I recently was invited for a dinner here close to New Years. I have been to the NYC location but was only a party of two. I really liked the veal parm and meatballs but felt some of the other dishes were just average and a bit pricey. What are “the dishes” here to order. I am eyeing the beef ribs but anything else that I need to order. I am open to all types of food.
Apps?
Pastas?
Mains?
Desserts?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
I’m dying to hear your report.
Big fan of NYC Carbone, so I’m curious what the desert outpost will be like.
Any must order dishes?
I didn’t have the spicy rigatoni in NYC so is that a mandatory order?
The vodka rigatoni is good, not sure it’s a must order. But it is quite good.
The cypress and Caesar salads are awesome. In fact, I often do a solo lunch with just the Caesar. For that matter the zuppa di pesce is also fantastic, one of the briniest and most umami-laden versions I’ve had.
Avoid the veal. Tough and vapid both times I’ve tried it. Lamb chops are a better bet.
All that said, best to go with a sizable group, order up, and then split everything family-style. I find most of the dishes (regardless of whether they’re dinosaur-sized like the veal parm) to be too rich and sometime unctuous to be enjoyed all by oneself. In moderated doses they are fine, and sometimes really great.
Think of it like Italian dim sum, but without the kitchen prep of actually making each dish miniaturized.
How was NYE in Vegas Baby?
Did you hit up Secret Pizza in the Cosmo?
LOS?
I’m still here and it is great so far!!
Eating at Tableau right now, one of my favorite breakfasts in town.
Sweeetttt…
Have you eaten at the Oyster Bar at Palace Station?
It is very very good…
Hit it up off hours…open 24/7 counter…da bomb!
Nobu at Caesar’s is excellent at sushi bar…
Have fun and winner winner chicken dinner!
So my verdict is: same quality as the NYC location but prices are quite higher (as expected).
I was lukewarm about the NYC location and that is the same with this location. I ordered some of my favorites including the veal parm ($65 yikes) and the meatballs, both were great and of the same quality. Sorry I forgot to take pics of those.
To start: we got the same breads, pickled cauliflower and salami. I made a salami sand with the garlic bread and it was great. The salami is fantastic, slightly spicy and warmed for a soft bite.
Sorry ate some before stuffing my face. 
It looked better beforehand.
We then ordered 2 Caesar salads since the Captain rec’d the size was good for 2 people. This was fantastic, slightly spicy, blast of garlic and a tinge of salt and brine from the anchovy. The croutons were also great, a nice crunch on the outside but chewy middle gave great textures to the crunchy romaine. Highly recommend if you love garlic. I also ate the crouton with a piece of salami which was awesome. Couldn’t help myself.
Also came the meatballs which I totally forgot to take a picture of. As good as I remembered. Soft and flavorful. Not on the menu but a must orde IMO.
Then we ordered the Zuppa di Pesce upon @ipsedixit rec and it did not disappoint. This and the Caesar were the highlights of the dinner. Great briny tomato broth with perfectly cooked seafood. Lobster was soft. Bivalves all tender. The grilled bread used for dipping provided a nice bitterness. My favorite part was dunking the bread in the broth as well as just drinking the broth straight from the bowl. Highly recommend. I would actually recommend getting a bowl just for oneself. No need to share.
Then came what I was waiting for. Veal parm. Great rendition although very pricey. My favorite part is the rib they give you to gnaw on. I recommend going full beast mode on it while using you knife to fend off the other diners for a taste. No pics again because I forgot.
Our Captain then suggested we have the cherry pepper ribs and the spicy rigatoni together, so we did.
I had not tried the ever popular spicy rigatoni before and neither did anyone in our party. The pasta was cooked al dente and the texture was a slight chew. But I found it to be just okay, actually, rather pedestrian. It was good something I could make at home and not be $27. It was a tiny portion I might add. Here is a half order since we ordered two. Pasta about the size of a small salad plate just for reference. Perhaps this location is just smaller?
Cherry pepper ribs were just that. Ribs with cherry peppers. Serious mediocrity alert. While they were gigantic, not something I would order again. Slightly undercooked too and was very difficult to eat with fork and knife. I picked it up and still hard to eat. The cherry peppers were just that and added sweetness and that is about it. The kale underneath tasted like Italian dressing in a mediocre way.
I asked the server what his favorite desserts were and he replied adamantly the lemon cheesecake and the carrot cake. So we ordered one of each.
Carrot cake was disappointing. The icing to cake ratio is just way off or the icing just needs to be less sweet. I started to slide the icing to the side and it was better but still just average tasting. Our party did not finish it. We did however enjoy the ginger ice cream and it was gone. Too bad the ice cream was paired with such a cloyingly sweet icing.
The lemon cheesecake was good. Almost like a lemon tart and cheesecake in one. The crust was quite hard and difficult the cut through with a fork but added a nice crunch when eaten. The filling was smooth and luscious in your mouth and the zip of lemon custard was refreshing. I would order this again. And the slice is quite large, perfect for 2-3 people to share.
Overall I would say I am still lukewarm with Carbone. Some hits and some misses. But the price at this Vegas location is significantly higher than the NYC outlet. One other thing to note, we were not served limoncello like the NYC location, not that I wanted it but still.
The Caesar looks perfectly dressed and delicious…
Ipse rec of the Zuppa di Pesce looks divine as well.
Pedestrian on the desserts…
idk what most people eat for cheesecake, but when I had Carbone’s lemon cheesecake in NYC it was easily the best cheesecake I’d ever had. I bought a whole one for $100 the next day to fly back to LA (took a bit of convincing them to sell to me as well, since they usually do not).
Either it sucks out West, or else I need to figure out where to get better fucking cheesecake…
Those two I would go back for. Caesar is a flavor bomb but not one flavor overpowered the next. A nice harsh garlic blast yet you could still taste the other ingredients. One of the better Caesar salads I have had for sure.
For a solo lunch, I am more than satisfied with just a Ceasar salad, and their bread basket.
Make it a late lunch, and get there a bit before 2 p.m., and you can linger over your meal with a Rusty Nail (or two or three), a big plate of Cesar salad, and the lovely bread (esp. the tomato). Then just call it a day, and go home (or back to your hotel) for a long nap.
If you are ever in NYC again, definitely hit up Babbo for their cheesecake.
I wonder if Vegas will open for lunch?
I could definitely see myself grabbing a salad and drinks there. Then stagger across the hallway to Bardot for some fries, then a 100 ft walk to the elevators to your room for nap time. haha The hardest part will be remembering your room number.
@A5KOBE, that’s what I love about Las Vegas- the relative ease of getting around. I go every couple of months and it’s such a treat to take an elevator down from your room and have so many choices.
Totally agree. And Cosmo is getting Eggslut…but we don’t like their rooms so we don’t stay there. Tableau at the Wynn is literally right down the elevator. 
I’m a Bellagio guy myself. Prime and Le Cirque, two of my favs.
Love the Wynn rooms and used to always stay there but they don’t take dogs and the Trump does and they always upgrade us to one bdr suite, high floor strip view but no casino and really no food options like the Wynn.
Get the Wynn red card for deals…
So much fun to party at the roulette wheel, eat, drink, nap…repeat!
Miss the Wynn!
I really miss Alex and Stratta. 2 top spots there.
Alex was hands down the best restaurant in Vegas, Evah!
