Locale Italian Kitchen
Gem & Kale Chop Salad – Red Leaf Kale, Pickled Peppers, Cucumbers, Shallots, Roasted Tomato Dressing, Fontina Cheese
Oven Baked Garlic & Mozzarella Bread – Homemade Pomodoro Sauce (side)
Roasted Heirloom Carrots – Brown Butter, Honey, Sage, Pistachios
Broccolini – Preserved Lemon, Garlic, Limoncello Vinaigrette
Crispy Potatoes – Fresh Herbs
Prosciutto Pizza – Fontina Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Arugula
Pepperoni Pizza – Soppressata, Chris Bianco’s Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Margherita Pizza – Chris Bianco’s Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Local Basil
Cheese Pizza – Chris Bianco’s Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Pecorino Cheese
Shrimp Fra Diavolo – ‘Nduja, Rigatoni, Calabrian Chili, Di Napoli Tomato
Sunday Sauce Gnocchi – Herbs, Olive Oil, Nana’s Slow Cooked Pork Ragu, Pecorino, Parmesan Cheese
Scarpariello Chicken – Fresh Herbs, White Wine, Lemon Butter
Anita’s Meatballs – Calabrese Peppers, Chris Bianco’s Tomatoes, Polenta
Housemade Bombolini – Cinnamon-Sugar, Nutella
Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Cake
According to some estimates the economic impact of SARS-CoV-2 could be as many as 1/3 of America’s Restaurants, and although Locale Italian Kitchen continued to serve Las Vegas as both a market and take-out operation from the pandemic’s earliest days it now functions with Graffiti Bao’s Marc Marrone leading the Kitchen.
A shocking development to many, James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef Southwest Nicole Brisson departing the Restaurant she helped build less than ten months in, sources suggest it was a mutual decision between Nicole and partner Andy Hooper that saw Tao Group’s former-corporate Executive Chef step in, and give Marrone’s decade-long involvement with Lavo at The Palazzo the good news is that the transition will seem seamless to most guests.
Now established as a cornerstone of southwest Las Vegas near Mountains Edge, an area long in need of culinary destinations, Phase One of Nevada’s reopening sees Locale offering dine-in and take-away from Tuesday through Sunday, the menu still regional Italian with added family recipes while prices are a bargain considering both Ingredients and portions.
Allowing Chef Marc and General Manager Paulo Duran to self-select a catering menu, trust earned across a combined six events over the past four months, it was at 11:30am that both men and Mr. Hooper arrived porting several trays and boxes tallying fifteen all-new menu items in total.
Professionally packed and temperature appropriate, a Chop Salad making Kale appealing via smoky Tomato Dressing plus Shallots and Peppers, suffice it to say that housemade Garlic & Mozzarella Bread is a big step-up from outsourced Baguette and Focaccia served prior, while Pizzas formerly oblong are now round and decidedly more complex thanks to 96-hour fermented Dough that remains soft and pliable at the center of a charred cornicione.
Truly a pillar of the community, Marc’s involvement in “Delivering with Dignity” not slowing down one bit despite an expansion of duties, those who’ve tried any of Graffiti Bao’s Vegetables will be unsurprised that Contorni at Locale adhere to an equally high standard, Broccolini and Potatoes each simple yet appetizing while Rainbow Carrots are texturally masterful and coaxed to peak flavor with Butter and a bit of Honey.
Adding a pair of Pastas, spicy Shrimp served on Rigatoni rather than Black Spaghetti for the sake of catering, fans of Gnocchi need look no further than Locale for the lightest Potato Dumplings in Las Vegas, their buoyancy a brilliant foil to slowly-simmered Tomatoes and Pork replicating Nana’s Sunday Gravy.
Giving Anita credit for one of Sin City’s most robustly flavored Meatballs, the thick bed of Fontina Cheese Polenta and Sauce with some Heat building a true “Secondi” out of something usually offered as a Side Dish, Scarpariello Chicken serves as a lean Protein lacking not for flavor while Locale’s evolving Dessert Menu features jumbo Bombolini that eat lighter than their size might suggest plus a moist yet toothsome seasonal Yogurt Cake.
N/A: Making it blog policy to not ‘rate’ places based on catering alone, Locale Italian Kitchen continues to serve excellent Food made from local Ingredients at a price point that is more than generous, and although some will lament the departure of Chef Brisson it seems safe to say Marc Marrone’s skill set and work ethic are well-suited to make believers out of both fans and skeptics.
RECOMMENDED: Roasted Heirloom Carrots, Broccolini, Pepperoni Pizza, Sunday Sauce Gnocchi, Anita’s Meatballs, Housemade Bombolini, Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Cake (which comes with Whipped Cream and Pistachio Gelato for dine-in)
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: Follow @localelv on Social Media for hours, updates and menu.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.localelv.com
