Restaurant Week: Allegro

Tuesday's dinner was at Allegro inside Wynn. It took over the space that was formerly Stratta. Alessandro (of TC Masters fame) got the boot. Chef Enzo Febbraro was highly regarded in Washington DC and hails from Naples. The restaurant has only been open a short time, but it's already getting great praises.

Our table for three wasn't ready when we arrived so we ordered wine at the bar. $42 for three glasses: riesling and pinot grigio. They later seated us in the bar area, which I found a bit odd since this area is generally reserved for those without reservations. The restaurant week menu had three choices for each course. We decided we'd each order something different and share so we could sample a bit of everything. One of the entree choices was spaghetti and meatballs, but we learned while the restaurant does make its own pasta it does not make its spaghetti. Odd. We wanted to try homemade pasta so the waiter asked the kitchen if we could substitute the lasagna. They approved, yay.







For the first course we had Bianca Pizza Mozzarella; Proscuitto, Arugula, Shaved Parmesan, Panzanella Salad; Tomato, Cucumber, Celery, Red Onion, Double-Baked Fresella, Red Wine Vinaigrette and Calamari & Shrimp; Fried Calamari, Shrimp, and Cherry Peppers, Spicy Tomato Sauce. The Bianca pizza was fantastic. Crisp crust, gooey cheese and topped with Proscuitto and Arugula it reminded me of the flavors we enjoyed while in Italy. The Calamari was very good as well. Tender and lightly breaded with a kick... just the way I like it. The Panzanella was a bit bland and the weakest dish.







Next up was Roasted Pink Snapper; Escabeche of Vegetables, Salmoriglio Sauce, Chicken Parmigiano; Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella and Baked Lasagna Napoletana; Meat Ragu, Meatballs, Smoked Mozzarella. The snapper was delicate and nicely prepared. The pickled vegetables were much too pickled for my liking, though. The Lasagna was very meaty. Too meaty. I've heard raves over this lasagna but it didn't thrill us. I'm not one who enjoys chicken parmigiano, in all honestly, chicken dishes in general don't appeal to me, but this was excellent. It was giant breast well seasoned with light crisp breading. The sauce wasn't acidic. We agreed it was likely the best any of us has had. Who knew?







And finally, dessert offered a Cannoli; Sweet Ricotta Cheese, Candied Citrus, Chocolate Shavings, Cassata Frozen Nougat, Raspberry & Meringue Sorbet and Tiramisu; Mascarpone Mousse, Coffee Soaked Lady Fingers, Chocolate Liqueur. The cannoli was not liked by any of us. It was heavily orange flavored. My bite brought back memories of spoonfuls of Trix as a kid. The Cassata was nicely done, but it was the Tiramisu that wooed us. It's right up there with the one made by angels at Circo.

Overall, we enjoyed a delicious meal. Service was great until the very end when it took forever to close out our check. Being held hostage is a definite pet peeve, but our waiter did go above and beyond to see about getting lasagna so it was forgiven.