Alex

Wednesday - Sunday, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Attire: No casual attire. Jackets are required.

Americans love superlatives, so how about this one: Ask top restaurant professionals to name the best chef in town, and the man whose name comes up again and again is that of Alessandro Stratta, known as Alex to his friends and in his eponymous restaurant.

Stratta labored for years at Renoir in the Mirage, not exactly in obscurity, since the restaurant won numerous awards (such as Mobil's Five-Star rating), but without much of an audience, as it was a smaller restaurant that didn't afford him a chance to really air out his prodigious talents.

Now he has surfaced as signature chef at Wynn, in a grand, belle époque-style space punctuated by a staircase cloned from the film "Hello, Dolly!" It's the room where Elaine Wynn had a lavish birthday party the evening before the hotel opened, and the place where none other than Elizabeth Taylor chose to dine that very same weekend.

Stratta, who was mentored by two of the world's most famous chefs -- Alain Ducasse and Daniel Boulud -- is to the manner born. He literally grew up in hotels because of his Italian hotelier father, who brought the family to both Europe and Asia.

The chef calls his cuisine Mediterranean, though more accurately it is a mix of classic French and American ingenuity with Italian spirit. The restaurant, designed by Roger Thomas and Jane Radoff, is an opulent room with a persistently orange color scheme, and appointments such as ornate curtains, top-end table settings and a grandeur generally not seen in restaurants built in the new millennium.

This kind of luxury comes with a price. The restaurant may be able to lay claim to the title of one the most expensive in the city, because of a tasting menu format with a price point that varies from $70 to an astronomical $350 for a six-course extravaganza that matches great wines of France with each course.

So what dishes make Alex so compelling? Appetizers like lobster quenelles with crayfish, black truffles and Romanesco (a Catalan sauce), Santa Barbara prawns in a cauliflower veloute, and a perfect asparagus gratin with morels and buttered hop sprouts. Main courses like "Tuscan-style" pork with stewed tomatoes and mascarpone polenta, or stuffed rabbit with prosciutto, spring vegetables and green lentils.

And desserts from his longtime pastry chef, Jenifer Witte, the most unforgettable of which include warm peaches with mascarpone crepes and fresh mint soufflé, and sinful chocolate with warm orange caramel and coco-orange tuiles. They are virtually peerless.

Service doesn't miss a beat, as many of the chef's loyal crew followed him here from Renoir. And lest you chafe at the expense, remember: The best never comes cheap.

Alex is recognized by AAA as a Five Diamond Restaurant, one of only three in Las Vegas.

-- Max Jacobson, Las Vegas Life