Vegas Part 1

I was in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and took advantage of the opportunity to spend an obscene (for me) amount of money on dinner. I had seen the full-page adds for Restaurant Guy Savoy in Wine Spectator magazine for quite a while, so I ended up making a reservation for one on a Saturday night.

To start, I showed up at about 5:5opm in the secluded part of Caesar's Casino where the restaurant is. The front desk ushered me to the bar as they were not ready to seat just yet. I started with a glass of excellent champagne bottled for Guy Savoy (should be for $23 a glass). After five minutes, I was ushered to my table.

To start with, I can do nothing but rave about the service. It is top-notch and very attentive, without being over-bearing. Frank Savoy, Guy's son and owner of the restaurant, came out to greet me and checked in regularly throughout the meal. When I decided on the TGV menu (a four-course version of the tasting menu), I asked if I could have the venison on offer instead of the normal meat course. But of course!! The chef was delighted to do so.

The food is quite good, but I have a few quibbles (beyond getting too much!). The scallops came on a small pools of parsnip puree that I found overpowered the delicate (and perfectly cooked) scallops. The soup -- an artichoke soup with shaved truffles and parmesan -- had an odd smoked tea (maybe Prince of Wales, or gunpowder) smell to it. The parmesan was evident, but I noted to my server that the truffles didn't come through at all. I've noticed this elsewhere -- perhaps the truffles don't travel very well. In any case, Frank & Co. went above and beyond and whisked away the soup to replace it with a delicate truffle risotto. The venison was amazing -- so tender despite coming from a notoriously tough meat. Dessert started as a chocolate plate, including a sorbet, a form of napoleon, and more. But my espresso also came with petit forts, and after all was said and done, they brought over the dessert cart. I couldn't take much more, but did sample the chocolate mousse, which I found too thick and dense as too many french restaurants want to cater to American tastes (the Sofitel in Philadelphia has the same problem). Your french for god's sake!! Stand up for the chocolate mousse!!!.

My wine with dinner was the 2003 CdP from Vieux Telegraphe. I had a half bottle that went well with the venison. The restaurant also has a bread cart and offers to pair the breads with the courses. There is a malty pain de campaign that is not to be missed, but the lemon bread is not much of an addition to the scallops.

On the way out the door, after more than two hours, I had to turn down a proffered candy from a large jar. Guy Savoy certainly takes care of you, but for the price of a dinner (with wine) for two at Citronelle, it was not the best bargain in dining.