Bouchon

I was very fortunate to be able to take a short vacation last weekend with a very good friend that I have not seen in close to two years.  My friend now lives in Oregon and has had her second child since I saw her last.  We were roommates in our late 20s, married two months apart and then moved apart.  I miss her terribly and was quite excited to see her.  We picked Las Vegas, in August I know, but they were non-stop flights for both of us.

I took advantage of being in a good food town and came up with a wish list of where I wanted to eat.  We played most of our meals by ear, but had dinner at a local, off the strip place one night and brunch at Bouchon the next day.  Bouchon is run by a gentleman named Thomas Keller.  He also runs a pretty stupendous place called The French Laundry in Yountville, CA.  We celebrated the birth of munchkin by dining there two years ago.


There is a Bouchon in Yountville as well and I enjoyed a lovely Thanskgiving dinner there about 12 years ago and was anxious to enjoy another meal there.  The Las Vegas Bouchon is in the Venetian and not particularly easy to locate, but once we did, we were greeted by snobby staff and served by inattentive servers.  I was not there for them, but the food, which was stupendous and almost made up for the former issues.  The restaurant looks very similar to the CA location and the seafood bar was no less eye pleasing.  I was pretty surprised that the service was so off, but I guess you have to expect that on the strip.

I enjoyed a Bellini and a Croque Madame.  A Bellini is traditionally Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) and peach nectar, this one had a raspberry floating in it for good measure.  A Croque Madame is basically a grilled ham and cheese, then drenched in a cheese sauce called Mornay and topped with a fried egg.  Once the food arrived, I was too distracted by hunger and excitement and took a couple of bites before I remembered to take a picture.  The Pomme Frites were absolutely perfect, crispy and hot on the outside and mashed potatoey on the inside.


I plan to dine here again if we can get reservations, I just hope the service is having a better day.