8615
West Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89117
Tel:
702.233.2859
Sunday
-Thursday
4:00 PM - 11 PM
Friday
- Saturday
4:00 PM - Midnight
Reservations:
Suggested though walk-ins welcome.
Major
Credit Cards accepted.
Onsite
parking available.
Available
for events.
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Under
new management
Lucio
Ristorante improves upon the contentiously, if minmally
imperfect Jazzed Cafe.
BY AL MANCINI
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Gnocchi
Tri-Colore:
Tomato
and basil, green pesto and alfredo top Lucio's homemade
delight.
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As
I've mentioned in the past, I love getting hate mail. The
fact this tiny column occasionally manages to inspire unbridled
vitriol among restaurateurs whose establishments are featured
here never ceases to amaze me.
But
the really hysterical thing about the angry letters I occasionally
receive is they often come in response to predominantly positive
reviews. Nonetheless, plenty of chefs and restaurant owners
still feel the need to correct the one negative comment I
make in the middle of an otherwise good review. And after
writing this column for more than three years, one letter
writer stands head and shoulders above the rest: the former
owner of the Jazzed Cafe on West Sahara.
I'm
not going to get into details of what I liked and didn't like
about Jazzed all over again. Suffice it to say, I thought
it was a pretty good restaurant, and enjoyed almost everything
I ate there. I did have one bad dish, and was put off by some
unclear wording on the menu, which bought me some of the longest
and most patronizing e-mails I've ever received. For a while,
I was considering framing one of them and hanging it on the
wall of my home office.
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I
bring up Jazzed because the place was sold last year, and is
now operating under the name Lucio Ristorante. It's got a new
look, a new chef and a revamped menu and a new attitude -- with
nearly everything as good, or better, than its predecessor.
The
first thing fans of Jazzed will note is that the new owner,
Lucio Picozzi, has opened the place up a bit, eliminating some
of the cozy nooks in favor of a single open space. The room
still retains a comfortable, inviting feel, however, thanks
to a warm color scheme and some plush modern furniture.
The
next change of note is the menu, which is considerably smaller
than the one offered at Jazzed. But it still retains the Italian
flavor of its predecessor, thanks to Roman-trained chef Giovani
Tufaro. There are seven appetizers, including two types of bruschetta
($5.95 and $6.95), a pair of calamari dishes ($8,95 each) and
shrimp sauteed in garlic and white wine ($9.95). The half dozen
salads range from a simple insalata mista ($5.95) to the insalata
di pere, which features pears and oranges on a bed of arugula
with candied walnuts, crumbled bleu cheese and a warm brown
sugar, raspberry balsamic vinaigrette ($9.50). Among the 14
pasta dishes you'll find most of the classics, like angel hair
in pomodoro sauce $9.95), cannelloni in meat sauce ($13.95)
and lobster ravioli ($17.95). And the 11 main courses include
pork loin pan-seared with capers shallots, mushrooms and white
wine ($16.50), grilled salmon topped with olive oil, basil and
lemon sauce ($17.95) and grilled New Zealand lamb marinated
with olive oil, rosemary and lemon ($23.95). Lucio has even
retained an abbreviated version of Jazzed's extensive risotto
selections. They have six varieties of the rice dish, including
truffle ($16.95), scampi ($17.95) and wild mushroom ($16.95).
When
my wife and I visited Lucio for a late dinner on a weeknight,
the place was pretty empty, and the owner waited on us himself.
He's an extremely friendly guy who enjoys talking about food.
At one point, after I'd placed my order, I commented that I
was disappointed they didn't offer carbonara, and he assured
me that the chef would be happy to make it for me on my next
visit.
For
our appetizers, we had an order of four-cheese bruschetta ($6.95)
and a caprese salad ($8.95), both of which were good, if unexceptional.
My wife had an order of spaghetti and homemade meatballs in
a delicious red sauce ($11.95) for her entree. And for my main
course, I had an absolutely amazing order of cioppino ($20.95)
that featured a large selection of scallops, salmon, calamari,
mussels and shrimp in a wonderfully spiced broth.
The
old Jazzed Cafe had a pretty loyal following on the west side
of town, and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who
miss it. Lucio is a very different restaurant, but it's one
worth trying if you're in the neighborhood and looking for good
Italian food. They even have live music on the weekends, although
it's an Italian crooner instead of a jazz trio. The only thing
that remains to be seen is how the owner responds to critics.
If it's with anything less than a three-page missive, I'm happy
with the change.
Lucio
Ristorante
8615 W. Sahara Ave.
233-2859
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