Tiny Buon Gusto a hidden gem with tasty New York-style Italian fare

Doing a little research on Buon Gusto after receiving a tip, I noted that the restaurant is more than 10 years old and wondered why in the world it hadn't shown up on my radar all this time.

After dining there, I have a guess: The regulars don't want the rest of the world to know about it.

Buon Gusto is, you see, an extremely tiny place with but a handful of tables. It occupies a slot-shaped space in a supermarket shopping center, so it's not easy to spot.

One thing I'd been told was that this family-owned restaurant is reminiscent of similar spots in New York, and it is, in spades. We walked in on a weeknight to find nearly every table occupied, with a large party of New Yawk speakers in the back. They were clearly regulars, a clientele that always speaks well for a neighborhood place.

The Gothamisms extend, of course, to the pizza -- even to the extent that, according to the menu, the dough is shipped in from New York. The specialty pizzas evoke the spirit as well, with such names as The Bronx Bomber, Ray's Grinder and Boston White Pizza.

But that's all been tempered with a Western sensibility, and what appealed to us was the California White Pizza ($12.95, $20.95 or $23.95, depending on size), with a kiss of olive oil, a just-right coating of mozzarella, plenty of garlic and judicious amounts of fresh spinach and broccoli (and no tomato sauce; hence the "white pizza" name). The crust was thin but nice and stretchy -- just as it should be -- and the garlic jazzed up the broccoli and spinach and balanced everything out nicely.

I have to give props to a spot that has a separate section of its menu for "eggplant entrees," since eggplant is one of the best, and most often overlooked, ingredients in the Italian culinary lexicon. Of the three selections, we chose the Chef Cisco Style ($14.95), lightly coated tender medallions with just a touch of mozzarella and a light sherry-based sauce. This one came with a penne, either with marinara or aglio e olio, the choice being unusual and quite welcome. We went with the former and found the pasta al dente and the sauce deeply flavored. It also came with soup or salad (a pretty good deal for $14.95, I might add), and the Italian wedding soup was a particularly deft rendition, the broth rich, the escarole soft but not soggy.

We'd started with crabmeat-based stuffed mushrooms ($8.95), which were pretty good, and certainly very plentiful.

But it was with the mushrooms that we realized the presentation at Buon Gusto doesn't receive the attention it should. The very appealing herb-oil-balsamic blend for dipping the crusty bread was served in a spoon rest, which we actually thought was a clever idea. But the mushrooms just sort of skittered around on the plate, the pizza pan was placed rather unceremoniously on the table and the eggplant was without garnish. Small things, these -- and likely of no concern to the regulars -- but something that could lift Buon Gusto a notch.

Which may or may not be a good idea. Let me stress again that this is a tiny place, with an already established clientele. Yes, add it to your rotation, because it's one of those deserving little mom-and-pops that I love to tell you about. But please don't all go at once -- and that generally means right away -- because that's a burden the owners don't deserve.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.