Panevino
Rosemary’s Tea – Peket de Houyeu Genever Liqueur, Art in the Age Organic Rhubarb Tea Liqueur, Rosemary, fresh squeezed Pink Grapefruit Juice
Avocolada – Ballast Point Three Sheets Rum, Green Chartreuse, fresh Avocado, Coconut Sorbet, Pineapple Juice
Warm Artisan Bread – Homemade “PANE”, baked to order, warm artisan bread
Housemade Bread – Ciabatta, Focaccia, Baguette, Olive Oil with Balsamic
Sea Scallops – Pan seared scallops on a bed of roasted bell pepper sauce drizzled with basil aioli and a dollop of crème fraiche
Prosciutto Rolls – Sautéed prosciutto rolled with fresh mozzarella and eggplant in a creamy tomato sauce with marinated artichokes
Gnocchi Caprese – Homemade potato dumplings with fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil
Tagliatelle Short Rib Mario’s Style – Homemade wide fettuccini with slowly braised short ribs in a red wine and fresh tomato sauce
Cioppino – Traditional fish stew with lobster, salmon, shrimp, scallops, tuna, Chilean sea bass, clams, and mussels in a lightly spicy tomato broth with garlic croutons
Ossobuco – Slowly braised 24oz. veal shank in a red wine sauce on a bed of saffron risotto
Lemon Cake – Sponge cake layered with lemon-mascarpone and cheesecake cream
Strawberry Tart – Puff Pastry layered with pastry-almond cream and strawberry with vanilla gelato
Chocolate Soufflé – Chocolate soufflé with chocolate gelato
Tiramisù – Espresso soaked sponge cake layered with Mascarpone cheese dusted with cocoa powder
Brachetto d’acqui
Celebrated by locals and convention-goers for over a decade, its location adjacent McCarran with floor-to-ceiling windows providing a unique vantage of south end of the Las Vegas Strip, it was with a friend and fellow writer that dinner was enjoyed at Panevino and as much as the spot may go overlooked by the local food media the quality is actually on par with several celebrated ‘darlings,’ while the room and service go step-for-step.
Treated as guests of the house, a request to undertake a family-style tasting seeing the kitchen select plates that they felt to show the Chef’s work best, it was to nearly a dozen of the restaurant’s long-held signatures that the evening unfolded and starting off with fluffy pan caldo and balsamic dotted olive oil alongside two drinks it was admittedly an unexpected treat that I truly enjoyed the Rum and Chartreuse Avocolada, as boozy sort of smoothy with no lack of vegetal creaminess and just enough sweetness added by coconut sorbet and pineapple juice.
Next presented a basket of warm housemade bread, the foccacia quite remarkable while the baguette was dry and out of place, course two featured a quartet of scallops with a light sear contrasting the nearly raw center, the piquant red sauce playing a robust foil to the sweetness of the mollusks while creamy crème fraiche added a tangy finishing note.
Described as a signature of Chef Mario Andreoni, the second appetizer of the evening was presented as a trio of paired bites, and although the marinated artichokes were mild and by themselves quite pleasant the roll of pork proved quite unbalanced after the marinade, entirely overwhelming the cheese and eggplant to the point where the later was not detectable in a single briny bite.
Served throughout our meal by a waiter who’d recently been imported from elsewhere, but also looked over closely by General Manager Vincenzo Granata, whose years of training at Le Cirque have no doubt been put to good use, course four featured a duo of pastas and with each made in house the quality of San Marzanos and fresh Mozzarella were all that was required to accentuate the feather light potato dumplings while ribbons of Tagliatelle were perfectly al dente beneath a robust and meaty short rib ragu.
Admittedly a bit pricey considering the off-strip location and a style of cuisine that can be found without the beautiful room and service for as much as 50% less within ten miles of the space, entrees consisted of Osso Bucco and Cioppino each priced at $49 and while the former was every bit as rich and tender as that at Ferraro’s atop textbook saffron risotto the latter was mostly a one note experience, the seafood itself just fine while only the taste of tomatoes were detectable in the broth.
Moving onto desserts, the first round offered by Vincenzo while two more were selected to test the mettle of the pastry staff, suffice it to say that the “souffle” is nothing like one would expect from the description and although rich enough to be sure, still a textural disappointment as was the “tart” that presented more like a soggy millefoglie.
Treated to a double espresso on ice, my friend electing a simple cup of brew, round two of desserts stuck more closely to the classics and thankfully was executed with far more precision, the lemon cake light and aromatic alongside what is amongst the city’s most restrained and balanced Tiramisu.
THREE STARS: Allowing the kitchen to serve what it felt were signatures, a bit of guidance here or there for the sake of comparing like-to-like, Panevino offers good quality Italian classics in a room that is likely to wow, though better quality craftsmanship can be found elsewhere at a similar or lesser price.
RECOMMENDED: Pan Caldo, Tagliatelle Short Rib Mario’s Style, Osso Buco, Tiramisu.
AVOID: Prosciutto Rolls, Chocolate Souffle.
TIP: Also featuring a more modestly priced Cafe next door and one of the most extensive “plant based” and Vegan menus in town, those with dietary restrictions or looking for a more casual meal are encouraged to check them out.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://www.panevinolasvegas.com/
