Scott Conant, I Love You. Scarpetta.

I Love Scott Conant. I mean I REALLY love him. If I had #MCM one person and declare it to the world it would be Scott Conant. He is the man. I look up to how much he gets food. When it comes to celebrity chefs I’ve always appreciated his take on Italian food down the simple naming of his restaurants. Scarpetta. If you were to translate this it technically means to “do a little shoe.” I know, it makes no sense right? Wrong! Italian has a funny way of translating things into an almost to literal sense especially when converting to English. What this means is the simple act of cleaning your plate. You know when you have left over sauce or ju left on the plate that’s too good to wash away? And you take a piece of bread and sop it up until it’s all gone? That’s scarpetta. It probably the most sophisticated way of saying you joined the Empty Plate Club.

Katie and I have officially been together for 4 years now. She surprised me completely by telling me we’d be going out to another one of my favorite Las Vegas restaurants Lola’s. Turns out, there isn’t a Lola’s on the strip as she’s lead me to believe. We ended up at the Cosmo and knew it was on. This was like the Catalina Wine Mixer of all anniversary dinners. This has been on my bucket list for so long. I was stoked. I’m actually a little surprised she let me go considering my man crush for the owner but she set those feelings aside and it was on.

Now, anniversary dinners are a little different from regular dinners for one main reason; you #TreatYoSelf. Order whatever the hell you want because it only comes once a year. And #TreatYoSelf we did.

I ordered a San Remo to start. I’m a huge whiskey fan so this was right up my alley. It’s a drink that even Don Draper would be proud to order. A san Remo is pretty simple, it’s made with makers mark, carpano antica, st. Germaine, campari, orange & lime. Smooth whiskey taste blended with citrus a sweet mixers. Love, love, love. Plus it makes you feel like a boss drinking it.

We both knew before we even were sat what we wanted for the entre but hadn’t even considered an appetizer. Once the server listed them off Katie cut him off mid way and ordered the Buratta Salad, and I’m glad she did. Heirloom baby beets of all different colors with pomegranate and pepita brittle. So good, with hat earthy sweet taste of the beets and the smooth cream buratta cheese, the pomegranate gave it another layer f sweet with a crunch. My only complaint on the dish was salt. I could’ve used just a sprinkle of sea or kosher salt to give it that extra layer of flavor.

So, at an event earlier this year I was able to sample some of the food at Scarpetta. One of these dishes was their Foie and duck filled Ravioli. I loved it, it was perfection however, when you go somewhere, you want to try something new and different. We saw it the second we got there waiting for our table. We always try to order something different so we can sample but it was too good to resist. We both ordered the Pici and told the waiter not to judge because we’re never this boring. He assured us he wouldn’t judge and there was nothing boring about the dish. While we waited they dropped of the break. A dish of Sour Dough, Stromboli and Focaccia with side of Spiced olive oil, eggplant spread and A butter Mascarpone which should’ve came with a straw it was so good.

When our dish arrived I felt like crying like the first time you meet your nee worn child. Nothing, in that moment could be more perfect. The Pici is comprised of lobster, tarragon, almond & chili pesto. Would you like me to repeat that or are you looking for something to mop up your drool? The managed to flavor the fresh noodles with Tarragon. But wait, there snore. Then they tossed it with a generous portion of Lobster meat. Added slivered and browned almonds in a Chili Pesto. There was a dash of cream added at the end, which made it even more decedent. It was the perfect noodle dish. The chili Pesto was a first for me but I couldn’t get enough of it. The noodles being made in house couldn’t have been any fresher. The Lobster…well, its Lobster lets be honest, its like sex, even when its bad its still pretty good. I was so white girl I couldn’t even.

Side note: I normally hate noodles. I know, I know, don’t tell my Sicilian Grandma, I’d be taken out of the will without second thoughts. I feel like a noodle is a noodle. You can twist it, flatten it, roll it, name it Shaniqua, bake it, sauce it, do whatever and its always going to be a noodle. But when its fresh, its more than that and can completely change your mind.

I left with a smile on my face, belly and heart. I couldn’t have asked for a better meal. My admiration for Chef Conant has only grown through this gastric experience at his restaraunt. Do you really need my recommendation? Just go there. Thank me later. Now drool at the pictures of greatness.