Bouchon

at the Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Blvd S * Las Vegas, NV

Was in Vegas a few weeks ago with Ed and took him to Bouchon to celebrate his birthday. Now, if you don't know what Bouchon is...it's Thomas Keller's (French Laundry) Las Vegas bistro. I was expecting to be wow'd, which i can't say i was completely wow'd. The food was executed very well, however, I was not a big fan of all the flavors.

They brought us some delicious bread and butter, i love this kind of fresh, fragrant butter. Along with the bread they brought out some pistachios, i've never seen this before, but it was greatly welcomed!





To start off we had some appetizers...


Rillettes aux Deux Saumons
fresh & smoked salmon rillettes served with toasted croutons

This was a good appetizer, recommended by our waiter; Ed was a bit skeptical b/c there are minced shallots in it, but it came out pretty good, no strong onion-y taste. The salmon is preserved in a little jar with a later of solidified butter on top (see below). The croutons were a perfect accompaniment to the salty salmon. They were nice enough to give us extra croutons.


See that layer of fat that he's scooping out??


Soupe du Jour: Butternut Squash Bisque
Butternut squash bisque with a drizzle of oil and some currant compote

I really enjoyed this soup, it was nice and creamy, and the currant gave it a nice kick to freshen it up. The bread was a great dipper for this soup.

To the main entree


Bay Scallops Special
Scallops on a bed of brussel sprout leaves and chicken of the woods mushroom with a balsalmic/shallots reduction sauce

The scallops were cooked really well, to the perfect temperature and texture. I wasn't a big fan of the mushrooms, but they were something new and interesting. The sauce was good, but alittle too tart for me.
This dish also comes with a roasted shallot, but due to someone's dislike of all things onion, they kindly didn't plate it.


Poulet Roti
roasted chicken with puff pastry tartelette, ratatouille, garlic chips & chicken jus

The chicken was again executed very well, moist throughout. The puff pastry surprising held up under the mass of wet sauciness. I found that I am not a fan of the flavors in ratatouille. I was quite full after eating this.

Overall, i think this was a good place to go to for getting my feet wet into Keller's cuisine, definately a lot easier on my wallet than French Laundry. The food was fresh and well executed, and i think my taste palette is just not developed enough for French food.

Paws: 4 (bc my expectations were too high)