Vive La France!

imageWhy do we love the French so?

Is it because they scowl when they cook?

Or because they cook things so well?
Or maybe it’s because they can cook the bejesus out of mashed potatoes?
We at ELV think it is all of these things, but mainly we love them for their croissant:
….which may be the best pastry in da woild. (Although we think a good brioche or Paris-Brest – pictured at the top of the page – can give it a run for the money.)
The good news is that lovers of these crescent rolls are on cloud nine these days, because not une or deux, but trois new places have opened in the past year, each of them setting a new standard in local French mille-feuille fare. The newest of the bunch (not even a month old yet) is EATT:
 
…a classy little joint that is hoping to succeed where others have failed on West Sahara. Helmed by three young French fellows, two of whom — Yuri Szarzewski and Vincent Pellerin — were trained at L’Oustau de Baumanière (one of the greatest French restaurants in the world). Manager Nicolas Kalpokdjian (who is as French as a baguette, even though his name sounds as Armenian as a byorek cheese pie) holds down the fort while the cooks turn out some drop dead gorgeous food at a reasonable price point that’s healthy to boot.
(Nicolas, Yuri and Vincent have got the goods)
In fact, the food at Eatt is so good (and so good for you) it turns the (former) oxymoron “healthy French food” on its ear.

 

This salad Nicoise is so tasty, it almost got me off my croissant obsession. But lucky for me, Chef Pellerin makes a killer one of those (pictured above) as well, so balance was quickly restored to my eating universe after a recent lunch there. In fact EATT’s croissant is so flaky and buttery and soft and steamy and crispy and tasty, it might edge out Rosallie and Delices Gourmands for ultimate croissant supremacy in our humble burg.

 But that’s the thing about a great croissant: when you’re in the presence of a warm one (as it shatters on your lips, coats your tongue with butter-flecked dough and melts in your mouth), self-control, moderation, loyalty and perspective are hard things to maintain. We like to think of croissants as being a lot like the French themselves: sticky and crisp at first, but warm, gooey and approachable if you accept them on their own terms.

http://static.flickr.com/121/262230324_f33e3a31c3.jpg?v=0

Germans, on the other hand, are best compared to a sturdy, resistant loaf of pumpernickel, and Americans to a doughy, inelegant, ill-formed doughnut.

Culinary stereotyping aside, the point is, lovers of all things French, pastry and otherwise, should be happier than a tornado in a trailer park these days.

Because great French food is now in the ‘burbs in a big way.

Vive la France! And Happy Bastille Day!

EATT

7865 West Sahara Ave. 104-105

Las Vegas, NV 89117

702.608.5233

https://www.facebook.com/eatthealthy/

DELICES GOURMANDS FRENCH BAKERY

3620 West Sahara Ave.

Las Vegas, NV 89102

702.465.0310

https://www.facebook.com/Delices-Gourmands-1683161511899152/

ROSALLIE LE FRENCH CAFÉ

6090 South Rainbow Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89118

702.998.4121

http://rosallie.com/

3 thoughts on “Vive La France!”

  1. Great article about the raising French cuisine in Las Vegas. Do not forget about Vincent Poussel at DB, who make an outstanding job, bringing real French flavors to his brasserie food at DB…

  3. That croissant looks legit, but to compare Delices to Rosallie is assinine. They are LEAGUES apart, with Rosallie world class while Delices is hardly better than a commercial bakery.

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