Carmine’s Las Vegas – Simply All Italian

There is certainly no shortage of restaurants in Las Vegas, but when it comes to dining out, you want more than great food, you want an experience. Carmine’s inside of the Forum Shops at Caesars Hotel & Casino gives you that authentic Italian dining experience with food to match.

If you have ever watched any of the Godfather trilogy or Goodfellas or any similar movie and you were taken away as much by the food as the movies themselves, Carmine’s was made for you. Restaurateur Artie Cutler crafted Carmine’s in Manhattan in 1990 wanting to bring an Italian American wedding feast experience to his restaurant with the atmosphere and giant plates of authentic Italian food.

When you walk into Carmine’s you immediately are pulled in by the beautiful restaurant and the Italian feel as well the lively setting that is full of people, food and everyone having a great time. The plates of food really must be experienced and to say this restaurant should be experienced with a group of family or friends is an understatement. You certainly want to try and of the homemade Italian dishes, but either bring a large appetite or plan for leftovers as these servings are made for many.

The centerpiece of nearly every dish has to be the homemade sauce, it is so mesmerizing you could simply eat it with a spoon. Very thick and filled with flavors that bring together garlic, a little sweet and a hint of spice that makes this an amazingly rich sauce. What looks to be an endless lineup of appetizers truly begins and ends wtih the fried calamari, which also makes for a a perfect pairing with the wonderful Carmine’s red sauce. The appetizers are equally enourmous as the rest of the menu and by all means, equally good and the mile-high plate of calamari will wow you in size and taste. Fresh calamari that has a nice light breading that gives it a nice crispy texture while allowing the tender calamari to shine through. A few other appetizers that should be experienced include: spicy scarpariello wings, fried zucchini, baked clams and the hot or cold antipasto.

The menu itself can be a bit overwhelming as there are countless options and a few dishes you might not know, such as rigatoni country style. This dish brings together sausage, prosciutto, broccoli, Romano cheese and cannellini beans. Carmine’s does an amazing chicken parmigiana, with a thinly sliced chicken breast and again with flavorful, yet light breading and then it is buried under mozzarella cheese and then topped off with their flavorful red sauce. This is a dish that is everything you would want from an Italian restaurant. The classics continue with Carmine’s as you can’t go wrong with their lasagna, manicotti or ravioli. If you love pasta, every dish on the menu will make you happy.

If you have ever wanted to truly feel like you are in Italy or part of an Italian family even if your DNA says otherwise, there are few places that can give you that feeling like Carmine’s. From start to finish, you are going to have a meal to remember and an experience that will cause you and hopefully your large group to lose track of time and will lead you to try and take on one of their massive desserts to finish off a perfect dining experience.

For more information, visit: Carmine’s