Las Vegas… Home to world class casino resorts and fine dining restaurants. No wonder this city is crowned the city of entertainment. There’s something for everybody here. Sure, you could spend your time throwing down money on gambling or spend your cash shopping in Vegas, but I wanted to make sure I was going to eat good while I was here.

Although I wanted to support my local California Chefs like Michael Mina, Hubert Keller, and Thomas Keller by dining at their Las Vegas restaurants, I knew that I could just visit their restaurants close to my home. I wanted to explore a little more. But, with so many restaurants to choose from, how was I going to make my decision?

I read about Joël Robuchon’s restaurant, L’Atelier, and how they offered an open kitchen so that you could watch your meal being prepared. That feature of the restaurant instantly drew me in. And yes, knowing that Joël Robuchon was named Chef of the century did influence me in a way, but I was intrigued to see how his philosophy on food would be seen with the way his team would prepare my meal.

Housed inside the MGM Grand Casino, you will find Joël Robuchon’s restaurants, L’Atelier and Joël Robuchon. Just a few steps away from the gaming floor, you are transported to a restaurant where your visual senses are in for a ride. When you are seated inside L’Atelier, the first thing you will notice is the open kitchen with Robuchon’s cooks busily working.

Las Vegas may be home to some amazing shows, and you can definitely list L’Atelier as a show to behold. L’Atelier offers counter seating, where you can watch cooks plating and preparing your meal just a few feet from where you sit. At one instance, my eyes were glued to the head chef as he prepared a ribeye. You could see him carefully using his turner to scoop up the juices to baste the ribeye as it was cooking. He finally finished the dish by melting a piece of butter onto the stove and letting those flavors set into the steak.

Two Chef’s tasting menus are available, but when we visited, we opted to order à la carte. It would’ve been nice to explore a tasting menu, but the dishes that we wanted to try were not offered on them. L’Atelier also offers a menu of small tasting portions which gives you that ability and feeling of building your own tasting menu for yourself, or you can enjoy those dishes as appetizers.

A selection of bread – from croissants to small baguettes

Amuse-bouche of Grapefruit gelée, Apple, all topped with Avocado and Cilantro

Appetizer – Foie Gras Ravioli served in Chicken Broth, topped with Thai Basil and Cream

The soup was topped with cream that was optional, served table side. The small pillows of ravioli bursted with flavor when you went in for a spoonful.

Free Range Quail Stuffed with Foie Gras, served with Truffled Mashed Potatoes

The quail was perfectly tender and moist, with the foie gras adding more richness to all of the succulent flavors. The truffled mashed potatoes were so fluffy and buttery. I could say that they were the best mashed potatoes that I’ve ever tasted.

John Dory with Baby Octopus, served with Fava Beans, Artichokes, and Black Olives

The sauce that accompanied the fish was slightly sweet and tart, paired well with the earthy fava beans, artichokes, and salty olives. All of the flavors seemed to absorb right into the flakey and delicate texture of the John Dory.

Soufflé served with Pistachio Ice Cream

What better way to end a French dinner, than with a classic French dessert? As an added touch, the Pistachio Ice Cream was served table side, with our server placing a spoonful of ice cream that melted down the center of the soufflé. The soufflé was light, with a sweet finish coming from the ice cream.

Throughout the entire evening I couldn’t help myself from not looking up and watching other diners’ meals being prepared. It was fascinating to witness how some of the dishes were executed. Dining at L’Atelier might just be worth a visit if you want to enjoy that feeling of being inside the kitchen at one of Joël Robuchon’s restaurants.

Here’s a video taken at our dinner:

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Inside the MGM Grand Casino
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Visit L’Atelier’s Website

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A few years back a local food show called Bay Café aired which showed various restaurants throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The show was an excellent way to introduce yourself to Bay Area restaurants. One particular episode highlighted Absinthe, a restaurant in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. This episode showed host, Joey Altman, chow down on a Kobe beef burger. The show made the burger appear to be the most delicious thing on the planet which evoked a “have to try, have to visit” attitude.

Thank you Bay Café for showing me Absinthe. The Kobe beef burger was well worth the trip out to the city…

Jump to today. More than four years have passed since the episode aired. Absinthe remained all but a pleasant memory to me. Whenever I read about Absinthe or heard talks about Absinthe, I would always think about the Kobe beef burger. It was when Season 5 Top Chef aired where I regained interest in Absinthe. Jaime Lauren, one of the contestants on the show, was representing San Francisco and Absinthe restaurant. Following Chef Jaime on the show made me a big fan of her cooking style. Maybe it was time to revisit Absinthe.

Absinthe has evolved, but still focuses on an American take on French and Italian cuisine. With Executive Chef Jaime Lauren behind the food, she added her own flare and personality with each dish. The décor hasn’t changed much since my last trip here. You are still greeted by the large bar area when you first enter and you still have your choice of dining at the bar, the main dining room, or outside.

After being seated, you have a choice of ordering from the bar or lunch/dinner menu. We opted to order something from both of the menus. First, a half dozen Marin Miyagi Oysters from the dinner menu started the meal off. The oysters were served with a Szechuan peppercorn mignonette. The mignonette added just a hint of tart vinegar flavor to the fresh oysters.

Along with Absinthe’s extensive wine and cocktail menu, they had a house special lemonade that was refreshing. It looks like your classic pink lemonade, but with a surprise. The lemonade had a gingery snap to it that you notice after taking a sip.

If you don’t want a full entrée, the bar menu has an assortment of smaller dishes to fill your appetite. The order of the Croque Monsieur from the bar menu was filling. It featured toasted slices of bread layered with Gruyère cheese and black forest ham. A salad dressed with a light vinaigrette was served with the sandwhich.

From the dinner menu, we ordered the slow cooked pork confit. This dish featured a sweet corn sauce, homemade bacon, fava beans, and mint. The sweet corn sauce was bright yellow and the green mint that garnished the top of the pork added vibrant contrast. The colors of the dish were eye catching.

When Absinthe said that this was a slow cooked piece of pork, they truly meant it. When you take your knife to slice a piece of the pork, you will notice that it cuts through so easily leaving you with a soft and juicy piece of meat on the tip of your fork. The chunks of bacon was an added savory touch which completed the dish.

It seems that the days of the Kobe beef burger that first got me interested in Absinthe are long gone, but I’m glad that I’ve returned back to try the rest of their offerings. The dishes that I’ve tried remain as memorable as my first meal here.

It’s a spot for dates because…
Absinthe is perhaps one of Hayes Valley’s top choices for dining. This brasserie features a lunch/dinner menu along with a smaller bar menu. If you don’t feel overly hungry, the bar menu gives you an option to nosh on smaller dishes. Absinthe is also open until midnight on most nights, which gives you a late night dining option if you’re in the area.

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