Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 8:23 a.m.
Walking through Fiamma Trattoria, the new Italian restaurant at MGM Grand, the week before it opened was a revelation.
Except for the cheerful fireplace (always ablaze) and the private screening/party room, Fiamma is a complete transformation from olio!, the previous Italian restaurant at MGM. It is smashing.
This is the first Las Vegas venture for entrepreneur Stephen Hanson, founder of the New York-based B.R. Guest restaurant group, which includes 11 of New York's more popular and distinctive dining spots.
Fiamma Trattoria brings to the MGM table many of the signature dishes that have brought such acclaim to the original. Corporate Executive Chef/partner Michael White and Executive Chef Anthony Amoroso of the new Fiamma Trattoria have created a menu that is a distinctively new take on regional Italian cookery. It is fresh and appealing and is more casual than its New York sister, yet it is every bit as hip and refined.
This week, two days after the kitchen was operative, I sampled a good portion of the menu. In the kitchen with White and Amoroso were a host of B.R. Guest's top kitchen gurus. They would make certain that the opening was up to the standards of all of Hanson's restaurants. At the same time they would be mentoring the new team players. This exceptional team spirit is key to what Hanson is all about.
So is the food. One portion of the carte is devoted to pasta. As is everything else at Fiamma, the pasta is exceptional. White developed his passion for "the simplicity and freshness of indigenous Italian ingredients" during stints in the kitchens of Italy's finest restaurants. His roots may be in Beloit, Wis., but his admiration for all things Italian (including his wife, Giovanna) is boundless.
White and Amorosa's pastas are sublime. All of the pastas (there are many) are made in the huge pasta machine imported from Italy. Every shape from fusilli to fresh-cut chittara spaghetti is made here. I'd be hard put to name a favorite, especially since adjustments of seasonings and little nuances of flavors were being considered as the chefs and staff fine-tuned each offering. The final menu will assuredly be slightly different than the one I have in front of me as I write this. It is one of the most endearing things about Fiamma; they're constantly tweaking.
Among the not-to-be-missed specialties is a carpaccio of big-eye tuna with capers, Ligurian black olives, shaved fresh fennel and citrus oil; the 36-ounce Florentine-style, charcoal-grilled, dry-aged porterhouse for two that's a carnivore's dream; braised short rib-filled ravioli with a drizzle of meat and wine sauce; fusilli with tiny green peas, San Daniele prosciutto and aromatic truffle butter; and superb risotto.
My disdain for swordfish changed with one taste of Chef White's treatment of the usually overcooked fish. A sizeable chunk of swordfish is marinated in fine olive oil. This mellowing is followed by charcoal grilling. A flavorful sauce, "Puttanesca," with caper berries, roasted tomatoes and black olives, completes the magic.
Fiamma Pastry Chef Elizabeth Katz performs her own kind of magic. And like her colleagues, Katz was making changes even as her fabulous potions were making their mark on my waistline.
Among the key players at Fiamma Trattoria are many familiar faces. General Manager Clinton Clausen is a UNLV hotel school graduate and was previously with Aqua and NOBHILL; Master Sommelier Greg Harrington is B.R. Guest's Corporate Beverage Director and has served as wine director and partner for the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, as well as wine director for Emeril Lagasse's restaurants in Las Vegas and New Orleans.
Fiamma's official opening was Thursday; grand opening celebrations will take place Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. For reservations, call 891-3911.
Whole Foods market: As the old saw goes, "All good things come to those who wait." The arrival of the first Whole Foods market at 8855 W. Charleston Blvd. at Fort Apache Road was a long time coming, but now that they're here, there are bound to be other Las Vegas locations.
Employee training sessions were in high gear, and the shelves were being stocked when I visited a week before the opening. Cooking teams were filling the takeout display cases; bakers were turning our breads, pastries, pies and cookies; every food station was up and running and feeding employees and guests alike.
Whole Foods sandwiches are super. Try the warm turkey or lamb sandwich or the Whole Foods mac and cheese made with shells instead of elbow macaroni -- the four-cheese mix fills the shells and adds even more comfort to the homespun dish.
The meat and fish counters were still works in progress, although the crushed ice for the fish display was being carefully sculpted to embrace the denizens of the deep just as they do at the acclaimed fish stalls at Seattle's Pike's Peak Market (never buy fish that isn't on ice, my tip for the day).
I love the way the foods are displayed on the aisles. Walking the colorful aisles with their vast array of foods and staples was an eye-opener. Regular items and exotic ones are displayed side-by-side, a neat way for consumers to compare prices. From my observations the best prices are on the house brand, 365 Organic. According to my guide, Marketing Director Sandra Benton, the quality of the house-brand items is outstanding. Judging from everything I saw and tasted, I'm a believer.
No other market in town has such a vast selection of imported and domestic cheeses -- 300 kinds that change with the seasons. Whole cheeses are kept in a cheese "cave" before being broken down into consumer-size cuts. The goat cheese selection is wonderful, and there's an in-house cheese maven to answer any questions.
Grand-opening specials are listed in the store brochure, available at checkout stands and throughout the store. Whole Foods is a terrific addition to our community.
Short orders
Smith & Wollensky wine switch: Smith & Wollensky restaurants will make a significant change in their wine lists by switching to All-American selections. New York City will be the first to make the new list, available during the 33rd National Wine Week Sept. 22 through Sept. 26. All of the Smith & Wollensky steakhouses, including Las Vegas, will follow.
The new, exclusively American list proffers 650 of America's finest wines. This bold move will replace the company's current award-winning list. The premier American wine list will feature American classics and new varietals. An "Undiscovered Gems" section will include a collection of widely unknown, but exceptional, wines that are being offered to the public for the first time.
How to tip: Experts share their secrets on how to tip in a convenient small paperback from Fodor's FYI series. "How to Tip: In the U.S. and Around the World" (Fodor's, $9.95) spells out in plain English the who, when, where and how much of this sometimes perplexing must.
Included are real-life tipping stories from real-life travelers, an easy-to-use chart for figuring out how much, websites and other resources. An invaluable source that tells who to tip and who not to.
Oops: Las Vegas' wild geography got to me. Mon Ami Gabi is at Paris Las Vegas, not at The Venetian, as reported here on Friday past.
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