Tag: French food

Why LE CIRQUE Matters

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Le Cirque (Las Vegas) celebrated its twelfth birthday last October, giving ELV pause to reflect upon what it has meant for our culinary scene over that time. As arguably the best known restaurant in America (only Spago and the French Laundry compete for a higher Q rating), it continues to thrive, through thick and thin, throwing its thoughtful, thrilling, threshold of theatricality into its thirteenth year…and we’d like to theorize about why we’re so thankful for its holding all of Las Vegas in its thrall.

So why does Le Cirque matter?

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Letter of the Week – Au Revoir to ALEX and All That

ELV note: The following comes from our Facebook exchange with Eric Gladstone about the whys and wherefores of ALEX‘s closing in the Wynn tomorrow night, and what it means for Las Vegas’ dining scene. Consider it a supplement to Gladstone’s article this week in the Las Vegas Weekly about the demise of this short lived (May 2005-January 2011) grande dame.

Dear ELV,

The patron who would best appreciate Restaurant Alex is not the patron Wynn/Encore is looking to attract anymore. Unless he’s bringing his 20-something son or daughter along, with access to the credit card [Speaking of the credit card, they might want to note that—specials aside–.fine dining price points certainly haven’t gone anywhere—Lakeside Grill’s entrées average in the $50 range. Perhaps linen suppliers are the most endangered species in the equation.] It’s hard to recall any example in modern Las Vegas history of a property changing its customer focus so dramatically.

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COMME CA – Gallic Confidence by way of California

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The most interesting thing about Comme Ça (pronounced kohm sah, meaning: “like that”) is that it isn’t afraid to challenge Bouchon and Mon Ami Gabi at their own game, i.e., classic French bistro food. That Comme Ça thinks it can do so within a stone’s throw of one (MAG) and just a half mile from the other (Bouchon) is a testament to the confidence of a baby faced, American/Californian chef named David Myers.

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