HEIDI’S PICKS

Heidi's Picks is a weekly selection of restaurant suggestions from Review-Journal critic Heidi Knapp Rinella. Price symbols are based on the cost of an average entree: $ = entrees less than $10; $$ = entrees between $10 and $20; $$$ = entrees between $20 and $30; and $$$$ = entrees more than $30.

DON ANTONIO'S

8810 Maryland Parkway; 818-3789

Good Italian restaurants are so numerous in the valley that they tend to run together but Don Antonio's stands out with its blend of nontraditional dishes along with the usual suspects. Homemade roasted red peppers were sublime but no less so than stuffed mushrooms, Chicken Breast Dore and Fettucine Carbonara that wasn't what we think of when we think of carbonara, but memorably delicious nonetheless. (5/29/09)

Overall: A $$

PEPPERMILL RESTAURANT

2985 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 735-4177

If you haven't eaten at the Peppermill you should, because it's nothing if not unique. A very cool throwback whose magnolia-and-neon decor looks as though a Southern plantation exploded and rained down on the set of a futuristic '70s TV show, it also happens to serve good (and reliable) food, and in copious portions. We ran into a bit of a service snag but loved the Pastrami Burger with creamy potato salad, and the Walnut Creek Salad with pear-cilantro vinaigrette and rosemary focaccia. And don't miss the lounge, complete with fire-breathing fountain. (3/16/09)

Overall: B+ $$

RED VELVET CAFE

7875 W. Sahara Ave.; 360-1972

Cheddar-bacon fries at a restaurant that promises "designed with health in mind" threw us for a sec, but we decided they were a nod to vegans (for the pseudo-meat, soy-cheese option) and a bone to the rest of us. They were quite good, at any rate, as was the chicken Caesar wrap and, with some reservations, the avocado-basil spaghetti, but the highlight of our dinner was the red-velvet cake that wasn't overly sweet but had the characteristic mild chocolate flavor, subtle acidic note and ample moistness that would do a Southern grandmother proud. (11/28/08)

Overall: B $

VIC & ANTHONY'S STEAKHOUSE

Golden Nugget, 129 Fremont St.; 385-7111

Aside from some Lyonnaise potatoes that weren't -- just because somebody didn't let well enough alone -- we liked just about everything about Vic & Anthony's. That would include the lobster bisque, mozzarella-and-tomato salad, creamed spinach, shrimp scampi, 16-ounce Prime rib-eye and, for dessert, a pecan ball that was as perfect a finish as we could have hoped for. (4/11/08)

Overall: A- $$$$