Friend's birthday dinner at CarneVino

We visited Mario Batali's steakhouse CarneVino to celebrate the 40th birthday of a friend, along with another couple. The locale at the (relatively) new Palazzo is both good and weird: the place is split between to sections in the lobby. The main section has the bar, and the second section seems like extra tables for (I presume) overflow.

We started with champagne drinks at the bar. The bar area looks impeccable with a great assortment of libations on display, including a very good array of grappa, along with a wall street sized bull sculpture. We chose the american Schramberg Rose. Everyone liked it.

We got seated quickly on the main dining rooms along the left side. The space is decorated in what seems like the typical steak house: Dark wood accents and private gentlemen's room curtains. The space has a very high ceilings that bring out that powerful "masculine" look of most steak houses. The center of the space was occupied by a country style table showcasing all the wines by glass. Our waiter seemed a bit hurried: we had to call him back to the table several times because he'd listen to just one person (as opposed to everyone), then take off. Overall, he was a nice guy, but we'd hoped he took a deep breath and slow down. :)

Our birthday man loves both Batali restaurants and italian wine, so he summoned the sommelier and chose two fantastic (but oh-so-pricey) bottles of wine: a super Tuscan along with an Amarone. Those are two very contrasting wines, but worked out great with our meal selections.

We selected Parpadelle with Porcini and truffle oil for a starter. The rest of the crew went with the capellini and white truffles. Everyone was very happy with the selection. The Parpadelle was rich and tender. The porcini mushrooms were actually fresh, and the flavor was perfect for the strength and intensity of the Amarone.

For dinner, I chose the veal osso bucco with a saffron risotto. My wife opted for the bone-in pork shop. The third couple went all out and selected the porterhouse for two and truffles. the birthday boy chose veal saltimbocca, and his wife made me proud when she selected the bone-in New York strip. Everyone shared bites with the others, so we all had a chance to sample the whole gamut.

My osso bucco was right on the money: tender and rich, with a beautiful lemony background taste provided by the parsley and peel topping on the bone. The risotto was orzo based and surprisingly creamier than I originally thought. The super Tuscan managed not to over-power the dish, which was nice. Out of the others, my two faves were the pork chop and the porterhouse. they were both rich, tender, and just awesome. We skipped dessert and opted for cappuccino. Perfect cap to the dinner.

On the service side of things, the supporting cast was impeccable, but (again), our waiter was not the most attentive. We had to tell him to clear stuff out a few times when it was obvious. At one time, he's struggling to find room on the table for glasses when there are empty cocktail and champagne glasses that need to be cleared off the table! Considering the price they're commanding, you would expect better service.

Then, the bill came: Everyone's jaw dropped just a bit. Even after factoring out the wine selection, the bill was a bit outrageous. Mind you: we are not easily "scared" by dinner bills on special occasions, but this felt a bit too much. This is the first time in the US where I felt like I paid for the chef's name rather than the food. Our birthday boy loves Mario Batali restaurants, but even he must have felt like he paid for a lot of things and not necessarily the food. I felt the same way when I went to Paris, and I made a point of not dining on may places I would have loved to try, but frankly, did not miss at all.

I suspect that at some point, people are going to realize that there are better restaurant deals in Vegas than this one. I could see myself returning to the bar for drinks, but I would look elsewhere for dinner.

Later,