Winter Olympics: How to eat like you’re in Milan in Las Vegas
If you think Italian food is just pasta and pizza, Milan would like a word.
As would Milano Restaurant and Bar.
“Italian cuisine is often associated with heavy sauces, lots of garlic and large portions, but the Milanese tradition is very different,” chef Laura Migliorini explains. “Coming from Northern Italy, influenced by the Alps, it favors butter over olive oil, rice over pasta and slow, careful cooking. The result is elegant food, never heavy, where every flavor remains clear and recognizable.”
Migliorini was born in Novara in Italy’s Piedmont region, roughly 30 miles from Milan, and moved to this year’s Winter Olympic host city when she turned 18. She learned to cook in the Milanese tradition from her mother, chef at the high-end Hotel Principe di Savoia, where Migliorini also worked.
But it was a dish Migliorini made at Carla Sozzani’s 10 Corso Como that changed her life. Singer-songwriter Laura Trent so loved the lobster in a lime sauce that she convinced Migliorini to come to Las Vegas to fill what Trent called a void in the authentic Italian dining scene.
A breast cancer diagnosis delayed their plans — Migliorini sometimes wears a camouflage chef jacket as a show of strength and determination as a survivor — then the pandemic hit. Milano finally opened in 2021 in Town Square on the second level in front of the movie theaters.
The restaurant made international headlines 18 months later when Kevin Costner ate there following an early screening of “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1.” A photo of the actor between Migliorini and Trent, posted on Milano’s social media channels, inspired a Daily Mail story under the headline “Kevin Costner wears wedding ring as he cuddles women in Vegas just one day before his wife filed for divorce.”
Trent, sister of the late Elvis tribute artist Trent Carlini, says Costner repeatedly asked for the secret to Migliorini’s calamari. It’s simple: She changes the oil often to keep it clean, resulting in an exterior that’s golden rather than dark brown.
Migliorini’s signature dish is the Cavatelli ai Frutti di Mare al Forno Milano ($51), tomato sauce, mussels, scallops, shrimp, baby squid, clams and black pepper that’s baked and covered with pizza crust.
For a true taste of Milan, she recommends the Risotto alla Milanese with ossobuco ($68) and the Cotoletta Milano ($60), a traditional Milanese veal cutlet fried in clarified butter with arugula, shaved aged parmigiano cheese and cherry tomatoes.
“Eating as if you were in Milan means valuing simplicity, balance and respect for the highest-quality ingredients,” Migliorini adds. “For me, cooking Milanese dishes is much more than following a recipe. It’s staying connected to my roots, my family and my tradition.”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.
