Saturday, March 06, 2010

Post #406: Not quite Otto - Restaurant: Enoteca San Marco (Las Vegas)

Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich have quite a little empire going in Vegas. On the casual end, there is Enoteca San Marco, where the menu is similar to that of Otto, one of my favorite places for pizza and gelato in nyc. So it was with a bit more expectation than I normally harbor for a casual Vegas restaurant that I sat down for an early business dinner.

A salad started things off strong. Other than the messy appearance, the fresh greens and tangy dressing set off the salty prosciutto rather nicely.

The pizza is where things went off course. While this pie's view from top resembles its cousin from Otto (see here), we soon figured out that it definitely didn't come from the same mother. First, the outer crust was dense and hard like one of those breadsticks served inside plastic wrapping at second rate Italian joints. Second, the underside was one uniform colored plane with no bubble or char. Other than the fact that the cheese was high quality and the sauce was bright, the pie tasted like it was made of a dough board. Major disappointment.

The gelato saved the day though. I guess frozen concoctions travel much better. My olive oil gelatio tasted just like I remembered, faintly green, grassy, a little salty, and very creamy.

Enoteca San Marco
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South (Venetian shops)
Las Vegas, NV 89109-8941
(702) 266-9969

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