Carnevino
Peach Bellini
Gougeres with Gorgonzola
Rosemary Rolls with Lardo and Salted Butter
Grilled Octopus with pickled vegetables and limoncello
Insalata Caprese with burrata and basil
Bruschetta di Stracciatella with charred summer squash
Carne Cruda Alla Piemontese – chopped to order steak tartare
Tagliata di Manzo with BBL beef, arugula, parmigiano
Beef Cheek Ravioli with aceto balsamico
Gnocchi with summer vegetable ragu
Ricotta and Egg Raviolo with brown butter
“Creamed” Corn with pickled peppers
Sauteed Mixed Mushrooms with spring onions
Fried Eggplant with tomato & ricotta
Mascarpone & Guanciale Mashed Potatoes
Cider and Salt Brined 20oz Bone-In Pork Chop
240+ Day Dry Aged 2.5” Riserva Porterhouse
240+ Day Dry Aged 2” Riserva New York Strip
90+ Day Dry Aged Bone-In Ribeye
90+ Day Dry Aged Fiorentina
Gorgonzola Mascarpone Sauce (see photo of table, below)
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Torte with peanut brittle, salted caramel
Cannoli – pistachio brittle, chocolate chip ricotta
Chocolate Cake with bing cherries and candied pecans
Pumpkin Spice Gelato
Pear, Melon, Pink Lady Apple Sorbet
Vanilla Bean Gelato Afogatto
Grappa Soaked Raisin Cookies
In a town where “Whales,” “Ballers,” and “High Rollers” command comps at many Top-Tables it should come as no surprise that the opportunity to indulge on exotic ingredients is available to those willing to pay, yet when it comes to Sin City’s very best beef the question becomes even more complicated – an answer involving not just cash, but time. Known by the term ‘Riserva’ and nowhere present on the restaurant menu our eight-top’s 240+ day dry-aged steak experience actually began years prior with selective sourcing, breeding, feeding, butchery, as well as storage – an aged bacteria direct from Italy driving the latter – and with each stage described at length throughout the course of a 3.5 hour meal that entailed no less than twenty other outstanding plates plus far too many drinks it can only be said that nothing could have prepared us for the meal’s apex, four different steaks plus a chop offering an education in things few will ever have the opportunity to taste. Having already visited Carnevino twice, with wowed results each time, it seems almost a crime to gloss over items like a textbook bellini thick with white peach or tartare so tender it simply dissolved on the tongue but with all apologies to tender pastas including the famous beef cheek ravioli as well as the “super chicken” egg raviolo suffice it to say that only a single side of mushrooms was less than exemplary…but not a one of them could match the meats, the younger steaks and chop easily on par with those from last year while the Riserva was almost unimaginably tender with a flavor profile that ranged from walnuts to stilton to truffles as a buttery basenote lingered in each bite. Undoubtedly a big budget event in a space not unaccustomed to such things it was finally with a table of desserts followed by a small plate of cookies that the evening would end and visited by head chef Nicole Brisson before our departure each of us said our thanks – an invite to tour the aging facility something I look forward to doing soon and a return visit already in the planning stages for when my friends are next in town.
FIVE STARS: Considered by some, including myself, to be the best steakhouse in the country even before this meal suffice it to say that Carnevino upped the stakes (and steaks) for all future meals here in Las Vegas – the private room, the exquisite services, the specially requested soundtrack of Pearl Jam’s Ten played throughout the restaurant, more than a handful of ‘gifts’ joining each course, and especially the Riserva all making a special meal truly world class.
RECOMMENDED: If you can afford it the Riserva is unlike any other beef out there, though with aging no less than 90-days guaranteed even the Ribeyes are better than all but perhaps the city’s best Wagyu. Additional winners were the off-menu (but always available) beef cheek ravioli, egg and ricotta raviolo, mashed potatoes with mascarpone, cannoli, and chocolate cake.
AVOID: Mushrooms were simply overburdened with acid and the ‘steak sauce,’ although delicious, was entirely unnecessary – why would anyone want to add or change the flavor of steaks and chops so well selected?
TIP: Not guaranteed even if requested in advance, due to the possibility that steaks may prove spoiled when cut away from the mold, those interested in trying the Riserva should contact the restaurant approximately a month in advance. For those requesting a private room, no “extra cost” is entailed, though a contract must be signed guaranteeing a pre-tip minimum of $1800 for a party of eight.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://www.carnevino.com
