Independence Day is a symbol of summer. While you may be celebrating the Fourth of July with fireworks, hot dogs and apple pie, sunny skies and sometimes searing temperatures translate to an understanding that it’s time to shift to slightly different seasonal fare. And many Las Vegas restaurants have already made the adjustment to lighter, brighter cuisine for summertime dining.
Ada’s Wine Bar (702.462.2795) at Tivoli Village is a cozy destination that made its name on leisurely afternoons and evenings sampling wine with small bites that pack powerful flavors. Its updated seasonal menu includes a fun and fresh take on a summer staple, sweet corn “ribs” dressed with house-made miso honey butter, scallions and tangy Aleppo chile. There are peaches and prosciutto with pistachio, mint and tahini, and seared bay scallops plated with corn purée, roasted cherry tomatoes and paprika chips. Don’t worry, the friendly folks behind the bar will guide you to the right varietal to match these mouth-watering dishes.
Nearby in the same delightful retail center and promenade, Ada’s big brother restaurant Al Solito Posto (702.463.6781) serves up summer dishes that align with its reputation as a neighborhood Italian favorite. Start with spring pea and burrata salad in lemon-mint vinaigrette, move on to bigeye tuna bruschetta with basil aioli and sesame cracker croutons, and cap things off with lobster ravioli in truffle butter or spring garlic risotto with asparagus, pine nuts and Parmesan. These flavors won’t wilt in the desert heat.
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (702.754.3450) has four outposts around the Las Vegas Valley, including a sprawling restaurant at The Palazzo on the Strip. All the Brooklyn-style favorites here feel appropriate any time of year, but Grimaldi’s is going above and beyond with a specialty coal brick oven-fired pizza this summer, topped with oven-roasted chicken, smoked bacon, red onion, fresh cilantro and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce. Add a slice of fresh blueberry or strawberry cheesecake and you’re in heaven.
At the homegrown Italian institution Ferraro’s Ristorante (702.364.5300), founder Gino Ferraro and his son, executive chef Mimmo, have launched a summer regional menu series available through September, cooking up authentic flavors from the Toscana, Campania and Calabria regions of Italy. Among the dishes available in July are panzanella salad, salsiccia con fagioli with homemade spicy sausage, the Tuscan tomato and bread soup known as pappa pomodoro, tagliatelle in sage and black truffle butter sauce, and wild boar ragu over pecorino cheese polenta. Ferraro’s is all about this family’s culinary roots and bringing Italy to Vegas; these summertime offerings should not be missed.
Back on the Strip at Resorts World, the new Crossroads Kitchen (702.676.7000), one of the first plant-based restaurants in a major resort, feels like an obvious choice if you’re eating lighter for summer. But just because it’s meatless doesn’t mean it’s lacking flavor or satisfaction, as Vegas diners are learning when they try signature dishes like chestnut foie gras, Impossible “cigars,” spicy rigatoni vodka or truffle mushroom bianca pizza. Veggie-forward creations like eggplant filet, slow-roasted Campari tomatoes and spicy broccoli de cicco are other perfect summer dishes.
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