Twenty-three off-Strip dishes that showcase the vitality of the Las Vegas culinary scene
Chef Alessandra’s Meatballs | Azzurra Cucina Italiano. Wanna provoke a couple of Italian cooks into a raging battle? Just ask ’em whose Nonna makes the best meatballs. The legion of meatball recipes in existence attests to the personal nature of the beast, but the main requirement is that they have to have clearly been conceived with soul. And that’s the case with chef Alessandra’s Meatballs at Azzurra in Henderson. She’s been making them for 25 years, with a blend of veal, beef, and pork, deep-fried to retain the juices, cloaked in marinara sauce and — just to gild the lily — topped with a jot of basil oil. You’d swear there’s an ancient lady with rolled-down stockings in the kitchen, wielding an even older wooden spoon. They’re six ounces each, and you can get a trio as an appetizer, or choose the spaghetti with meatballs, which comes with a pair. — Heidi Knapp Rinella.
