Las Vegas
Happy hour at Carmine’s in the Forum shops today.
Carmine’s is a Southern Italian family style eatery. It’s pretty cool with the huge bar. It has wood finishings and photos all over the walls. I can imagine a group of mobsters sitting around a table here discussing who to” whack” next.
The location and atmosphere makes it a really neat restaurant.
We tried 2 different appies. First off we had the fried Ravioli with a Pomodoro sauce.
I really liked these. They must have come out of the fryer and hit our table within a minute or so. Really fresh, piping hot and crispy. Dipped in the sauce they were great.
We also had the Eggplant Rollatini.
As fresh as the ravioli was, the eggplant was not.
It’s eggplant rolled around ricotta cheese with Pomodoro sauce.
They must have forgotten about this one for us as it came cold.
I also think the ratio of cheese to eggplant was off, too much cheese. But can chalk that up to personal preference maybe.
To their credit, when we said it wasn’t very good they took it off the bill.
Our beverage of choice was The Breezy Italian.
Grapefruit Vodka, fresh lemon juice and Cynar.
Cynar is a new ingredient to me. It’s a bitter made from 12 botanicals based on artichoke.
The cocktail was great. Though I wouldn’t mind a tiny bit of sweetness to balance all the sour and bitter flavours. The rosemary sprigs through the lemon slice elevates the overall experience as you sip and smell.
With a really neat interior space I’d definitely like to return here for a full meal sometime. Great ambiance and decent eats.
Food 7/10
Ambiance 9/10
Service 9/10
Overall 8/10