Category: Dining

In August, Yelp issued a list of the Best Sandwich Shops in All 50 States and Nevada’s was Panino, an Italian deli on S. Decatur and Sunset Road. We have to admit, the selection abashed us a bit, since we’d never even heard of it! Then again, we’re not familiar with every little mom-and-pop eatery in town and this is definitely one of those.

Of course, it went on our list. We got there a couple of months later and now we know why it earned the lofty distinction over such Vegas favorites as the Goodwich, Capriotti’s, All’Antico Vinaio, Earl of Sandwich, and plenty of others.

Panino (“Sandwich” in Italian) is a flagship of a small local fleet of eateries owned and operated by an Italian-Argentine and his wife; the Zucchiatis have lived in the U.S. for 20 years and in Las Vegas since 2017. Food-industry veterans, they know exactly what makes a great sandwich. First and foremost, the bread. Here, Italian hard rolls, French-style baguettes, and marble rye are baked fresh every morning and Panino smells like it, along with the distinct aroma of a great deli, which hits you when you enter. Second, the meats, cheeses, veggies, and sauces are top-notch and third, the bread and ingredients all work together in perfect harmony.

Panino being an Italian deli, we were compelled to try the classic meatball sub, the first item on the extensive menu. The meatballs came in thin slices and there was just enough marinara to make it tasty; it wasn’t sloppy or hard to eat. The toasted roll was crisp and crunchy on the outside, but not too hard, pillow soft on the inside, and held up well to the marinara. Exceptional chew! And here’s the clincher: Half the sandwich was plenty for us, but we kept eating till we finished. We couldn’t stop!

It was also the least expensive sandwich on the menu at $15.95. The most expensive is the Philly cheesesteak at $18.50. Even the pastrami melt, which comes with a pound of meat, plus cheese, peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and garlic sauce, is only $16.50. Other interesting combos include the chicken pesto, chimichurri-drenched steak, pulled pork, French dip, spicy Italian, and turkey, cranberry, and cream cheese.

Panino also serves soups and salads (Caesar, Cobb, Greek, antipasto, wedge) for $15-$19, pastas (ravioli, tortellini, gnocchi, lasagna) for $14-$16, 10 flavors of housemade gelato, plus cannolis, tiramisu, and Napoleans. Of course, stuffed to the gills from the sandwich, we’ll have to return to try any of the other offerings.

The storefront is casual, cluttered, and busy; while we ate at one of the seven tables, a steady stream of mostly working guys arrived for a hearty and affordable lunch.

They keep trying to sound the death knell for buffets, but new ones just keep showing up. The latest comes from Genting Palace at Resorts World. This isn’t a dedicated buffet—there’s full menu service in the restaurant—but the buffet is available daily except Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday it’s $50.88 and Friday through Sunday it’s $60.88, with several seafood selections added. Unlimited wine is optional for $35/$40.

The Venue

Located inside the massive Resorts World resort, Genting Palace is one of the many fine-dining restaurants that sit directly off the casino floor. It’s a high-end place with high-end service and all ages are welcome. We went with a 13-year-old birthday boy, who received a small cake with a candle, gratis.

The Food

We went on a Sunday for the more expensive seafood selection. Upon entering the restaurant, the buffet doesn’t look very impressive and most of the customers are ordering off the menu, so there aren’t any lines. Don’t be dissuaded. There aren’t dozens of selections, but there doesn’t need to be. And the absence of lines is a definite plus. The cold seafood line-up is a good one—medium shrimp, snow crab, raw oysters, scallops, and whelks. What are whelks? They’re sea snails (you can pick them out from the photo below). There’s also a big selection of fresh fruit. The steam trays are all labeled: braised pork brisket, shrimp fried rice, seafood noodle, mussels in black bean sauce, siu mai, minced beef soup. At the end of the serving line is the Peking duck. A server carves it for you and the crepes and accompaniments are there for you to prepare as you like. Among those accompaniments is the hoisin sauce that goes with the duck, but strangely, it’s the only sauce available. No chili sauce, not even soy, you have to request those from your server (there’s cocktail sauce for the seafood). It’s a buffet, go back as often as you want.

The Verdict

This is a good one. The skinny snow crab was somewhat disappointing, but the rest of the seafood made up for it. The Peking duck ain’t no Wing Lei at Wynn, but you also won’t find that at any other buffet that we know of. Our favorites from the trays were the mussels and the soup. Drinks aren’t included and a Monkey Picked Oolong Tea was $8 additional. It was a perfect outing for our birthday scenario and we’d have to call it a bargain, given the near-$90 price tags at the gourmet buffets. We didn’t do the wine add-on, but will when we go back to try the non-seafood version.

In the heart of the Arts District, which is in a lot of ways the heart of Las Vegas, sits Main Street Provisions, which opened in late 2020 and has gotten great reviews ever since, especially after the new chef, who earned his chops (so to speak) at steakhouses on the Strip, took over a couple of years ago.

The cuisine is described as “modern American comfort food reimagined” and we’d add “with an international flare.” A glance at the menu tells you you’ll be getting exactly that: seasonable, sustainable, quality-driven food: short rib with a Korean sauce and cauliflower rice; roast chicken with parsnip purée; Pacific cod poached in soy and ginger; English pea and mushroom risotto ($28-$36); and steaks (from $42 for the six-ounce filet to $92 for the 30-ounce porterhouse). Appetizers include filet tartare, Cajun barbecue shrimp, short rib dumpling, and roasted octopus ($16-$28). Four salads and five sides (all around $15) and five very rich desserts (also $15) round out the menu.

We liked the complimentary sparkling water that comes in a half-carafe, but weren’t big fans of the crab cake ($28). The steak tartare ($23) was different, with more ingredients than we usually see; it was tasty and came with four big leaves of butter lettuce, but we didn’t love it. The enoki mushrooms fried in tempura batter were recommendable.

However, when we got to the entrées, we hit paydirt. The filet in a Bordelaise sauce with very creamy mashed potatoes was absolutely heavenly. The short rib was anything but short and was one of the best we’ve ever had; the rice cauliflower was the perfect touch.

When we do Main Street Provisions again, which we will, we’ll get an entrée and a vegetable, saving $50 on the appetizers and going with the more expensive steaks.

Our bill, including the appetizers, entrées, $14 glass of wine, and ridiculously rich sticky toffee pudding, came to $202 with tax. Expensive, but well worth the somewhat exotic — for American comfort food — experience.