Boo... Boo... Boo ....Bouchon

[South Jersey Epicurean]

Once and for all, get off the Thomas Keller fan train. Bouchon at the Venetian is a total overpriced dud!! It is NOT the French Laundry, it is French Bistro food which I found unimaginative (much like Steven Starr’s French Bistro on Chestnut Street in Philly which closed a couple years ago.)

My colleague & I were at the Valley of the State Park, 40 minutes north of Vegas (an awesome side trip) when his cell phone rang at 12:30PM. It was Bouchon calling to confirm our 9PM dinner reservation for that evening. Although I find this practice a bit pretentious, they did take a credit card number (screw them). We had made the reservation two weeks prior. They told us to be on time!! We were with 3 minutes to spare!!

They had one of those new computer seating stations programs with times and floor layouts with 4 hostesses and a floor manager hovering about making sure everything was programmed correctly. Might as well have thrown that sucker out. It was useless and so were the people. We waited 40 minutes PAST our reservation. When they finally seated us, they seated us at a table that had been open for 40 minutes. We watched it the whole time and wondered why we weren’t seated. My time is just as valuable as their time!! If you have the gall to call and confirm, then hold up your end of the bargain too!!

The décor of the room was black & white with a giant raw bar. The room was long & narrow with tables very tightly together. It was noisy. They wanted to emulate a real French bistro on the left bank. The tables “tablecloth” was white butcher paper, paper napkins with hard rolls placed on the white butcher paper—no plates for this. Sloppy-not authentic!

The menu was printed on literally a paper lunch bag in light brown tones with Bouchon set in a rust stripe across it. But the font color of the printed material could NOT be read very well with the small candle on the table. The y should have chosen a black bold font instead of the brown on brown which further infuriated us.

From the raw bar: oysters $15.00 for 6; mussels $6.00 for 12; shrimp $16.00 for 6; clams $1.75 a piece; crab & lobster priced daily; Grand Plateau: 1 lobster, 16 oysters, 8 shrimp, 8 clams seasonal crab, special selection for $90.00

Salads:

mixed greens with Dijon mustard vinaigrette, goat cheese & toasted hazelnuts: $9.75

I had this—quite frankly, I’ve made this at home for years & my dressing is way better. It was too tart.

Endive, Roquefort, apple, toasted walnuts, walnut vinaigrette: $9.75

Bibb lettuce with herbs: $8.50

Chilled leeks vinaigrette with egg mimosa: $10.50

Frisee salad with bacon lardoons, poached egg, warm bacon vinaigrette: $11.25

Hors-D’oeuvres:

Terrine de fois gras de carnard: $45.00 for 5 oz.

Onion soup: $8.50

Soup de jour : $8.00

Quiche de jour: $13.50

Olives marinated: $4.50

Cod brandade with tomato confit & fried sage: $12.50

Country style pate with watercress, cornichons, radishes: $11.75

Fresh & smoked salmon rillettes with croutons: $13.50

Garlic sausage with French green lentils, garlic confit & pearl onions: $12.75

Main Courses:

Roasted leg of lamb with flageolet beans in thyme jus: $25.50

Steak frites: $29.50 (6 oz.)

Roast chicken with ragout of wild mushrooms: $22.50

Blood sausage with potato puree & caramelized apples: $19.95

Beef bourguigonne with carrots & noodles: $27.50

Trout almondine with green beans: $23.50

Salmon with leeks & beurre blanc: $24.50

Steamed mussels in white wine, mustard, saffron with French fries: $21.50

Sautéed gnocchi with a ragout of winter vegetables, beurre noisette & sage: $19.50

Open faced sandwich of the day with fries: $16.95

Croque madame-toasted ham & cheese on brioche with fried egg & mornay sauce/fries: $16.95

Dessert:

Profiteroles: vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce: $8.50

Crème caramel: $7.50

Lemon tart: $8.00

Pot de crème: not chocolate $7.50

Ice cream or sorbet: $2.50 a scoop

Dark chocolate mousse: $7.50

Cheeses: (served with honeycomb)

2 types of each: sheeps milk, goats milk, cows milk: $9.00 EACH or 3 piece tasting $12.50

Where was the crème brulee?

This was a boring menu..French Bistro is boring. I don’t think anything was creative.

I had the roast chicken which wasn’t even a half chicken. I’ve had better at Old Country Buffet and for a lot less money. My friend had the lamb—5 oz portion; it tasted good, but nothing special.

Service was good, but the kitchen was slow.

On a positive note: the wine list was extensive from all over the world & California with a good offering by the glass. We had a Gaston Huet & a Copain Mendocino Haute Brut for $10-$11.00 a glass.

I was waiting for my colleague to get his coat when one of the managers asked me how everything was. I replied, “It was okay.” He said, “Just okay?!” I said, “Yes, just okay.” Well he wanted to know why. I wasn’t going to say anything, but he opened the door and was waiting for an explanation. When I told him about the reservation and the waiting for the table 40 minutes beyond our reservation only to be seated at an open table that was open for 40 minutes, he lied about that table being reserved for a bigger party. It was a table for 2 and was sandwiched between 2 other tables for 2 which were occupied the whole time. I told him the menu was boring & very uncreative & the portions were very small given the prices. I told him about the menu, the table setting, the lack of lighting, the noise, the loose rolls. And if this is what you get at French Laundry, you can have it. I did praise our server.

BOO BOO BOO Bouchon!!