In Vegas, hardly anyone who lives here is from here.
In our little group, we all hail from somewhere else: California, New England, Poland. We love Vegas, but there are things we miss from "back home". Food is always high on that list. Our pal Lauren, who's from Chicago, has found a culinary Chi-town oasis here in Sin City, aptly known as Amore Taste of Chicago.
We dined there on a recent Friday evening in celebration of Lauren's birthday. Amore serves up authentic Chicago-style pizza, which is what draws Lauren to this place on a regular basis. She's also a fan of the staff, who were friendly and accommodating the night that Mike and I were there for the party.
Mike and I shared an order of cheesy garlic bread, which came with a side of marinara. The bread was toasty, the cheese gently melted: a nice appetizer.
For my entree, I chose Shrimp Diablo with crushed tomatoes and hot peppers on a bed of linguine. It's typically a pretty spicy dish, so I asked if they could tone it down for me. They agreed, and they delivered. It was still hot after a few bites built the spices up, but not nearly as much as it would have been. I adapted by repeatedly adding grated parm until the red sauce turned slightly orange. Strategic gulps of iced tea helped, too. The sauce tasted fresh, and the linguine was al dente.
The only bothersome detail was the tails left on the shrimp. I know it looks better, but I hate it when restaurants do that, especially for hot dishes. There's just no good way to remove the tails without burning yourself and/or making a big, saucy mess.
Mike, of course, decided on pepperoni pizza for his meal. This was no surprise. The man could live on pizza seven days a week; he loves it that much. He selected thin crust because we've been trying to cut down on carbs... or that's what we tell ourselves. It was good.
The thick-crust pies were a sight to behold. They were huge and seemed to be packed full of meaty, cheesy, tomato-y goodness. Here's a mushroom and sausage pie that Steve ordered. Steve let me sample the crust, and it was delicious.
There are not a lot of options for dessert, but that's okay. You're probably too full from the main course to eat it anyway, or you should be. Still, Mike couldn't resist ordering some cannoli. He made it contingent on me sharing with him, and I agreed. I didn't want to let him down. Aren't I a good wife?
Having eaten two pieces of garlic bread and half the shrimp, I was no longer hungry, but I managed to have a couple of tastes of the cannoli. It was yummy. Sometimes, if they've pre-filled them and left them sitting, the shells can get soft. This one was crisp, breaking off with a satisfying crunch beneath our forks. The cream was rich but not overly so, and the sweetness was just right with the chocolate chips.
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