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| - Oh, Thomas Keller, how I do love what you do with butter. Especially in breads and on potatoes.
My wife and wandered in for a late brunch on a weekday and had a simply superb brunch. I ordered the garden breakfast (eggs, pastry, brioche toast, potatoes, spinach, fruit, juice, coffee), and she the eggs (eggs, meat, potatoes).
We were blown away, especially by the pastry and the potatoes.
Hers: fluffy, savory potatoeness wrapped in the perfect coating and fried to crisp perfection. Mine, skillet potatoes fried with onions and so much butter that "caramelized" takes on a whole new meaning. Truly a delight, and truly something you can't get at any run-of-the mill diner.
Oh, yeah, and the brioche toast and croissant. Let's just say that Bouchon is known for its pastries and you know why. I think the only better croissant I'd had was in France, and that taste memory was probably enhanced because I was in France. Once again, though, I think if you add a creamery's worth of butter to any dish, you get good results.
We ate outside next to the fountain, and the atmosphere met the cuisine perfectly. Service was friendly and easy.
What we really noticed is the price: Our total bill was about $40; my meal INCLUDED coffee and juice. When you go to a fine dining restaurant, one can expect to pay about 4-5 times what you'd pay at a "family" restaurant ($10-20 steak and potatoes at Chilis = $50-80 steak and potatoes at Morton's... you get the idea). But here, if you'd go to Country Kitchen and order eggs, meat, potatoes, coffee, and juice, you'd certainly pay $10-15 a person. And this is WAY better than Country Kitchen.
How do you rate brunch? Can you compare a delicate croissant and perfectly creamy potatoes to an awesomely greasy chicken fried steak, eggs, and biscuits and gravy that you ate as recovery food at some mom and pop diner for $5.99? Both are excellent at some level. I think what makes Bouchon's brunch so excellent is that you can't just get it anywhere, and while Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives food may be an equally good find, the Bouchon experience is one you must try.
And order potatoes. And bread. And pay no mind about the butter. Even when you get home from your Vegas vacation and learn you've gained 2 pounds in 4 days. It's totally worth it.
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