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| - Everyone that knows me knows that I have the maddest crush ever on Chef Hubert Keller after watching him on Top Chef Masters. So when I found out I was going to Vegas for a convention I made reservations oh about 2 months in advance for an early birthday celebration.
Myself and three of my girls showed up for our 730pm reservation and headed to the lounge to wait and order a martini that had Pop Rocks in it as the onlne menu suggested. Alas, they don't make it anymore which resulted in four ladies saying "Awwwww!" in unison. But we were seated before even ordering a drink so we didn't have time to be uber-disapponted.
We were seated in the back of the restaurant in a private cabana (although the curtains were not shut). The restaurant was dimly lit with light Europop music in the background and my first impression was ooooh fancy! I loved the atmosphere. On the wall there is also a live flower arrangement made with 3500 individual roses with their own individual water receptacles attached to them. They replace them every day too...aaaah Chef Keller, so niiiice!
On to the food. I chose the Elegance menu since you cannot do the Chef's tasting menu unless the entire table does it. Another friend did the Elegance menu, the other the Lion King three course menu, and the other the vegetarian menu. We had an amuse bouche to start and it was some sort of fried cod and it was tasty - my friends and I both liked it. They brought out a separate amuse bouche for the vegetarian friend as well which I thought was a nice touch. The bread basket was also brought around and I got the foccacia which was so delicious they had to bring the bread basket around again 5 minutes later because we needed more.
First course I had the truffled onion soup with braised duck ragout and truffles. They bring the bowl out with items placed in the bottom and then the soup is poured on top. That was some seriously wonderful, creamy onion soup. I ate every last bit of it and considered sopping up the rest with my bread...or licking it clean with my tongue.
Second course I chose the veal and Yukon Gold potato ravioli with a veal jus sauce. I thought the ravioli was tasty but I would say perhaps the sauce was a bit too salty but not too salty to eat every last bit of it.
Third course I chose the filet mignon with potato puree, spinach, and wild mushrooms. The steak was perfectly medium rare and the sauce was divine. The potato puree looked very festive on the plate - like a potato comma at the top - and tasted as good as it looked.
The last course was dessert which we had to order when we ordered our entrees. I got the chocolate souffle ($6 supplement) and it was worth the entire trip to Vegas just to eat this. It comes out looking absolutely perfect and a fleur de lys design is on top in powdered sugar. The waiters poke a hole in the top and pour the chocolate sauce in. Then you devour it and the mocha ice cream they served with it while your eyes roll back in your head and you think "Oh sweet baby Jesus, thank you for this excellent dessert!"
As an added bonus the waiter brought out a special birthday dessert for me - I don't even know what it was but they had written Happy Birthday on the plate in chocolate syrup which pleased me to no end. The manager came around to ask how our evening was and I did have to ask if Chef Keller was there....and...he....wasn't. Damn - minus one star for the lack of superstar chef meeting! I didn't get my chance to meet him this time, but I'll definitely stalk him down next trip. hehe
Throughout the dinner the service was excellent. Our waiter was friendly, funny, and he kept our cocktails filled (Fleurtini if you must know). Only misstep was perhaps the long lag time between the 2nd and 3rd courses. Not a big deal since we were just hanging out.
At the end of dinner they bring the ladies a rose from the aforementioned flower art on the wall. This is meant to win you over after you see how much your dinner was. HA! Overall I thought it was worth the money and they only way it could have been better was to get to meet my fave celebrity Chef.
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