|

Bouchon – 7/24/10

ByDarin

Bouchon
The Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Bouchon has become an ‘old staple’ – the restaurant consistently serves up delicious and comfortable food. So, being in Vegas this past weekend with a big group, Bouchon was a good choice to provide some good food that would appeal to everyone.

A meal at Bouchon always starts with their famous epi bread. Oddly, we received two loaves – one underbaked and one overbaked. The juxtaposition of the two loaves made that fact more evident.

With the bread came a simple cup of pistachios, lightly salted. These were actually quite tasty.

I ordered a French Onion soup, reminiscing on the strong effort from Daniel Boulud Brasserie on my last Vegas visit.

This soup was another very good rendition, with a hearty beef flavor. The onion was not overpowering, and provided a nice sweetness. Great soup for a warm day. Granted, it was 110 degrees outside on this day – and this was still good.

Carré de Porc kurobuta pork loin with summer stone fruit, field greens & whole grain mustard sauce

This looks like a very simple dish, and the pork looks rather plain and dry. However, this was not the case. The pork was quite moist and flavorful, and the peaches added a sweetness that went well. The portion was rather inconsistent with many of the other entrees on the menu, which tend to be on the large size.

Roasted Veal Costalleta Chop glazed Tokyo turnips, whole grain mustard spatzel, bing cheeries, Forestiere butter

This dish was the entree of the day, and came highly recommended by the server. The veal, served bone-in, was cooked perfectly, leaving a very moist and tender piece of meat. The turnips and cherries were great accompaniments, along with the al dente spatzel.

Gnocchi à la Parisienne sautéed gnocchi with a fricassée of vegetables & beurre noisette

Bouchon makes some very good gnocchi. The gnocchi are very light and pillowy, and the vegetables add a vibrant, fresh flavor.

Pommes Frites

You can’t come to Bouchon and not order the fries. You just can’t. These are quite simple, and seasoned just with salt. But the execution is flawless, with a consistently crisp exterior and fluffy interior. Beautiful.

Next we were on to the desserts. For me, many restaurants fail to have desserts that live up to the appetizer and entree. At Bouchon, this is definitely not the case. If I had to make a meal out of the dessert menu, Bouchon would be a pretty damn good choice.

Bouchons vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce

Their signature dessert, which is always an off-menu “special,” are these cork-shaped brownies made of valrhona chocolate. Usually they have a selection of ice creams, but it was only vanilla on this day. I love the interplay of chocolate and vanilla, and this dessert hits that spot on.

Profiteroles vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce

What a pretty dessert. The profiteroles are brought to the table and then topped with a chocolate sauce. Again, the vanilla and chocolate flavors meld very well together – really a simple and delicious dessert.

Beignets pastry cream filling & vanilla ice cream

This was the daily special dessert of the evening. The first thing I thought of when I heard “beignets” was the coffee & doughnuts dessert at The French Laundry. I loved that doughnut, and I loved this one too. Light and fluffy, this beignet was filled with a light, sweet pastry cream. It was kind of reminiscent of a lighter version of a Krispy Kreme cream-filled doughnut. Excellent. I wish we had a different flavor ice cream, however, as this was the third of three desserts with the same flavor.

Overall, a very good meal at Bouchon. I’ve come to expect well-executed, comfortable food at each location, and Bouchon seems to always come through.

3 Comments

    1. It’s pretty much the same thing food-wise, menu and all. Not quite as grandiose as the BH location, in terms of decor.

      I wish we had a bakery though.

      Reply
  2. Pingback: French Onion Soup | Ravenclaw

Leave a Reply!