BOUCHON (D)

Saturday, January 26th - 5:30 p.m.

At first I didn't want to do Bouchon since that might limit our variety, but my s.o. made a good point of saying, "why not" and plus it would allow us a compare/contrast report of the original vs. Las Vegas establishments. While we had gone in to the Venetian hotel's location with hopeful, though not unrealistic expectations, we were disappointed. Don't get me wrong - we had a nice meal. But when you think of eating at a Keller branded restaurant, I think you go in hoping for better than "nice."

So here is the review of the o.g. (with some comparisons to Vegas)...

We took a pleasant stroll from our accommodations to Bouchon and were grateful the rain seems to have subsided for the evening. We knew we would appreciate the walk back after gorging, and boy, did we ever!

We arrived early to see the staff seated outside in a final meeting before the start of dinner service. We were greeted warmly at check-in and were told service would begin promptly at 5:30pm so we moved over to the bar for a drink. People were already seated and eating at the bar which made for an interesting bustling in one quarter of the large dining room.

The bistro has a clean and bright feel with dark wood tables and chairs covered over with white linens, high ceilings, and the bar was especially lovely with a large display of oysters and crab and lobster on a huge bed of ice. One of the things I had always heard about was Keller's relationship with his purveyors, and the bar was a beautiful selection of shellfish. The decor from Yountville to Las Vegas carried over very well, but I heard the same designer (Adam Tihany) did all of Keller's restaurants. It is a shame the quality of food couldn't translate as smoothly.


From the start - bread

When we dined in Vegas, the one thing you would expect to be top notch is the bread. It was OK. In Yountville, it was crispy on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside. In short, it was good. Good like you would expect from a place that is supposed to do French food well.


Appetizers

I went for the sweet potato soup (special) and the escargot with puffed pastry. The soup was incredibly light and airy... but I am not sure it was a good thing. I expect a pureed soup to have a bit of texture, but this was almost more akin to eating air. Really. It was good, but I did not love it. The escargot were a really nice surprise. Having eaten them a few times recently (Les Halles Park Ave - yum/Comme Ca, L.A. - boo) I found these to be refreshing. While it was a basic garlic butter sauce, the flavors were more muted and the snails were much more prominent. (My s.o. always joked that with a garlic butter sauce, do you even need the snails or anything else? In previous cases, I'd have to agree, but this time the snails were so large and tender, not rubbery, that I can see why escargot are enjoyed.) He ordered a nice frisee aux lardons & oeuf pouche (frisee salad with bacon lardon & poached egg) and the white garlic sausage with lentils. Both items were an interesting mix of having muted tastes even though they had such strong flavors, from the lardon to the garlic. The highlight with the frisee was the toasted brioche bread. Just lightly toasted on the outside and soft, soft, soft on the inside. (Kind of made us regret not trying the Croque Madame sandwich made with the brioche.)


Entrees

I ordered the Special - Sturgeon with Leeks and Horseradish Potato Puree with Beef Aus Jus. Exactly - beef aus jus... on fish? Well, it worked. Really. The seared crust on this fish was so nice... crispy on the outside while the white flesh stayed moist and meaty. The heartiness of the fish and the horseradish potato combined well with the jus. As always, you learn something new as they combine the ordinary into something more extraordinary, n'est ce pas?

My s.o. ordered the Gigot d'Agneau (roasted leg of lamb). The lamb was tender and moist and not overly gamey, but by this point, I was going from full to stuffed. I realized how imprudent it was of me to wear my jeans instead of my fat pants; a mistake I was not going to repeat for the big event tomorrow.


Our final course was a compromise - one cheese plate and one dessert

I went for a cheese trio sampler that had one from cow, goat and sheep. Lately I've been served hard goat cheeses than I have been used to, but I find them to be my favorite. No matter how strong or mild, it is always smoother than cow's and more robust than sheep's milks cheeses. The sheep is always milder and usually still a nice treat. This cow's cheese, wrapped in what looked like grape leaves, packed a salty punch along with its pungent odor. The BEST part was the honey with honeycomb, which were like crunchy sugary bits that stuck between the crevices in your molars but just enhanced the cheeses by cutting some of their strength. That along with the slices of bread (the cranberry raisin in particular going so well - and mind you, I normally HATE raisin bread, but this was delicious) really does make it a fine substitute for anything too sweet.

I persuaded my s.o. to try the creme caramel as being very "French." The custard was so light and the caramel sauce delicate and lightly sweet and it was served at a nicely chilled temperature. It did remind me of the homemade creme caramel I had my years ago when studying in Paris.

In short, the meal was really nice, but I wasn't floored. And this isn't a case of trying to compare apples to oranges and calling it a failure. It was a case of expecting some great flavors, finding fresh ingredients, tasting great products, but not finding a strength of flavors (apart from the cheeses) in the items to be considered memorable. For this kind of fare, I could easily go to a more low key establishment and get a few dishes with a bit more flavor. The bread was a real winner, and were we not so full we could burst, a trip to the bakery next door would have been in order. However, it took all my effort to walk on my own two feet back to our room so I can digest and sleep off the wine (oh yes, there were wines, but I honestly can't remember them anymore) in order to make room for tomorrow... The French Laundry.