The other restaurant I went to while in Vegas a few weeks ago was L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, which I had not originally planned to go to, but was easily talked into after I won all my bets on the Super Bowl and could cover (most) of my Guy Savoy check. L'Atelier looks more like a sushi bar when you walk in, with a few tables, but most of the seats at the bar that is all black with hi-chairs. I had the discovery menu, which is nine dishes, most of them sublime or at least very very good. In fact, I was more impressed with this menu than I was with Guy Savoy. The pork belly is not on the discovery menu, but Scott had it and kindly let me try it -- it is pure heaven. The one off note perhaps were the oysters, that had too much lemon juice and vinegar. The oysters have a sublime sweetness that stands best on its own.
But the other dishes were wonderful, including an asparagus soup, smoked salmon, and two desserts. Well worth a visit, and (relatively) reasonable price ($120 for the discovery menu) for Vegas. One interesting note is that the seats at the bar give a full view of the kitchen. We watched the executive chef carefully dissect what looked like a sausage with no casing, and then proceed to eat the whole thing. When we asked him what it was, he said "an experiment that I'm still working on," but he declined to tell us any specifics.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Valentine's Day, Take 2
After coming down with a truly nasty cold on Valentine's Day, we had to postpone our celebrations until after Leslie got back from her trip to Nashville and Los Angeles. Last night was the second take -- dinner at Palena in Cleveland Park. Dinner was wonderful, I must say. The menu is short, but packed with so many intriguing dishes, it's hard to decide what to get. Leslie started with a sweet and spicy Japanese ceviche (snapper, I think). I had the salt cod on an italian braise -- both dishes were excellent starts to the evening.
I followed that with parsley ravioli that started strong on the parsley and then melded into lovely heat. The ravioli are accompanied by mushrooms and frogs legs (that I forgot were in the dish until the main course came, when I said to myself "oh yeah, those were frogs legs in my pasta"). Leslie had the saddle of rabbit and enjoyed it. My main course was pork done three ways, including a cube of smoked pork belly (basically a very fine bacon) and loin cooked to perfection (slightly pink still). Leslie had monkfish. We finished off with wonderful desserts -- I had the chocolate almond cake with chocolate sorbet (naturally), and Leslie had the cannoli (also a natural choice for her. The cannoli looked more like a fried wonton and open-faced, instead of the traditional tube. Both our plates were clean in seconds (maybe a minute or two).
The wine was a difficult one. We looked at some pinot noirs and I thought maybe a St. Emilion (though from 2004) might go well. The wine steward recommended a barbaresco from 2001, noting that its floral and lavender notes would go well. My first impression was twizzler -- a faint candy cherry smell. The wine was good, but didn't really pair well with any of the dishes all that well. Ah well, you experiment and sometimes it doesn't pan out perfectly.
All in all, it was a wonderful dining experience. I would go back -- perhaps to try the cafe in front, but wouldn't turn up a chance to eat in the formal dining room again.
I followed that with parsley ravioli that started strong on the parsley and then melded into lovely heat. The ravioli are accompanied by mushrooms and frogs legs (that I forgot were in the dish until the main course came, when I said to myself "oh yeah, those were frogs legs in my pasta"). Leslie had the saddle of rabbit and enjoyed it. My main course was pork done three ways, including a cube of smoked pork belly (basically a very fine bacon) and loin cooked to perfection (slightly pink still). Leslie had monkfish. We finished off with wonderful desserts -- I had the chocolate almond cake with chocolate sorbet (naturally), and Leslie had the cannoli (also a natural choice for her. The cannoli looked more like a fried wonton and open-faced, instead of the traditional tube. Both our plates were clean in seconds (maybe a minute or two).
The wine was a difficult one. We looked at some pinot noirs and I thought maybe a St. Emilion (though from 2004) might go well. The wine steward recommended a barbaresco from 2001, noting that its floral and lavender notes would go well. My first impression was twizzler -- a faint candy cherry smell. The wine was good, but didn't really pair well with any of the dishes all that well. Ah well, you experiment and sometimes it doesn't pan out perfectly.
All in all, it was a wonderful dining experience. I would go back -- perhaps to try the cafe in front, but wouldn't turn up a chance to eat in the formal dining room again.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ardbeg Disapointment
It turns out that the Ardbeg Still Young and Almost Young are not available in the US. Blaaaast.
Oh, and I figured out that I have tried about 20 of Scotland's distilleries, including two closed ones (Brora and Port Ellen). Only 60+ to go to fill out the active ones.
Oh, and I figured out that I have tried about 20 of Scotland's distilleries, including two closed ones (Brora and Port Ellen). Only 60+ to go to fill out the active ones.
The GOAT
Some of you may know LL Cool J's (that's, Ladies Love Cool James) album, the G.O.A.T. -- Greatest of All Time. Never mind that the album is not his best work. I digress completely, because I am here to write about a different goat entirely -- the Goats do Roam of South Africa. It was recently pointed out to me that I seem to report on the expensive restaurants, but not places like Five Guys (been to the one in Old Town and in Tampa, by the way, and thank you very much Fierce Flores). So, I don't have any cheap restaurants to report on, but the Goats do Roam Wine Company of South Africa (home of the gosh-darn kruggerand -- quote is prettied up from Lethal Weapon Two) does offer a great wine at a fantastic price. I tried the 2006 vintage of this peppery, fruity, deep wine, available for about $12 at Balducci's, which means you can probably find it for a bit cheaper elsewhere. Don't feel ashamed to drink this bottle by yourself on a weeknight -- it's yummy and won't dent your wallet.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The collection, part deux
This is the collection as it appeared about a month ago. As I said, I finished up a couple of bottles since then. In addition to the two I mentioned in a previous post, I also finished the Bowmore 1989 you see fourth from the left. And some I haven't opened yet -- I'm trying to get some friends together for a scotch tasting, but it's proven very difficult to arrange around everyone's schedule.
The collection
Since I last posted on my scotch collection, I have finished off the Port Ellen and the Compass Box Peat Monster, both excellent malts. I just bought the Ardbeg Uigeadail to the collection. If you recall, I tried this at the scottish restaurant in London. I finally bit the bullet and laid down nearly $100 for a bottle.
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.
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.
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