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

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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