On the Strip: Carbone
Glamorous New York City transplant Carbone (Aria, 877.230.2742) has been hailed for bringing a fresh, showy vibe and stunning atmosphere to the traditional Italian dinner experience on the Strip. There’s a lot to be said about its flashy yet warm design, but it’s the pitch-perfect cuisine that stays on your mind days, weeks and months after you’ve visited.
It’s hard to top classics, but Carbone’s kitchen makes the right calls when it comes to adding new twists or staying faithful to favorite flavors. Piemontese-style beef carpaccio, shrimp scampi and baked clams are among the can’t-miss first courses, but save room for extra pasta up next, especially the simple but spicy rigatoni alla vodka, bright and briny linguini vongole and the bold and savory gemelli di rabe.
The main attractions might be lobster fra diavolo with just the right amount of heat or the tender, crispy, massive veal chop Parmesan. If Carbone is a throwback, it’s time to build your own time machine. –Brock Radke
Off the Strip: Served
Henderson’s sunshine-filled Served (1770 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway #100, 702.263.0136) has a flair for Hollandaise sauce. In fact, its luscious, lemony recipe—14 egg yolks to every pound of butter—is featured at the top of the brunch menu. With a dash of cayenne pepper, it makes its velvety way onto gorgeous Benedict varieties featuring gourmet toppings like king crab, beef ribeye and herb-marinated portobellos. The sweet kugel French toast with fruit compote also has fervent fans. For lunch or dinner, try summery innovations like chilled melon soup with cured duck breast, goat cheese, and pine nuts, or the towering pork belly pastrami burger. –Greg Thilmont
#trending: Best Friend
Korean Chicken wings
Los Angeles chef Roy Choi’s first Vegas venture Best Friend (Park MGM, 702.730.6770) has been a runaway hit since opening, and Choi continues to keep it that way. The latest offering is a pair of tasting menu options. The L.A. Love Story menu features dishes like Kogi tacos, the Chego pork belly bowl and A-frame O.G. ribs with a Medjool date cake for dessert, while the K-BBQ menu goes all out with a banchan sampler, Kalbi beef, spicy pork, garlic chicken, uni dynamite rice and strawberry cheesecake. –Brock Radke
