Italian restaurant Bratalian reopens in Las Vegas after crash destroys eatery
Business at chef Carla Pellegrino’s Henderson restaurant, Bratalian, ended with a big bang on the afternoon of Aug. 15 when a man driving a pickup crossed six lanes of traffic and crashed into the front of the restaurant.
The man, who may have suffered a medical episode, had minor injuries, and no one was in the restaurant at the time, but the damage was severe.
“He actually went through the dining room and ended up by the ladies’ room,” Pellegrino said. “Destroyed the whole place. It was a big business interruption.”
Bratalian re-opened Monday. Pellegrino, a native of Brazil, former resident of Italy and graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, had operated a restaurant in New York’s theater district when she came to Las Vegas in 2006 as executive chef at Rao’s at Caesars Palace. Several restaurants in Las Vegas followed, and she now is executive chef at Touche Rooftop Restaurant in Miami as well as executive chef/owner at Bratalian.
Review-Journal: Always in your fridge?
Chef Carla Pellegrino: I always have tomatoes; I’ve got a thing for tomatoes. Always have lettuce and eggs.
RJ: Current obsession?
Pellegrino: “I like ‘Vinyl,’ on HBO. I can’t wait for it to come back.”
RJ: Newest Las Vegas discovery?
Pellegrino: To me it was actually a rediscovering. I really like to go downtown. I just love Fremont Street. To me, it has an identity, it’s a place to go. I love that.
RJ: Favorite indulgence?
Pellegrino: I like to run, I like to dance a lot. At least once a month I try to squeeze in going to a nightclub. I like any kind of music — classic, underground, blues.
RJ: I never eat …
Pellegrino: My favorite food — seafood — because I became allergic (about 12 years ago). I used to eat it every day. The body thinks it’s helping me out. It’s horrible.
RJ: Favorite brunch at home?
Pellegrino: I love French toast, an egg-white omelet with lots of vegetables and feta cheese, grapefruit and lots of coffee.
RJ: Tip for home cooks?
Pellegrino: Home cooking needs to be simple. If you always have chicken breasts, two or three kinds of pasta in your kitchen and you’ve got a couple of tomatoes and a little garlic, you can do anything. And a good extra-virgin olive oil; it could become a sauce in itself, with a slice of garlic, little crush of red pepper.
RJ: Currently working on?
Pellegrino: Reopening Bratalian. After eight weeks of construction, it’s like a reopening. Until January, I cannot think of anything else.
Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.
