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| The View From Our Seats |
This trip we finally managed to make reservations at L'Atelier De Joel Robuchon in MGM Grand. Because this was our first night in town, we ate early, 5:30, and at least in the beginning had the place almost to ourselves. We decided to make our choices from the the
Prix Fixe Menu B. The wine list, not surprisingly, is extensive and expensive. Even so there are plenty of bottles well under $100. We chose an Alsatian Pinot Gris at $60 that worked well with nearly all of the courses.
Shortly after being seated the cute bread basket arrived. The mini-baguettes were perfect tiny versions of their full size parent. The little boules are labelled as sour dough but were extremely mild.
Amuse-bouche
One of Robuchon's signature recipes and apparently the standard
amuse in all his restaurants.
Foie Gras parfait, port wine reduction and Parmesan foam. Creamy/salty/sweet and the Pinot Gris suited it wonderfully.
Cold Entrees
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| La Dorade Royale |
The menu translates this as "King Snapper" but here in the USA it's "gilt head bream". A "ceviche" presentation on a little puddle of cilantro cream. Excellent and rather surprisingly tasty with the Pinot Gris.
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| La Tomate |
Beth had the tomato dish - a *very* spicy gazpacho with a blob of buratta in the middle. This was the only dish that didn't pair well with the wine we chose.
Warm Entrees
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| L’oeuf de Poule |
My choice - a poached egg, smoked salmon, frisee salad and crispy kataifi on top. This will show up as a first course at our house for sure.
Beth's choice - creamy sweet onion soup. This was so thick and sweet it almost tasted like caramelized squash soup. I have no idea what the crispy thingy on top was.
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| Salmon |
We both chose the same plats. This is the Salmon - a pair of very gently grilled salmon batons with an artichoke salad. Artichokes are a good reason to have a Pinot Gris.
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| Quail |
And the quail stuffed with foie gras and the the famous pommes puree. There's a little herb salad there too. That was a pretty good size quail. The breast portion wraps the little nugget of foie gras. Beth was getting pretty full at this point - I snagged her quail leg and thigh.
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| Tartes |
Beth's dessert (yeah, we split 'em). From left to right, Cinnamon, Lemon, Strawberry, another citrus, and Chocolate. At this point these were actually too much for one person.
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| Ice Cream |
And my dessert - berries, raspberry sorbet, and ginger ice cream.
Yikes! That was pretty expensive. It was actually about 40% of what we spent in Las Vegas (not counting gambling of course) but we're pretty cheap. The MGM Grand room was "free" via MyVegas as were several buffets where we loaded up at late breakfasts so we only needed a
very light meal in the evening.
If you have any interest at all in what Robuchon is about this is the way to do it.
Up Next - Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender 18: Music, Cars, Burlesque!
