"1"^^ . "1"^^ . "2014-11-24T00:00:00"^^ . . "I've dined at least a half dozen times at Le Cirque (it is my favorite LV restaurant). Nothing, however, could have prepared me for THE most luxurious meal I have ever had. The staff, and especially the GM, Ivo Angelov, have always made sure that when I dine at Le Cirque I am treated like a queen. \n\nWhen I arrived Tuesday evening, I was again greeted warmly by Ivo. I was led to a corner banquette that would have comfortably seated 4 or 5 people. I told Ivo that I was interested in having some white truffles. I was not given a menu, but started receiving dishes that I would have ordered. Before the parade of luxury, I was presented with a beautiful assortment of breads. I chose the pretzel, the bacon cheddar, and the white chocolate walnut--all were delicious.\n\nMy first course was the trio of caviar: smoked salmon rillette wth vodka cream; capellini with poached quail egg, shiso, lemon vinaigrette; kumomoto oyster, Granny Smith Apple, lemon verbena mousse. The dish is presented, and a liquid is poured and smoke rises from the plate (very dramatic!).\n\nNext course was the Fall Salad of baby artichokes, avocado, foie gras snow, jamon iberico, Parmesan, Dijon mustard vinaigrette, and shaved white truffles.\n\nI was thrilled with the next course: gnocchi with white truffles. The best gnocchi anywhere, and with the addition of the white truffles, this dish became my favorite dish of 2014!\n\nNext course was the chilled beet velout\u00E9, goat cheese panna cotta, micro greens, and crostini. I'm not a big fan of beets, but this course made me a convert.\n\nThis was followed with the seared diver scallop, potato and Apple brunoise, white truffles, celeriac pur\u00E9e, lobster foam, and white chocolate sauce. Didn't think this would all work, but it did beautifully!\n\nMy main course was the Japanese A5 Wagyu kobe striploin, bone marrow fondant, spinach pur\u00E9e, beef tendon croquette, royal trumpet mushrooms and bordelaise sauce. Oh yes, more white truffles! I wound up having beef at each of my dinners, but the best was at Le Cirque.\n\nThe pre-dessert was a mojito granite with lime foam-very refreshing.\n\nI specifically requested the souffl\u00E9 for dessert since I have long considered the souffl\u00E9 at Le Cirque to be the \"gold standard\". The flavor was raspberry-yuzu; I tasted mostly raspberry, and it was delicious!\n\nA tray of mignardises followed, and I ate everyone of them. The last treat was the jewelry box with 2 truffles. I ate only one of them.\n\nService was, as always, wonderful! It's great to see many of the same staff. Even those staff members not taking care of my table came over to say hello.\n\nWhen I requested my check, my captain came back with no check, and said my dinner was with the compliments of Le Cirque. I was blown away by such kindness. I left a very generous gratuity for the staff.\n\nEven if I had paid for the dinner, I would still rank it among my top 5 all-time favorite meals."^^ . "8"^^ . . . "5"^^ .