Famed Italian chef celebrates 10 years of Strip restaurant

It’s hard out here for a twirl.

Chef Giada De Laurentiis was recently in Las Vegas to visit Giada, her restaurant at The Cromwell that overlooks the center-cut confluence of the Strip and Flamingo Road. Giada is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and to mark the occasion the other afternoon, the chef demonstrated her signature lemon spaghetti with shrimp, mascarpone and basil.

The dish involves draping saucy strands across the prongs of an industrial pasta fork; angling the fork to rest against an industrial spoon; twirling the pasta to form a gentle cone, using the spoon as a base; then placing the pasta on the plate, the fork lifting upward without disturbing the cone, the spoon holding things steady.

If all goes well, shrimp nestled about the bottom, drizzles of lemony sauce and a flurry of garnishes complete this culinary architecture.

Except the other afternoon, all wasn’t going well. The first cone collapsed on the plate; a second attempt went rogue, too. De Laurentiis gave a third twirl a whirl — success!

“I should practice this at home more often,” De Laurentiis joked. The chef, television food personality, author and restaurateur cheerfully acknowledged the deftness of many in her kitchen crew at lemon spaghetti formation.

“I have guys who have been in the kitchen with me for 10 years,” she said. “It’s an art form to be able to do this really well, and they’ve been here doing this every night for 10 years.”

In that time, De Laurentiis estimated the restaurant had served at least 500,000 orders of lemon spaghetti. Talk about twirling dervishes.

Pole position for a fan

The 10th anniversary of Giada comes as Vegas prepares for the second year of the Formula One Grand Prix. The restaurant offers one of the best spots on the Strip circuit to watch the race (Giada was bought out last year for the inaugural event). In fact, De Laurentiis had a personal connection to F1 long before the restaurant and its prime perch.

“I grew up watching it. It’s a very European sport,” said the chef, who was born in Rome. “I followed it with my parents. I remember going to Monaco and watching it years and years ago.

“So, it was a dream come true to have it right in front of my restaurant. The windows open, hearing the cars, you feel like you’re suspended over the Strip. You feel the spectacle.”

Anniversary specials; a casual spot

Ten years in, the restaurant finds itself with an enthusiastic new chef and more tableside experiences in the works.

There’s also an anniversary cocktail, a Citrus Negroni Sbagliato mingling gin, fragrant Italicus liqueur, Campari, Pampelmousse Rosé, grapefruit soda and a float of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne; the cocktail is available through October. Lemon spaghetti and short ribs with red wine glaze star on a four-course anniversary prix fixe menu that just debuted.

After a decade with Giada, and a culinary career spanning more than 25 years, what’s left for De Laurentiis? Perhaps a casual spot, perhaps in Asia, she said.

“You have five different pasta shapes, five different sauces, and you mix and match those, and they change all the time. There’s also a salad, a dessert and gluten-free option.”

One thing that does not lie ahead, De Laurentiis said, is another Vegas fine dining restaurant along the lines of Giada. “This is a jewel box,” she said. “This is never going to happen again.”

The twirl, however, goes on.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.