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More: ‘Top Chef’s’ Fabio Viviani of Ai Pazzi Toasts 1st Anniversary at The Resort in Summerlin

Celebrity Chef and “Top Chef: New York” (Season 5) and “Top Chef: All Stars” Season 8 Cheftestant Fabio Viviani celebrated the first anniversary of his Italian restaurant Ai Pazzi at The Resort in Summerlin last Tuesday, July 21, with a dinner in the PDR.

The fabulous feast fit for royalty:

• Fabio’s Wagyu Meatball (one of the best in town, and I don’t say this lightly)
• Burrata with charred bread
• Ai Pazzi chop (gluten-free)
• Mediterranean branzino (devoured by the table)
• 14 oz. New York Steak (with roasted garlic, which I love, and prepared perfectly)
• Lumache vodka (vegan and a favorite of the night – delizioso!)
• Tiramisu
• Lemon olive oil cake (points for color and presentation)
• Cocktails (vibrant – and a lot of them)

Florence, Italy-born Viviani, whose Ai Pazzi Pizza with the adjacent Pearl Oyster & Crudo Bar by Chef Viviani, is next to Ai Pazzi at The Resort in Summerlin, talked with VegasPublicity.com post-dinner – Viviani, with his thick Italian accent, is charming, talented, handsome and engaging:

Congratulations on one year, chef. I interviewed you last October when you opened Pearl Oyster & Crudo Bar, so time flies.

Yeah, one year, you know, the baby’s growing, and we are very proud of its progress. It’s walking on his own. It’s making a lot of people happy. I am happy to be serving a lot of great food.

What have you learned in the first year? These are your first restaurants in Las Vegas? What have you learned about having a restaurant in Las Vegas?

I should have had a restaurant in Las Vegas a lot sooner! People in the neighborhood are going crazy for it. We have a very, very high return rate of our guests. We keep hearing from everybody that we are their favorite restaurant. It has become a nice Italian restaurant in the community.

And by the way, while I’m overjoyed about it, I’m very humbled about it. I also want to make sure that they continue with the support. There are other restaurants, as well. But I like to hear we’re people’s favorite restaurant.

About a month after you opened, I dined here at Ai Pazzi. Looking back on it, the thing that was memorable about it besides the wonderful food, the table-side salad, is just the attention to detail. There were people celebrating their birthday, an older couple, and they brought out a cake for them, sparkles, and they were so happy.

You know, it goes beyond the food, right? You gotta be hospitable. You got a lot of great neighborhood options. And people seldom go out just because they’re hungry. So we tried to provide an experience.

What is new on the menu after a year?

We made a few changes. We had a few pastas, we took a few ingredients, but the menu is relatively new. And we’re doing also a lot of specials. So for now, no major changes are planned. But we read the season. We’re gonna read people’s preferences, and if something doesn’t sell, we get rid of it.

What is the perfect meal for you here from salad and appetizers to entrees and dessert?

The caprese salad and lumache vodka.

That was amazing. Everyone at the table was raving about the lumache. Sorry to interrupt!

The sauce is the best. I think it’s the best vodka in Las Vegas right now. And by the way, everybody does it. I agree. It’s a done and redone dish, but you haven’t had it properly made any time. The way we do it, it is properly made.

What has been the biggest obstacle?

Convincing the locals that we’re not a celebrity chef restaurant. We have a restaurant driven by someone who happened to be on television once in a while but also cares very much about the actual hospitality and experience.

And I frequent many restaurants in Las Vegas, and while I do have a lot of opinions, a lot of preferences, it’s not always easy to find good hospitality behind some of the brands you would expect it from. You know?

Are you willing to tell me how about one restaurant that you’ve really enjoyed here in Las Vegas? Or a couple?

I had dinner at Sparrow & Wolf in Chinatown, Brian Howard’s restaurant. I had a delightful meal. It was very, very, very good. I had dinner at Lotus of Siam, an absolutely delicious meal.

I always go visit local places. I try to go and support as much as I can.

What’s next for you, chef?

We have other restaurants opening up, so you will still see me very often in Las Vegas. I’m here often.

Do you have time for fun here? Do you go to shows? Play golf?

Yeah, I do have fun during the day because the restaurant is not open for lunch. So I try to do the tourist … I want to take the family to the Sphere. Yeah, I haven’t been yet. I want to do the Grand Prix experience this year because I’m a speed junkie.

OK, and a few other things. I love firearms. So, shooting experiences. You have all of that here. You have everything.

In an interview last October, Viviani said, “Ai pazzi means to the crazy one, to the passionate one about food, hospitality and feeding you good food. Come and see us!”

More: AiPazzi.com