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!

Anthony Bourdain in San Francisco

Bourdain finally makes his way to San Francisco after 6 seasons. This episode really fell short for me, maybe because I had really high expectations and I was hoping he would unveil gastronomic secrets even I, as a native, don't know about. He was smug and holier than thou as usual, spouting off predictable San Franciscan jokes and trafficking cheap stereotypes ("SF is a town full of hippies, vegans, and PCism, I'll show them. I'm going to get a slab of meat"), this episode was banal and uninteresting. A big yawn fest. At least he didn't visit the usual tourist spots but he managed to make San Francisco look like a shithole which is this episode's biggest accomplishment.

«Oh well, see for yourself...»

Paul Rankin in the Shitter

Paul Rankin, Belfast's Michelin star celebrity chef, the man responsible for putting Northern Ireland on the culinary map, is facing hard times. He owes £1m on back taxes. I've only eaten at one of his cafe chains, Cafe Paul Rankin. He was forced to sell it off along with his other chain of brasseries.

What bad timing for him, to have all of your businesses fall to shit in a middle of an economic recession! I guess he's not alone, but owing £1M in back taxes? The fault lays with him and not knowing how to manage his business. That's a bummer. I kind of like the guy. I was first introduced to him when I saw him featured in Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Ever since then, I've wanted to dine at his signature restaurant, Cayenne. Now there are threats of Cayenne folding too! I hope he can save it, Belfast needs him! He was the culinary pioneer who introduced fine dining to Northern Ireland and his restaurant Roscoff was the first ever Michelin star for Belfast! He always had an optimistic outlook for Belfast and Northern Ireland and proved that Belfast was rising from the rubble and becoming the hip, cultured, and cosmopolitan city it should be. My fingers are crossed for him.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if Cayenne ended up on Kitchen Nightmares? Imagine Gordon Ramsay up in Paul Rankin's face telling him that his food is dogshit. Knives would be flying. That would make for good television!

Celebrity chef Paul Rankin and his business partner wife Jeanne owe more than £1m to the taxman, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.

The couple — who owned 13 eateries and employed 500 staff at the height of their success — are now fighting to save their final and signature restaurant Cayenne after running up massive debts.

The well-known pair — who have ploughed much of their fortune into reinventing Northern Ireland’s culinary scene over the past 20 years — saw their debts rise as they “prioritised” staff salaries and other costs to keep a number of former businesses running until buyers were found.

But the sales of those businesses were not as lucrative as expected and they now find themselves unable to meet the accumulated debts owed to both the Inland Revenue and other creditors.

As previously reported by the Belfast Telegraph, the Rankins are currently working with professional advisers to reach an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) with their creditors in relation to debts.

A spokeswoman for the couple said: “The debts in the business which have entered an IVA would expect to be in excess of £1m with the vast majority of this due to the taxman by way of VAT, PAYE and other taxes.”

“The situation was that staff salaries and other key money costs were prioritised to keep the businesses running smoothly until buyers were found.

“The sale of the businesses in the depressed market meant the knock down prices achieved were not adequate to meet the debt. The IVA is being funded by Paul Rankin personally and it is expected that creditors will receive 52p in the pound.”

The couple have been struggling against mounting debts since 2006. Last year the well-known TV chef — who received Northern Ireland’s first Michelin Star — was forced to sell off his Roscoff Brasserie and Rankin cafe chain in a bid to ease financial difficulties.

And in 2006 he sold three Rankin Cafes and his Rain City restaurant on Belfast's Malone Road.

At that time Mr Rankin — who frequently appears on the BBC TV programme Ready Steady Cook and has penned cook books — said he wanted to concentrate on Cayenne, his signature restaurant in Belfast. - from Belfast Telegraph

"Which Toothpaste Are You Buying?"

One thing I miss from home is watching new episodes of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. I am a self professed foodie and a culural enthusiast. When you mix food within the context of its culture, I'm hooked! If you've never watched this show, I highly recommend it. I guarantee you will be a Bourdain fanatic too if you like food as much as I do!

Some time ago, Bourdain went to Ireland. In the first 20 minutes of this episode, he explores Belfast and samples the various culinary delights of the landscape such as Guinness! He also takes a black taxi tour to both Protestant and Catholic areas of West Belfast, enjoys a pint at the Crown Saloon, and hob nobs with Belfast celebrity chef Paul Rankin.

Check it!

No Reservations - Ireland:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5