Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina; CityCenter, Las Vegas

Mr. Puck, You Continues to Make the Food What Satisfies My Gutworm!

This may be the Puck's newest addition to his Vegas restaurant portfolio - it's located in Crystals, which is the uber-upscale shopping mall inside CityCenter. Aside from the lounge area, seating is primarily open to the mall so that patrons can eat and drink and people watch simultaneously. Maybe that's how it works in the evenings after the drunken club-hoppers crawl out of the woodwork, but at lunchtime there's not much to look at other than a bunch of stores that people like us can't afford to shop at even when there's a 50%-off sale.

That's OK, though; we'd rather food watch. And that's just what we did, ogling the selections of a couple seated next to us and then going so far as to ask their opinion of the pizzas they were having for lunch. We ended up ordering something similar to what they were sharing and they were spot on with their recommendation.

The drink menu had some interesting selections but I decided to play it safe because we had double dinner plans later in the day and I didn't want to upset the gutworm. I chose the house made sangria with red wine, brandy, and fresh fruit - it was lovely and refreshing! Jason, on the advice of our sever, ordered an Italian beer called Nuova Mattina. He told us that this was a Saison, or farmhouse ale, and that it was very hard to find. The beer had a gorgeous golden color and a clean, slightly spicy flavor with an herbal aroma - we both thought it was terrific. And that server of ours wasn't kidding - it's extremely hard to find, at least here in Stinktown where I have already exhausted every resource in trying to get my hands on some for Jay's upcoming birthday. Apparently no one around here has heard of it ... or they are lying and just don't want to share!

Sangria


Nuova Mattina - Italian Artisan Beer


We wants it ... we needs it!


For food we shared the Insalata Mista which included fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, and shaved parmesan cheese. It was fresh and tasty but they used a heavy hand with the vinaigrette which made the salad much more oily than I prefer. Jay and I also shared an Italian Meat Pizza which included pepperoni, salami, sopresatta, and sweet peppers. This was the perfect size for sharing and absolutely delicious! We've never tried any of Puck's pizza efforts but after eating this I understand why people like them so much - it was a great blend of flavors and the sweet peppers really finished it off well.

Insalata Mista


Italian Meat Pizza


For a quick, tasty lunch before heading back to the hotel and an afternoon at the pool, Puck's Pizzeria and Cucina was the perfect stop - portions large enough to share that also provided great taste. And we had the extra bonus of walking away with a new beer quest thanks to our server's suggestion to try the Nuova Mattina. Puck continues to be one of our vacation dining stand-bys ... his cuisine is tasty and reliable and always leaves the gutworm smiling!