Canaletto

Canaletto at the Venetian Resort, Hotel, Casino
On the Strip in Las Vegas

It's rare that we dine on the strip, even rarer that we enjoy ourselves. But Canaletto is a restaurant that we have patronized a whopping 3 times since we moved here in 2006. And each time, we've been pleased with our experience.

Tonight, though, was the first time we've dined there since I have become a Vegan. The last time we were there, in February of 2007, I was a lacto-vegetarian. It's very very simple to be lacto-vegetarian at an Italian restaurant... so I was a little nervous about the vegan options. Would there be any? Like every other restaurant experience I've had since beginning this blog, I went into the night thinking like not only a vegan, but a critic.

Canaletto: let the show begin!

We began by downloading the lunch/dinner menu pdf provided on the Canaletto homepage. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be much, but once I started reading the actual descriptions of the dishes, my fears all but disappeared. There were plenty of vegetarian options & many which could also be "made" into vegan entrees. My husband called to make the reservation & asked specifically that a note be made that his "wife is a vegan". The host taking the call kept referring to it as a "milk allergy" and although my husband adamantly insisted that I not be treated like I had an allergy but someone with a specific lifestyle choice, even our waiter tonight mentioned my "milk allergy". Well, whatever. I'm out for a nice meal, not to spread the "word".

Actually, let's go back to that for a minute: our waiter (whose name was Vito, though I think the waitstaff is handed out names & coached on Italian accents upon hiring) was very helpful in answering my questions about certain entrees. He even said, "I know you cannot eat dairy, so we will be extra careful for you. It makes you sick?" Well, yeah, sure. I did appreciate the extra care he took to write "NO CHEESE" on my order.

What did I order? I had the Bruschetta Calda for an appetizer and Paccheri alla Melanzane e Scamorza.

BRUSCHETTA CALDA Grilled Il Fornaio ciabatta served with sauteed roma tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and extra-virgin olive oil $7.95

PACCHERI ALLA MELANZANE E SCAMORZA Large pasta tubes tossed with smoked mozarella and tomato sauce topped with sliced eggplant $17.50

The Bruschetta was wonderful - the tomatoes roasted & just warmer than room temperature, the right amount of basil & a healthy dose of garlic. The Melanzane required me to ask for "no cheese" which the waiter was obviously very receptive to. But once it arrived, I had my doubts - something white & of odd texture was in my eggplant... My husband, instantly sensing that I was apprehensive about what was on my plate, reached over with his fork (clean!!) and tasted a bit for me. He raised his eyebrows, "I can't believe it! That's the eggplant!" And it was - this gooey texture was the eggplant, roasted to perfection. Wow. I'm going to have to readjust my eggplant expectations...

Everything was divine, the service was paced slower than most restaurants I've reviewed here, but tonight it worked: we had a baby sitter and all the time in the world to enjoy ourselves. For the two of us, we spent under $100 for appetizer, entrees, wine & espresso. Not a bad deal!

Canaletto is one of those places that the atmosphere is not better than the food, this is a place we love to take our guests and now that I know "going vegan" is easy there, we'll be going back!!

CANALETTO

hours: Sun-Thu 11:30am-11:00pm
Fri/Sat 11:30am-12:00am

Phone:
(702) 733-0070

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino
3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109


CANALETTO VEGETARIAN MEALS:
*Many of these can easily be made vegan by removing the cheese

Antipasti:
Bruschetta Calda
Caprese Calda
Formaggi dal Veneto
Crostini di Polenta (remove you sausage & salmon options)

Soup & Salad:
Minestrone (made with vegetable stock)
Insalata Balsamico
Insalata di Pere (pear salad)
Insalata di Bietole (beet salad)
Insalata Canaletto

Pizza:
Margherita
Pizza Fresca

Risotto:
Risotto Filante

Primi:
Vermicelli al Pomodoro
Paccheri alla Melanzane e Scamorza
Casonzei All'Ampezzana

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Mezzo Bistro Italiano: Visit #2

There are some restaurants that you have to visit again and again - maybe because you liked your meal so much you can't live without eating it again, maybe it's because you wish you were able to try another item off the menu, or maybe, like Mezzo, it's because the people there take such pride in their business that customers feel like welcome guests.

Since our first visit to Mezzo Bistro Italiano on our anniversary in July,
we have been dreaming of our next visit. We don't eat out as much as we used to, so when we go out nowadays, it has to be to somewhere special. And that "somewhere special" is definitely Mezzo Bistro Italiano.

Tonight, we were able to bring along my parents & my brother. My mother is half Roman half Sicilian, so our family knows Italian food. Will my mom like the food? She's not exactly a "foodie" but she knows Italian.

This time, Matt took Chef Marc's advice & called to make the reservation a day ahead - specifically mentioning that his wife is a vegan. Chef got right on it! And today, around 2pm, Matt received a call from Chef listing the ingredients of the Pasta Primavera "vegan special" they were going to make for me tonight. This is personal attention to the utmost degree: a specially prepared off-menu dish AND a phone call to confirm? Wow.

Upon arrival, again I was treated to a warm greeting and told that I was going to enjoy the Pasta Primavera: homemade orecchiette, cauliflower, red, yellow & green roasted peppers, green beans, spinach and carrots with olive oil & garlic, black pepper, sea salt and basil. I WISH I had taken a picture of this beautiful creation because it truly looked like a piece of art. So colorful. And the vegetables perfectly cooked, not mushy steamed pieces of grey matter. The garlic was not overpowering, and there was plenty of oil for dipping the fresh bread.

Everyone in our party tonight enjoyed their meal. To read the full menu, go to the Mezzo Bistro Italiano homepage and download the pdf file. My father & brother both had the Tuscan Pork Tenderloin, my mother had the Tuscan Country Dish (with wild boar ragu), Matt had Chicken Piccata. Obviously, no one else in my family is vegan... but Andrew, is what you would call a "semi-vegetarian". Or maybe lacto-pollo-vegetarian would be the more proper term since he eats dairy & chicken. I asked our waiter what there was for kids and he listed off quite a few choices including spaghetti & marinara sauce, chicken fingers, and intriguingly he said "we make a fantastic macaroni & cheese to order." Andrew perked right up: "I'll have that!!" He loved it! It was probably more of an Alfredo sauce, though I obviously didn't try it. Andrew couldn't get enough of it! He ate about half of it, the rest is in a box in our refrigerator.

As for the rest of us... we stopped stuffing our faces at about the point we would have begun licking the plates. We do have some standards of behavior.

Again, an amazing meal from one of the best kept secrets in Vegas. Thank you Chef, for another great night out. And thank you for placing my first babbling review on your website!!

Grazi.



MEZZO BISTRO ITALIANO:

Mezzo Bistro Italiano
4275 N. Rancho Rd.
Las Vegas NV
702.944.8880
Las Vegas Review Journal

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Grand Lux Cafe

Grand Lux Cafe at theVenetian was the location of my most recent dining out experience.

If you don't already know, I work at the Venetian. I say "work" but we musicians rarely call what we do "work". It truly is a gift to use your talents in such diverse ways. At the Venetian, I perform with The Phantom of the Opera, renamed for this production Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get to play for such a fantastic production. And the Venetian is one of the premiere destination spots for tourists & celebrities. You never know on any given night who is sitting in the audience!

One of my friends is a musician with Blue Man Group also performing at the Venetian. We often joke that since I started playing with Phantom 2 years ago, we still haven't met before/between/after our respective shows for coffee or snacks. So last month, he suggested we meet for coffee at the Grand Lux - just a hop, skip & a jump from the lobby of Phantom. I ordered my coffee and stood waiting for him to arrive. No luck. His sound check went long & he was unable to meet me. No big deal: I'd see him the next day in our yoga class so I could give him a hard time later.

But this excellent cup of coffee has stuck in my mind for the last 4 weeks. Nothing has compared - I LOVE coffee, though I don't usually wax poetic about it. But this iced latte was, how can I say it... heavenly. Starbucks, who?

Last night, I had plans to meet a friend for dinner before the 7pm Phantom show. She wanted to meet at the Venetian, so we decided to try the Grand Lux for food, not just coffee. I didn't realize that Grand Lux is part of the Cheesecake Factory franchise, but apparently it is.

I downloaded the pdf menu and scoured it for vegetarian & vegan choices (she is a lacto-vegetarian). There were 4 choices that jumped out at me immediately:
1) Wild Mushroom Burger
2) Pasta Fresca
3) Crispy Sesame Tofu, and
4) "Vegetables as a Meal" served with rice

Not wanting to take any chances in getting stuck at a restaurant where we wouldn't be happy, I called for more information on each meal:
1) Is the cheese in or on the mushroom burger?
2) Can I have the Pasta Fresca without the parmesan?
3) What about the orange sauce on the tofu?
4) How many veggies can I choose for my meal?

The man who answered the phone was helpful, answering each question patiently and politely. I felt armed & prepared for our meal, as did my friend, so we proceeded to meet at Grand Lux Cafe for our dinner at 5pm. We only waited 2 minutes for a table!

Our waitress took our orders - my friend ordered Manhattan Salad "Vegetarian" (chopped salad with Romaine Lettuce, Asparagus, Tomato, White Beans, Fresh Beets, Red Onions, Lentils and Assorted Vegetables all tossed in the house vinegrette). You can order this salad as Vegetarian, or with Tuna, Chicken, Shrimp or Turkey. When my friend said "vegetarian", the waitress asked "Do you eat cheese?" My friend answered yes, she would like cheese on her salad.

Then it was my turn to order. I wanted the Tofu but the waitress asked "Are you vegetarian? Because this dish is not vegetarian - the sauce is oyster based." Hmm.... this is an odd turn of events (the man on the phone did not tell me this tidbit). The waitress told me that she is vegetarian and was very upset to find out after eating the plate of tofu that there was oyster in the sauce. I changed my order to Pasta Fresca without cheese.

Pasta Fresca: pasta tossed with roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic & olive oil.

The food arrived and we were astounded by the sheer size of the Manhattan salad! My friend couldn't finish it - she actually took half of it home with her. My pasta was fantastic, and even though I didn't finish either, I did not take the leftovers with me because I had to play the show right after & didn't really want to have to store food in the orchestra green room - not because it would spoil but because people would undoubtedly eat it! (Musicians are generally very hungry people)

Although our meals were delicious, and obviously we had the added bonus of having a vegetarian waitress, my mind keeps trying to wrap around the oyster base in the tofu dish. I have to ask the powers-that-be "who eats tofu?" The unilateral answer is usually vegetarians, right? Who goes to a restaurant like Grand Lux Cafe, where the menu includes a wide variety of foods (pasta, meats, pizza, salads) and orders tofu? Vegetarians. No? So, why, if you know vegetarians are going to gravitate to the tofu, would you serve it with a non-vegetarian sauce? That doesn't make sense to me. I've written a long comment to the restaurant in regard to this situation.

There were enough choices on the menu that were lacto-vegetarian & could easily be modified to be vegan. Of course, I am still swooning from the idea that my waitress was vegetarian and that she was so vocal and helpful with our ordering process.

GRAND LUX CAFE at THE VENETIAN HOTEL, RESORT CASINO:

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Mezzo Bistro Italiano

It was our 11th anniversary yesterday. It started quietly like most anniversaries I can remember in the recent past: Matt waking in the early hours of dawn to go to work, waking me up with a kiss and a "Happy Anniversary" whispered in the dark. Usually I try not to say it back too loudly because I haven't brushed my teeth yet, but he doesn't seem to care. He left for a morning of cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College in a traditional Hawaiian Luau cooking class. I heard a rumor that my banana smoothie was better than the tuna sushi he had for breakfast.

He returned home around 2pm asking if I wanted to try this new Italian restaurant he'd heard a review of on our local public radio station a few weeks ago. I was game for anything! But of course, being Italian & cooking "vegan" Italian is very different from going out for Italian where things are either covered in cheese or cooked w/a meat bone at the bottom of the pot.

He assured me he'd call ahead & talk to the manager about options. It wasn't the manager that got on the phone, it was the Chef himself: Chef Marcus Sgrizzzi! Matt told him that he was taking his vegan wife out for dinner and he was concerned that there wouldn't be anything for her to eat that wasn't appropriate. Chef assured Matt that there was a wonderful beet salad that he could make without the goat's cheese & that the kitchen would whip up anything I could think of - on or off menu. Whoa! Matt quickly made reservations for 5:30pm.

When we arrived at Mezzo, the host said to me, "Oh! You're our vegan tonight! Don't worry, you're going to have a great meal." Excitedly, we sat in our seats near the open kitchen and awaited our server. The waiter read off the specials to Matt then turned to me & said, "The chef has recommended that we start you with the beet salad, then he wanted to make you Linguini Aglio with oil, garlic & spices or a marinara sauce." I thought long & hard... I had just made homemade sauce last Sunday, let's go for the aglio - something I wouldn't make at home because I just don't have access to quality olive oils to make this dish. Eventually, I settled on the aglio, but would the chef add some porcini mushrooms to the mix? Of course!

Beet salad arrived - beets served w/frisee lettuce, balsamic vinegrette reduction & lots of cracked pepper. Simple ingredients, simple presentation, rustic Italian foods just the way I would make them at home. The bread was warm, soft, crusty & served with a dish of olive oil & lemon. After the appetizers (Matt had a bowl of Pasta Fagioli) arrived, the Chef appeared at our tableside.

"You're our vegan! I'm Marc," he introduced himself & shook hands with both of us. He apologized that there wasn't much to offer tonight, but hoped I would like the aglio his cooks were preparing for me. "It's not much, but the next time you come in, call the day before & let me know you're coming. I'll make you something spectacular!"

Ooooh.... two great things here: 1) he wants to make something extra special for me and 2) he's confident enough in his skills tonight to know I'll come back a 2nd time. Yay. I already like this guy.

The Aglio arrived with plenty of chopped garlic, porcini mushrooms and fresh pasta (traditional "pasta" from Italy cannot use anything other than semolina flour & water, salt & oil, to be classified as "pasta" - did you know this?) cooked perfectly al dente!

We did not stick around for dessert - we had big plans for gourmet chocolate at Caesar's Palace.

Mezzo is located just a few miles from our home so we are certain to patronize them again! The prices were spectacular: entrees were $12 each, appetizers under $10. We walked out of there for $54, but left a hefty tip to show our appreciation to our attentive waiter, host & chef.

If you're coming to Vegas, please rent a car & take a trip up to Mezzo Bistro Italiano. And of course, let me know you're coming so I can go with you!!!!

MEZZO BISTRO ITALIANO:

Mezzo Bistro Italiano
4275 N. Rancho Rd.
Las Vegas NV
702.944.8880
Las Vegas Review Journal

Las Vegas Vacation Deals

Buca di Beppo

The Vegas Vegan is now galavanting around town searching for great Vegan cuisine right here in Las Vegas - home of the $4.99 Prime Rib buffet. Every where you look there are billboards with giant slabs of meat: come eat here. Yummy greasy meat under heat lamps just for you. What's a Vegan to do? Well, there are alternatives and I'm finding them! Dining out for a Vegan isn't scary in Vegas. In fact, it can be quite fun!

To begin this blog, I am starting off with what on the surface appears to be one of the most difficult dining experiences to crack: Family Style Italian Dining. I don't order salads when I go out to eat, and I don't consider eating a salad a "vegan alternative" so I refuse to be told when I go out to eat that the only option is a salad! When that happens, the chef can count on never seeing me again.

We begin with last night's dining experience at "Buca di Beppo". It is a family style restaurant, which means LARGE portions that everyone can share. We dined with college friends who have recently given up red meat & pork, so this made the experience much friendlier. When my friend called to make our reservation she told the manager that there were vegetarians and vegans in the party of 4 adults & 3 kids and he quickly rattled off several items that would be appropriate. As usual, there's always less vegan food than vegetarian, but it's not like I'm a slob & need to eat 5 different things at dinner to feel satisfied. Give me one good choice & I'm happy!

So we came armed with the knowledge that we would find at least 2 items to eat last night. Our friends started off my by ordering Bruschetta for the table. After a quick check in with the waitress to reassure me that there was no cheese in the Brushetta topping, we devoured the pizza sized portion. Mmm.... Very tasty. Not to garlicky. Not too onion-y.

Time to order meals. Our friends ordered a cheese pizza and spaghetti. Matt & I ordered: "PENNE CAMPOFIORE A fresh vegetarian pasta featuring zucchini, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, escarole, garlic and Romano cheese in a light vegetable broth."

It was quite tasty, but a little heavy on the garlic. Thankfully the waitress & subsequently the chef listened to our request for no cheese. For my taste, there were too many sun-dried tomatoes & not enough artichoke or escarole. A little heavy on the garlic and broth & too light on the veggies! But it was good. We packed up the leftovers to bring home.

Andrew ordered the Pan Fried Fresh Mozzarella. I have to admit this was always my favorite appetizer at any Italian restaurant. But last night, looking at those greasy cheese cakes just turned my stomach. Matt kept saying, "I wish I could have had one," but for the first time it looked unappealing. I haven't eaten anything that greasy in ages and just the thought of it had me regretting leaving the rolaids at home.

In all, dining at Buca wasn't difficult. It wasn't as easy as some other places we have been, though. We were limited to one appetizer & one entree, although it would have been possible to just get a plate of spaghetti w/o meatballs. To which I say "If I can make it at home then there's no reason for me to spend money at a restaurant for it!"

Buca will be pretty low on our list of frequented restaurants but at least we know we can do it. There is another great little Italian cafe right around the corner from our house which has many more options & a smaller kitchen. They have whipped me up some tasty treats in the past a la carte!



Buca di Beppo has 2 locations in Las Vegas:

Buca di Beppo Las Vegas — Paradise
412 East Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89169
702.866.2867

Buca di Beppo Summerlin
7690 West Lake Mead Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89128
702.363.6524

Las Vegas Vacation Deals