business they’d be entitled to some.   The big question is how the Pellegrinos managed to transplant a menu and a vibe so successfully from a 40-seat, four barstool joint in Harlem to a mega-casino operation and to do it so flawlessly.  Cynics might argue that the recipes wouldn’t exactly cause Burke or Batali to break a sweat, but the conscientiousness of the kitchen is evident on the plate.
     Maybe it’s the arugula salad that has me in its thrall ($12). It’s always of pristine quality, perfectly dressed with light lemon-olive oil, and invariably topped with plenty of shards and shavings of good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  Or perhaps it’s the tasty clams oreganata ($18), a little over-salted and breaded, but quite clam-y just the same.  Then there’s that old war-horse Uncle Vincent’s lemon chicken ($24; right).  It’s been praised to death (beginning with a review in the New York Times  30 years ago) but still manages to satisfy and had me licking my plate.  Or perhaps it’s the pasta dishes, which  are never overcooked or over-sauced, or the pizza with Speck, farm-raised salmon with a spicy harissa sauce, and black lentils ($26), or even the sort-of-French-but-very-intense profiteroles ($10), bathed in an almost-bitter, dark and rich chocolate sauce, that have seduced me.
     The excellent gelatos and sorbets (also $10) are supplied by Patrice Caillot, former pastry chef at Le Cirque Las Vegas and member of the World Championship Pastry Team of 2004.  Taken as a whole, and even after discounting some points for their never-ending soundtrack that contains way too much Rod Stewart and Billy Joel, of the latest New York City chefs to ride the tidal wave to Vegas’s green felt shores, the relatively unknown Carla Pellegrino (Frank Jr.’s wife and Executive Chef) has best fulfilled the promise of bringing a taste of the Big Apple to the casino and convention crowd.
   And speaking of crowds, most nights at Rao’s it looks like the leftovers from a "Sopranos" casting call, with more than a few celebrities hanging out at the bar. Get lucky, and you may even catch Billy from ZZ Top, sipping on a nice Brunello there, as I recently did. . .without having to listen to “Legs” or “Supersize My Sleeping Bag.”
    (For a review of the original NYC Rao's, click.)
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since 1995, John A. Curtas has been commenting on the Las Vegas food scene and reviewing restaurants for Nevada Public Radio.  He is also the restaurant critic for KLAS TV, Channel 8 in Las Vegas, and his past reviews can be accessed at KNPR.org.


NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani

KLEE BRASSERIE
200 Ninth Avenue
212-633-8033
www.kleebrasserie.com

     Tyrolean restaurants do not exactly dot NYC, so for its uniqueness alone Klee Brasserie would be of interest to any good feinschmecker.
   And when you step through the glass-and-steel door off Ninth Avenue in Chelsea, you may well be reminded of an Alpine ski resort eatery, with its woodpanelled walls, porcelain tile floor, exposed brick, maplewood bar, chairs, and tables, and a peek into the kitchen window, under which is set a chef's table. Leather place mats stand in for tablecloths, and, appropriately enough, the glassware is from Riedel.
      Klee does not take its name from the Swiss artist but from the Austrian word for "mountain flowering clover," which is a leitmotif throughout the restaurant, including a white glass tile mosaic to the rear. Chef/owner Daniel Angerer took his design from his memories of growing up in just such a mountain area in Austria, and his food is exactly the kind of hearty fare you'd want to eat after trekking through the Zillertal Nature Park or schussing down the Stubaier Glacier.  Angerer was last chef at Fresh, after stints at David Bouley and Jean Georges in NYC, Robuchon in Paris, and Alberg Hospiz in Austria.  He describes his cooking as “Cuisine Vitale,” characterized by a reliance on fresh herbs and careful reductions that keep the food lighter than you would find in Austria, where butter and cream dominate the gastronomy.
     Angerer's fiancée, Lori Mason (at right, with Angerer), is by day a lawyer, then turns into host and manager for Klee in the evenings, and she sets just the right balance of neighborhood affability and genuine glee in meeting newcomers. Indeed, the entire staff, mostly women, including wine director Melissa Sack, who stocks a very reasonably priced list with dozens of wines by the glass and half-bottle, could not be more Gemültlich if they wore dirndls and pigtails.
     The slender room doesn't look like it seats 65, with another 15 at the bar, the chef's table, and, somewhere, a private room for 30.  So the menu might be a tad too ambitious, with 8 appetizers, 6 "Small Bites," 5 "Snacks & Sides,"  and 11 main courses, in addition to cheeses, 6 teas, and a dozen desserts.  Nevertheless, the food comes out with dispatch and at all the right temperatures, beginning with a plate of mini lobster rolls you can just pop in your mouth and irresistible hot, garlic-perfumed potato chips right out of the fryer.  A garlic scape soup was based on a good, rich broth with an herb bouquet and silky chicken confit.  But "starchy" was the word on everyone's lips at my table for cold pea soup with shaved Idiazabal cheese and corn crisps.  Don't fail to order an "Alsatian pizza" (below) more properly called flammekueche, made with crème fraîche, smoky bacon, and plenty of sweet Vidalia onions.  It's just big enough for two to share as a starter.
      The entrees are categorized under "Wood Stone Oven," from which came a juicy slow-roasted duckling with plums, honey, and quinoa; "Mesquite Grill," providing a deliciously melting BBQ pork belly with beans and a lovely cherry relish; and "Griddle and Others," which includes excellent  Maine sea scallops with lemon spaetzle and green peas. The Thursday Specials I tried were baked rigatoni rich with a Colorado lamb bolognese and tomatoes, and roast wagyu-style beef with melted Emmenthaler cheese and mushrooms,  a steal at $25.
    Angerer's desserts fit impeccably into Klee's menu for hearty, seasonal flavors, including mango panna cotta with a blueberry and elderberry compote and raspberry sprinkles to a peach-apricot cobbler mit Schlag, the enhanced whipped cream that also goes with the classic fudgy Austrian Sacher torte here.  Cherry cheesecake was pleasant and moist if uninspired in a New York context, but apple strüdel with toasted walnuts and vanilla ice cream pretty much summed up Klee's spirit. And then, there is a plate of hot cookies--Linzers, Mexican wedding, chocolate chip, oatmeal, and brownie, which are very hard to wave off. Have them with a glass of Port or rum, and you'll be very happy, especially when the bill comes, because nothing on the menu tops $27.
     It's easy enough to love mom-and-pop restaurants (even if the wedding and Kinder are still to come in Klee's case), because you know there is always far more commitment to making guests happy than in a more corporate-run restaurant where volume and numbers-crunching count more.  Klee should be here a long time in Chelsea.

Klee is open for lunch and brunch Thurs.-Sun. from noon-3 PM and nightly for dinner.  At dinner first courses run $8-$14, second courses $21-$27.

OFFSIDES!

Wineries in New York's Finger Lakes Region have adopted a soccer-like penalty system for tourists who turn unruly under the influence of wine tastings. "A customer almost did a head-dive off the porch at one point," said Paul Thomas of Seneca Lake Wine Trail. "Other instances of people urinating in parking lots, people swimming when they're inebriated in ponds that aren't intended to be swum in. Nor do we want them going topless in the vineyards, which has also occurred on occasion." Members of various associations will now  issue such guests a yellow warning card, next a red card, which will deny access to other wineries.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN IS SALIVATING JUST READING THIS

“What we found at [Luang Prabang’s Talat Tha Heua marketplace] was. . . everything you never wanted to put near your mouth and more.  Under glaring streetlights, stall after stall boasted the most revolting things Mother Nature had to offer: steamed giblets, foot soup and crusty things that, if they weren’t insects, did a pretty good cockroach impression.  Even the vegetables were scary.  For all I know, this was the stuff that went into those roadhouse microwave hot dogs, but there is such a thing as Too Much Information.”—Tamara Sheward, Bad Karma (2007).
 

I consider this the best and savviest blog of its kind on the  web. Potter is a columnist for USA Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury  Spa Finder, a contributing editor for Ski and  a frequent contributor to National  Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com  and Elle Decor. "I’ve designed this site is for people who take their  travel seriously," says Potter. "For travelers who want to learn about special  places but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for the privilege of  staying there. Because at the end of the day, it’s not so much about five-star  places as five-star experiences."  To go to his blog click on the logo below:

MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly.  Editor/Publisher: John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani,  Naomi  Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson,  Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein, Suzanne Wright. Contributing Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,  Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.

 John Mariani is a columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Bloomberg News and Radio, and Diversion.  He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press).

 Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com by clicking on the cover image.

My newest book, written with my brother Robert Mariani, is a memoir of our years growing up in the North Bronx. It's called Almost Golden because it re-visits an idyllic place and time in our lives when so many wonderful things seemed possible.     For those of you who don't think of the Bronx as “idyllic,” this book will be a revelation. It’s about a place called the Country Club area, on the shores of Pelham Bay. It was a beautiful neighborhood filled with great friends and wonderful adventures that helped shape our lives. It's about a culture, still vibrant, and a place that is still almost the same as when we grew up there.     Robert and I think you'll enjoy this very personal look at our Bronx childhood. It is not yet available in bookstores, so to purchase a copy, go to amazon.com or click on  Almost Golden.                                                                                                                     --John Mariani

copyright John Mariani 2007