. "0"^^ . "0"^^ . "2013-02-17T00:00:00"^^ . "3"^^ . "0"^^ . . . "So I was a bit undecided as to how to rate this place for a while - think I've settled on middle of the road. Having had the multiple meals at Joel Robuchon next door, I've seen what a good chef can do with food (lettuce soup with onion foam anyone?). Can't really say that about L'Atelier - pretty sure the 1 Michelin star (old rating) was from service.\n\nCame in to dine with some friends Jan 6, as their wives wanted something tasty, swanky, and not \"too\" expensive. Having never dined at L'Atelier, I figured we'd try this place out.\n\nWe all tried the different menu combos, selecting our appetizers and courses. Pretty much tried everything on the menu between the 6 of us. Also had Williams Selyem 09 pinot. That bottle of wine and the lobster bisque are the only two things I can really remember about the dinner now (I do also remember my main entree for other reasons, but we'll get to that in a bit). Lobster bisque was amazing - can taste the complexity of the different ingredients in every bite, and not overly salty like every other place I've had it at - pretty sure I licked the bowl clean. :P \n\nRest of the food was not very memerable. Think we had an assortment of fish and duck and steaks, but none of them stands out in my mind as of this writing. I do recall my braised ribs being ultra tender and had a good flavor, but the only reason I remember this is due to a horrific experience at Alex (now closed, @wynn) with what were essentially braised salt nuggets. Every time I have braised ribs, I can't help but compare it with that...wrong reason, I suppose.\n\nI will say this though, the bakers/chefs definitely know their breads and butters. They are simply amazing. The service is also impeccable and both servers and bussers are really attentive to customer needs - but it's also a small(er) restaurant, so I kind of expect this, especially a JR place. \n\nFinal bill with tips tallied something in the low 4 digit range for 6 - reasonable, if the food was any decent. \n\nPerhaps the food is better when ordering from the full tasting menu, but for that same price, I'm going next door for better quality everything..."^^ .