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| - I'm admittedly a total Anthony Bourdain slut. After rewatching his Paris episode (in which he goes to L'Atelier with Robuchon protege Eric Ripert), and knowing I was headed to Vegas, I immediately doubled down on making my friend secure reservations to L'Atelier.
The decision between L'Atelier and the original Joel Robuchon is well reasoned in the episode made mention of above. To me, L'Atelier represented one of the baseline restaurants that we now take for granted. Food today has now done away with white linens and stuffy environments. Restaurants today are eat, drink, and be merry, and owe many thanks to the once-bold decisions of innovators like Robuchon. So embrace the past, or look towards the future. I picked the latter. Oh, plus L'Atelier is cheaper.
At L'Atelier, the overtly red and black decor screams bold, and the novel bar/kitchen open concept has since been copied in restaurants everywhere. Bar seating would be, in my opinion, exceptionally fun. Despite the lower key environment, service was still impeccably good, and the price point is not for light wallets.
With a group larger than 6, we were given the nine-course Menu Decouverte de Saison, with a fixed price of $159/pp (menu and pictures posted). I was greatly attracted to the variety of offerings, and though it wasn't nearly as endless as French Laundry, nine was plenty long and plenty filling. Wines and cocktails are pricey, but I thought my $11 Ketel One martini was plenty reasonable--and delicious to boot. Oh, and the bread basket is superb, as French carbohydrates ought to be.
Two starters, a Foie Gras Parfait amuse bouche and Celery Mousse gelatinous soup, started the night off well. The Celery Mousse was perhaps the only table miss, though I personally liked it better than the incredibly rich parfait. The molecular gastronomy undertones (parmesan foam, anyone?) were already creeping out in both dishes, and I started to draw comparisons to other incredible dining experiences like French Laundry, Oxheart in Houston, and Barley Swine in Austin.
The next two dishes, a dive into the sea, were nothing short of divine. "It tastes like the ocean" is a big Bourdainism, and it's easy to see what he means with the Saint-Jacques (sea scallop) and Langostine. Both are cooked in shell, though the scallop is served out. Both melted in my mouth, and left me wanting so much more. And, perhaps most amazingly, the simply done sauces added so much to already delicious seafood.
The Cebette (white onion tart), a transitory course to the entree, was my personal favorite. Perhaps it was the extra shaved white truffle my friend and I requested, or the quail fried egg, or the smoked bacon (yes, another total Bourdain sentence there). But sakes alive, that simple, almost pizza-esque dish, really did the trick for me.
The Salmon was incredible, lightly smoked and not drenched in salt like you're apt to find at your local Jewish deli. But it cam with the only miss of the night for me--the strange taste and oily texture in the buttery shellfish sauce.
From the land, I preferred the Boeuf capped ribeye, perfectly cooked and seeping with juice, to the Foie Gras Stuffed Quail, which felt just a little too small and tasted just a little too rich. But if you want to talk about rich, those world-famous mashed potatoes should really be called "butter with a side of mash." I would eat that sucker by the bucket if it didn't cost the size of a small Lego island and warp my stomach into the size of a beach ball.
By the dessert rounds, we were stuffed. I'm not a huge dessert guy, but I surprisingly found the L'Ananas (Spiced Ginger Cake) to work perfectly with coffee. The vanilla infused pineapples were something an Asian person who grew up with sponge fruit cake would love--hey, that's me! And the Margharita (Yogurt Ice Cream and Tequila Gelee) was for the Tex-Mex in me. The blackberries and pop rocks--yes, pop rocks--were a nice touch. Oh man, a blackberry Mexican Martini sounds like an awesome idea now.
Beyond the ambiance, service, and downright delicious food, I was incredibly impressed by how little misses there were. With a large party and a huge sampling of dishes, it would have been easy for more than a few unsatisfactory moments. But the table was mostly ooh's and ahh's, and that's always a fine thing when you're spending hard-won money on an extravagant dinner. Well played, L'Atelier. Well played indeed.
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