If you were to examine the cuisines we choose when dining out on this blog, you might actually be surprised to find out that Italian is one of my most favorite cuisines. I’m not sure why we don’t go to Italian restaurants, but it’s probably a good thing for my pants 
I often take a long time examining a menu in these restaurants because I want one of everything! A few weeks ago, my girlfriend Michelle and I had a girls night and headed out to a restaurant we’ve both been dying to try – Terra Verde at the Green Valley Ranch resort. The Husband and I had been there previously with his parents for their Wined Up Friday happy hours, but we hadn’t yet had a chance to dine there.
As I mentioned before, I have a hard time making decisions at Italian restaurants and this was no exception. Luckily for me, they had a prix fixe menu option and Michelle was interested in doing the same. Narrowing down our options and giving us multiple courses to try sounded great, and since we like to share, we each chose something different so we’d have six items instead of three to taste!
As we waited for our first course, we were brought an antipasti plate. Starting at the left and going clockwise, there were zucchini chips, a flavorful cheese of some sort, roasted red peppers, green and black olives, and artichoke hearts. We particularly enjoyed the cheese and roasted red peppers.
Alongside the antipasti plate was a basket of bread with a bit of oil and vinegar.
Then came our first course! Michelle ordered the Caprese. Doesn’t it look delicious? The tomatoes were great and the mozzarella was very fresh.
I ordered the Caesar Salad, which was much bigger than I expected. It was one of the better caesar salads I’ve had – fishy and rich.
In between the first and second course, we took advantage of the $10 wine card that came with our prix fixe menu. We were each brought cards and after perusing the wine glass menu, we headed over to the bar area to make our choices.
There were many reds and whites to choose from and you could get one, three, and six ounce pours. If you ran out of money before your pour was complete, it served you as much as you had.
I went with a glass of the Jordan Chardonnay (2007) from Napa Valley. $10 doesn’t go very far in the giant glasses but it was a nice taste with my meal.
Demonstrating how the machine works
When we made it back to the table, it was time for course two. Michelle ordered the Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage and Peas in a Tomato Cream Sauce. This dish was amazing! They clearly took the time to let the sauce cook for a long time as you could taste the spicy sausage throughout the dish, even without sausage on your fork. If you don’t like spicy food, though, this dish isn’t for you.
I ordered my favorite – lasagna. I feel like good Italian restaurants will be sure to have a good lasagna on their menu. This was an excellent lasagna! I estimated that there were 10-12 layers of pasta with a traditional bolognese throughout. The lasagna was huge and was perfect for two portions – one to eat that night and one for lunch later in the week. It was even excellent as leftovers.
Our third and final course was dessert of course. Michelle ordered the Chocolate Decadence while I ordered the Lemon Angel Cake with Berries. Unfortunately, we were both disappointed with our desserts. The chocolate was good but there was a cherry sauce we both disliked.
The caramelized lemon and the berries on top were good, but the cake was too thick for me and the frosting too sweet. I was expecting a lighter dish. Perhaps if I expected the thicker cake and sweetness, I would have enjoyed it more.
Overall, we very much enjoyed our meal at Terra Verde and we will definitely be back with our husbands. The food was flavorful and the portions were large. For only $35 per person, which included the $10 wine card, we were very impressed. We had originally thought about going to one of the restaurants participating in Las Vegas’s Restaurant Week, but we were very glad we chose to finally check out Terra Verde.
