My Impressions of L'Atelier in Las Vegas

Originally, we planned to honeymoon in Peru directly following the wedding. However, when CornyT landed a teaching gig at a local university we had to rethink that plan. University's tend to frown on their professors missing 5 classes in a row. This dilemma coincided with our viewing an episode of Anthony Bourdain's: No Reservations featuring the fine dining available in Las Vegas. Bourdain's show made the gaudy and smoky wasteland of Vegas seem like an epicurean's heaven. In addition, we had been spending the last six months addicted to the Bravo show, Top Chef and were starting to really get into the world of snobby foodies. So, we opted for a low key, restfull, gastronomical honeymoon and it turned out it really was just what we needed. We are still doing the planning for Peru and intend to go there in the Spring of 08 but I am glad that we ended up taking a lazy trip right after the wedding, because the planning and the festivities reall took a lot out of us:).
Initially, we were only going to visit Thomas Keller's Bouchon. Bourdain's description of this restaurant left the biggest impression on us and we were very excited to try the famous chef's bistro offerings. But Corny T did more and more research and he got us reservations to a great restaurant every night we were there. During the wedding, CornyT's sister-in-law urged us to go to Robuchon's and so as almost an after thought he got us a reservation for the first night we were in town. This last minute addition turned out to be the most extravagant and interesting meal of the entire trip. I had never had a nine course meal before and had never had anything quite this elaborate. What a treat and what a great way to celebrate a truly fabulous event as marrying my CornyT. The next morning we furiously took notes over a typical, purely utilitarian, mediocre Vegas breakfast buffet. Below I have pasted my impressions of each dish in the nine course meal. CornyT has promised to put his musings in as soon as he has time. So here it goes, my pathetic stab at food writing:)



Amuse Bouche: Frothing Foie Gras

My first experience with foie gras was this frothy little "shot glass" of port, foam and foie gras. Foie gras would become the theme of the weekend but this was my first time to ever have the duck liver delicacy. The waiter explained that the chef recommended digging deep into the glass with a spoon to get all the flavors in one bite. I am not sure if I did an excellent job of this- it kind of took me two bites to get to everything- and I think my experience would have been a little more explosive had I gotten all the ingredients in one bite. However, once I got to the foie gras at the bottom my mouth was happy.



LA LANGOUSTINE: Langoustine carpaccio with roasted poppy seed dressing

This was the most artistic dish of the evening. The thin, almost translucent meat was spread across a square glass plate and sprinkled with an orange poppy seed dressing. Alone the poppy seed dressing had a unremarkable flavor but the unique texture and subtle flavor of the lobster meat paired well with it making this one of the most unusual dishes I have ever had.



LES HUITRES: Poached baby Kussi oysters with French « Echiré » butter

Ahh the oysters. This was one of my favorite courses of the night and I still get a little flutter in my heart when I think of the blend of the subtly flavored oyster with the tangy butter and dash of lemon. Ohh so good. The three baby oysters were presented soaking in a light butter sauce in their shells atop a bed of coarse salt with a wedge of propped in front. To eat the oysters you poured them into your mouth drenched in the butter sauce. These flesh was firm and weighty in the mouth and the flavor was the subtle tanginess of a perfectly fresh oyster. The acidity from the lemon underscored the flavor of both the shell-fish and the butter sauce. A perfectly elegant and simple dish.



The EGG Dish (or L'oeuf)

This was even a little more unusual then the langoustine. Three layers starting with foam, poached egg, mushrooms, and puree of parsley were presented in a parfait glass. Oh and if I haven't mentioned before foam was a big part of this meal. Light flavorful, yummy foam. My only complaint about so many dishes with foam is that the whole meal starts to have the same texture and feel. With this egg dish we were again told to dig down deep with our spoon and retrieve all the flavors in one bite. Again, I got this in sections rather all in one bite. Typically you think of parsley has having little flavor but in puree form it is a surprising explosion of taste. Overall this dish really stayed with me because it was so unusuall and the textures of the foam and the poached egg were really surprising.

Asparagus Cappaccinno
This was a light green, frothy soup with a distinctive asparagus flavor with chunks of guyere cheese. The cheese was excellent but the flavor was a little disparate because it didn't melt completely in the soup. Where it did melt it was an amazing and startling pairing of flavors. All in all though, I felt like this was the most ordinary of all the dishes.

Halibut
This description is really can suffer from my lack of notes and faded memory. The fish was presented topped with finely diced spring vegetables. This course was a little difficult to eat. Each bite of fish scattered the veg and it was hard to get a taste of the fish and the veg in one mouthful. The Lemon thyme used to flavor the veg didn't seem to mix throughout the veg and some bites would be bland while others were really tangy. The halibut itself was perfectly cooked and tasted incredibly fresh.

Veal Piccata
This was the main dish and the one dish that CornyT and I did not share. He chose the quail while I chose the veal. The thin layer of veal was topped with an arugula salad. The veal was very tender but without a strong, memorable flavor. The standout of this dish were the Robuchon mashed potatoes. I read one blog that described them as sublime and there really is no better way to describe them.

Papaya Sorbet
A pink puree presented in a small bowl topped with a peak of banana sorbet. The was a perfect light dish after the previous heavy meals. The papaya flavor was subtle but complex and the delicate banana paired well. Just for pure bursts of flavor this was my favorite dessert dish.

Coffee Ice Cream
This final dessert was a scoop of coffee colored ice cream surrounded by mousse and topped with crumbled chunky brownies. The ice cream was a delicate texture and the mousse had a broad flavor. Not the stand out dish of the meal but a nice end to an amazing meal I will certainly not forget.
After we waddled away from the table my only serious complaint was the coffee. Geesh I am shocked that such a superb restaurant would serve such weak, mediocre coffee. CornyT told me I should have sent it back but I hate doing that and I was so lost in the whole experience that it wasn't until we reflected on it all later that I thought what a disappointment that was. But don't get me wrong I still LOVED this meal want an amazing experience.