Las Vegas Weekly

March 24, 2010 · 5:21 PM

Counter Intelligence: Rino Armeni closing his Pips Cucina at Aliante

By Robin Leach

Rino Armeni greets guests at Pips Cucina and Wine Bar at Aliante in November 2008.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabik.com

Hot off the grill! Another restaurant bites the dust due to the chilling economic slowdown. Last week, I reported on the closure of Charlie Trotter’s Restaurant Charlie at the Palazzo and the changes at David Burke’s self-named eatery at The Venetian. Now Epicurean Foundation’s beloved founder Rino Armeni is closing his Pips Cucina and Wine Bar at Aliante.

In a private email to me, Rino noted: “The opening of Pips was a fulfillment of a lifelong dream. The present economic challenges have demanded much more time away from my family than we had anticipated. Thanks to the support and generosity of the Station Casinos executives and the Fertitta family, they have agreed to assume operation of Pips Cucina and Wine Bar effective this coming Sunday. The success of Pips is mostly due to my very loyal employees; their dedication, hard work, honesty and commitment to service have become legendary in our industry, with a special thanks to chef Benoit “Ben” Cornet for his commitment to culinary excellence.”

*Cpt. Keith Colburn has become a reality TV star thanks to his crab fishing exploits onboard The Wizard in The Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch. Tonight, he joins star chef Andre Rochat at Alize atop the Palms for a crab extravaganza dinner. In between courses of the Deadliest Catch Dinner, Keith will tell tales of his sea adventures and the life of fishing the oceans.

The six-course menu with wine pairings is $135 per person and gets underway with a champagne reception. Crab salad, yes. Crab ravioli, yes. But I didn’t know you could stuff veal with king crab legs or calamari with crab and piquillo peppers. The piece de resistance, though is the dessert of chocolate soft shell crabs.

*Sushi Samba in the Palazzo is participating in UNICEF’s 4th Annual Tap Project through Saturday. Patrons donate $1 for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and funds raised go to support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Share This