Tag: oysters

Oysters, Oysters, Oysters!

Never eat oysters in any month without a paycheck in it. – P.J. O’Rourke

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It’s something of a tradition around the ELV household to chow down on ersters in our humble burg before the hot weather hits.

Usually we hit Bouchon and/or RM Seafood for a dozen or two, washed down with some of that there Fussy-Pussy wine, and then forget our shellfish hankerins until October rolls around. (Despite what oysters producers, restaurants, and more than a few writers tell you, oysters are not as sweet or firm in the summer months, because that’s when they breed — becoming tired, flabby and watery in the process — sorta like humans.)

This year we decided to break with tradition and check out the varieties at Morels Steakhouse — long known for its French-i-fied steaks, erotic murals: [imagebrowser id=1122]

….cheese platters and freshly displayed bivalve mollusks.

We knew they’d be good, but we didn’t expect them to be this good. The Hama Hamas and Kumamotos tasted like they just lept off a boat…and the flatter, bigger Malpeques had just that light, clean essence they are known for.

If those weren’t good enough, the parsley-olive oil dip here (along with the yeasty, crusty bread), is worth a special trip all by itself.

Morels seems to be a good joint in the process of trying to make itself a great one. Now that the Wynn/Encore seems to be abandoning its haute gourmand mission, it may soon become our first steak stop along Las Vegas Blvd. South. (and yet another in Venetian/Palazzo’s Murderer’s Row of Steakhouses)

MORELS FRENCH STEAKHOUSE

In The Palazzo Hotel and Casino

3325 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.607.6333

http://www.palazzo.com/morels.aspx

BOUCHON’S Beautiful Bivalves

Never eat oysters in a month that has no paycheck in it – P. J. O’Rourke

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In the ELV household, it’s a ritual as regular as shopping for white suits or sobering him up on a Sunday morning; every Fall and Spring we make a pilgrimage to Bouchon to slurp our way through our town’s best oysters.

The selection this year is as beautiful as ever. Miyagis, Sister Points, New Brunswicks, and a crop from California that were as briny and cucumber-like as any kumamotos we’ve ever kraved. (Fyi: when ELV and his staff go slurping for the little suckers, we fall somewhere between a connoisseur, a brine hound and a sweet tooth. The best tasting ones we ever had were Belons in Brussels (Belgium, not Ontario) that were so alive they contracted when you squeezed lemon juice on them. But alas, due to a recent plague, such beauties may be gone forever.)

To finish, two classic desserts done here like no where else:  ile flottante (floating island) in vanilla sauce and the decadently rich bouchon (little, wine-cork sized brownies that are so good, one order is never enough).

Bouchon remains one of the steadiest, most pitch-perfect operations we have. It knows exactly what it wants to do, and invariably cooks everything as pristinely as a perfectionist like Thomas Keller demands. You will never find any new ground being plowed by this kitchen, but every dish is as good as you’ll ever find 5,412 miles from Gay*Paree.

BOUCHON BISTRO

In the Venetian Hotel and Casino

3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109-8941

702.414.6200

www.bouchonbistro.com

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* As in blithe, cheery, and winsome