Tag: Twist by Pierre Gagnaire

The French Have Two Ways of Cooking Meat…

The French have two ways of cooking meat: almost raw or to death.

This prime, aged, Nebraska rib eye is the former and all the better for it.

It was bloody rare, fork-tender, full of rich, roasted, beefy, mineral flavor, and seasoned by a Stradivarius with salt and pepper.

That Bordelaise sauce on the upper right was no slouch either, and neither were the pommes purée to the left.

At first glance we thought the kitchen had shorted us on that sauce (in ELV’s world, too much is never enough), but after a sip from the tiny serving spoon, we knew we were in the presence of greatness. So rich, so velvety, so winy, it felt like the point of singularity for all the beef flavor in the world.

It was a Bordelaise fit for the gods, made by mere mortals as an homage to the ethereal.

Yeah, it was that good. Especially if you know anything about French mother sauces and demi-glaces. A mere dab or two was enough to flavor the steak, but that didn’t keep us from drinking the rest straight from the cup.

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The whole kit and kaboodle cost $76 — which may seem like a lot for an 18 oz. steak — but we can’t remember when we’ve had such serious steer…slathered so sinfully with so succulent a savory.

Just thought you’d like to know.

TWIST BY PIERRE GAGNAIRE

Mandarin Oriental at City Center

702.590.3172

 

 

Letter(s) of the Week – WTF Are People Ordering?

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ELV note: Our recent post about our foodie friend David Greco’s dining exploits in our humble burg drew a number of comments,  not about his main point —  being denied a table in a restaurant with plenty of open seats — but rather about his menu choices at one of our finer frog ponds (Twist by Pierre Gagnaire). The debate over whether to blame the resto or the customer when a dish is lackluster is one we’ve had with many food fans over the years, and we’ll weigh in with comments of our own below, after you’ve gotten a taste of the debate.

(BTW: This contumacious, contentious controversy  is the just the sort of creative, conversational convergence we crave in our confutation man-cave. We realize such conscientious confrontational conflict doesn’t have the currency of more considerable, constructive discourse — such as whether Tim Lincecum has lost is fastball, or Rene Zellwegger her face — but we must conspicuously concede to coveting and conflating such controversial cacophony.

 Let’s examine the positions of the respective parties, shall we?

Continue reading “Letter(s) of the Week – WTF Are People Ordering?”

EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants – Number Six

6. TWIST BY PIERRE GAGNAIRE

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If Robuchon is the most elaborate and Savoy the most elegant of Las Vegas’ great restaurants, Gagnaire matches them with his restlessly creative cuisine, which can be by turns exhilarating, hyperdelicious, and downright baffling.

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