Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar
Focaccia and Ciabatta with Olive Oil and Caponata
Arancini with Truffles and Polpettine with Finger Fried Polenta
Affettati e Formaggio – Imported Italian meat and cheeses, olives, marinated vegetables
Spicy Eggplant
Risotto Caprese – Italian Arborio rice, tomato, ricotta cheese, black olive powder
Capellini Puttanesca – House made angel hair, fresh tomato sauce, black olives, capers, anchovies
Gnocchi al Pesto – House made potato dumplings, creamy basil pesto sauce
Agnolotti – House made ravioli filled with spinach, mascarpone, ricotta, mortadella, light tear-drop tomato sauce
Artichoke Spaghetti with Brown Butter, Caviar, and Cinnamon
Trippa Satriano – tripe in spicy tomato sauce
Coniglio Brasato – Braised farm raised rabbit, sauteed spinach
Osso Buco – Veal shank braised in red wine reduction served with farro
Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberries
Tiramisu
Double Espresso on Ice
Told that Mimo Ferraro’s recent focus on Pizza Forte had given way to a new Chef with skills set to further improve the cuisine at local legend Ferraro’s Italian Kitchen, it was with expectations of rustic Italian done ‘right’ that four friends sat down to dinner at the storied space on Paradise, and with top notch service that saw visits from both Chef Francesco di Caudo and Gino Ferraro the four-course family style tasting was everything that was anticipated, a few ‘gifts from the kitchen’ showing signs of things to come while classics came through loud and clear.
In many ways a ‘locals’ spot, in part due to the heritage but also as result of location and Sin City’s celebrity chef culture, entrance to Ferraro’s is met by jovial greetings at the podium and with a bar plus outdoor patio on the left as the low-lit dining room sits to the right the feeling is at once familiar but also intimate – the white linens, candles, and rose on each table all building on an atmosphere less-and-less frequently seen in modern dining realm.
Navigating a menu steeped in heritage, many ‘signatures’ outlined while seasonal notes decorate a large collection of house-made pastas, it was with a basket of warm bread with oil atop caponata that the two-and-a-half hour meal began and with a bottle of white from the well-priced list soon poured for some a duo of sliced truffle alongside meatballs and polenta proved a decadent opening duo, both notably available as part of the 4-7pm happy hour in the lounge at a fraction of the a la carte price.
Transitioning to Antipasti, the well sourced Affettati e Formaggio was presented as a veritable bargain at $18 with mortadella, prosciutto, and speck all shining alongside crumbly Pecorino and rich Gorgonzola, but acknowledging that none of these items are made on-site the true star was actually bowl of Mrs. Ferraro’s sliced eggplant, an in-the-know sort of item served at the request of one diner that saw the oft-fried ingredient breathed new life through vinegar, sugar, and black pepper – each bite delicious on its own, but all the moreso when used taken as a poignant foil to the charcuterie’s meaty sapor.
Joking that an Italian Tasting Menu mostly means the chef will send out more pasta, round three featured a quartet of primi plated tasting-style by the kitchen plus a bowl of pasta created at the Sicilian Chef’s whim, and although the risotto unfortunately came off a bit undercooked the four house-made noodles were undoubtedly amongst the best in the city, the signature Puttanesca not nearly as briny as one may guess from the ingredients while both gnocchi and agnolotti were tender bites of decadence, the artichoke pasta marrying discrepant flavors with brown butter a truly dynamic dish that hopefully represents a sign of evolution from a kitchen already well versed in the things it has long done well.
Sticking entirely to signatures for secondi it would seem obvious that no meal at Ferraro’s should end without the city’s most storied Osso Buco, and carved tableside by Gino with no more than a fork and spoon the tender meat in rich wine was just as good as rumor would have it, a compliment no less applicable to juicy braised rabbit served alongside lemony wilted spinach or the best tripe dish I’ve encountered stateside in quite some time, each supple bite rife rife with texture while the spicy sauce served to highlight the offal’s intrinsic flavor rather than hide it like so many others.
Perhaps mistakenly allowing the kitchen to decide upon dessert it was with a rather mundane chocolate cake that the evening was originally set to end, but having heard rumor of a tiramisu not to be missed a slice was requested along with four spoons, the sizable $12 wedge every bit as textbook as the menu’s other classics with a delicate balance of mascarpone and cinnamon overlying feather-light ladyfingers ever so faintly accented with coffee and a the slightest hint of liquor.
THREE AND A HALF STARS: Undoubtedly earning its accolades over the course of thirty years serving natives and tourists alike it seems safe to say that the future of Ferraro’s is in good hands under the watch of Chef di Caudo, a bit of new blood in the kitchen perhaps just what is needed to see the restaurant add much needed modernity to the time honored classics of its past.
RECOMMENDED: Arancini with Truffles, Capellini Puttanesca, Trippa Satriano, Coniglio Brasato, Spicy Eggplant.
AVOID: Risotto was unfortunately undercooked while the Chocolate Cake, not currently listed on the menu, was rather forgettable.
TIP: Offering both Happy Hour and Late Night Menus with several items and glasses of wine for as much as half off there are certainly deals to be found, the Chef’s promise of an upcoming tasting menu an additional dining option while several events and wine dinners can already be found on the the restaurant’s list of events.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
