rjwong

fresh_a, help me out, s'il vous plait. When you say that the brasseries are "all going downhill," are you talking about the food itself, and/or the whole concept (food, service, decor, etc.)? Would you consider brasseries the French version of the "corporate chain restaurant," where the menu is basically the same, mostly geared towards tourists who want to be served by a handsome Frenchman with a French accent whose name is Jean-Luc, for that "French dining experience"? And based on what pierre45 wrote, it sounds like brasseries are there when you just need something to eat, correct?

Here's the link to Restaurant Jean (one star Michelin) in the 9th arrondisement: http://www.restaurantjean.fr/ Restaurant Jean just made an announcement two weeks ago that the restaurant will be open for the entire summer: According to the website, a lunch menu is priced at 46 Euros and a five-course dinner menu for 75 Euros.

I second what MaxH said. Ask the restaurant directly. That would be appropriate restaurant protocol & courtesy. And some news I just read from the LA Times food blog:

A chef/friend told me about Gjelina in Venice. Good food made with top ingredients. I should try this place whenever I get over to the Westside. LA Times food critic gave Gjelina 2 and 1/2 stars.

But I took one before I scarf them down later (in the next few minutes). You should have seen the chocolate ones with cherry filling ...

Oh my gosh! Another (Las) Vegan virgin!! I would recommend Joel Robuchon, as well as L'Atelier if you want a more casual setting. Guy Savoy at Caesar's provides a slightly better overall dining experience, Alex at the Wynn gets an honorable mention, but in terms of culinary creativity, I give the nod to Robuchon. There are two places I'm planning to try: Restaurant Charlie at the Palazzo & Raku on Spring Mountain Rd. I hope this helps, Carolyn.

I bought my tickets this weekend for some of the VU events, including the Grand Tasting on Fri. night and the Interactive Luncheon on Sat. bwdining, I don't mind having a cooking lesson from Boulud, Bartolotta, Stratta & Poivedin, along with desserts by Robert. Obviously, you don't need any cooking lessons from these great chefs, right? However, if you change your mind, I'll remember to say hello to you. I hope to see you at one of the events. To be honest, I was debating whether to go to the Grand Tasting on Fri. night. I realize it's going to be a big public relations event with many chefs & celebrities there. It wasn't going to be a sit-down fine dining meal. Mind you, I did go last year and really enjoyed myself. I got to meet several notables, including Bradley Ogden, Susan Feniger, Guy Savoy & Wolfgang Puck. I finally decided to go because I wanted the opportunity to meet the chefs, to show my appreciation for them and to encourage them in these not-so-easy times. Of course, I want to sample all that wonderful food!

I ate at FFS once a while back. It's okay. Nothing to write home about, unless you're into Harrison Ford's son as chef. Please give us a report, Char.

Actually, Chef Rick Moonen closed his upstairs restaurant, as an opportunity to "reinventing the dining experience." Click here for docsconz's post. You got to meet Chef Joel Robuchon himself?? That happened to me once. I was eating a boeuf au poivre at L'Atelier late one night. During the middle of my dinner, I lifted my head up and I saw Robuchon and one of his chefs/translator looking at me. With my broken French, I was able to have a short conversation with him. He is a charming man and an excellent chef. And yes, I saw "God" that night, and I'm still breathing ...

BSK (aka Auntie Foodie), Santa Monica is not really known for "la comida mexicana autentica" IMO. Mind you, here are a couple of places (in Santa Monica) that might work: Border Grill La Serenata de Garibaldi I've only eaten at Border Grill once, several years ago. I usually go to Ciudad in downtown LA. Ciudad is more Pan-Latin American cooking ("la comida latina nueva"). Hopefully, others who live over on the Westside can help. And if you don't mind, BSK, what movie is your nephew showing? Next year's Oscar contender? Enjoy!

Foodie-Girl, I want to second Fraiche Restaurant, although I've never eaten there ... yet. And I know people who work there, including the chef. I should be ashamed of myself. Near the Helms Bakery Building is a place called Beacon. Kazuto Matsusaka is a very good chef, one of the early fusion chefs who was the original chef at Wolfgang Puck's Chinois on Main. From Beacon, walk down the street to Surfas. It's a restaurant supply store for all your cooking equipment needs.

Enoteca San Marco probably opened around the same time as B&B. ESM is located in that open plaza area, nearby Wolfgang Puck's Postrio. Beth, check out this foodblog by a local Las Vegas food critic. He tells it like it is, and yes ... He's. A. Lawyer. Mind you, he's an eGullet member, so I don't hold it against him.

Here's an update link from the LA Times blog: Original See's Candies building may get historic designation

I stayed at Encore last month. I ate at all of the Encore restaurants except Society Cafe. Switch was really good. Yes the room changes every so often. That doesn't take away from the dinner. The rabbit tasted great! Sinatra was not bad. I'm willing to go back when the chef is there. Botero serves pretty good steaks with a few different sides: "onion rings" made of polenta & leeks; frog's legs. And my server remembered me back when Chef Mark Lo Russo was over at Tableau! And the brand new nightclub called XS is down the hallway, if that interests you. Wazuzu has very good pan-Asian cuisine. Definitely go there, if you don't want to go off-Strip. NB I know a couple of people there, so your mileage may vary.

Beth E. & edsel, what David Ross & jsmeeker said, as well as everybody else over at the Dining in Las Vegas thread. There is public transportation available in the Las Vegas area on this website. The "Deuce Bus" goes up and down the Strip 24/7, and a 24-hour day pass is $7 for the entire system, not just the Strip. And a 3-day pass for about $15. Pardon the (Las) Vegan Inquisition, but ... What kind of food do you want to eat? Do you want all the places to be on and/or near the Strip? Do you mind eating at a Las Vegas buffet? Perhaps local restaurants off the Strip? What kind of decor do you like, if any? Are you interested in ethnic cuisine? How fancy and high-end do you want to go? What's your dollar limit per person? $50? $100? $250? $500? If for some reason you hit it big, all bets are off, right? BTW, edsel, you can have dinner at Robuchon's "casual" restaurant, L'Atelier. The menu decouverte cost around $139/person. I don't know what's the price now. Mind you, it's a bargain for fine dining. There are plenty of posts with photos about L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. And since this will be your first time to Las Vegas, Beth E., do you want to paint the town red, burn it down, leave ashes? Keep doing your research and have a wonderful time in Las Vegas. Good luck!

Here are the results of the Bocuse d'or 2009 (countries listed en francais): 1. Norvège (1.020 points) 2. Suède (994) 3. France (993) 4. Danemark (986) 5. Suisse (922) 6. Etats-Unis (911) 7. Islande (891) 8. Japon (877) 9. Canada (870) 10. Royaume-Uni (864) 11. Finlande (858) 12. Australie (849) 13. Pays-Bas (837) 14. République Tchèque (813) 15. Estonie (812) 16. Luxembourg (804) 17. Mexique (762) 18. Singapour (762) 19. Malaisie (757) 20. Espagne (749) 21. Brésil (698) 22. Afrique du Sud (682) 23. Uruguay (678) 24. Corée du Sud (669)

The series really got my attention. Very insightful. I would definitely recommend it to any and every chef/owner. I suspect that learning the business side of operating a restaurant is a great challenge for a chef. FYI Sara Moulton is interviewed as well, along with Tom Colicchio. They both sound like really neat people.

As far as I know, Bastide is still closed. Sommelier Pieter Verheyde flew back to Belgium. As for the chefs: Bastide chef #1 Alain Giraud has his own French brasserie called Anisette in Santa Monica. Bastide chef #2 Ludovic Lefebvre has his place called Lavo at the Palazzo in Las Vegas. Bastide chef #3 Walter Manzke is currently working at a bistro called Church & State in downtown Los Angeles. Bastide chef #4 Paul Shoemaker is nowhere to be found at this time. I hope this help, DALI.

Yes. In another thread titled wynn resort, you can see my post on Alex back in Aug. 2007. The price for the full tasting menu back then was $195, not including wine pairings. That was a "bargain" compared to dining at Joel Robuchon (not L'Atelier) or Guy Savoy. And the quality was right up there. I think now, expect that tasting menu to start around $200-225. The menu from Daniel Boulud is available on the Wynn Resort website. I checked it tonight. Click to Dining, then to Daniel Boulud. At the bottom of the restaurant's description is the link to Download Menu. They're offering an early three-course dinner for $48. Afterwards, the entrees range between $30's-40's. I'll be heading over to Las Vegas this MLK/Inauguration weekend. I can double-check for you.

Vegas Uncork'd 2009 -- "This is the time - This is the place." Bon Appetit has just updated their website for Vegas Uncork'd 2009. I briefly looked at the schedule (I haven't memorized it yet). It's similiar to the one last year except for a few changes. And I was told that this year's VU will be better than last year's. Changes: 1. The Grand Tasting at Caesar's is going to be held at the pool. I went last year when it was held inside a tent. From what I heard, Caesar's Pool is a great venue. 2. Joel Robuchon will conduct a late-night session at the MGM Grand. I'm definitely going to that one! 3. This year, MGM Grand has joined Bellagio, Caesar's & Wynn as the major resorts involved in this conference. VU 2009 should be lots of fun, and I wouldn't mind meeting some eGullet members there.

What other Encore restaurant did you try besides Society? What did you order? Encore on NYE? Sounds like you were one of the few people eating their meals instead of drinking them, ehh? Steve Wynn pretty much knows restaurants, at least knows how to pick the good ones. I've eaten at most of the restaurants over at Wynn, and I would say that top to bottom, Wynn has a slight edge over Bellagio as the best overall group of restaurants in one casino/resort along the Strip.

Can you explain what you mean by this? Wynn, the owner of many hotels and resorts, used to own specifically the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio? Who own's the Bellagio? I assume it's the same person that owns all the restaurants inside the resort. And the restaurant itself, is worth BILLIONS? ← Steve Wynn originally was responsible for building Bellagio. Mr. Wynn then sold Bellagio (that's worth billions) to MGM/Mirage. Since then, he has opened Wynn Resort and about two to three weeks ago, Encore Resort, where I'll be staying in a couple of weeks and trying to dine at all five Encore restaurants. I hope this helps.

Jean-Philippe Maury Patisserie at the Bellagio has world-class pastries, complete with a chocolate fountain for viewing, not eating. You can also buy chocolates, croissants and made-to-order crepes (savory & sweet). Payard Patisserie at Caesar's have similiar items without the chocolate fountain. Mind you, they have a bistro where you can sit down and order a plated dessert or two or three. Arguably, Lenotre at Paris Las Vegas is the best patisserie in Las Vegas to some. I've never had any of their products yet. I'll need to find out for myself. Bouchon Bakery at the Venetian has some wonderful baked goods. The location is a bit hard to find. The Bakery is on the other side of the resort, away from Bouchon the restaurant on the 2nd floor. If you're staying at the Venetian, you can see the bakery when you enter & exit the guest elevators. Frederic Robert's pastries and other delights can be found at the Wynn/Encore Resorts. He had his own place called Chocolat, but that closed. He's working for the entire Wynn/Encore Resorts. It would be nice if Chef Robert can get his own place back. There are a few artisanal chocolate places spread throughout here and there along the Strip. For example, Vosges is located inside Caesar's Forum Shops, close to the Las Vegas Blvd. (The Strip) entrance on the ground floor, next to Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab. Buy Mo's Bacon Bar. As for plated desserts, you can usually find them at most of the high-end fine-dining restaurants: Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Alex, Spago Las Vegas, etc. I hope this helps.

I strongly second the Farmer's Market on Thursday nights in San Luis Obispo. I haven't been there for a long while. Higuera St. gets shut down for several hours for the farmer's market. Several stands cook tri-tip BBQ, Santa Maria-style. Should try some, if you haven't already. The fish market at Avila Pier is no longer there?? You might want to check out some of the wineries around Paso Robles.

Shaw, Curtas and Ross? They're not related to Dewey, Cheatum and How, are they?? As many times as I've gone to Las Vegas, dining both on the Strip and around local LV, why do I feel that I missed out on this colossal convergence of culinary comrades? And I'm not talking about the Vegas Uncork'd conference in May. Steve, John & David, thank you for your participation in this whirlwind Asian culinary tour, as well as for the posts. So, when are you going to do this again? Can we come along too? David, all this picture- & note-taking can be a distraction from enjoying the moment of eating and dining and conversing. Sometimes, we just need to listen to our inner voice, that wants to say, SHUT UP AND EAT!! Steve & David, how surprised were you, that you apparently dined so well in Las Vegas, OFF THE STRIP??