Eat at FiAMMA Trattoria, MGM Grand, Las Vegas!

Plane landed yesterday at 11am Vegas time. I know, it’s Pacific Time (PT) but I like the sound of “Vegas time” better. Will update more in the next few days about the trip here for BWE, but right now I want to talk about where we had our arrival night dinner.

Last night, @TasteMGMGrand and FiAMMA Trattoria treated us to the most absolutely amazing Vegas dining experience. We all had our pick from the “Fall Tasting Menu” but on top of that Chef Carlos Buscaglia wanted us to have a true sampling of what FiAMMA is made of. (He also came out to the table afterward to meet us all. I can’t remember, but aren’t you supposed to applaud the chef? Part of me wanted to – because he’s amazing – but I think we were all in such a food coma that we didn’t  think about it. I feel bad… But I did talk with him and I totally gushed over the food. I hope that helped!)

We started our meal with a salad of mixed greens with the most AMAZING dressing I’ve ever had, and blackened shrimp. After that, we were presented with about a dozen different dishes to share around the table. Fresh pastas, short rib ravioli with truffle sauce, rolls with honey-truffle butter, octopus, arancini, fresh mozzarella (with that creamy stuff inside – can’t remember what it’s called but I’ve had it before and it’s amaaaazing), lobster gnocchi and more… I swear, I’ve been around the world and I’ve never had so much delicious food at one meal in my life.

After that, they brought out our choice main dishes. There was a pasta dish that I don’t think anyone had ordered because we all wanted something rich and protein-filled I guess. The majority at the table ordered the skirt steak while a few of us (myself included) ordered the salmon. I love salmon, but I’ve never had salmon like this! It was served on a chunky tomato base with asparagus. It was phenomenal. I don’t think I can ever look at salmon the same – I’m a salmon snob now!

As if that weren’t enough, we all received dishes of Panna Cotta with dried mission figs that were soaked in some kind of amazing something I can’t remember right now but wow… it was delish! A nice palate cleanser. But oh no, we’re not done yet… These HUGE dessert plates came out with a sampling of 8 MORE desserts! There were three kinds of gelato in little cups, tiramisu and these “donut holes” my Aunt Jeanette calls zeppolis (which I’m surprised they don’t call them that at FIAMMA, since it’s Italian) and people in New Orleans call beignets with 3 different dipping sauces. There was a dessert that can only be described as some kind of chocolate cakey raspberry torte something. Another ice cream coated in chocolate. I really honestly can’t even describe it.

I left the table feeling like it was a Royal Thanksgiving meal and I needed to unbutton my pants and sit back on the sofa for a nap!

Oh! And the sommelier was wonderful too. He brought us champagne and a sparkling dessert wine. Oh, and if you go, head to the bar and see Tom. He’s awesome.

So how did all this come about? Well, my super cool boss Darren Rowse (@problogger) had asked me to see if I could try to arrange some kind of small party or meetup for us and a few guests when we were in Vegas for BlogWorld. I knew we were staying here at MGM Grand so I wanted to try to get something going here. (It’s my fave place in Vegas.) Thanks to @TasteMGMGrand and FiAMMA, we had invited 8 guests plus ourselves for this glorious meal.

Our guest list included Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan), Patrick O’Keefe (@ifroggy), Brian Clark (@copyblogger), Reem Abeidoh (@rabeidoh), Lisa Morosky (@lisamorosky), Jen Wilson (@jenwilsonphoto), and Zane (@zaneology). So yeah – it wasn’t just about the great food, we had GREAT company, too! Thanks to everyone for coming, it was a great kickoff to our BWE experience!

Lisa’s review (with pics of the gang).