Americano at Hotel Vitale

The Americano offers Italian food. Chef Paul Arenstam got the mushroom pizza with fontina cheese and truffle oil right! The thin crust is crunchy, and the mushroom and truffle oil make a tasty combination. It's surely the taste of Autumn.

For the main dishes, my wife had the butternut squash ravioli. The texture of the the butternut squash was smooth and soft. The ravioli was fresh. The dish was sweet and savory.

I had the duck breast special that night. The breast slices were seared nicely, but I prefer the inside to be a bit more rare. It was served medium-well and I preferred it to be medium-rare. The serving portion was good- about eight slices. The potatoes were cooked just right topped with watercress. Next time, I will order the rib-eye because I know it's more flavorful and could get it medium-rare.

For dessert, the fried creme brulee caught our eye on the menu. It sound interesting and tasted interesting. Usually creme brulee is soft and jiggly in a ramekin, but the interesting characteristic of this dessert was that it was fried. The cream was firmer and drier. What makes the dish is the passion fruit-caramel sauce. It added sweetness to the otherwise flavorless cream. The portion had two triangular pieces.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was very nice. We chose a half bottle of 2005 Opus One. It's a wine collaboration of Mondavi and Rothchild. It had a nice aroma and dark ruby color. There were hints of blackberries and currant. There was a spicy finish. It really matched well with all our dishes. It was surprisingly smooth for an young Cab.

The service was a bit lacking, though our server was very friendly. It was hard to get his attention behind the see through curtain. The dining area can get loud from the patrons at the bar.

We would go back for the pizza if we were in the area.

O La La Boulud!

A must stop in Las Vegas dining is Daniel Boulud Las Vegas- one Michelin star. It offers fantastic service, a helpful sommelier, and delicious French food and wine. We gave ourselves plenty of time to enjoy our meal before the 9:00 p.m. showing of La Reve and had a 6:30 pm reservation. The entrance is from the Wynn Hotel taking the escalator down to the bottom floor. Above the entrance are color parasols. They’re very festive and classy.
We were greeted by the hostess and she showed us to our white linen covered table. We wanted a view of the water fall since there was going to be short musical entertainment.

Our sommelier helped us pick a smooth, silky red wine. We picked a half bottle of 2005 Les Fiefs de Lagrange -wonderful nose and dark cassis color. There is a light touch of oak but not overpowering. There is a hint of berries and chocolate.
The small seafood platter appealed to us because we wanted a fresh and cold appetizer. This seafood was really refreshing and sat on a bed of ice. The serving was just enough to please our palette. Included in the platter are raw oysters, shrimp, clams, mussels, lobster, and three types of sauces…cocktail, horse radish, and basil aioli.
For the main dish, my wife and I shared the seared day boat scallops with terrain of foie gras and steamed fall veggies. The scallops had a nice caramelized sear, the terrain of foie melted in the mouth, and the veggies crunchy and flavorful. To accompany the dish were a piece of peanut brittle, a sweet fruit puree, and sliced grapes with champagne gelee.

The anniversary dessert was the dark chocolate soufflé with crème anglaise. The soufflé was rich, moist and creamy! This is a definite go back place for us. When we left the table to use the restroom, our napkins were re-folded by the time we returned. In addition, the bread was crusty on the outside and airy on the inside. We even got petite fours to go at our asking. The coffee was strong and bold.