RESTAURANT INFORMATION:
The Palazzo
3325 Las Vegas Blvd.
South Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone: 702.607.6300
Average cost: $$$$
Parking: valet is available at the Palazzo; we walked over from the Cosmopolitan, which was a ~25 minute walk
Notes: classy steakhouse design of the restaurant and bar, fine ingredients, beautiful presentation, and wonderful service
Recommended: that special occasion splurge!
After seeing Wolfgang Puck's episode on the Chef Show, we were very excited about getting a reservation for CUT by Wolfgang Puck at its Las Vegas location to celebrate our upcoming wedding anniversary and Tim's new job.
We'll start with the drinks at CUT. We love a good cocktail to celebrate, and CUT's cocktails definitely did not disappoint, even though my first pick, Xiang Li "Fragrant Pear," was unavailable that evening. Not to worry, because CUT has awesome tableside cocktail service via a trolley that offers a range of WhistlePig Old Fashioneds!
We were happy to cheers with a tableside crafted WhistlePig Old Fashioned (bottom left) and the Show Me Love: Tito's Vodka, St. Germain Liqueur, Lychee Puree, and Lime Juice (top right).
We enjoyed our cocktails with some gorgeous Chilled Maine Lobster. The herb remoulade in particular was exceptional and I enjoyed switching back and forth between the herb remoulade and the cocktail sauce.
Our lovely mixologist came back with her WhistlePig trolley because she noticed Tim was done with his Old Fashioned. She recommended that he try the "smoked version" this time around.
While Tim enjoyed the "smoked" version of the Old Fashioned, I tried a rum-based cocktail - the Monroe's Passion: Cruzan Passion Rum, Bacardi 151 Rum, Passion Fruit Puree, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Ginger Ale, and Chili Syrup. The chili syrup add makes this cocktail a gem; the chili syrup plays well with the tropical and sweet notes, warms up your lips and mouth just a little bit (in a nice and tingly kind of way), and lingers pleasantly in your throat.
Meanwhile, another delicious appetizer graced our table: the ever-so-popular Maple Glazed Pork Belly: rhubarb, smoked bacon shallot puree, and watercress. Tim took one bite and said it was the best pork belly we've ever had. Couldn't disagree with that! No wonder this is consistently CUT's most ordered appetizer...
Since we wanted to have at least something that was remotely healthy, we shared CUT's Butter Lettuce Salad: so seasonal and fresh with blue cheese and cherry tomatoes, all drizzled in a champagne herb dressing.
Then it was time for the main event: Eye of Ribeye (American Wagyu from Snake River Farms in Idaho), a perfect medium rare and covered in delicious seasoning and char.
Our waiter highly recommended a relatively new appetizer, the Kung Pao Cauliflower, and we're so glad we listened. This dish was incredible - at first blush, it seems a straightforward dish with cauliflower, chilis, scallions, and peanuts, but the flavor was so complex and the texture on those crunchy bits was perfection! Even though each bite of cauliflower was coated in a delectable glaze packed with flavor, it was so well-prepared that the glaze didn't make the battered bits lose their crunch. The Kung Pao Cauliflower made us want to plan a trip to the Beverly Hills location of CUT, stat, but our waiter dashed our hopes by confirming this was a Vegas exclusive. He also suggested that we get on the phone with Wolfgang and let him know this should be a staple at all CUT locations, lol. Never thought I'd love cauliflower so much, but I'd come back to the Vegas location just for Kung Pao Cauliflower.
The second side we shared was the Cavatappi Pasta Mac N Cheese, which was creamy, cheesy, and yummy, but we likely will skip ordering next time since we'd love to try some other sides (other than getting the Kung Pao Cauliflower of course)!
We were so full at this point, but one of our must-try items was the Banana Cream Pie dessert: Banana Custard, Vanilla Wafers, Caramelized Banana Ice Cream, all wrapped in a pretty Milk Chocolate Shell that's melted tableside.
CUT also included a pair of lovely frozen White Chocolate Cake Batter popsicles for our celebration dinner.
The white chocolate cake batter pops tasted just like ice cream, but better. Loved all the crunchy bits inside the popsicles and the creaminess of the filling.
As if that wasn't enough, chef also sent a Mixed Berry Coconut Gelée for us to end on a refreshing and sweet note. Thank you so much for a wonderful celebration meal and we can't wait for another excuse to visit!
