Thanksgiving Dinner at Bouchon in Las Vegas

HopAlong and I decided to spend Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. HopAlong has never travelled out of state and he's always wanted to see Vegas so off we went for 3 days and 3 nights.

We were back and forth about whether we wanted to do the buffet for Thanksgiving Dinner. If you haven't been to Vegas during Thanksgiving, the buffet lines during this time are ridiculously long, lines stretch for what seems like miles and the wait is at least 4 hours. I learned this the hard way when I went to Vegas with girlfriends a few years ago. So I booked us dinner at Bouchon and we're so glad we did because after being on your feet all day, standing in a long line when you're famished is the last thing you want to do!

I've always wanted to eat at one of Thomas Keller's restaurants. Thomas Keller is one of the most famous chefs in the world and boasts the best restaurant in the world, The French Laundry. To book a table at the French Laundry is a 3 year waiting list, people from all over the world make the trip just to dine here. Bouchon is the closest I will ever get to The French Laundry. Bouchon Bistro is like French Laundry's little brother. It's a casual atmosphere, food simple, and unpretentious. When I saw Anthony Bourdain do a segment on Bouchon, I was sold!

Bouchon Bistro is located in The Venetian and is hidden away from the madness that is Vegas. We took the elevator and walked down a long beautiful elegant corridor. Immediately, we felt as if we were transported to a palace somewhere in Europe...



The long corridor walk seemed like forever. Low and behold, there it was nestled in a quiet corner. It felt like we were part of a secret society club (invite only)...



«More on the Bouchon experience...»

We walked in and was greeted by the maître d'. She welcomed us to have drinks at the bar while we wait for our table. The ambience wasn't what I had expected it at all. I thought it would be stuffy and pretentious but it was a informal, relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

After 10 minutes we were finally seated and were escorted by the second hostess. Our waitress comes by and hand us a rather long wine list. She proceeds to tell us if we have more specific questions about wine and wine pairings, she would be happy to send down the sommelier.

She continues to tell us in GREAT detail about the specials of the day. She even had a little notepad in her hand to read off the ingredients of each dish. This is what we ordered...

Hors-D'Oeuvres:

Rillettes aux Deux Saumons: fresh & smoked salmon rillettes served with toasted croutons. They weren't kidding when they said the 3 secret ingredients to French cooking is butter, butter, and butter. The salmon rillette basically is comprised of salmon in solidified clarified butter and herbs. I couldn't get enough of it!

HopAlong had the Soup du Jour, pumpkin soup. He said it was awesome!


Plats principaux:

For the main course I had Poulet Roti, roasted chicken with heirloom squash, rainbow chard, pomegranate seeds & sage infused chicken jus. This dish lives up to its hype, the chicken is so moist and juicy, you'd have to wear a bathing suit to eat it.

HopAlong had the Steak Frites, pan-seared prime flatiron served with maitre d'hotel butter & French fries. Reviews say Bouchon's french fries are to die for! HopAlong and I weren't impressed, they tasted like McDonald's fries. Not bad, not good, just mediocre. Fries are fries everywhere. The steak on the other hand, HopAlong said was the best he's ever had, the meat was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth.

Desserts:

I had the custard cream filled beignets with maple brown sugar ice cream.

And HopAlong had the Mousse au Chocolat Noir: dark chocolate mousse.

A sign of a good dessert...



The damage...
$139.19 sans gratuity. Not bad considering the amazing food and first class service.

They even gave us goodie bags full of caramel nut popcorn from their bakery...



This is by far the best dining experience we've ever had. I'd give this restaurant 100 stars if I could. I'm so in love, if Bouchon were a man, I'd put a ring on it!