Sunday, November 1, 2026

Remembering Carmine Vento, who brought New York slices to Las Vegas with Villa Pizza in 1976

Carmine's Pizza Kitchen · Four shops: American Pacific Dr, W Horizon Ridge Pkwy and Raiders Way in Henderson, plus S Fort Apache Rd · Southwest

Credit: Carmine's Pizza Kitchen

Carmine Vento opened Villa Pizza in Commercial Center on East Sahara in 1976, selling pizza by the slice when nobody in town did that, and the RJ says his fellow cabdrivers told him it would never work. It did, and Villa Pizzas spread across the valley and fed a generation of Las Vegans. He sold the Villa name in 2002, went back to making pizza in 2014 with a shop on West Horizon Ridge in Henderson, and grew that into four Carmine's Pizza Kitchens. The RJ and 8 News Now report he died on Oct 30, according to a post from the restaurant, and his children Frank, John and Connie run the shops and say they'll keep his recipes going. The family says he built it all on "hard work, quality food and hospitality," and if you grew up on Villa slices, Carmine's is still where you'll find them.

Changes / new menus

A Revolution Bar & Grill sign reading Now Open, American Classics, Turned Up, with a burger picture, on an outside wall at the Rio (Vital Vegas photo) — Credit: Vital Vegas

Changed: Luckley Tavern & Grill at the Rio is now Revolution Bar & Grill

Revolution Bar & Grill · Rio Las Vegas, 3700 W Flamingo Rd · West of the Strip

The bar and grill on the Rio's casino floor has a new name and a music theme, with Revolution Bar & Grill signs up where Luckley Tavern & Grill used to be, Vital Vegas spotted, and he says the walls are now covered in vinyl records. The Rio's own page lists Revolution with truffle cheese dip, fritto misto and wings to share, then a signature burger, rigatoni alla vodka, a New York steak and prime rib. It opens at 3 p.m. and is closed on Wednesdays.

Deals & happy hours

A bowl of seafood pasta with clams and basil next to a glass of white wine at Ferraro's (Ferraro's Ristorante photo) — Credit: Ferraro's Ristorante

Thanksgiving: Ferraro's serves an $84 Italian turkey dinner on Nov 26, then a $150 Il Palazzo wine dinner on Nov 29

Ferraro's Ristorante · 4480 Paradise Rd · Off the Strip

Ferraro's on Paradise Road is doing Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov 26, from noon to 8 p.m., with three courses for $84 ($28 for kids 12 and under) and the regular menu available too. You pick a starter like burrata with blueberry compote or butternut squash ravioli, then get free-range turkey with sausage stuffing, cranberry chutney and mashed potatoes, and finish with pistachio cannoli, tiramisu or pie. On Sunday, Nov 29, at 6 p.m., the restaurant's last Taste & Learn dinner of the year pairs four Il Palazzo wines from Tuscany with jumbo prawns, pasta e fagioli, a saffron sausage risotto and braised short rib for $150 all in. Both need a reservation held with a credit card, and the wine dinner tickets can't be refunded.

Three buffet plates with carved meats, shrimp, salad and desserts next to an iced tea (South Point photo) — Credit: South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa

South Point's sit-down Thanksgiving rooms are sold out, but the Garden Buffet does a $32.95 turkey day and a free Veterans Day buffet on Nov 11

Garden Buffet at South Point · South Point, 9777 S Las Vegas Blvd · South Las Vegas Blvd · Southwest

South Point's own holiday page says Thanksgiving at Don Vito's, Silverado, Baja Miguel's and Primarily Prime Rib is already sold out, so the move there is the Garden Buffet, which runs all day on Thursday, Nov 26, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for $32.95 with a club card or $37.95 without. That gets you roast turkey with the trimmings, prime rib, peel-and-eat shrimp, pies and a gelato bar, plus two drinks for guests 21 and up (Bloody Marys until 11 a.m., then wine, Champagne, sangria or draft beer). Before that, on Wednesday, Nov 11, the buffet is free from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for active duty military and veterans plus one guest, as long as you show a military ID or DD214 at the cashier. South Point also says the Coronado Café will have an $18.95 three-course turkey dinner on Thanksgiving.

Vegas Food News