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Marc Vetri, the James Beard Foundation winner for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2005, returns to the Las Vegas dining scene with a popup restaurant opening at Red Rock Resort. The chef behind Vetri Cucina at the Palms takes over Terra Rossa at the resort starting July 10, with an option to become a permanent fixture at the resort.
The Philadelphia-based chef plans to open Osteria Fiorella, an outpost of his Philadelphia pasta bar Fiorella that opened in the city’s Italian Market in February. That restaurant gets its name from the former sausage company where the restaurant now sits. Vetri started Fiorella as a popup on the second floor of his original Vetri Cucina with a tight menu of 15 dishes served at a bar fashioned from the refurbished butcher’s counter. Diners in Philly generally get in and out in 30 minutes.
Not so in Vegas. Vetri’s interpretation of the restaurant is a bit different, retaining the more casual menu but expanding it to include antipasti, salads, pizzas cooked in a wood-burning oven, and meats and fish dishes cooked in the restaurant’s Josper charcoal oven in addition to pastas made daily. Some of the teased dishes include rigatoni with Fiorella sausage ragu and Locatelli cheese, ricotta gnocchi with brown butter and crispy leeks, spaghetti with Bianco di Napoli tomatoes, and Sal’s famous meatballs with bruschetta and ricotta, an ode to Vetri’s father Sal. Other menu highlights include a veal chop Milanese and fried squid with agrodolce.
Other touches Vetri imports from the Philly version include paper placements adorned with vintage family photos. And while the Philly version only offers 15 seats, in Vegas it takes over the entire Terra Rossa space, patio included.
The restaurant plans to be open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m.
Vetri Cucina at the Palms remains closed until the resort west of the Strip on Flamingo Road reopens.
Terra Rossa returned to the Summerlin resort last August with a roster of family-style menu options and classic staples for dinner.
• Marc Vetri’s Fiorella Makes Its Pasta-Filled Debut in Bella Vista [EPHI]
• All Coverage of Vetri Cucina [ELV]
