Food is an important part of a balanced diet (part 5)

Ok, here comes the last part of the Vegas trip.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Since I stayed at The Signature the last night, I decided to eat at the MGM Grand. Joël Robuchon has two restaurants here; Joël Robuchon at The Mansion is one of the finest restaurants in the world, and the only restaurant in Vegas with three Michelin stars. It is most known for its 13-course tasting menu. But, I wasn't ready to spend the $385 (not including wine and tip), so I went to Chef Robuchon's place next door.

View of the kitchen at l'Atelier de Robuchon

L'Atelier has a very modern, trendy feel and is very much a concept restaurant - you sit at a horseshoe-shaped bar looking into the kitchen in the middle, seeing the food prepared right in front of you. I always worry that places like these focus more on the experience than the food (e.g. Benihana), but l'Atelier didn't disappoint in either area.

My 3-course meal

As the trip had been filled with big meals I decided to scale it back a bit (and save a few bucks) and ordered the $39 l'Unique menu: a 3-course meal served at once, designed for the pre-theater crowd to get in-and-out quickly. It consisted of a chestnut-bacon soup, veal sweetbreads and a raspberry dessert. I ordered a glass of J.L. Chave Cotes-du-Rhone to go with the first two courses, and then a 2004 Chateau Rieussec (Sauternes) for the dessert.

Dessert and a glass of Sauternes

Finally, since I had a $100-beverage credit to use in any of the MGM-owned bars or restaurants (l'Atelier is under separate ownership) I decided to try some high-end cognacs. I ordered a $25-glass of Hennessy XO and later another $25-glass of Remy Martin XO. Both very good - I preferred the Hennessy by a slight margin. Next, I planned to try a nice port (1970 Graham's) but they were out of it. So, I ordered a Johnny Walker Blue Label - have never tried that before - but after several minutes they sheepishly admitted they were out of that too! So, they gave me another glass of Remy Martin XO free of charge. They didn't know I had a beverage credit, so while it didn't really help me, I appreciated the gesture. I took it up to my room and finished it on the balcony.

A glass of Hennessy XO