Blowhard, Esq. writes:
Is Vegas a better food town than New York or L.A.? Very well could be. Celebrity chefs have joints at virtually every hotel. Hell, the Palazzo and Venetian alone have two restaurants from Emeril, three places from Mario Batali, and two from Wolfgang Puck. If a place is too busy, you just go next door or across the street.
Thomas Keller has a place, Bouchon, at The Venetian. There isn’t much advertising for it around the casino and they don’t make it easy to find or get to, but it’s worth seeking out.
The day’s specials.
For the appetizer, I got the cheese tasting plate: 3 cheeses — goat, cheddar, and bleu — served with honey comb. For the main course I got the Prime beef Ribeye Hash: beef, diced Yukon Gold potatoes, caramelized onions, peppers, two scrambled eggs with Hollandaise, and brioche. Delicious.
- An interview with Keller.
- Keller’s recipe for fried chicken.
Blowhard, Esq.
Callowman
Sherbrooke
Eddie Pensier
Enzo Nakamura
Epaminondas
Fabrizio del Wrongo
Fenster
Brundle Guy
Glynn Marshes
Paleo Retiree
Atypical Neurotic
Question Lady
Sax von Stroheim
Sir Barken Hyena
The Mistaken
Uncouth Reflections 
AND you can wear those cut-offs and flip-flops while enjoying your meal.
LikeLike
There was definitely no dress code at this place. Now that I think about it, the maître d’ was the best-dressed there — dude had a nice suit.
LikeLike
Your description of the ribeye hash has got my stomach rumbling. God, there are few things as pleasing in life as good food.
I wonder what The Manolo and our new friend Jecka would have to say about the way the customers are dressed. What were you and your buds wearing?
LikeLike
I wore jeans and a polo. But REALLY NICE jeans, if that makes a difference.
LikeLike
I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that when it comes to hotels and really touristy areas in any city, dress code rules for nicer restaurants sort of go out the window. It’s all about context here, and even fancy-schmancy restaurants know that they will lose a lot of business if they enforce any kind of dress code. People are on vacation, they want to relax, I get it. I would still dress up, but I try not to let my blood pressure spike when I see others dressed down in these situations. Now, as for flip flops, and I do have a real problem with those being worn. I just think they’re too informal, and dare I say, kind of trashy. To me, flip flops belong on the beach and nowhere else. I worked as a server in restaurants for many years, and the state of people’s public dressing really started to depress me after a while, so I take particular care when I dress to go out to dinner.
As for Blowhard, Esq., he seems to know a thing or two about garmenture, so he has my blessing.
LikeLike
Weird and non-classic that they serve the cheese course as an appetizer.
Damn, I’m hungry.
LikeLike
Yeah, that’s usually an option for desert, right?
There were a number of choices but I went with the cheese b/c they were all fancy and artisanal and shit. I made the right choice. The honey was such a wonderful contrast.
LikeLike
Hang on, the choice for mains seems to be beef or beef. Absurd!
LikeLike
wow, a meal there that wasn’t breakfast… glad that your jeans were nice, good contrast with those flip flops.
LikeLike
It was a late Saturday morning brunch-kinda’ thing. If there’s scrambled eggs, it’s breakfast in my book.
Incidentally, I ate dinner at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris hotel that night. Beer, chicken liver mousse, mussels, NY strip steak with frites, and profiteroles. Wonderful. Two French meals in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
LikeLike