Dear Cherry,

 

DANIEL BOULUD BRASSERIE was a rich and powerful French provincial experience.  I regularly dine at Maison Boulud, in Beijing and I was introduced by their general manager Ignace Lecleir to Daniel Boulud when he came to launch the new spring menu. I told him I write about restaurants in hotels and that I would review DANIEL BOULUD BRASSERIE in the Wynn Las Vegas Resort later in the year, and here it is!  For information about Daniel Boulud please visit his website http://www.dinexgroup.com/.  The website for Wynn Las Vegas Resort states that “Celebrity chef Daniel Boulud joins with rising star chef Wesley Holton to bring their vision of the quintessential French brasserie to Las Vegas and only to Wynn.  Dine indoors or outside along the magnificent Lake of Dreams.”  Daniel Boulud says, “Creating DANIEL BOULUD BRASSERIE, it was important to create something urban and yet very country.  BRASSERIE, a little bit decadent in a way, it’s the place where people go and feel like they can be in a very casual setting and order caviar and Champagne.  I’m a country boy, and I love the city so I have a lot of pleasure in blending the two.”

 

I arrived early and walked through the big black curved wooden doors into what appeared to be a beautifully decorated wine cave converted into a restaurant.  As I entered, the hostess Julia greeted me from the podium, and she allowed me to take some pictures of the restaurant.  I entered the lounge and proceeded to the bar in the back where I based myself while examining the interior design.  The lounge area was big with many comfortable seating arrangements, including 10 seats at the bar.  In the main dining area there were curved glass windows framed in beige stone looking out on what is called the Lake of Dreams.  Outside seating is available for those wanting an unobstructed view of the animated entertainment provided during dinner against the backdrop of a flat stonewall the size of a movie screen with a constant flow of water rippling down the front of it into the pond.  To the left side of the pond there is a lone figure, a sculpture of a man standing in the water, head and shoulders exposed, looking at the wall as if he were watching a movie.  Seating in the dining room can accommodate groups of many sizes.  On the ceiling are 1 foot square beams arranged in several directions, not symmetrically, still reminiscent of a wine cave.  There are windows that open to an adjacent oval shaped dining room.  Toward the back of the main dining room is the kitchen, nicely encased in amber colored hand blown leaded glass atop dark wood wainscoting, all of which curves around 160 degrees of the kitchen.  A smaller circular dining room is in the back, also with a view of the pond.  The design of this restaurant is highly curvaceous and beautifully decorated in hues of beige, brown, bronze, and gold.  With comfortable lounge and bar and all the rooms and varied seating areas, it is a very complete restaurant design.  I pulled up a seat at the bar and asked the bartender Adam to make my martini while chatting with him and Monique, a bar back and server.  I also met Ronald, the server who would take care of my dinner.  Finishing my excellent martini, I was seated by Julia and introduced to Josef Wagner, the general manager and Louis Hamilton, the sommelier.  We had a nice talk, and then Louis brought a bottle of Lucien Albrech, Crémant d’Alsace non-vintage sparkling wine and poured a glass for me to enjoy while I reviewed the wine list and menu.

 

The Wine List:  The wine list was extensive and covered all major wine regions and price points.  This evening I relied entirely on the professional services of master sommelier Louis Hamilton.

 

The Menu:

 

To Share

 

Fruits de Mer

 

SHELLFISH PLATEAU

east & west coast oysters, lobster, shrimp,

littleneck clams, peekytoe crab, mussels,

tuna tartare, ceviche                                                                                                         

OYSTERS OR CLAMS                                                                                      

CHILLLED SHRIMP                                                                                                  

1/2 MAINE LOBSTER                                                                                           

 

Caviar

                                                                                                                       

AMERICAN STURGEON                                                                               

GALILEE OSETRA                                                                                      

WILD CASPIAN OSETRA                                                                          

 

CHARCUTERIE BOARD                                                                          

 

COUNTRY PÂTÉ                                                                                         

 

CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE                                                                       

 

FOIE GRAS AU TORCHON

                                                                                  

From the Brick Oven

 

TOMATO FLATBREAD À LA PROVENÇALE                                        

 

DB CRISPY FLATBREAD                                                                         

 

Fromages

 

OUR COLLECTION OF ARTISAN CHEESES                                

 

The Original NY DB Burger                                                                              

 

Appetizers

 

SUMMER SALAD                                

CAESAR SALAD                        

ONION SOUP                               

HEIRLOOM TOMATO                          

ESCARGOTS

PEEKYTOE CRAB SALAD                

DB’S SMOKED SALMON         

 

CHILLED LOBSTER SALAD             

 

Entrées

 

Fish & Shellfish

  

MOULES FRITES                        

 

JOHN DORY                        

 

STEELHEAD SALMON                      

 

STRIPED BASS                          

 

Steaks, Chops & Poultry

 

B TENDERLOIN                          

E RIBEYE FOR TWO         

E STEAK FRITES, sirloin         

F DUO OF BEEF, short rib & filet              

RACK OF VEAL                 

COLORADO LAMB            

SONOMA CHICKEN          

 

Side Dishes                                                                                              

 

POMMES FRITES

 

POMMES PURÉE 

 

ZUCCHINI PROVENÇAL

 

ROASTED MUSHROOM 

 

CHICKPEA FRIES

 

CORN FRICASSÉ

 

HARICOT VERTS

 

CRISPY ONIONS

 

SUPER GREEN SPINACH

 

My Dining Experience:  Josef Wagner and executive sous chef Rick Mace decided on a surprise special menu that would give me a good representative sampling of the breadth of their menu offerings and typify the style of a brasserie.  Josef brought my first course, 3 SHIGOKU OYSTERS WITH CAVIAR, served on a bed of crushed ice and explained that the oysters were from Washington state’s Taylor Bay and were accompanied by golden osetra caviar and micro Basel.  I squeezed a little fresh lemon juice on it and that was all.  The oysters were plump and briny, very fresh and the caviar gave a salty addition to the creaminess of the oysters.  It was a very nice start, which combined well with the fresh and clean Rose of Lucien Albrech, Crémant d’Alsace, served in a Riedel Champagne glass.  As a point of interest, sparkling wine made in France in the style of Champagne, but not made in the Champagne region by law cannot be called Champagne and is called Crémant instead.  For tableware, wine glasses were by Schott Zwiezel and flatware by Guy Degrenne.  The beige tablecloth was very soft, made of 100% cotton linen with matching napkins by MASA of Italy.  Topping this was Chinaware by Bernardaud specially marked for DANIEL BOULUD BRASSERIE.  The plates were white with light green border and a white leaf pattern, and rimmed in silver.  Finishing the table was a small oil candle in a beige frosted resin holder to match the tablecloth.  Jose brought my bread, country multigrain, sourdough, fig, and a baguette with butter.  All were good, but I found the fig bread to be outstanding, really interesting with actual figs baked into the bread so the seeds of the figs gave an extra crunch to the soft bread, which tasted a little sweet because of the figs.  This was really special.  Abraham brought my new set-up for the next course, followed by Ronald who brought the FOIE GRAS touchon to go with the Moscato d’Asti, Elio Perrone 2008 poured by Louis.  Surrounded by such good service and wonderful smells, I was excited about the taste treats awaiting me.  The foie gras was presented beautifully.  A strip of gelatin, clear with some violet little flowers on it was next to the round terrine of foie gras topped with oval shaped sour cream with 4 more little flowers sticking out of the top.  Surrounding this was a light brown sweet sauce on the plate that reminded me of caramel.  The jello tasted like sauterne sweet wine, a perfect accompaniment to the foie gras, which was further enhanced by the sweet and slightly effervescent Moscato d’Asti from Italy.  There was a crisp between the whipped cream and the foie gras, adding some crispiness and more sweetness.  Very nice indeed!  Abraham brought a fresh sparkling water for me with ice and lemon, followed by Louis with the next wine, an Albarino, Rias Baixas, Paco y Lola 2007 from Spain.  It was a dry style, very floral and elegant with bracing acidity.  It was crisp and tasted good alone, making me wonder what was coming next from the kitchen.  I did not have to wait long for the ESCARGOT with pommes dauphine, fried parsley, and candied lemon zest served in a black cast iron oval shaped mini Dutch oven by La Cocotte Staub with a little brass knob on the cover.  Looking like a little casserole, the cover was off and leaning on the base, immediately exposing me to the wonderful aromas.  The snails were full flavored with a little garlic butter and accented by the other ingredients.  It was a good combination with the crisp acidity of the wine, which cut through the fullness and richness of the dish.  Full of interesting flavors, I have not had such a creative preparation of escargot and I liked it very much.  As I pondered these flavors, I saw Louis coming with a bottle of Louis Jadot, Marsannay Blanc 2005 from France, which he poured and described as having vanilla nuances, nutmeg, and a little bit of toasty oak.  Classic in the Chardonnay style of Burgundy, I generally like these wines and this one was new to me.  I really liked it; full, fruity, and very complex, it is a beautiful wine.  Ah, Marsannay, one to remember!  Pulling my mind out of the wine, I changed my focus to the next dish, the BLACK COD “CHOWDER” which Ronald had sat before me emitting wonderful aromas from the porcini mushrooms, zucchini, and oyster cream sauce with a little bacon.  I could not wait to try it with the wine.  The fish was lightly cooked and very tender, flaking nicely with my fork, and the sauce was a good accompaniment.  Of course, I loved the Marsannay with it.  This oyster sauce included a few plump and juicy oysters, which I thought added a special treat to augment the sauce.  In fact, each of the ingredients was cooked to perfection, all tender and tasty, whether the fish, mushrooms, peas, oysters, or pieces of bacon, all blended into a wonderful combination of flavors.  I really took my time savoring this dish and when finished, I slowly sipped the precious remaining drops of the Marsannay while listening to the contemporary music wafting into the room through the recorded sound system.  I was very relaxed and comfortable.  Louis brought a decanter of red wine for me to taste blind for a few minutes before he showed me the bottle.  Dry, fruity, light tannins, and kind of light, I suspected a Rhone varietal, but not a blend….or maybe it was a Malbec?  I was not sure.  Minerality and earthiness suggested French origin to me.  Although I was leaning hard toward a lone Rhone varietal, say a Syrah or Grenache, my weaker alternate suspicion was correct.  It was a Malbec from Bodega Renacer, Punto Final Reserva 2006 in Argentina.  I love a wine challenge, though I seldom get it right!  Oh well, it’s still fun.  Louis explained that this wine has such an intense level of extraction of color from the skins of the grapes that it will actually stain the glass purple.  This level of extraction gives the wine beautiful saturation of color, quite opaque, and generous intensity of flavor.  Enjoying the wine, I watched a funny, animated performance taking place on the water wall outside in the Lake of Dreams with Tarzan swinging through the jungle, a giant snake, and a beautiful girl crawling out on the branch of a tree like an animal.  It ended with us all being swallowed by the giant snake.  I was laughing about that as Miguel brought my next course, the DUO OF BEEF.  Ronald explained it as Daniel Boulud’s signature Entrée of short rib and filet with fava beans, carrot puree, asparagras, and chipolini onion.  The filet was cooked a perfect medium rare and the beef was of such good quality that I ate it plain without any other combinations or seasonings.  It stood strongly by itself with the Malbec to follow it.  It was simply fantastic.  The short rib needed no knife.  It fell apart under the pressure of my fork and flaked onto the plate.  Whereas the filet was smooth and refined (and I ate all of it first), the flavors of the short rib were huge!  Tender shreds of meat fell to the pressure of my fork and burst into giant flavors with each bite.  The powerful reduction sauce demanded the equally full flavor of the Malbec, a great pairing by Louis.  With the short rib I ate the vegetables including glazed salsify, a root vegetable new to me, and the carrot puree.  The puree looked like mustard on the plate, but orange in color.  I wiped the meat through it and it added a little sweetness to the powerful flavors of the short rib.  I loved this course.  I really appreciate meat and this combination of refined cut and basic slow cooked beef offered an elegant contrast of 2 great beef flavors on 1 plate.  Wow, great idea!  Louis brought my next wine, a Clarendelle, Amberwine, Monbazillac 2003 from Clarence Dillon Wines in France, and explained the lush tropical nuances, jasmine and honeysuckle, and the lasting impression it leaves on the palate.  With this was served a CHEF’S ARTISAN CHEESE PLATE with Shropshire blue, caprine, and latuno cheeses and apple, raisons, apricots, candied walnuts, and 2 sauces.  The Shropshire blue was yellow with the classic blue cheese look to it and tasted like a blue cheese with a little bitter note.  The caprine was soft and mild and I ate it on a piece of multigrain bread.  The latuno was pungent so I ate it with the apple slices, candied walnuts, and the other accompaniments.  I finished the sweet wine after the cheese, but I sipped it in between the cheeses for variety of flavor.  It was good.  Louis brought another great wine, a Cockburn 20-year Tawny Porto to go with my dessert.  First I had a trio of palate cleansers: Summer fruit mélange, charentias French melon soup, and a yogurt sorbet.  Then Frederico brought the milk CHOCOLATE TARTE with philo nest, powdered sugar, souved mandarin oranges, and chocolate ice cream, and Gordon explained it.  The tarte was soft and silky smooth chocolate and the philo nest on top added some crispiness when eaten with the chocolate.  The oranges were a little stewed adding a burnished cooked flavor.  Of course, the chocolate ice cream on a chocolate cake base rounded out this chocolate medley, and what could go better with that then a 20-year Tawny Porto?  Also on the plate were 4 little sweet cookies and a jelly square that finished off the evening.  It was an excellent dinner: the food, the wine, and the service, with special thanks to Louis for his work on the wines.  Great job Louis!  I have expectations when I dine at a Daniel Boulud restaurant, and DANIEL BOULUD BRASSERIE fulfilled those expectations.  Well, another great night!  Thanks to the whole team.  See you again soon!

 

To all of you, CHEERS!

 

My Best as Always,

 

Randy,