Executive Chef Theo Schoenegger is no stranger to Italian cooking. During his time as executive chef at San Domenico in New York City, the restaurant was considered the country’s premier Italian restaurant! Chef Schoenegger found his calling at an early age when helping his mother in the kitchen. By 18 he had enrolled in a five-year culinary program in Merano, Italy, after which he moved to Munich to work at restaurant called Augergine Tantris. This paved the way for his entree to San Domenico, as he met Tony May while he was working in Munich. May asked him to come to New York and work for Palio and ultimately for San Domenico. Schoenegger took him up on his offer but ultimately left New York for warmer pastures in Palm Beach, where he spent four years as executive chef of Aquoria. He returned to reopen Rock Center Café with Nick Valenti and Restaurant Associates, but then moved to Los Angeles to become executive chef at Patina, Patina Group’s signature restaurant at the Walt Disney Center. While he was there, the restaurant earned both a Relais & Chateau rating -- one of only two in Los Angeles to receive this honor -- and a Michelin star. Then came Chef Schoenegger’s move to Vegas. Originally, the space at Encore was to be called Theo’s after Chef Schoenegger. Six weeks prior to opening, however, Steve Wynn had the opportunity -- after meeting with the Sinatra family lawyer and representatives from Warner Bros. Records, which owns the rights to Sinatra’s catalogue -- to salute his old friend by naming in his honor a premier Italian restaurant in the city he loved so much. Chef Schoenegger’s interest was sparked and he immediately changed the restaurant’s direction from that of a seasonal, farmers’ market-driven concept to a that of an Italian concept featuring a menu of comfort food filled with love, such as Veal Milanese, Frank’s Clams Possilipo and a variety of pastas that Sinatra loved, not to mention some interesting twists both on old favorites, such as Osso Bucco, and on new, more modern dishes. That’s not to say the seasonal farmers’ market component is missing. It’s not. In fact, it’s right there, and with Chef Schoenegger’s California market connections, you can taste the freshness!

Antipasti (Freddi e Caldi – Cold and Hot Appetizers): Caprese (bufala mozzarella, tomato, basil, $18); Prosciutto (Parma prosciutto, Parmiggiano Reggiano, fire-roasted peppers, $19); Frank's Clams Possilipo (little neck clams, tomato, garlic, oregano, parsley, $17); Tonno (blue fin tuna, "Sorrentina" style, $19); Assaggini di Mare (quartet of the sea, $24); Insalatina dell' Imperatore ("Caesar Salad," lemon-anchovy vinaigrette, $16); Indivia (endive, arugula, grapes, walnuts, gorgonzola, $17); Carpaccio (thinly sliced beef, Parmigiano Reggiano, wild arugula, pickled Alba mushrooms, $19); Pasta Fagioli (cannellini beans, ditali pasta, escarole, tomatoes, $12); Polpettine (meatballs, polenta, mushrooms $19).