POSTRIO
at the Venetian, in St. Mark's Square.
702-796-1110.
Definitely one of the best, if not the best, restaurants of its kind on the
strip. You have your choice here - fine dining alfresco in the cafe area in St.
Mark's Square (it's not really alfresco, it's a big room with a sky painted on
the ceiling and a canal at one end) or finer dining 'inside' in the
red-saturated atmosphere of the main dining room. The selections are different
in the two dining areas, with a different menu daily, but both present the same
superior food and dining experience. Try as you might, it's hard to find fault
with anything at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, and Postrio lives up to that
expectation.
The dining room decor is one of low lights and deep reds. Ingenious art glass
pieces hang from the walls and the ceiling and rise from the built-in woodwork.
You'll note that there's no salt or pepper on the table. You won't need it. Of
course if you must eat bland food, you're in the wrong place. The waiters know
the details of the dishes and are enthusiastic and personable.
My impression is that each dish is based on three or four strong, distinct
flavors. Look at, for example, the crisp calamari with spicy tomato sauce and
balsamic glaze; the greens with gorgonzola and pine nuts; mesquite grilled rib
eye steak with parmesan potatoes and portobello mushrooms; the mesquite rib eye
with parmesan potatoes and portobello mushrooms; the salmon "picatta"
with mushroom salad and lemon-caper sauce. We started out with a salad of baby
beets with maytag blue cheese, walnuts, and citrus vinaigrette, and the roasted
pumpkin soup with curried gulf shrimp. Salad dressing is a dead giveaway as to
the quality of a restaurant, and here the salad dressing was just right - not
bland, not too tart. The seasoning of the pumpkin soup likewise showed skill in
preparing a dish that a lesser kitchen staff would blow.
Our entree was the salmon en papillote with caramelized fennel and shallot-herb
butter. Caramelized fennel is not as exciting as it sounds, but the fish cooked
in the parchment with the various veggies was moist and flavorful. We had also
a risotto with wild mushrooms, richly flavored and excellent for a dish that
can be awful if not done right, and which again demonstrated that condiments
such as salt and pepper were just not needed on the table.
Expect a dessert assortment of equally imaginative dishes, for instance the
carmelized banana cream pie with rum walnut compote, or the warm chocolate tart
with crumbled toffee ice cream, all served with a different freeform flag of
chocolate rising from the center.
The bar is extensive on all fronts. The cheap wine is $8 a glass and is very
nice. For two dinners we spent about $110. You can get by for less in the cafe,
where the menu also includes pizzas that sound as intriguing as the other
entrees. If you want to indulge yourself, I recommend this restaurant. If you
really want to butter someone up, that goes double.
One rather unfortunate thing, the manager, Matt, does not return telephone
calls. Way too busy I think.
|