Max Jacobson Likes the Service Latitude at Cantina Laredo

"Cantina Laredo isn't too bad, either," say Vegas Seven's Max Jacobson about the new Mexican chain restaurant that recently opened in Tivoli Village.

He calls the Especialidades for Fiesta de la Parilla his "favorite dish in the house" with its shrimp, carnitas, quail, beef and chicken with onions and peppers. guacamole, sour cream and chopped tomatoes.

His table of three fought over the chile relleno. No one at the table remembered that the barbacoa in the Tacos de barbacoa means lamb, even though it was a served with brisket.

But Jacobson most appreciated the latitude given management. "I ordered the chile con queso—a bowl of melted, lifeless cheese—and the dish was magically removed from my check when I suggested—merely suggested—to the server that it wasn't what anyone was expecting."

Al Mancini at CityLife appreciated the Zen-like state of Suzuya Pastries and Crepes. "After you place your order, the chef will place a dollop of batter in the center of the round pan and slowly spiral it outward with a squeegee-looking device, smoothing it as she progresses. When the time is right, she'll gently lift it by hand to flip it over and cook the other side. The simple process is conducted so thoughtfully and carefully that by the time the perfect crepe is complete, you almost hate to soil it with ice cream, fruit, Nutella or chocolate sauce." [CL]

Erik Chudy at Vegas Burger Blog continued his search for the perfect burger at Rattlecan at the Venetian. He called the namesake Rattlecan burger, "Easily one of the better burgers I've had this year," giving it a 90 out of 100 rating. He also recommends special ordering the house-cut fries over the crinkle cut. "The fries were great, which came as a welcome surprise considering the fries upstairs at First really took away from what could have been a strong burger meal on my last visit." [VBB]

Heidi Knapp Rinella at the Las Vegas Review-Journal returns to her A grades after visiting Sabatino's Authentic N.Y. Pizzeria. She ordered the Wild White pizza, a dish with "homemade garlic ranch smothered with Buffalo chicken with mozzarella sticks." "The first slice was heaven, and I dug in eagerly. The second slice, not so much. Why? Well, this was one ranchy pizza, in terms of the proportion of ranch to cheese (and in some spots much more than in others). Not that there's anything wrong with that, but after a while, it got kind of overwhelming." She gave the food and service an A- and the atmosphere a B+ for an overall A-. [LVRJ]
Cantina Laredo [Photo: Chelsea McManus]