Our first night in Las Vegas and we were not able to see any of our children or grandchildren, so it was a date night. I had talked to our son earlier to map out some ideas during our stay and he mentioned a restaurant that he had wanted to try, but he could never get a reservation as the place was very popular and not on The Strip. In fact, it was in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas and that is where we were staying. We called and got a reservation, possibly, because we wanted an early time, as we were still on our internal Detroit clock. Even with our GPS we had a little difficulty finding the restaurant, because it was nestled in a grouping of assorted businesses, which is very common in Summerlin, but we did find it and we were looking forward to it.

Vintner Grill for being in a modern building was like stepping back in time once we entered it. The white tablecloths made me smile and there was a magnificent polished and lacquered long bar that was very old school. The ceiling I noticed was tongue and grooved and rather reminded me of being on a yacht and we were seated at a booth centrally located in the restaurant and we could observe the bar and the ultra-modern kitchen that was open visually for the diners. We were not that hungry, but we knew that we had to eat. My Bride ordered the braised Lamb Bolognese with black pepper tagliatelle, Truffled ricotta and fresh grated nutmeg, it looked and tasted wonderful. I went with the Seared Sea Scallops with saffron risotto, English peas, fennel, pea sprouts and roasted pepper relish and I enjoyed it immensely. The wait staff was also old school and were very polished and not intrusive.

As for the wine we went with one that would really compliment my Bride’s dish and though it was heavy I did not complain. I might also mention that the wine list was very well thought out and they were not trying to gouge the patrons, which is really a nice touch. The Graffigna Centenario Malbec Reserve 2015 from the Padernal Valley of San Juan, Argentina. This is one of the oldest wineries in the area as it was established in 1870, so they have crushed a few grapes over the years. The wine was aged for twelve months in new oak barrels, which were a combination of French and American. As to be expected from a good Argentine Malbec the nose, color and finish were full bodied and big enough to hold its own, even without food. I think we may try a return trip here, the next time we are in town.