Chefs usually have a restaurant or two under their belts before they are elevated to “celebrity chef” status, but Food Network staple Giada de Laurentiis did it the other way around. After finding success through showcasing her easy-breezy, California Italian cuisine on TV for many years, she finally has a brick-and-mortar to her name. And her name is everywhere in this bright, airy restaurant at The Cromwell that overlooks the Strip. Embroidered on the napkins, embossed on the plates, stitched into backs of the chairs, Giada wants you to know you’re in Giada’s house. Antipasti platters are a great way to start, mixing and matching bites like eggplant caponata, bacon-wrapped dates, cheese and salumi from the market-style deli in the front. Not in the mood for a full-on Italian feast? Skip the dining room, take a seat at the bar and make a meal of the antipasti alone. You’ll save a little money too. Whatever you do, make sure to try at least one of her signature dishes—the lemon spaghetti, or the chicken cacciatore for two. A cute footnote: when Giada refers to Italian dishes in her show, she suddenly turns on her Italian accent, enunciating words like “spah-GEH-ti” and “ree-gah-TOH-ne.” In order for guests to fully channel her, the menu includes phonetic spellings of how she says them aloud. We told you she wants you to know where you’re eating.