Steve
11-19-2005, 11:51 AM
Ventuno Ristorante features simple, wide-ranging menu
The Flamingo's Italian restaurant, Ventuno Ristorante Café and Bar, featuring dishes from across Italy served in an upscale atmosphere.
The hotel, at 3555 Las Vegas Blvd. South, is undergoing an expansion of its restaurants, and Ventuno -- Italian for 21 -- is joined by Pink Ginger, a Pan-Asian restaurant. And Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is slated to open later this year.
"It's simple, flavorful food," says Michael Pergolini, assistant vice president of food and beverage at the Flamingo. "We use garlic and oil. Few of the dishes use cream."
The restaurant makes sausage and pastries in-house.
Decor features include silver kitchen utensils in black frames on the back wall, eight booths with curtains for more private dining, and a beige and burgundy color scheme.
A private dining room, seating up to 30, has padded walls and a bamboo wood floor.
Chef Darci Irelan, who graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, came to Ventuno via an internship at Bally's, where she ended up spending three years before going to Paris Las Vegas for a year as an assistant chef at Le Provenãal restaurant. She was promoted to room chef at Ventuno in March.
Irelan oversees a wide-ranging menu.
Antipasti items include rotolo, Roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, mozzarella and virgin olive oil ($11.95); carciofo ripieno, baked Castroville artichoke stuffed with shrimp, scallops and lemon ($12.95); polenta ai fungei, creamy polenta topped with a sautéed mushroom ragu ($9.95); and calamaretti fritti, tender squid dusted with cornmeal and served with a spicy tomato sauce ($8.95).
Among the soup and salad choices are ribollita, Tuscan vegetable, bean and bread soup ($5.95); crespelle, thin crepes rolled with pecorino romano cheese in a light chicken broth ($5.95); capesante, arugula, grilled scallops and orange basil essence ($13.95); antipasto misto, a chef's selection of items from the antipasto bar ($11.95); panzanella, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions and crusty Italian bread with basil, virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar ($7.95); and mozzarella alla caprese, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil with virgin olive oil ($8.95).
And, of course, what's an Italian restaurant without pasta? Ventuno offers pappardelle alla Bolognese, homemade wide pasta ribbons with vegetables, beef, veal and pork ($12.95); campanelle con scarola, shell pasta with escarole, white beans and grilled sausage ($13.95); linguine con vongole, Manila clams simmered with garlic and white wine (or with a light tomato sauce) and served on linguine ($16.95); farfalle, cauliflower, onions, raisins, pine nuts, saffron and pane grattuggiato ($12.95); capellini riccadonna, thin pasta tossed with sweet shrimp, red and yellow bell peppers and clam broth ($15.95); gnocchi positano, potato dumplings tossed with garlic, basil and peas in a tomato sauce ($13.95); and risotto ($13.95).
Meat and fish entrees include pollo al forno, oven-baked chicken with a wild mushroom risotto, roasted cipollini onions and sherry essence ($16.95); vitello primavera, grilled veal paillard topped with a radicchio and endive salad ($19.95); pesce spada salmorigglio, grilled swordfish marinated with lemon and olive oil ($19.95); salmone Ventuno, salmon medallions and jumbo shrimp sautéed with leeks, mushrooms, roasted peppers, artichokes, tomatoes, brandy and cream tossed with fettuccine ($22.95); and filetto al limone, filet mignon lightly breaded and grilled with lemon ($19.95).
The list of desserts, all made in-house, includes tiramisu ($6.95); chocolate souffle ($6.95); Black Mission fig and blueberry deep-dish pie ($5.95); cappuccino mousse ($5.95); meringata, baked meringue layered with shaved chocolate and Italian cream cheese ($5.95); and the spumoni ice cream tray with vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and pistachio ice cream ($3.95).
Ventuno's wine list features a variety of whites and reds from Italy and California.
The 60-seat Ventuno Café is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night items from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The menu includes antipasto salads, wood-fired pizzas, pasta and Italian pastries.
The Café's counter is open daily from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Ventuno Ristorante, seating 120 in the dining room, is open from 5 to 11 p.m. daily. Reservations are recommended (733-3333).
reviewjournal.com -- Living: APPETIZERS: Ken White
The Flamingo's Italian restaurant, Ventuno Ristorante Café and Bar, featuring dishes from across Italy served in an upscale atmosphere.
The hotel, at 3555 Las Vegas Blvd. South, is undergoing an expansion of its restaurants, and Ventuno -- Italian for 21 -- is joined by Pink Ginger, a Pan-Asian restaurant. And Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is slated to open later this year.
"It's simple, flavorful food," says Michael Pergolini, assistant vice president of food and beverage at the Flamingo. "We use garlic and oil. Few of the dishes use cream."
The restaurant makes sausage and pastries in-house.
Decor features include silver kitchen utensils in black frames on the back wall, eight booths with curtains for more private dining, and a beige and burgundy color scheme.
A private dining room, seating up to 30, has padded walls and a bamboo wood floor.
Chef Darci Irelan, who graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, came to Ventuno via an internship at Bally's, where she ended up spending three years before going to Paris Las Vegas for a year as an assistant chef at Le Provenãal restaurant. She was promoted to room chef at Ventuno in March.
Irelan oversees a wide-ranging menu.
Antipasti items include rotolo, Roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, mozzarella and virgin olive oil ($11.95); carciofo ripieno, baked Castroville artichoke stuffed with shrimp, scallops and lemon ($12.95); polenta ai fungei, creamy polenta topped with a sautéed mushroom ragu ($9.95); and calamaretti fritti, tender squid dusted with cornmeal and served with a spicy tomato sauce ($8.95).
Among the soup and salad choices are ribollita, Tuscan vegetable, bean and bread soup ($5.95); crespelle, thin crepes rolled with pecorino romano cheese in a light chicken broth ($5.95); capesante, arugula, grilled scallops and orange basil essence ($13.95); antipasto misto, a chef's selection of items from the antipasto bar ($11.95); panzanella, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions and crusty Italian bread with basil, virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar ($7.95); and mozzarella alla caprese, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil with virgin olive oil ($8.95).
And, of course, what's an Italian restaurant without pasta? Ventuno offers pappardelle alla Bolognese, homemade wide pasta ribbons with vegetables, beef, veal and pork ($12.95); campanelle con scarola, shell pasta with escarole, white beans and grilled sausage ($13.95); linguine con vongole, Manila clams simmered with garlic and white wine (or with a light tomato sauce) and served on linguine ($16.95); farfalle, cauliflower, onions, raisins, pine nuts, saffron and pane grattuggiato ($12.95); capellini riccadonna, thin pasta tossed with sweet shrimp, red and yellow bell peppers and clam broth ($15.95); gnocchi positano, potato dumplings tossed with garlic, basil and peas in a tomato sauce ($13.95); and risotto ($13.95).
Meat and fish entrees include pollo al forno, oven-baked chicken with a wild mushroom risotto, roasted cipollini onions and sherry essence ($16.95); vitello primavera, grilled veal paillard topped with a radicchio and endive salad ($19.95); pesce spada salmorigglio, grilled swordfish marinated with lemon and olive oil ($19.95); salmone Ventuno, salmon medallions and jumbo shrimp sautéed with leeks, mushrooms, roasted peppers, artichokes, tomatoes, brandy and cream tossed with fettuccine ($22.95); and filetto al limone, filet mignon lightly breaded and grilled with lemon ($19.95).
The list of desserts, all made in-house, includes tiramisu ($6.95); chocolate souffle ($6.95); Black Mission fig and blueberry deep-dish pie ($5.95); cappuccino mousse ($5.95); meringata, baked meringue layered with shaved chocolate and Italian cream cheese ($5.95); and the spumoni ice cream tray with vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and pistachio ice cream ($3.95).
Ventuno's wine list features a variety of whites and reds from Italy and California.
The 60-seat Ventuno Café is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night items from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The menu includes antipasto salads, wood-fired pizzas, pasta and Italian pastries.
The Café's counter is open daily from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Ventuno Ristorante, seating 120 in the dining room, is open from 5 to 11 p.m. daily. Reservations are recommended (733-3333).
reviewjournal.com -- Living: APPETIZERS: Ken White