April 25, 2017

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon – Las Vegas, NV

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon provides amazing culinary creations. I would venture to say nearly on par with Joel Robuchon next door, but in a more relaxed environment. The open kitchen concept with bar seating around the kitchen is great. You are able to watch your dishes being prepared right in front of your eyes. You can also see that the coordination within a kitchen like this is as amazing to watch as it is to eat.

On our first visit, we were sat near the end of the bar right in front of the window. I have read of complaints at those seats but I think those are the best seats in the house! We felt like we were at a Chef’s table in the kitchen.

Watching the Chef, Steve Benjamin, bark out french-accented orders was actually fun for us, not so much for some of the kitchen staff. He had his moments sternly (an understatement) talking to a young prep cook about his lack of skill preparing the Robuchon potatoes.

Then, when the young cook, who looked like he lost a few pints of blood from his face, stood silently beside him watching the chef correct his mistake, the chef turns around and yells, “are you just going to stand there!!!? Go do something!” again in a heavy french accent. I had to concentrate hard not to laugh out loud.

Having worked in a professional kitchen both on the giving and receiving end of those ‘conversations’ brought back fond memories. “Good times”, I thought. Side note: Chef seemed to have an affinity for truffle. He seemed to be the only one ‘allowed’ to slice them on the traditional truffle slicer and we must have caught him sneaking at least a dozen slices of truffle to ‘taste’. Yummm! the perks of being the boss.

The meal in itself was great without exception – I don’t need to go into much detail of each course of the degustation menu, but the standouts were the Seared Foie Gras and the amazing steamed Scallops in a clear broth. I would have liked to have enjoyed a larger bread selection akin to Robuchon next door, but then again it was probably better not to as I recall stuffing myself with too much of that wonderful bread from and almost missing out on “Le Boeuf”…

L’Atelier will be a stop for me every time I can when I am in Vegas!