{"id":36572,"date":"2015-11-06T18:19:38","date_gmt":"2015-11-07T02:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/endoedibles.ifm.yji.mybluehost.me\/?p=36572"},"modified":"2015-11-10T08:04:53","modified_gmt":"2015-11-10T16:04:53","slug":"portofino-4-las-vegas-nv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/?p=36572","title":{"rendered":"Portofino [4,] Las Vegas NV"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Portofino by Chef Michael LaPlaca<\/p>\n

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Iced Tea<\/p>\n

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Warm Focaccia<\/p>\n

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Caprese Salad \u2013 Heirloom Tomatoes, Bufala Mozzarella, Basil<\/p>\n

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Beet Salad \u2013 Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, Candied Pistachios, Orchard Apples<\/p>\n

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Grilled Octopus \u2013 Calabrian Peperonata, Fingerling Crisps, Salsa Verde<\/p>\n

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Crab Cake Arancini \u2013 Lemon Saffron Risotto, Pesto Aioli, Fresno Pickles<\/p>\n

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Meatballs \u2013 Fried Squash Blossoms, Goat Cheese, San Marzano Tomatoes<\/p>\n

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Pasta & Fagioli Soup \u2013 Market Vegetables, Housemade Sausage, Cannellini Beans, Grilled Crostini<\/p>\n

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Veal Canneloni \u2013 Grilled Asparagus, Porcini Mushrooms, Marsala Sauce<\/p>\n

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Burrata Agnolotti \u2013 Lobster, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Roasted Corn Butter<\/p>\n

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Butternut Squash Gnocchi \u2013 Turkey Confit, Pickled Cranberries, Thanksgiving Crumble<\/p>\n

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Ripatelli \u2013 Wild Boar Bolognese, Roasted Tomato Sauce, Goat Cheese Pesto<\/p>\n

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Pappardella Alla Vodka \u2013 Butter Poached Langoustines, Wild Market Spinach, Absolut Elyx Vodka Sauce<\/p>\n

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Day Boat Scallops \u2013 Roasted Cauliflower, Mascarpone Polenta, Pancetta<\/p>\n

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Chicken Rollatini Parmesan \u2013 Chicken Ripieno, Housemade Marinara, Melted Mozzarella<\/p>\n

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Veal Osso Buco \u2013 Saffron Risotto, Bone Marrow, Gremolata<\/p>\n

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Braised Pork Shank \u2013 Bacon & Bean Ragu, Brussels Sprouts, Pearl Onions<\/p>\n

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Aragosta Milanese \u2013 Breaded Lobster Tail, Rapini, Lemon Sauce<\/p>\n

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Nutella Cr\u00e8me Brulee \u2013 twisted disaronna whipped cream, fudge, crystallized almonds<\/p>\n

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Cannoli Napoleon \u2013 Chocolate Chunk Ricotta Filling, Citrus-Olive Oil Sorbet<\/p>\n

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Cassata Cheesecake \u2013 Harry\u2019s berries, Italian wedding cake croutons<\/p>\n

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Traditional Tiramisu \u2013 Cognac Cr\u00e8me, Lady Fingers<\/p>\n

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Happy to support any restaurant that continues to evolve, tweak, and reinvent even when it is already outperforming anything similar in the market, it took little more than seasonal menu updates to bring myself and six friends back to The Mirage’s Portofino and with Chef Michael LaPlaca continuing to amuse palates with a total of twenty plates, including four new pastas, no real descriptor can encompass just how great the evening was, the service better than ever even as Chris Zadie and team saw over 180 walk-ins without missing a step.<\/p>\n

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Again sat at a table overlooking the dining room floor, music and scenery unchanged from the past while a buzz hung in the air from a mostly-full house, it was to a family-style carte blanche experience that our meal was entrusted and passing on wine in favor of Iced Tea it was not more than fifteen minutes before the fun got started, a seasonal beet salad with beautiful candied pistachios juxtaposing creamy goat cheese joining several old-favorites, the meatballs deemed better than ever by some at the table while the soup managed the rare feat of beans being perfectly cooked while pasta was still springy yet tender.<\/p>\n

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Unabashedly promoting LaPlaca as the most innovative pasta maker in Las Vegas, a title earned across three prior meals where not one noodle or sauce failed to impress, November’s new menu saw some similarities but mostly different offerings and although the Agnolotti remains the sort of signature MGM should be touting on billboards it was once again the Gnocchi that stole away the spotlight, the Thanksgiving Feast on a plate every bit as ‘fun’ as it was delicious beneath dehydrated stuffing crumbles while \u201cPappardella alla Vodka\u201d required no tableside show to induce a smile, just great sauce and huge langoustines with butter and booze kept grounded by sauteed spinach greens.<\/p>\n

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Already seeing some at the table scaling back on portions in order to enjoy more of that to come, secondi featured three classics joined by two more recent innovations and although the Osso Bucco remains the best in the city while the fried lobster tail is a luxury that anyone with the means should go out of their way for it would be equally difficult to pass up buttery scallops atop cauliflower puree with cubes of fried polenta, let alone the flash fried pork shank that is not exactly \u201cItalian\u201d but no less likely to wow atop a sweet and smoky bean ragu.<\/p>\n

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Currently in flux as relates to the pastry department, options unchanged from the past yet still just as good, it was perhaps good fortune that saw only a small smattering of sweets served after such an epic meal and with the Cassata Cheesecake as well as the Cr\u00e8me Brulee drawing oohs-and-ahhs from the uninitiated it seems to me that even the deconstructed cannoli tasted better this time around, the filling more creamy than memory serves and the citrus notes turned down.<\/p>\n

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FIVE STARS: Continuing to challenge themselves while still impressing tourists and locals alike the simple volume of glowing praise for Portofino should be proof enough of a restaurant worth a visit, each and every menu change likely to prompt my next.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED: Meatballs, Crabcake Arancini, Butternut Squash Gnocchi, Burrata Agnolotti, Osso Bucco, Crispy Pork Shank, Cassata Cheesecake.<\/p>\n

AVOID: Filling up on all that delicious bread.<\/p>\n

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TIP: Family Style Tastings can be arranged by contacting the restaurant in advance.<\/p>\n

WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mirage.com\/restaurants\/portofino-by-chef-michael-laplaca.aspx<\/p>\n

\"Portofino

Portofino by Chef Michael LaPlaca Iced Tea Warm Focaccia Caprese Salad \u2013 Heirloom Tomatoes, Bufala Mozzarella, Basil Beet Salad \u2013 Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, Candied Pistachios, Orchard Apples Grilled Octopus \u2013 Calabrian Peperonata, Fingerling Crisps, Salsa Verde Crab Cake Arancini … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,107,13,27,29,153,16,21,19,48,61,2265,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bread-basket","category-crab","category-dessert","category-food","category-gnocchi","category-ice-cream","category-italian","category-las-vegas","category-nevada","category-octopus","category-pork","category-portofino","category-tasting-menu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36572"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36622,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36572\/revisions\/36622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}