It’s weird to write about something that happened last year, when we just flipped over into a new year . . . into a new decade, even. But I would be remiss if I didn’t write something about dining at Carnevino, Mario Batali’s new(ish) restaurant at the Palazzo.

Carnevino is a winehouse as much as it is a steakhouse, the food part showing off creations by the Iron Chef and the wine part featuring selections made by Joe Bastianich. I won’t lie, I know nothing about wine except that I like Riesling and Moscato (that probably docked my popularity points right there, but whatever), so I don’t even know who Mr. Bastianich is, but I hear the wines he’s collected here are fabulous. So, let’s focus on what I do know: food.

Everybody knows that my favorite big-name chef in Hawai‘i is Alan Wong, so while I do experience fine-dining once in a while in Honolulu, it isn’t usually at that same level as the kind of stuff you see on “Iron Chef America.” Though Chef Wong does serve a good foie gras, his cuisine is quite different and doesn’t exactly aim to include items like, well, beef carpaccio:

Beef carpaccio with warm lardo crostini, Carnevino.

Fortunately, Chef Batali apparently likes the stuff. Despite my love for sashimi (raw fish), I had never tried raw beef, and honestly, I probably wouldn’t venture to do so outside the relatively safe confines of a gourmet restaurant. Fortunately (again), this was a gourmet restaurant. And wow, was it good. I’m not sure whether the meat itself was super tasty, but I gotta admit, the combination of that and the, err, lardo (as the menu puts it), were heavenly on the crostini. (Yeah, you pretty much have to pretend you don’t understand simple words like lardo if you want to enjoy Chef Batali’s cuisine guilt-free; he makes Paula Deen look like a healthy cook sometimes!)

For my main course, I would’ve liked to try the chef’s take on gnocchi, but since Todd and I were at the Palazzo to take in “Jersey Boys” (yes, again), we ordered off the theater menu, which is set to get you in and out of the restaurant in time for the show – and, unfortunately, the gnocchi was not on the theater menu. I definitely wanted to get a pasta dish, though, so I selected the pappardelle with porcini trifolati. All right, so not having taken Italian, I only had the vague notion that this had something to do with pasta and mushrooms. And what do you know . . .

Pappardelle with porcini trifolati, topped with fresh parmesano reggiano, Carnevino.

The pappardelle noodles were cooked to an awesome al dente texture, as if their cooking time had been perfected to the microsecond. And the chef’s recommendation of freshly grated parmesano reggiano perfectly complemented the mild flavor of the mushrooms.

Todd had an 8-oz. filet mignon for his entree and a plain ol’ insalata romana (pretty much a caesar salad) for his first course, and we all know what those are like. But, here’s where his selections bested mine: Because his second course was just meat with no starch, our waitress suggested that Todd order a side. When he had trouble choosing one, the waitress talked up a few and described one as “addictive.” We knew right then which side we had to get:

Cesare’s tuscan fries, Carnevino.

I know what you’re thinking: “You went to Mario Batali’s and got fries? Seriously?” Seriously. You don’t understand: These aren’t just any fries. They were seasoned with crack, my friends. Herbs, spices, a light sprinkling of cheese . . . and crack. So good.

Dessert options for the theater menu include only unimaginative gelato and sorbet selections, and I didn’t think they were either (a) photogenic or (b) particularly yummy, so I won’t bore you with details there. Suffice to say, I should’ve just asked if I could have an Irish coffee instead.

So if you ever find yourself near the Palazzo, GO. Go see “Jersey Boys,” and go have yourself a Mario Batali masterpiece. But eat something else and tell me what it’s like, would ya? ;o)