FROM LEFT: Chef Theo Schoenegger; Sinatra’s main dining room; the restaurant’s bar.
Sinatra in Encore is not a place you go to be surprised—either by the food or the music. But both are so simply perfect—with the Chairman of the Board crooning tunes over chef Theo Schoenegger’s upbeat dishes—you’ll slip right into this place like an expensive Italian shoe. The restaurant, not yet two years old, is carefully calculated to let you experience the essence of the man, his music and his menu.
Before you even pick up that menu, though, you first get a sense of the history behind the joint. As you walk in, you stroll past his Oscar, Grammy and Emmy, displayed along with pictures of another icon—Steve Wynn—back when they were friends and tongue-in-cheek television commercials had Sinatra ordering Steverino around like a towel boy. As the bar stands to your left, you will get a view of the main room—adorned with larger-than- life pictures of Frank, lots of mirrors and floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto a garden patio. The bar is the domain of über-mixologist Patricia Richards, and it seems almost sacrilegious not to have a Sinatra Smash—either virgin or with a healthy jigger of Gentleman Jack (Daniel’s)—the way he would’ve liked it. Truth be told, the Rat Pack took their booze straight, but no doubt they would have approved of the fresh blackberry muddle Richards uses to smooth things out.
Once you’ve had a cocktail or two (Frank would insist, you tell yourself), you’re led into one of Las Vegas’ most comfortable, romantic and attractively lit spaces. There you will experience Italian food—some traditional and some with a Schoenegger twist—that’s a tribute to the cuisine he liked… sort of. We’re not sure what Danny Ocean (Ocean’s Eleven, 1960) would have made of octopus affogato (the young cephalopod braised with white wine, garlic and potatoes) or sliced yellowtail crudo with avocado purée and pickled ramps, but they seem right at home on the menu with such stalwarts as an intense zuppa di pomodoro (tomato-basil soup), polpettine (meatballs) with polenta fries and one of the best carpaccios around.
FROM LEFT: Sinatra’s signature dessert, a white chocolate-Grand Marnier mousse capello; Halibut with lemon-caper sauce; Osso buco “My Way.”
As good as they are, it’s the panzanella con ganchio (blue crab and bread salad) that allows Schoenegger to strut his stuff. Half soup and half salad, this warming concoction has large chunks of crab mingling in a tomato fonduta (sauce) with soft and spongy croutons. When Nathan Detroit was romancing Adelaide (Guys and Dolls, 1955), such things might not have been on many menus, but you’ll find yourself swooning over the taste like a bobby-soxer.
