 |
|
 |
|
MICHELIN guide | Andrew Kaplan: Las Vegas EnvoyI’ve made so many work-related visits to Las Vegas in the last year that the car-rental attendants feel like neighbors. And yet, I continue to be astounded and delighted by the sheer improbability of Las Vegas, with its brash architecture and sybaritic opulence in the middle of an arid desert. Where better than Las Vegas for a gastro-tour to indulge the senses in everything from an infamous MICHELIN three-star indulgence to an off-the-strip ethnic find – all road mapped in the MICHELIN guide.
MiX My colleagues and I had concluded a good day, having made real progress in deal negotiations, so there was reason to celebrate. The same two tired restaurants at our hotel just would not do. MiX, described by MICHELIN as “Alain Ducasse’s Vegas darling,” and boasting a “stunning” design sounded right. We hopped in a cab and headed over to Mandalay Bay and shot up to the 64th floor, where we were greeted by a truly gorgeous dining environment. The double-height main room, dressed entirely in pearly white except for the blood-red place settings, is simultaneously retro and futuristic, austere and posh, formal and hip. I have to confess that at first we felt a little un-cool in our business suits, but once we settled into martinis (MiX is really a martini kind of place), all was well. We tried several items on the eclectic menu. My crispy Thai snapper was delicious, as was the seared scallops appetizer. A colleague was quite taken with the bison tenderloin au poivre. We all agreed, however, the standout dish was the roasted duck breast, which glazed with a wine reduction sauce was impossibly tender and sweet. A lounge forms a separate section of miX. While entirely different in design from the restaurant - dark and brooding with amoeba-like shapes – it is equally striking. Best of all, the lounge has an open-air balcony that overlooks the Las Vegas strip. There you can enjoy an after dinner scotch as the klieg-light pinnacle of the Luxor Hotel next door beams a message of indulgence to the heavens.
Lotus of Siam It doesn’t take long for me to feel a little Vegas’ed out with night after night of expensive high cuisine, over-the-top décor, and the parade of mini-skirted hostesses. I had heard about a spectacular Thai restaurant in Las Vegas specializing in Northern Thai cuisine, opened by the original proprietors of a legendary Thai restaurant in Norwalk, California. The Michelin guide identified Lotus of Siam as having “vibrant, exotic flavors,” and a “coterie of regulars and in-the-know visitors.” Could this be the one? I somehow managed to convince two of my colleagues to join me on what promised to be a food adventure. As we pulled into the vast parking lot of the strangely desolate strip mall, I started flipping through the guide for potential alternatives. But once we stepped across the threshold and saw the line, all fears were banished: we had just officially joined the “in-the-know” crowd. After a twenty-minute wait, which we passed by reading framed articles about a certain legendary Northern Thai restaurant in Norwalk, CA, we were shown to a table in the modest and well-worn dining room. First: spicy means spicy. Second: Lotus of Siam serves possibly the best Thai food I’ve had outside of its homeland. Who knew? Anything on the extensive menu could change your life for the better. Our standout dishes included the Isaan sausage appetizer (a regional specialty), green papaya salade, and charbroiled whole catfish. For diners needing a break from the “scene” of the Vegas strip, Lotus of Siam provides a respite from the posh, celebrity chef driven restaurants that have made Las Vegas a dining destination.
Joel Robuchon Joel Robuchon, in the MGM Grand, is the only MICHELIN three-star restaurant in Las Vegas and one of only four in the U.S. A departure from my typical dining style, after reading the MICHELIN guide review that called the cuisine, “a parade of culinary genius,” – I decided to indulge myself. Given the absurd amount of care put into each dish by the chefs in the kitchen, I opted to dine alone. I felt that Robuchon’s creations deserved my undivided attention. While I enjoy fancy food, my tastes generally run toward the rustic end of the food spectrum—the one-pot cassoulet rather than the sixteen gelee-infused, foam-flecked, meat-essence-glazed miniatures. To a renowned food artist like Joel Robuchon, I am no doubt a swine undeserving of such cultured pearls. One accesses Joel Robuchon off the main casino floor of the MGM Grand. This didn’t quite jibe with my three-star fantasies – where the palate is whetted by a brisk drive through the French countryside, the perfume of wild lavender still redolent in your nostrils. Soon though, the clamor of the casino is left behind as you sink into a sumptuous and intimate dining room with high ceilings, plush banquettes strewn with pillows, and an artful display of all the decorative food groups - lacquer, crystal, velvet, etc. Framed black and white headshots of the master himself - I counted at least two - gaze upon diners. From here on, you are immersed in a performance as involved and acrobatic as any by Cirque de Soleil (if Cirque integrated bites of Kobe beef into the tumbling routines). My meal, a six-course tasting menu, to which I added a gratuitous seventh course—Robuchon’s signature langoustine ravioli-was not perfect, but at least two of the items rank among the best things I have ever eaten. Shaved white truffles and potatoes, topped with foie gras carpaccio, was one such highlight and the other best dish ever was truffled langoustine ravioli with diced cabbage. Both of mingled tastes and textures with precision and harmony that’s almost musical. Service is eerily solicitous: barely ten seconds after I returned from my food coma— the waiter brought my check, not a second too early or too late. A meal at Joel Robuchon is like a vacation from a Vegas vacation, perhaps the most escapist thing you can do in the city. |
Andrew Kaplan
Andrew Kaplan works for a national west coast-based real estate developer. Currently working on a mixed-use project in the old downtown section of Las Vegas, Andrew travel regularly to the area. A foodie and former travel writer, with a penchant for dives serving immigrant comfort food, Andrew enjoys exploring the Las Vegas food scene – on and off “the strip”. Andrew is a fan of Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma but wonders if it’s humanly possible to be a locavore in the state of Nevada.
Andrew lives in Los Angeles with his wife who is a film director.
Purchase the MICHELIN guide
 |
||||||
| The premiere edition of the MICHELIN Guide New York City debuted in late 2005. Buy the 2009 edition from: | The MICHELIN Guide San Francisco & Bay Area covers hotels and restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Berkeley, as well as the Wine Country. Buy the 2009 edition from: | The MICHELIN Guide Los Angeles covers hotels and restaurants in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Westwood, Downtown, Santa Monica, Ventura Boulevard and Pasadena. Buy the 2009 edition from: | The MICHELIN Guide Las Vegas includes Las Vegas Boulevard, downtown and areas east and west of the Strip. Buy the 2009 edition from: | |||
Or buy from your favorite independent book seller |
||||||