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If you could only cook with one more protein, what would it be and why?

I would say my favorite protein has to be langoustine. I just think it’s the single greatest crustacean on the planet. There’s nothing quite like them.

What’s your preferred method to prepare them?

Cut them in half and bake them, no salt.

What was the last meal that you cooked at home?

I made ricotta ravioli with butter and sage with my daughter.

What’s the key to a good version of that dish?

Super, super thin pasta that’s made and boiled, and really great ingredients so that you have great ricotta. Super thin pasta, so it’s not all about the dough, but it’s about the butter and filling ,and the simplicity of butter and sage is so great.

What do you like to drink and where do you like to drink when you’re not working?

One of my favorite things to drink is Aperol. Aperol Fizz, at my home. One of my other favorite things to drink is Gosset Champagne. And lastly, I love vintage Madeira.

Is there a person you’ve never cooked with that you’d most like to cook with?

Not really, no. I like to cook more with my daughter and with my wife, not with a person. I’d just rather cook more with my wife and my daughter, more time with them.

How old is your daughter?

She’s 10, going on 15.

Is she a future chef?

Not if I can have anything to do with it. Future passionate food person, yes. Chef, no.

How would Bartolotta Las Vegas be different if it was in North Dakota?

It wouldn’t be because I wouldn’t open in North Dakota. This is a restaurant that needs density/ Chicago, New York, L.A., London, Paris. It needs a big international city. It needs density and people that are well traveled.

Do you have plans to open another restaurant?

I don’t have plans. Occasionally, I get asked to look at an opportunity, and I look, but I have no plans at the moment. Either you’re pregnant or your not. I’m definitely not pregnant.

Do you have any off menu dishes?

Oh my god, I have tons of them. I don’t have caprese on the menu. I get asked, can you make me veal Milanese? And I make it. Do you have manta shrimp? I make manta shrimp. Can you make me cacciuco, which is a fish stew from the Tuscan coast? Yes. I get crazy questions all the time. Can you make me fettuccine with sardines and wild fennel from Sicily? My menu’s gigantic, gargantuan, but what I’ve found is, you cast out a big net, you catch a lot of fish…I serve lamb and beef. I specialize in Mediterranean fish, so I’ve got 40 different species on my menu, and they all speak Italian.

How do you decide which food events to do?

I say no more and more to the events that I’m offered, because I just need to stay focused on being a restaurateur. While being visible is important, being in the restaurant is more important. I’m very selective about the events I do. I love L.A., it’s a huge feeder market for Las Vegas. A lot of good customers are in L.A. Wolfgang is a very good friend. Daniel Boulud is a very good friend. Rob and Dave, very good friends. There were a lot of reasons this was a no brainer for me.