The
Boss called, she wanted me to review an Italian restaurant on the west side,
Bertolini's Authentic Trattoria. I love to eat Italian food, but I cook it at
home, not go out for it. This review is for people who can’t cook Italian
Bertolini's is part of the Morton’s Restaurant chain;
it’s a relatively new restaurant, ultra-modern, on west Sahara, near Fort
Apache. The place is very light and open, with big writing on the menu, so it
was easy to read.
Did you know that 70%
of people that eat out, eat at chain restaurants? Not that this is all bad, but
most food in chain restaurants today is for the masses. It seems everyone is
allergic or can’t eat some food item, wheat, MSG, sugar, salt you name it.
Restaurants are paranoid to serve anything that may affect anyone badly.
This paranoia doesn’t
work with many ethnic foods, Chinese, Mexican or Italian. It’s not new, many
years ago my mother would cook dinner for my buddies, and her Italian food was
too spicy for them. Later I would cook Italian for roommates; they didn’t like
the large pieces of peppers, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables I would use
in my sauce. They wanted vegetables cut to the size of peas.
I
dated a nurse, and the Jewish doctors she worked with would invite me to parties
just to
review the catering. It was such a long time since they had their
mother’s cooking; they forgot how real Jewish food tasted.
I’m telling you all
this because the Italian food at Bertolini's is good, but it’s not your
Godfather’s Italian food. For example, the “Traditional
Caesar Salad” was void of Anchovies. I asked the waiter about the missing
Anchovies, he said, “Not many people like them, but on request, we will bring
you some on the side.”
I’m getting carried
away with this critic stuff; so let me say some nice things about
Bertolini's.
Open kitchen,
friendly
staff, Frank Sinatra background music, good bread, fresh flowers, and
cozy booths with lighting
that makes women look pretty, or maybe just better. Could be the wine…..
If you can’t cook
Italian food and want a pleasant meal, try Bertolini's. Or as my Italian aunts
would say, “Mangiare, Mangiare.”
Bertolini's Authentic
Trattoria.
Address
9500 West Sahara Avenue
West Las Vegas, NV 89117
Phone: 702-869-1540
Fax: 702-869-1538
Hours
11am - 10pm Monday - Thursday
11am - 11pm Friday - Saturday
11am - 9pm Sunday
