Veloce Cibo at M Resort offers wonderful view, artfully designed dishes

Go to Veloce Cibo for the view. But be sure to stay for the food.

"Dining and nightlife above the Strip," the website says, but we figure that would be news to the locals who make up a large part of M Resort's customer base, because it's kind of a hike from the Strip. Personally, we see that distance as a plus; sky-high Strip vistas aren't exactly a rarity anymore, but where else can you get a 360-degree view of the valley that stretches to the mountains, which turn a soft velvety color in the gathering dusk?

Despite its name and lemon-grove motif, Veloce Cibo is not an Italian restaurant but a quintessentially American one. Its menu borrows heavily from various Asian cuisines but is, in the final analysis, a mashup, with the kind of sushi-and-small-plates flexibility that Americans have come to appreciate. There are entrees there, sure, and some of them were pretty tempting, but we decided to do a bunch of mixing. What we found were plates that had been artfully designed to show off a wide spectrum of colors and flavors that were every bit as bright and varied.

From a fairly long list of sushi rolls, we chose the Surf and Turf Roll ($16), which showed the wisdom of keeping things simple if you're using good-quality ingredients. There wasn't much to this one -- just the nori and rice, wrapped around truly spicy tuna and kobe beef. It was such a pleasing contrast of pure flavors that we didn't even bother with soy sauce.

The rest of our dinner came from the "sharing plates" section of the menu. The buffalo mozzarella salad ($13) was a classic except for the addition of crispy pancetta, which added a salty, earthy note to the springlike flavor of the multicolored tomatoes and the sweet purity of the cheese.

The Bigeye Tuna Tartare ($15) was enlivened by tiny dabs of a wasabi aioli and peppered crisps that reminded us of papadums, in texture, anyway. Beef carpaccio ($15) was fairly classic except for the addition of a black-truffle vinaigrette that actually contained pieces of truffle, which is unusual as these things go. Serious truth in advertising with this one; the baby arugula really was tiny, and therefore somewhat delicate (for arugula, anyway), and the shaved Parmesan had great depth.

Everything was raw up to this point, which we didn't plan but which seems especially appealing now that the sultry weather is upon us; our wine (a Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc) had a refreshing effect and worked pretty well with most everything, and was promptly refilled by our affable, accommodating waiter.

And, finally, there was our one cooked dish, chicken lettuce wraps ($12), the classic pile of cold, crisp leaves with a chopped-chicken mixture that had a great bit of kick.

As we ate and shared and talked, we looked around not only at the mountains and the winking lights of the valley but also down to the resort's pool area and thought how much fun it would be to sit down there.

But then we'd miss the view from the top. And we'd have to see if Veloce Cibo delivers downstairs.

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.