Daniel Boulud Brasserie – 7/4/10

Daniel Boulud Brasserie
Wynn Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89136

We came to Daniel Boulud’s sole Las Vegas restaurant on what would be its last night of service. The Daniel Boulud name just did not attract enough people to the restaurant – evidenced by the restaurant being only half full on its final night during July 4th weekend.

We ordered variations of the “Taste of Wynn” fixed menu, as well as a supplemental burger.

DB’s Onion Soup – cheese, beef shank, guinness

I really enjoyed this soup. Good onion flavor, with a hearty, deep beef flavor imparted by the beef shank. The mixture of the cheeses was delicious as well.

Duck Terrine – foie gras, pistachio, country toast

The terrine was nice, with chunks of duck and foie gras mingled throughout. The pistachio added some crunchy texture, which went well in the terrine.

Scottish Salmon – asparagus, english peas, sauce bearnaise

The salmon was cooked perfectly. However, I thought the rich bearnaise sauce was a little overpowering for the delicate salmon.

Steak Frites – 8 oz. sirloin, watercress, french fries

The steak was great. Tender, flavorful and cooked well. The fries were also delicious, as they came out hot and crispy.  The watercress provided a nice counterpoint, adding a light peppery flavor.

Original BY DB Burger – 9 oz. sirloin burger stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras, and black truffle, on a parmesan bun with french fries

Considering we had been to Burger Bar earlier in the day for lunch, we wanted to try this as a sort of comparison. Boulud was one of the pioneers of the high-end burger trend, so I really wanted to give this a try.

You can see the burger is just completely stuffed with beef, foie gras and short ribs. Very rich and decadent, you can pick out the beefy flavors of the sirloin and short rib, as well as the foie gras, but I felt the truffles were a bit muted. However, this was still a very good burger, but probably too rich for one person to enjoy.

Chocolate Hazelnut Fondant – nougatine crunch, coffee ice cream

I really enjoyed this dessert, however full I was after that burger. The coffee ice cream was delicious, to start, with a deep coffee flavor. The chocolate cake was fairly dense and richly chocolate – chocolate and coffee are a great pairing.

Meyer Lemon Tart – candied lemon rind, thai basil ice cream

This was a really pretty dessert. The tart was quite sour, indicative of the meyer lemon,  but the sweet lemon rind provided a nice sweetness. The thai basil ice cream was really delicious, and I thought it went pretty well with the strong lemon flavor of the tart.

In all, the meal was very solid. Nothing exceptionally creative, per se, but comfortable food executed well. I don’t think it deserves to close (there are a ton of restaurants that are worse), but people just weren’t coming. Rumor has it that Boulud is looking for other places in Vegas to have a restaurant. Considering the strip’s heavy emphasis on name-brand chefs, it’s probably only a matter of time.