Wood-fired pizzas invoke Italian inspiration

By Max Jacobson

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | 4:18 p.m.

Greetings, Vegas epicures.

Add Due Pizzeria, the newest concept from restaurant innovator Mark DiMartino, to the Vegas pizza sweepstakes. His creatively topped, wood-fired pizzas are amazing, and so are his chicken wings, which pay homage to Buffalo's legendary La Nova Pizzeria.

It's located in a new mall called the BlueGreen complex, between Paradise Rd. and the MGM Grand Casino, on the north side of Tropicana Avenue, at 384, Suite 110. It's called Due because the idea is that you get two cheese pizzas for the price of one, at $14. (But in reality, if you ask nicely, they'll sell you a single for $7.)

I'd come back for the pricier, and more creative, specialty pizzas, though. Each one is numbered in Italian, from one to ten, er, from uno to diece. Nove, made with basil pesto, fresh tomato sauce, roasted peppers and onions, is a favorite of mine, and all of them have chewy, yeasty crusts that you'll remember. The pizzeria has a website and phone number, which is 740-8400.

Meanwhile, uber-chef Kerry Simon has unveiled a new spring tasting menu at his Luxor restaurant, Cathouse, and it's terrific. This New Orleans themed replica of an old world bordello has a creative menu from all over the map, and Simon is constantly doing updates.

Two dishes you can always depend on are pepper confit chicken wings paired with a pineapple salad, and Pigs in a Blanket, cocktail franks in puff pastry, served with small squeeze bottles of mustard. Dungeness crab cake with spicy remoulade is killer, too.

Those of us who know this chef, though, know him to be a devotee of healthy cuisine, and now he is serving many things that he wouldn't be ashamed to be caught eating. Call 262-4228 to make a reservation.

Asian cuisine is spreading on the Strip, as well. The Imperial Palace plans to open the Korean restaurant Ginseng BBQ, making it the first Korean barbecue house that we know of in a Strip casino. The scheduled opening date is early June, so keep that grill warm.