La Strada great Italian
cusine
By, Alyssa
Exline
La Strada, located inside the Eldorado, proved to be a worthwhile splurge for me, offering a tranquil atmosphere to eat the extremely tasty northern Italian cuisine.
Arriving for our reservation at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, we entered the softly lit restaurant and were quickly escorted to our table in the center of one of the three rooms carefully decorated to capture the quiet ambiance of an Italian eatery.
Nestled among vine-covered
pillars and brilliantly painted murals, we sat at our table
as stars twinkled overhead giving us the impression of
dining beneath a foreign
sky. Photo by
Brad Horn
Italian opera played quietly in the background, as our young, friendly waiter, appropriately named Tony, took our drink orders and explained the day's specials. Among them was a highly recommended appetizer of ravioli dí aragosta ($9.50), a lobster filled ravioli in a cream sauce which sounded like a good pick for any seafood fans.
We decided to forgo appetizers, which ranged in price from $6.25 to $9.50 and included items such as scallops, prawns and specially prepared mozzarella. Instead, we concentrated our attention on the choice of more than 20 entrees.
Some of us made decisions more quickly than others, but with a choice of ten pasta dishes ($10.95 to $19.50), eight meat and poultry entrees and several specials ($15.95-$24.50), I was not quick to eliminate any of the appetizing sounding dishes.
After much deliberation, I finally choose a traditional dish of polla alla parmigana ($15.95) and my dining companions decided on similar Italian staples of lasagne alla bolognese ($15.50) and fettucine alfredo ($12.95). The third person in our party, ventured out from the more commonly known Italian cuisine and sampled the fazzoletti alla rhonda ($12.50), a scarf of pasta filled with cheese in a white sauce and covered with spinach.
Salads, which are not included with the dinner, range in price from $4.25 for a mixed green salad with vinaigrette dressing to $6.95 for a caesar salad.
After ordering Tony brought us our drinks and a basket filled with an assortment of small slices of garlic and French bread. The basket circled the table, each of us enjoying several pieces of the warm, crunchy loaf.
Our dinners arrived, just as our last piece of bread was eaten, on large, nearly square white plates with hot food that looked and smelled delicious. Our server was generous with the parmesan cheese as he spooned large portions out of a silver container onto our awaiting dishes.
My polla alla parmigana was an excellent choice. A large portion of breaded chicken breast covered with a tasty red sauce and topped with layer of just enough melted cheese. Vegetables and a form of corn were served along with the chicken and although bland alone, in combinations with the red sauce were great.
We sampled from each others plates and I tasted the lasagne alla bolognese as well as the fazzoletti alla rhonda both of which were delicious, although I thought mine was the best dish at the table.
Our meals were cleared away
and Tony, who we were just beginning to think had forgotten
about us as I could see his attention was diverted by the
growing crowd inside the restaurant, brought us a dessert
menu filled with more than eight mouth-watering desserts,
making it difficult to choose what delicacy we would eat to
complete our
meal. Eldorado Hotel
High point: The great service and dessert
Hours: 5:00 - 9:30 p.m.
Prices: Entrees between $10.50 and $24.50
He recommended the cannoli al cioccolata ($5.75), a cannoli filled with chocolate chip ricotta mouse topped with whip cream, which we tried, as well as the panna cotta ($4.95), a vanilla cream served with raspberry and caramel sauce.
As we drank coffee and ate our desserts, we all agreed the cannoli was a worthy decision as it arrived on our table attractively decorated with chocolate and vanilla sauce garnishing the plate. Unfamiliar with panna cotta, I found the dish to be an unusual texture resembling a combination of vanilla yogurt and jello, which I did not enjoy quite as much as the other desserts.
After finishing, we were promptly given our check and I left La Strada feeling very full and satisfied with the food and service we received during our meal.
Although, I can't say as much for two of my dining companions who said they could have satisfied their hunger for Italian just as easily by stopping by the Olive Garden and eating the all-you-can-eat salad and breadsticks.
Posted
March 17, 2000
Copyright 2000
Nevada Outpost
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