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Trattoria del Lupo at Mandalay Bay

By: The Lady of The Night Out

Why should you eat at Trattoria del Lupo?

Most of the fress to impress eateries in LVNV are pretty pricey, which means us workin’ folk don’t have the bread to enjoy their amazing offerings except on special occasions. So it’s time to howl with joy when a temple of haute cuisine assembles an astonishingly affordable prix fixe menu for the masses.

Who should eat at Trattoria del Lupo?

Discriminating Diners. Chef Wolf sent Chef Mark Ferguson to Italy for six weeks. He visited the landmark Italian restaurants and actually put on his chef whites and cooked with them. The result: he came home with an intimate knowledge of Italian cooking. He then spiced up the classics with his own style.
Families. I was surprised to discover Lupo has a children’s menu, complete with games and crayons. Chef Mark will make chicken fingers and cheeseburgers for the Kinder. As assistant GM Peter Varela explains, “When kids are happy, the parents become happy, too.”
Voyeurs. The “patio” seating area at Lupo matches the one at the Palm as the best people-watching spot with refrigerated air in LVNV. Even wedding processions trek past your table.
Buyers on a Budget. Wolfgang Puck restaurants are not known for their reasonable prices. But the Mamma Mia show and dinner package is the best bargain in the city. For $35 you get a three-course meal that would wow any snooty eating society. Every item I’ll be discussing in the next segment came from the dinner package.
Theater Lovers. You can eat at Lupo before or after the show. Mamma Mia is just “spittin’ distance,” as they say in Texas, from the theater. Too convenient.
Immigrant Italian enthusiasts. In our world, there are three types of Italian cuisine: Authentic, immigrant, and American. Trattoria serves immigrant Italian food. Chef Mark takes traditional dishes and adds local ingredients and American attitude.
Celebrants. If it’s your birthday, graduation, or wedding anniversary, call ahead. The dessert staff will write a congratulatory message in chocolate on the dessert plate.
Italian wine lovers. If you savor Brunellos, Barbarescos, and Barolos, you’ll love the wine list at Lupo. Eighty percent of the wines are Italian. The restaurant also serves Italian cream sodas.
Gelato and sorbetti lovers. Every flavor is made at the Mandalay.
Architecture aficionados. If you loved the interior of neighboring Aureole, you’ll be equally captivated by Lupo. The share the same architect: Adam Tihany.
Home chefs. Lupo has exhibition and dessert pizza stations and a glass-enclosed area where chefs make all the pastas fresh daily. Watch the professionals to borrow the technique!
Folks you think cuisine and casinos don’t mix. If you park in the parking garage, you don’t have to traipse through the clanging casino to reach the restaurant.

Who shouldn’t eat at Trattoria del Lupo?

Amorous diners who want an intimate tete-a tete. The tile floor and high ceilings make this a very noisy place. If you dine when rumjungle is rumbling, the foot-stomping techno music can be deafening. This is not the place to whisper sweet nothings in her ear.
Aficionados of authentic or American Italian cuisine. If you love the food at the Olive Garden or at the Italian section of casino buffets – what I label American Italian cuisine -- Chef Mark’s creativity will be too edgy for you. Ditto for those trying to recreate their great meals under a Tuscan sky. Panevino is your place.

Ok, so what’s the food like? I couldn’t believe cioppino was on the show menu. This sensational stew was swimming with shellfish; Lupo was generous with these expensive ingredients.

The mussels, clams, and prawns were still in their shells. You had to extract the meat in the Texas-sized prawns like a lobster tail. And that’s just what they tasted like. What was so remarkable was that each fish was cooked perfectly, which means they must have been steamed separately before joining the luscious, lovely, and intensely alcoholic broth. Too often the clams and mussels arrive as rubbery as a tire.

A phenomenally flakey chunk of John Dory also floated in the hyped up tomato broth. I wanted a whole plate of this perfectly prepared fish.

Equally exceptional was the spaghetti with meatballs. This down-home classic wasn’t on the opening menu, but the restaurant was deluged with requests. The home-made pasta looked a cascade of like thin white ribbons; their absolute freshness gives them a toothy pliability. The tomato sauce is more like a confit of al dente tomatoes.

The meatball sat in the center of this swirl of noodles, just like a bull’s eye. A mixture of beef, veal, and pork, its taste and texture were amazing. It was silky and spongy put it delivered an upper cut of flavor. Pow!

The spaghetti and meatballs demonstrated Chef Mark’s culinary prowess. He took a pedestrian dish and raised it to high art through pure simplicity.

The Tuscan bean soup came with a big surprise. A sea of white beans, still holding their shape and still chewy enjoyed waves of chicken broth dotted with flecks of fresh vegetables. In the center, like an island, sat a wedge of corstini bread, grilled to crouton crispness. The bread was covered with thick shavings of Reggiano, a cheese known for its sharp tongue. When the steaming soup arrived, the bread was hard as rock. Over time, it melted into the mix. You just lapped it up with your spoon.

As for the surprise: it was a flowering of fresh mint, which gave the earthy soup a sweet spot.

Another classic appetizer was the grilled brushcetta. Chef Mark’s version looked to like a salad pizza. The grilled ciabatta bread, beautifully branded by the grill, was covered with baby arugula and marinated tomatoes

For salad lovers, Lupo offers a wild mix of field greens bathed in an orange vinaigrette. A fat calamata olive glistened with the citric dressing; it looked like a sunbather slathered at the beach. Translucent strands of red onion were strong enough to keep unwanted guests away. Shavings of parmesan cheese added a razor sharpness.

Dessert in the desert: The gelato trio was a trip. The chocolate was a good balance between sweet and bitter. The vanilla was packed with vanilla bean; the flavor hit you over the head with a hammer. The cinnamon gelato tasted like a red hot. The sharp flavor was a jolt since the texture was so velvety.

The tiramisu also had a surprise. The crown of the four layer cake were crunchy biscotti boulders. The tiramisu itself had silky sections of marscapone cheese, an Italian cream cheese, wedged between those rum-soaked ladyfingers. A chocolate flagpole was delicious!

The panna cotta was chillingly refreshing. The silky egg custard was topped with ribbons of chocolate and fresh raspberry coulis. It had a terrific hard pack cookie crust. You could hear your jaw workin’!

History: Wolfgang Puck grew up in Austria. He began his formal kitchen training at 14 working with his Mama, a hotel chef. After working at Maxim’s in Paris, Wolfgang moved to the U.S. at 24. He became a partner at LA’s Ma Maison before opening Spago. The LVNV Spago opened in 1992. Lupo opened its doors in 1999.

Favorite waiter: Melvin!

The last word: Lupo is leaving its footprint on LVNV dining serving intelligent immigrant Italian cuisine. I wolved down every bite. This is your new home for spaghetti and meatballs. And if you crave crustaceans, dive into the best cioppino in town.

Where is it? Trattoria del Lupo is located at Mandalay Bay across from Red Square and rumjungle. 3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South. The phone is 702.740.5522.

By: The Culinary Curmudgeon Lady of the Night Out

Wedding season is coming up and I can’t wait! The problem is, you have to show up with a present. If you sit on the patio at Trattoria del Lupo, you can see the best part of the wedding -- the bride prancing down the aisle – without the obligation of a gift. Well, she’s really just rushing down the corridor to the casino’s chapel, but she’s all decked out, just the same. You can see half a dozen on a busy Saturday night.

However, if you’re a few steps back on the matrimonial spectrum, don’t land at Lupo if you have an engagement ring in your pocket (Ice, ice baby!). If you decide to dine late, the throbbing music from rumjungle may destroy the mood and will drown out your query. However, if you phone ahead, Chef Mark will write “Will you marry me?” in chocolate on the dessert plate. Love those extra touches.

Of course, if you sign a liability waiver, he will also scribble: “I want a divorce” on the tiramisu.

In addition to eating, another favorite pastime of mine is wrestling. And you get plenty of that if you order the cioppino. All the mollusks are still hiding in their protective shells, so you have to get ‘em in a half nelson to pry out the sweet meat. I actually savor the shellfish struggle, because it tests my digital dexterity. However, I would really like a bib to catch the broth’s back draft. Trust me. No one will mistake your elegant Italian eatery for the Red Lobster.

The Tuscan bean soup was delicious (although it could have used more broth.) Are those the beans Hannibal Lector favored with liver and a good Chianti? I guess that makes Lupo the best place for dinner and movie when the new prequel arrives in the Cineplex.

If you are a lone wolf who doesn’t travel in packs, Lupo is a good place to dine. The curvy bar seats 25 for drinks or dinner. There’s always someone interesting to talk to!

As the king of double entendres, I loved this restaurant’s play on words. Owner Wolf christens his restaurant Lupo, which means wolf in Italian. Ha! Ha! Ha! I was sorry Little Red Riding Hood wasn’t on the menu. How about chicken breasts pomo doro served in a puff pastry? That sounds like a signature dish to me.

Aired 16 May 2003

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