If you live in Vegas, you NEED to come here (and damn you for being so lucky!). If you're visiting Vegas, you NEED to come here. It's seriously worth the little distance you drive from the strip. And if you don't have a car, CAB it here, it's worth it, I promise!!!
BH took me here because we needed a break from all the celeb chef restaurants on the strip and wanted something a little more low key with dishes at reasonable prices. What I did not expect was that the food would be as good as the $$$$ restaurants with a $$ price!!
The restaurant is very clean, spacious, and nicely decorated. The waitress we had was very helpful and awesome. We sat down and perused the menu, and we immediately spotted about 10 things we wanted. We whittled the list down to a mere 5 dishes. . .the foie gras appetizer, the oxtail chili cheese fries, the kiki burger for BH, the Ronin burger for me, and a side of truffle parmesan fries. We finished it ALL.
The foie gras appetizer is only $12.50 and comes with salty mushrooms, sweet golden raisins, a beautiful reduction sauce and plump, juicy figs. The foie gras was seared perfectly so it was crisp on the outside and soft and luscious inside. Each bite rendered pockets of fragrant fat to explode in my mouth and coupled with the sweet raisins and juicy fig, I was on cloud 9. The pieces of foie gras were also quite big. . .and for $12.50 I thought it was a steal!
The oxtail chili cheese fries were my next favorite. . .though it came a VERY close second to the foie gras. The fries were golden and crispy, and very soft and fluffy on the inside. The oxtail was so tender and almost melted in my mouth. I don't like beans in my chili but I did not mind the beans in this chili. It gave it a nice, creamy texture to the crunchy fries that was different from the gooey cheese. The jalapenos were crisp and gave each bite a little heat, which offset the slightly sweet and salty chili, and the cilantro kept my mouth feeling fresh and clean. Oh god, it was pure heaven. . .BH and I cleaned the plate and eagerly awaited our burgers.
BH's Kiki burger was pretty good. I am not a big fan of mushrooms but his was very flavorful, the meat was perfectly cooked (we ordered medium rare. . .the meat was browned on the outside and pink THROUGHOUT the entire patty!) the bacon strips were candied, sweet, and chewy, and the bun was soft and pillowy. BH commented that the bread reminded him of cha shu bao - asian style where it's very light and fluffy, golden brown on top and just a tad sweet. I agreed and felt the bun really made their burgers.
My Ronin burger was just okay. I was a little disappointed that it lacked a bit of flavor, imo, but I think it may have been because I had foie gras and oxtail chili cheese fries before the Ronin, so my palate might've been built up to expect something more. However, I think if they put bacon in the Ronin, it'd made it even better than it already is. But I think if I had the Ronin without all the luscious apps, I would've thought it was perfect. The meat, like the KiKi, was cooked medium rare, it was juicy with the soft, golden bun and the fried egg. . .it was a true delight to eat. BH and I could tell they also put a lot of thought and time into their sauces, which came out very interesting and paired well with the burgers and fries.
The truffle parmesan fries were really good as well. Like the oxtail french fries, they were crisp, golden brown, and had a nice, subtle flavor of white truffle with a bit of tangy parmesan. It went with our burgers quite well.
I was so impressed with the meal, I flagged down our waitress and begged her to talk to the owner so they could open a Bachi in LA. She said the owner is in the works and is hopefully opening one by the end of next year! I nearly jumped for joy. She also mentioned that the chef/owner used to work at Roy's Hawaiian and just started Bachi. They plan on opening a ramen house in a few months, also in Vegas. Ramen is abundant in LA, but I feel we have a lack of great burgers, especially Asian fusion burgers.
Overall, I felt the burgers were like a combo of Umami (in terms of creativity and presentation) + Bun Bun (for the Asian- fusion style flavor). Bot Bachi blows both out of the water. . .by far.
The bill was just a little under $50. BH exclaimed that it "wasn't right" because he felt he was somehow cheating them. $50 for 5 dishes. . .each made with such precision and skill as a $$$$ restaurant??? It was the best meal EVER. I understand prices in LA might be a bit more, but I don't care. I just want my Bachi!!!