I can't help it: I see wood-fired pizza on the menu and I have to stop. Stratta, at the Wynn Las Vegas caught my eye and I sat up the bar.

Knowing what I wanted right away, I ordered the $14 Margherita and a glass of Row Eleven Pinot Noir. Within only a few minutes my pizza arrived and the bartender apologized to the people next to me whom were still waiting for their food from before I arrived. I can't complain there.

But sometimes you know a pizza is not going to be great before you even taste it. The basil looked like it went through a machine, the cheese looked heavy and the crust looked paper-thin. It was cut in quarters, which was most inconvenient considering how flimsy and floppy the crust was. Trying to fold a slice in hand caused grease to drip down and biting into it periodically squirted bits of sauce on my hand. This surprised me as I barely tasted the sauce. With the cheese-to-rest-of-pizza ratio I figured the chef might be from Wisconsin. I've had better bar pizza for half the price.

After I was done with half of it I asked for the rest to be boxed. Might come in handy if I get inebriated later in the night, I thought.

The highlights at Stratta were the wine and the wonderful conversation with the two women next to me from Toronto. We talked at length from foreign mobile roaming tariffs, Research in Motion, Barack Obama, U.S. politics, Canadian accents and my stay ended with a strong and insightful recommendation that I travel to Halifax for a romantic holiday. I forgot about my pizza at this point, which was probably for the best.

Stratta at the Wynn Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-770-3463

Great pizza is Las Vegas is surprisingly lacking. With the boom of pizzerias in Los Angeles and great places such as Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix -- while noting all the big-name chefs and restauranteurs that make their home in Las Vegas -- it's a surprise that Las Vegas is not a magnet for a place comparable in standards set by Una Pizza Napoletana or Pizzeria Bianco.

That said, there is an extension of Brooklyn's Grimaldi's that's in Vegas but it is no where near where any tourist would find it. Far from the Strip and many miles south of the airport in a strip mall called Richmar Plaza is one of the locations of Grimaldi's Pizzeria. As I had only been to the Brooklyn location, walking in was a mild shock. Grimaldi's Pizzeria has very high ceilings, it's extremely clean, there's a huge TV (showing a basketball game when I visited), and a full bar with outdoor seating that extends into the parking lot. It's a nice suburban-looking restaurant with a few things that are passed on from the Brooklyn original: gingham tablecloths, a coal fired oven (that looks like its been there for decades) and supposedly, the same pizza. Old photos of the Brooklyn Bridge and landmarks from New York juxtaposed with fake MTA subway signage reminded me how different this place left compared to the original.

Handed the menu, I was asked, "have you been here before?"

"Well, I've been to the Grimaldi's in Brooklyn."

"Well, it is exactly the same here."

We'll see, I figured. Without even looking at the menu I asked for a Margherita-style pizza and I glanced at the wine list and picked out the Sebastiani Pinot Noir.

The wine was great. The pizza didn't take long to arrive and looked like a replica of the original Grimaldi's. Looking underneath, the char was certainly less than I'd expect but still in style. In my first bite I was reminded of the mozzarella at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn with its distinctive taste and texture. It was very chewy and quite stringy. The cheese is "homemade" and well replicated here. The tomatoes were fresh and tasty but most of my pleasure was in the crust: thin and crispy yet very chewy. Quite tasty and almost addictive. I haven't had pizza quite like this since, well, the last time I was in New York.

Residents around this southern area of Las Vegas have a serious treat -- it is too bad they haven't opened a location on Las Vegas Boulevard. Someone at some point will inevitably create a pizzeria of this caliber on the Strip... right? Perhaps I'm asking for something too authentic for Vegas' standards. For now, pizza hunters traveling to Vegas will find the taxi fare to this location worth the price.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria
9595 S Eastern Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89123
702-657-9400