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Carla Pellegrino, a Top Chef contestant, is joining Limoncello Fresh Italian Kitchen, located at 8245 West Sahara Avenue, as partner and chef. The restaurant, helmed by husband and wife restaurateurs, Giuseppe and Jenny Bavarese, opened in 2019. Located near Summerlin, the restaurant specializes in Italian cooking, like a stracci di mare pasta with mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, and scallops in a cognac sauce and pollo limoncello with lemon white wine. Pellegrino, born in Brazil and raised in Italy, has opened and led restaurants across the country, including Meatball Spot and Dough House in Las Vegas. She’s also behind the now-closed Bacio at the Tropicana, and Bratalian, the Henderson restaurant that closed in 2018.
New Restaurants Open in Chinatown
Chinatown reports a pair of debuts. Restauranteur Jenny Chai is readying to open Mama Chai in late January or early February. IX Skewer and Bar (pronounced like the Roman numeral 9) is now barbecuing skewers of sliced lamb, pork spare ribs, and chicken at 4266 Spring Mountain Road.
Bespoke Kitchen Introduces All-Day and Weekday Brunch
At 2600 West Sahara Avenue, the owner of Tomi Ramen has opened a new brunch restaurant. During the soft opening, the fast-casual restaurant is offering a limited menu of coffee drinks and brunch items like breakfast burritos and beef bulgogi sandwiches.
Chickie’s & Pete’s Gets a New Chef
Vladimir Chavez is taking over as the executive chef at Chickie’s & Pete’s, the sports bar at the Sahara Las Vegas. Chavez used to be the executive chef for Fleur French Bistro in Mandalay Bay, where he also had stints at Libertine Social and Aureole by Charlie Palmer.
Cathedrale Takes a Step Toward Opening
The Aria Resort and Casino is hiring more than 100 positions for Cathedrale. The resort is tight-lipped on what Cathedrale will entail, sharing only that the New York restaurant from Tao Group Hospitality plans to open on the Strip in early 2023.
Emmitt’s Is Still Not Open
As a reminder, former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith was supposed to open a massive restaurant and sports bar on the Las Vegas Strip last year. A spokesperson shared that Emmitt’s is still in the works, however, the project does not yet have an opening date.
