Depending on your perspective, this press release (issued yesterday from the MGM Grand)…
ENTICING NEW MENUS OFFER TASTE OF AWARD-WINNING CUISINE FROM CULINARY MASTER JOËL ROBUCHON
LAS VEGAS – Chef Robuchon’s first fine dining restaurant in the United States, Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand, now offers ‘Les Selections Gastronomique,’ four new menus which provide guests the opportunity to choose both their specific selections and the number of courses on which to dine. Ranging from $89 to $195 per person, the menus allow guests to combine their choice of appetizer, soup, main course, cheese and dessert in a variety of ways to create their ideal dining experience. Choices include such delicacies as Octopus and Tiger Prawn in a seaweed gelée, Spiny Lobster in a sake broth with turnip and shiso sprouts, Beef Ribeye with spiced spinach and crispy vegetables and Strawberries and Champagne Rosé over Fresh Mango Granité with crunchy red fruits.
“I created these new menus to make the cuisine of Joël Robuchon more accessible to all guests during these difficult times,” Chef Robuchon said. “I am proud that we continue to be able to showcase the best ingredients, in the best dishes, in the most luxurious of settings.”
….is either good news for bargain hunters, or a sign that fine French dining (in Vegas anyway) is fast headed the way of the lounge act or the hooker with a heart of gold.
‘Cuz when Joel Robuchon — the master himself — has to dip below a $100 prix fixe at his eponymous restaurant — you KNOW troubled times are upon us (and likely to stay awhile).
Eating Las Vegas wonders whether these super-deluxe dining spots can sustain themselves in this era of retail dissolution and economic retrenchment. We had dinner last week with a highly placed casino executive who confessed to us that the high-end malls and stores throughout Vegas have been hit even harder than restaurants, and that: “….nobody is too big too fail in this economy…”
And maybe, just maybe, the haute cuisine offerings that began with the opening of Renoir in the Mirage in 1994 and continued through to Guy Savoy in Caesars in 2006, might one day be looked on as just another experience in Vegas excess that didn’t pan out — leaving us to the glories of gourmet bar food, sushi rolls, and gigantic chunks of manly meat as the only options for big-ticket dining.
Only time will tell, but in the meantime, here is the Robuchon menu for your perusal and enjoyment (We at ELV intend to partake of each of these magnificent deals as soon as that pesky mortgage guy quits leaving certified letters on our doorstep):
~ COMPOSEZ VOTRE MENU SELON VOTRE APPETIT ~
Create your menu following your appetite
MENU A $89
L’Amuse-bouche
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Un Poisson ou une Viande
Seafood or Meat
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Dessert
Dessert
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Moka ou Thé
escorté de mignardises
Coffee or tea served with mignardises
MENU A $115
L’Amuse-bouche
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Une Entrée ou une Soupe
Appetizer or Soup
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Un Poisson ou une Viande
Fish or Meat
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Moka ou Thé
escorté de mignardises
Coffee or tea served with mignardises
MENU A $148
L’Amuse-bouche
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Une Entrée
Appetizer
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Une Soupe
Soup
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Un Poisson ou une Viande
Fish or Meat
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Dessert
Dessert
ããã
Moka ou Thé
escorté de mignardises
Coffee or tea served with mignardises
MENU A $195
L’Amuse-bouche
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Une Entrée / Appetizer
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Une Soupe / Soup
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Un Poisson / Fish
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Une Viande / Meat
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Fromage / Cheese
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Dessert / Dessert
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Moka ou Thé
escorté de mignardises
Coffee or tea served with mignardises
LES ENTREES/APPETIZERS
Epinard, petites feuilles en salade, émulsion aux graines de sésame
Salad of baby spinach with sesame seed vinaigrette
Crevette, poulpe dans une infusion en gelée vinaigrée aux algues
Octopus and Tiger prawn in a seaweed gelée
La Tomate en salade, huile d’olive au basilic, tomate et mozzarella en gelée
Salad of tomato, basil infused olive oil, tomato gelée topped with mozzarella
Noix de Saint-Jacques à la plancha, condiment au kumquat et au caviar
Sea scallop a la plancha with a sauce of kumquat and caviar
LES SOUPES/SOUPS
Le Soja, germes dans un bouillon végétal et une royale tremblotante de shimeji
Vegetable consommé with soy bean on a shimeji royal
La Laitue en fin velouté à la noix de muscade sur une fleurette d’oignon doux
Lettuce velouté with nutmeg and sweet onion foam
LES POISSONS ET CRUSTACES/SEAFOOD
Saumon en aiguillette au miel de soja, mangue, pomme verte et curcuma
Thinly sliced salmon, mango, green apple and curcuma
Langouste dans un court-bouillon de sake, petits navets et pousses de shiso
Spiny lobster in a sake broth, turnip and shiso sprouts
Crevette Royale en macaron de shitakes, nage de daïkon au gingembre
Shitake mushroom stuffed with a tiger prawn mousse, ginger and shrimp broth
Bar et poulpe au jus de citronnelle, jeunes poireaux et artichaut
Seabass filet, octopus with lemon, baby leek
LES VIANDES/MEATS
Poulet laqué Teriyaki en brochette Maryland
Teriyaki chicken kebab Maryland
Joue de Veau confite, jus Thaï épicé et légumes croquants
Braised veal cheeks with Thai herbs and green curry
Bœuf, noix d’entrecôte émincée, épinards au wasabi et poivrons arlequins
Beef ribeye, spiced spinach and crispy vegetables
Canard et foie gras à l’aigre doux de cerises et amandes fraîches
Duck and seared foie gras in a cherry sauce and fresh almonds
LES FROMAGES/CHEESES
frais et affinés
Your choice from the cheese trolley
LES DESSERTS/DESERTS
La Cerise, clafoutis tiède accompagné de son sorbet
Warm Bing cherry clafoutis and cherry sorbet
La Framboise, perle de chou, crème Madame à la vanille de Tahiti
A perle of chou, Tahitian vanilla cream with fresh raspberry
La Fraise, au Champagne rosé, granité de mangue, croustillant de fruits rouge
Strawberries and Champagne rosé over fresh mango granité, crunchy red fruits
Le Chocolat, chaud Grand Cru, rafraîchi de menthe
Melting Araguani chocolate refreshed with a hint of peppermint
This is a long time coming as most normal humans don’t have the desire or bankroll to shell out $400+ a head for a dinner like the ones served at Robuchon or Guy Savoy. True foodies will, of course, indulge in something like this a couple of times a year because we can’t help ourselves. But in order to stay within a profit-and-loss margin the big brass finds acceptable, restaurants like RGS, Robuchon, Trotter, etc., need to start trying to also appeal to the masses. The question remains – is this good for the state of fine dining? If it keeps the doors open to our gastronomic temples like the ones mentioned above, then yes, it’s good for dining.
In our chaste times, moderation and modesty are the new $800 a bottle Cristal. While I agree that Robuchon should do everything they can to generate additional business, I think most of their diners are not interested in discounts or coupons but rather a true Bacchanal l experience. Maybe instead of reducing cost they should increase the opulence? How about a 25 courses for $600?
I think the new growth will be in restaurants such as First Food and Bar that deliver delicious food and respectable service for less than $20 a plate.
Thanks for the heads up…excited because I never thought I would ever afford to take my sweety here for dinner.
Hooray for a return trip to Robuchon! Didn’t think that would be possible for a couple years, now I’ll be there within a couple months. Best culinary decision in this town since Chef Mitsuo Endo opened Raku. I think someone left the dessert off the $115 menu. Can’t imagine a tasting menu without dessert even with the ridiculous mignardises cart they have at Robuchon.
I had the pleasure of visiting Las Vegas and dining at Picasso (and others) last week, and I was thrilled that not only was the food superb and the portions bordering on hearty, but that the wine prices were very reasonable. My main gripe with fine dining in LV in the past has been the astronomical markup on wine, but we found the markup on some very good wines at Picasso to be in the neighborhood of 40-50% rather than what we’d seen on previous Las Vegas dining trips. Maybe this is a city-wide trend?