Percyn: Eating Vegas in 3 days

[percyn]

I order to help fellow eGers, I thought I would post my reviews of restaurants I visited on my trip to Vegas.

[percyn]

Day 1 - Bouchon for lunch

My first stop after landing in Vegas (and checking in) was Bouchon for lunch.

The Venetian has one of the better lobbies in LV

Was promptly seated, however it took 10-12 minutes before my waiter took my order.

He brought me some bread, which was excellent, but the butter was a bit harder than I would have liked and did not spread easily.

I ordered 1/2 dozen oysters which were extremely fresh and sourced from all over the world. They were so fresh, it was like tasting the essence of the ocean.

Like many others, I wanted to try the frites, so I ordered Poulet Frites - The poulet was perfect!! Crispy skin and succulent tender meat. The breast meat was as moist as the leg. The fries however did not live up to my (hyped?) expectations. I have had better fries locally. I asked for a side of mayo for my frites, and it was quite good.

Mac & Cheese Gratin - Creamy and rich, but not spectacular.

A few days later I returned hoping to have the Boudin Blanc for breakfast, but they were unexpectedly closed.

Should have gone to the Bouchon Bakery in the Venetian.

Sorry for the blurry pictures.

Percy

Edited February 5, 2007 by percyn (log)

[percyn]

Day 1 - Dinner at L'Atelier Joel de Robouchon

The decor and layout is very similar to the sister restaurant in Paris.

I ordered the 9 course tasting menu and a glass of Sancerre

I was served with very good bread, but unfortunately it did not come with butter or olive oil unless asked. They served an organic olive oil from Spain.

Amuse Bouche - Cucumber Gelee, tarragon, yogurt, cumin oil - Light, refreshing, very clean tastes, as intened.

Tuna Sashimi w/Sundried Tomatoes & Fluer de Sel - Very high quality bluefin tuna. The sundried tomatoes were not overpowering as I had anticipated, but rather deicate.

Seared Scallop with Seaweed Butter - The scallop was perfectly cooked throughout (well basted) and served with an increadibly delicious seaweed butter and pepper, which I soaked up with the bread.

Ouef w/Parsley Puree and Mushroom Foam - I had tried this a few years ago in Paris and is one of my favorite dishes.

Roasted Foie Gras w/Chestnut foam and Bacon - I did ask and this was Rouige Foie from France. It was a bit firmer than I would have liked. The bacon did not add a whole lot and getting a bit soggy in the chestnut foam.

Lightly Smoked Scottish Salmon w/Parsley Potatoes - They said this dish was added for the "american palate". I liked the textures of this dish, but found it hard to eat such a large piece of salmon that was smoked. I would have preferred it if they did not smoke it.

L'onglet w/caramelized shallots & pomme puree - I was happy to see that I had an option between this Onglet and a free range quail with truffled mashed puree. I am glad that I chose this option as it was the best onglet I ever had. The shallots were well caramelized and sweet. And how can you go wrong with a pomme puree consisting of 50% potatoes and 50% butter?

OK, so as though 9 courses were not sufficient, I was reminiscing the langostine I had in Paris so added that as a 10 dish from the al a carte menu. The langostine was very tender and succulent. The salad well seasoned and perfectly dressed.

Dessert #1 - Sheep's milk yogurt w/rasins and mandarin sorbet - Amazing dish. The yogurt was rich and creamy while the mandarin sorbet cuts through that richness.

Dessert #2 - Poached Pears w/Chocolate and Pear Sorbet - Another dish that you would not have thought would work, but it does!! Served with Tacchino (sp?) (tastes like chai) gelee.

Also had a coffee to finish the meal. The tasting menu was $135 and with wine, coffee & tax it came just under $200 (exlcuding tip).

Overall, a very good experience, comparable to the one in Paris.

Cheers

Percy

[percyn]

Day 2 - Lotus of Siam for Lunch

This place is hidden in a strip mall and this keeps the general tourists away but is sought out by locals and foodies.

I went around 12:30pm for lunch. They serve a lunch buffet, but I wanted to try things from the menu and am glad I did.

To start, I ordered Tom Yum Kai as a benchmark. It was very good. Spicy but not overpowering. However, it did take them 15 minutes to bring me what I can only presume was a pre-made bowl of soup.

For my main course, I ordered Grilled Fresh-water Prawns w/Chili Lime Sauce. Don't let the $29 price tag for "prawns" scare you, because you get 2 true Prawns, almost the size of lobsters. Served head-on, which I love. Very tasty...highly recommended. Order it with Sticky rice.

[percyn]

Day 2 - Dinner at Okada

Enterance of Okada in the Wynn

I had heard good things about the sushi at Okada, but to be honest, I was a bit skeptical....afterall, it was a restaurant in the middle of the desert. I am glad to report that my fear was unfounded. In fact, other than a few minor service glitches, my experience here was fantastic and the food was very good and the sushi was amazingly high quality, rivaling the sushi I had in Osaka and Tokyo.

Unfortunately, I was seated at the end of the Sushi bar, close to where the wait staff picked up orders for the main dining area. At first the traffic was annonying, but once the restaurant rush settled, you got to see what other specials were and order them if you like.

I started by ordering a Nyorgi (unfiltered) sake

And a Lamb Chop and Pork short ribs from the Japanese grill - these were amazing !! Tender, juicy and increadibly flavorful. A bargain for the price ($10 and $6 respectively).

After about 15 min or so I received my Uni. Someone on eGullet had recommend their Uni and I can second that. It had that special lobster brains flavor that only super fresh Uni has.

Next was their Sushi Platter, which included Toro, which I was looking forward to. The quality of the sushi was superb. It ranks right up there with the sushi I have had at Morimotos and while in Japan.

I was seated by the head sushi chef and when the restaurant was less busy we conversed a bit. He is originally from Osaka, but ran a Sushi bar in San Francisco's Japantown before coming to the Wynn. A very pleasant gentleman.

By this point, I was getting quite full, but when I saw Mochi on the menu, I assumed it was made by the restaurant and had to order it to compare it to the ones I buy from Trader Joes. Unfortunately, it was something they outsource (the head Sushi Chef later told me), but it was decent. The flavors were Red Bean (my favorite), Vanilla, Green Tea and Mango.

Edited February 5, 2007 by percyn (log)

[percyn]

Day 3 - Breakfast at the Bellagio

I originally planned to have breakfast at Bouchon. Unfortunately, for some reason it was unexpectadely closed that morning. So I decided to go back to the Bellagio and try their buffet breakfast.

I did not take any pictures because while the variety of the food was good, it was typical breakfast buffet food...eggs, steak, canadian bacon, waffles, etc. They did have some other non-typical breakfast dishes like singapore noodles, asian pork, etc, but the taste was not spectacular. Infact the only think worth mentioning was the Muesli, so make sure you try some if you are there for breakfast.

Day 3 Lunch - Pink's Hotdog in the Aladdin

OK, I like hotdogs and all this non-stop fancy food made me crave a simple chili dog...especially a Pink's chili dog, which I had never tried before. I am glad I did as this set the new bar for chili for a hot dog (previously held IMHO by Johnny Rockets). The dog had a nice snap to it from its natural casing.

Dinner on day 3 was a crappy meal served in flight, as my flight departed back early evening.

Overall, dining was the highlight of my Vegas visit and while there are good restaurants in many cities, once you look past the tourist facade, only a few places have such a high concentration of top notch restaurants and chefs from around the globe.

I'll be back to try other restaurants I did not get to on this visit.

[prasantrin]

To start, I ordered Tom Yum Kai as a benchmark. It was very good. Spicy but not overpowering. However, it did take them 15 minutes to bring me what I can only presume was a pre-made bowl of soup.

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I can't speak for LoS, and I never even got to eat there when I was in LV last summer, but your tom yum kai may not have been entirely pre-made. At my friend's place, although the soup (broth) part is premade, she does not add the other stuff (shrimp, straw mushrooms, chicken, etc. depending on which tom yum you order.) until it is ordered. If you order any of the tom yum's at her place, it will probably take 10-15 minutes, too.

I wasn't impressed with the frites at Bouchon, either, and I really wished I had asked for a side of mayo (but the waitstaff was a bit scarce).

[Vadouvan]

bouchon uses frozen store bought frites

[Elrushbo]

bouchon uses frozen store bought frites

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Sacre' bleu!

Frozen fries? Is that typical in Vegas, or are they cutting corners?