. . "34"^^ . "34"^^ . "37"^^ . "4"^^ . "After an evening of nonstop Vegas-style partying, the only words I managed to utter from my dry raspy voice the following morning was...water please!!!\n\nIn addition to replenishing my body with much needed liquids, I was feeling mighty peckish, as well! After much deliberation, our group decided on a calm & relaxing sit down Saturday brunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon. \n\nLocated on the 10th floor inside the Venetian, the restaurant embodied what I've come to expect from a fine French bistro. The vibe was chic & refined yet relaxed and unfussy. There were comfortable banquettes throughout the main dining area as well as outdoor seating in the patio area. We were subsequently seated inside. At 12:00pm, the sun was beaming from the patio, so our location filtered the intense light perfectly, which suited me and my solar sensitive eyes just fine. \n\nComplimentary house made jam was magnificent! The jam is freshly prepared each day and depending on the chef's mood, a different flavor variety is served. Today, he was feeling strawberry, which is my personal favorite! They served us an Epi baguette to share and it was fantastic, as well. Warm, buttery crust with perfectly chewy texture. Coupled with the soft butter and sweet pucker inducing jam, it was a match made in the stars.\n\nThe entrees were orchestrated perfectly as we didn't have to wait long at all.\n\nChicken n waffles - The waffles were made with bacon n chives and sourdough batter. It was airy and crisp with a lightly sweet flavor and a savory finish. It was so good i almost forgot to use the syrup!\nThe chicken was roasted perfectly and it was insanely moist & tender! The chasseur wine sauce was rich and flavorful with an alluring aroma. Some of my guests enjoyed the savory flavor so much they poured the irresistible sauce over their waffles, too!\n\nPork belly was fatty and incredibly flavorful and juicy. Accompanied by the creamy hollandaise sauce, it was absolutely delicious!\n\nCorned beef hash was phenomenal! Well seasoned pieces of corned beef mixed with all the traditional fixins that will impress any die hard corned beef hash purist! Trust, this was far from canned! \n\nShort rib was tender, the fontina cheese was fragrant and the whimsically tiny jingle bell peppers added a pleasant little kick to this fantastic dish!\n\nBeignets were served fresh out of the oven but they were quite dense and tasted more like doughnuts IMO Overall, they were very moist and with the added raspberry preserve filling, they added a sweet finish to our savory entrees.\n\nOur service throughout the meal was very consistent with coffees, water, and juices always filled to the brim.\n\nBy the end of the meal we were absolutely stuffed! But I didn't mind at all :D\n\nMy friends and I had a wonderful time and it was great feeling totally replenished and revived with good quality food that was masterfully prepared with fantastic service to boot. The strong coffee didn't hurt either! I'm not quite sure if this particular location was ever awarded a Michelin star but IMO Thomas Keller deserves praise for a dining experience that was unpretentious, comforting and very enjoyable!\n\nWhen we all left, I was sated, 100% refreshed and ready to take on the world, well at least another round of partying :) \n\nHey, it's Vegas for crying out loud.\n\nHappy Eats!"^^ . "2011-10-29T00:00:00"^^ . .