Drai's is located in the lower level of the Barbary Coast Casino/Hotel. The place is easy to miss. It is rather plain by today's Las Vegas standards. The dining room had lots of palms, candles and paintings in a theme similar their business card pictured here. Actually the dining room was quite comfortable and cozy once we were situated.

Frank, our waiter, had a great deal to do with our good experience at Drai's. Or was it the very cold, dry and large martini? Seriously, Frank was very knowledgeable about the menu items and how they were prepared.

The white fish appetizer on puff pastry did the job by stimulating our appetite. My Caesar salad was made from selected Romaine leaves greater than 3 but less than 4 inches long. After being tossed in their dressing (made without eggs) the leaves were stacked neatly on the chilled oval plate side by side as in a pile of logs! A single piece of fairly dry and lightly salted anchovy topped this great salad.

My osso bucco came exactly as Frank described. The lamb shank was tender, moist and tasty. I prefer lamb that tasted like lamb and this was fine. I was most happy about the bed of linguini (they called French pasta) under the shank. The texture was very smooth and it was cooked to the exactly correct point of doneness. The fresh butter was evident in the linguini. This pasta permeated with the sauce from the osso bucco was the very best pasta I had in a restaurant!

My wife was less happy with her leg of lamb (simmered for seven hours in a cast iron pot with the lid sealed by a ring of bread dough) after she had a taste of my osso bucco. Our daughter loved her Mahi Mahi (marinated for 24 hours in a light soy and ginger sauce).

It was a wonderful and memorable dinner.