As you may know, we were in Las Vegas for an event, but I never said what event…  It was the 6th Annual Carnival of Cuisine at The Venetian and The Palazzo!  Now, you may have never heard of this, which is part of their “Winter in Venice” celebration, but it is oh-so fun.  🙂  Because my mom comes to Las Vegas so often and plays into the wee hours, she gets invited to events like these year-round.  But believe me when I saw that the Carnival of Cuisine is extra special!  Typical trips to Las Vegas are with my aunts and uncles, but this is the event where the “kids” get to join in on the fun!

I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking because the food is just divine!  First off, this year it was held on the pool deck, which was much different than previous years in the ballroom.  In some ways better and in some ways worse, but definitely a beautiful location!

Each restaurant affiliated with The Venetian and The Palazzo gets its own table and has one to two little samples.  They stamp your “passport” so you can visit all of the booths, but really it is a free-for-all!

This was Buddy V’s Ristorante, a restaurant from Buddy Valastro, better known as the Cake Boss.

I was a bit unsure if I would like the meatball and fried mozzarella from a guy who makes cakes all day, but I judged much too harshly!  It was divine.  🙂

However, the tiramisu was INCREDIBLE!  I am very picky about my tiramisu, and this was one of my favorites of all time.  A+!

Now, I’m sure you realize that this is another desert, but I was not about to pass up on Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio table.  🙂  I loved the last meal we had there!

These were warm donuts with a liquidy ganache center placed on a dollop of raspberry sauce.  So heavenly…  They may have forgotten to stamp our passports and we had just a couple more at the end of the afternoon…  🙂

You know the busy restaurant in the Piazza of the Grand Canal Shoppes?  The is Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, which comes from Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, and lucky there was no waiting to try this little tidbit!  It was a Taleggio and Apple Mostarda Piadina, which translates to…  yum?  But really, I love a creamy, nutty cheese, so anything is delicious with it!

B&B Ristorante had a Homemade Orechiette with Spicy Lamb Sausage and Rapini, which could have possibly been my favorite, but it was a bit salty for my taste.  Such lovely pasta though.  🙂

I thought I had to skip the Tagliata di Manzo at Carnevino, but it turned out that the thinly sliced meat was actually a beef with the arugula and parmigiano.  Great!  Also, I’m not sure how many restaurants Mario Batali has, but they are everywhere!

B&B Burger and Beer had an Averna Caramel Milkshake with gingersnap crumbs, which was served with fun paper straws.  Very sweet and very addicting!

Lagasse’s Stadium is a casual restaurant/amazing sports bar from Emeril Lagasse with more than a hundred TV screens playing all kinds of sports.  They had an Ahi Tuna Poke on a wonton chip, which was the same item they served the previous year.  It’s a good one!

At Table 10, Emeril’s high-end restaurant, they were serving Banana Cream Pies in these adorable tiny cups!

At Delmonico Steakhouse, a tiny bite of Classic Steak Tartare, which was delicious.  🙂

Tao had a pork dumpling, which I could not sample…  It did look great!

As you can see, LAVO served a huge plate of Spinach Infused Fettucine, Rabbit and Chanterelle Ragu.  It was one of my favorite flavor profiles!

ZINE Noodles Dim Sum had a peking duck roll and a sesame ball filled with sweet beans.  Peking duck is always fantastic, and that is one of my favorite Chinese desserts!

I must mention that there were all kinds of drinks available, but I am an eater through and through.  The guys did pick up a few martinis here and there!

Warm, spiced nuts from the Venetian Catering was actually one of my mom’s favorites!  She got the lowdown on the recipe, so I have a feeling she’ll be tinkering around with making her own soon.  🙂

Pinot Brasserie had a Lobster Bisque with a lobster toast perched on top.  It was one of my tops!  I always enjoy my meals there, and they have a branch here in Southern California.  Lucky me!

Taqueria Canoñita had a table with two treats!  A margarita on one side…

and pork sliders on the other side!

We had a fantastic meal at Aquaknox for our last trip during my birthday, so I was expecting a lot from their bite.  It was a salmon on forbidden rice and completely scrumptious!

At Public House, they were serving delicious Rabbit Pierogie with carrot puree and gremolatta, which I gobbled up so quickly that I forgot to take a picture of!  We always visit here because my guy likes his beer, and they had a Hell’s Keep Belgian Strong Ale for him to try.

On Instagram, I shared this Christmas Trifle!  The layers were Eggnog Mousse, Gingerbread Crumble, Orange Pound Cake, and Pomegranate Gelee.  Pretty AND delicious!

Grand Lux Cafe had a Chicken Jambalaya, and we were well on our way to becoming really full!

At Canyon Ranch Grill, they served an amazing vegetarian chili, which I would gladly order!  Of course, we scarfed it down without taking a picture.  By this point, my guy and I were splitting dishes so we could at least sample the last few!

Along with the chili, they were serving a warm, mulled spiced apple cider.  It was delicious, and perfect for the semi-chilly weather outside!

SUSHISAMBA had an amazing display.  Check out that succulent and floral vase and all of the beautiful display places with orchids scattered around it.  Gorgeous!

They served a tuna roll wrapped in soy paper.  This was actually my dad’s favorite.  🙂

Okay, now this last booth by Bouchon has more than enough eye candy, pun totally intended!  Over the last year, we have eaten there three times, including once for a Mother’s Day Brunch in California!  (1st, 2nd, 3rd)  It is my mom’s favorite restaurant, so we are headed here tomorrow for brunch again.  🙂

Anyways, check out this lovely cake!

And two towers of macarons!  Wow!

The peppermint macaron was one of the best I ever had, and it was perfectly complemented by this peppermint hot chocolate…  perfection!

I probably should have saved the dessert for last, but we had one last restaurant to try.  Rockhouse was serving chicken tacos, which I was really surprised that I liked so much after all of the fine dining restaurants!  Everyone had given up by then, but I did make my guy try a couple of bites.  He agreed.  🙂

As you can tell, we had a fantastic time trying everything out!  Last year, my sister’s guy won something in the raffle, but no one was as lucky this year.  🙂  I can’t wait until next year, but it may take me until then to exercise it all off!

Carnival of Cuisine
3325 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109