Since opening a decade ago, The Green Valley Ranch has made many efforts to get an Italian restaurant to work at the casino. Several iterations have come and gone over the years, including Il Fornio (how did that not work???) and one even entrusted to the winner of Hell's Kitchen. So far though, none has really clicked with the GVR crowd for some reason. Maybe it's because there are MANY excellent Italian resturants in the area or maybe the locals are tired of over-priced mediocre food that's no match for the excellent food they can get just down the road. Whatever the case may be, GVR hasn't given up. In fact, they may have finally hit the spot with their latest effort, Bottiglia Cucina Enoteca.

This Place Is For Pretty People And Tourists Too

First of all, we were struck by all the pretty people here. It's not a quiet restaurant at all. The space echoes and with a lively crowd it can get difficult to carry on a conversation. But, with TVs everywhere and sports on all of them, being quiet is not really being encouraged either. That may also have something to do with the athletic looking and pretty people everywhere. Let's just say it was easy to tell who the tourists are and who the locals are. The tourists are the ones in t-shirts, shorts and sandals. The locals are wearing $300 haircuts and tight clothes that show off their toned and tanned bodies. It's all quite a show.

The Chicken Parmigiana Test

One of the best ways to test and Italian restaurant is to order their Chicken Parmigiana. They all make it and it's an easily recognizable dish. The trick is, what do they do with all that simplicity? Is the chicken tender? Is it crispy on the outside? Is the cheese done correctly? I've had a hundred different versions of chicken parmigiana. It's like tasting the corn chips at the Mexican restaurant can tell you everything about their authenticity, the chicken parmigiana informs in the same way. I've had a hundred different versions of chicken parmigiana. At least!

So How Was It?

My meal started with a pretty good Caesar salad. The salad was very Caesary and had just enough dressing to satisfy. The croutons were excellent. I would say it's a solid 7 on a scale from one to ten. The chicken parmigiana was served alone on a plate. It was not accompanied with any pasta, or sitting on a bed of pasta as is usually the case. The taste was very familiar and texture was tender and crispy. It was a very good chicken parmigiana, but not among the best I've had (see Macaroni Grille for that). I might add that another person in our party had the chicken parmigiana with a different salad but gave the same relative review of the overall meal. The experience was somewhat mediocre. Especially given the prices, which were all on the high side. Perhaps we will try it again once they've had a chance to work out the kinks and dial in the recipes a little more.

Bottiglia Cucina Enoteca is open daily from 5:00pm to 10:00pm. Brunch is served on Sundays from 11:00am to 2:30pm. See OpenTable for easy reservations.