There’s a lot of reasons to cheer on the newly reopened Palms Casino Resort—the first resort in Vegas now fully owned + operated by a Native American Tribe—after a two-year pandemic closure. 

Chief among those reasons is the massive multi-room Greene Street space, with its colorful + imaginative eye candy including whimsical apocalyptic-chic decor. Really perfect, then, that downtown’s adventurous + acclaimed Vegas Test Kitchen has taken over the space Fridays + Saturdays through the end of July with rotating guest chefs. 

It was an honor to be invited to a media preview dinner ahead of its last Friday official opening, with chef Josh Bianchi helming the first weekend and unveiling a memorable four-course “Rustic American Italian” dinner. 

The artfully prepped antipasto board—with roasted + pickled vegetables, pepperoni croquettes, and focaccia with salsa verde aioli—was a home run, segueing into the silky Thai Snapper Crudo, with fava beans + a wild mushroom agrodolce. Both dishes set the stage for the outstanding entree, the tonnarelli (typical egg pasta shaped like spaghetti), which nicely hung onto the spot-on sausage sauce. Bianchi’s menu was topped off with his Strawberry Rhubarb Pavolva, a meringue-based tart-and-sweet creation that instantly felt like summertime, perfectly matched to these triple digit days.  

The VTK prix-fixe menus are hip, tasty + moderately priced at $59, and the Greene St. space is the perfect venue for them. Go here for the VTK schedule at Greene St:  https://vegastestkitchen.com