Rao's

This restaurant, Rao's is the reason I went to Vegas. Having a mental vacation from the kids was just a bonus! Four nights away was the most relaxing vacation I have had since the kids were born. I went to the gym every morning, walked all day long, read my book for more than an hour at a time. I wore clothing for me and not for the child activity I was doing that day! A great time! But when my husband asked if I wanted to tag along for his sales meeting, I jumped at the chance. Not too spend more time with him, although that would have been great but we both knew he would be busy with his meetings, which he was. We did see the Hoover Dam and have a great meal at a sushi restaurant that I will tell you about in another post. The reason I really, really, really wanted to go to Vegas was Rao's.

In 2009 on the Today show the owner of Rao's cooked his famous meatballs. They looked yummy. So I printed out the recipe and went shopping and made the meatballs. Well they did not turn out like they did on TV! They were not cooked inside, and although they stayed together, I was not happy with the result. So it was my great desire to go to Rao's and try the real thing. The original Rao's is in New York city. Unless you have been living there and going to Rao's regularly for the better part of 20 years, one cannot just go to New York and get a table. I heard the waiting list was a year but most of the tables are for regulars. So when the opportunity to go to Rao's in Vegas came up, I jumped at it!

When I arrived at Rao's inside Ceasar's Palace (and a palace it is, it takes 10 minutes just to talk past it!)10 minutes after it opened, there were already people waiting to be seated so I just walked to the bar. Jan was my bar tender and she did not disappoint. She was experienced and knew how much to talk to me and when to stay away! I told her about my experience with the Today show and watching Frank Pellegrino make his famous meatballs. She said she saw that too and told me that they were supposed to me moist inside and that they absorb the sauce they cook in. I promised her I would try to make them again at home but first I wanted to taste them here.

So immediately she set up a place at the bar for me to eat and gave me a large bread basket for one! At the time I was eating a no sugar diet. Yes it is as hard as it sounds. On a regular basis I do not eat white flour or sugar. This means nothing with these ingredients in them. So no bread! Well this was Rao's and I had waited 2 years to come here so I ate 2 pieces of olive bread dipped in the oil and balsamic.

Then I had the delicious salad of mozzarella and tomatoes. I must confess the tomatoes were a little firm. They were just not ripe enough. The one greeen tomato on the plate was the best, too bad they were not all green! But the cheese, oh my gosh, the best mozarella I have ever tasted. Soft and sweet and devine. I was excited already and had not even had the meatball yet.

Since the meatballs are just a side dish, I ordered pear ravioli too, which you see in the picture. This was also excellent. The parmesean gave it a gritty taste, in a good way. Drizzled in olive oil, I soaked up with a few pieces of bread!

Now the meatball itself. Delicious. The combination of the three meats makes the taste and consistance spot on! The tomato sauce was not too tangy and just sweet enough to compliment the meatball. The meatball was juicy and tender and perfect! I did take pictures of it but as you can tell the lighting was not great, I was trying not to disturb the other patrons by taking pictures with my flash, so I have only posted this picture and not a picture of the inside of the meatball because it is kind of blurry.

The meatball was well worth the wait! I was so full both from the food and the experience. I quickly walked back to my hotel in the dark alone in Vegas! YesI did have dessert. Of course! But I actually had it BEFORE Rao's. Rao's only opens at 5:30pm and I had been reading already for quite some time. I think I arrived at around 4pm! I was getting a little hungry so I stopped in to the French pastry store directly across from Rao's front door. This place was quite the find! I will tell you and show you what I ate in my next post!

Thanks Rao's for this marvelous culinary experience. Yummy Food!