Dining Pick of the Week: Bambino’s East Coast Pizzeria
Bambino’s East Coast Pizzeria
Lakeside Village Plaza, 2555 S. Durango Drive at Sahara Avenue, 702-242-2266
New York City transplants can heave a sigh of relief: True Italian food has come to the Summerlin area. Bambino’s East Coast Pizzeria is a family-owned and -operated eatery with true Italian roots. Ralph Pota, the family patriarch, was born in Naples, Italy. The business follows recipes handed down through the generations. He insists on making the sauce using tomatoes from a certain region in Italy, San Marzano. That’s crucial, he said, for getting the sauce just right. So is having things baked in a real brick oven. The menu is full of traditional foods, and most of the pizzas are thin crust, but the Sicilian version is thick as a book. Choose from specialties including white clam, Buffalo chicken, Bianca and Primavera, or make your own version. Thin-crust pizza starts at $14 and can be topped with a plethora of choices, including pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, bacon, meatball, salami, black olives, ham, ricotta, jalapenos, pineapple, garlic, green peppers, sliced tomato, anchovy, onions and red peppers. Combinations including the Supreme with pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, and onion; the Meat Lovers with sausage, pepperoni, meatball and salami; and the Hawaiian with ham, pineapple and bacon. There is also a Veggie option, with green peppers, mushrooms, onions, sliced tomatoes and black olives, and a White pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, basil and oil. Sandwiches start at $6 and include peppers and eggs, Italian sausage and peppers, steak and cheese, calzone, and parmigiana style with meatball, chicken, shrimp or eggplant. Baked pasta dishes include ziti, ravioli, stuffed shells, rollatini and lasagna, starting at $12. For dessert, try the homemade ricotta cheese cake. Bambino’s East Coast Pizzeria is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
