Las Vegas restaurants announce openings, a new brunch and more

Sparrow + Wolf at 4480 Spring Mountain Road, will introduce brunch beginning this Sunday. Menu items will include smoked trout rillettes with smashed English peas and trout roe, $14; grilled shrimp and artichokes with preserved lemon and miso vinaigrette, $19; a duck confit cinnamon roll with duck-fat frosting and yuzu apricot chutney, $16; and a Japanese rolled omelet with dashi creme fraiche, soy and scallion ginger, $14. All-you-can drink Champagne is $28 with two cold-pressed juices, such as vanilla, strawberry and basil. The brunch is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays; reservations for parties of no larger than six are available at sparrowandwolflv.com or 702-790-2147.

Marrone to do pizza

Marc Marrone plans to launch Gemma Gemma’s, a takeout-only pizza concept, Aug. 3. It’s a concept close to the chef’s heart, featuring a style of square pizza he used to make with his father growing up, which he describes as a cross between Detroit and Sicilian. The brand’s mascot is a tribute to his late father, while the company name is a reference to his grandmother. Gemma Gemma’s will operate as a sort of ghost kitchen, preparing pizzas, roast pork sandwiches and other East Coast pizzeria classics for pickup or delivery out of the kitchen at Marrone’s Graffiti Bao.

DIY lasagna

In honor of National Lasagna Day on Wednesday, North Italia, 1069 S. Rampart Blvd., is offering at do-it-yourself lasagna kit that serves four to six people for $65. It comes with house-made Bolognese sauce, herbed ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and Grana Padana cheeses, a Caesar salad, Parmesan-garlic bread, a side of marinara and tiramisu. Call 702-507-0927.

Binge-worthy Black Sheep cocktails

If the new cocktail menu at The Black Sheep, 8680 W. Warm Springs Road, reminds you of your watchlist on your favorite streaming service, don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. The drinks are themed to binge-worthy shows and promise layers of flavor. For example, the Lil’ Sebastian, which is Wild Turkey rye, miso demerara and orange bitters, is a posthumous tribute to a beloved miniature horse from “Parks and Recreation.” If that one seems fairly obvious, you’ll have fun trying to identify the inspiration behind the Coo-Coo-Ca-Cha, Block Party, Kansas City Business Trip and three others. They’re $13 each.

Finger Licking takes on Chinatown

Finger Licking Foodie Tours has launched a self-guided tour of the Spring Mountain Road neighborhood that shows why calling it “Chinatown” fails to do it justice. An offshoot of Lip Smacking Foodies group tours, Finger Licking has responded to the pandemic with tours guided by an app on your phone. It allows groups of two to six to visit three restaurants and have signature dishes at each over the course of two and half hours, with reservations, payment and even Uber rides (when necessary) taken care of in advance. The new itinerary includes stops at tapas spot Edo, Sparrow + Wolf and the Thai restaurant Lamaii for $125 per person. Book at fingerlickingfoodietours.com.

More temporary closings

Add Izakaya Go, Pokeman and the two Ramen Show locations to the local restaurants that have opted to close due to COVID-19 concerns. Go Hoashi, who owns all four, announced the closures on social media Sunday. He said he did it for public safety, so all of his workers could be tested before getting back to serving the public. He’s hoping to reopen once everyone gets their test results back.

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter. Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.