Benjamin

Dinner at Bouchon

Tonight was the last night at dinner with my parents. We started with Seablue on Monday, ended with Bouchon on Thursday. Perfect bookends. Last year I hooked up my pal for Bocelli and he returned the favor tonight. 

Dad, Mom & Me. 

We got to Bouchon at the Venetian around 6.10ish. It was still light out so the dining room had a great glow about it. The enormous windows looking out onto the courtyard & pool were great backdrops to our table. Not too many people there, but a couple of tables were occupied. It was nice and quiet. Not silent but quiet. Enough that we could have a conversation at a reasonable level. I just love restaurants like this. A tad upscale but not uppity. You can wear a suit or pop by in jeans like my dad did. Fancy silverware but the menus are printed on baguette paper you throw out. Music in the background that doesn't overpower. (Note, they played Botti. Well, of course they did!) Great bar too. I love that it's completely away from the casino. If you self-park it's a short elevator ride to the 10th floor to Bouchon. 

Olives. Simple but tasty.

After we were seated the GM Adam came over to introduce himself to us. He's the one I did the favor for but I've never actually met him in person until tonight so this was as much for me as it was for my parents. Shortly after he leaves our table out comes some celebratory Champagne for mom and dad. I'm still on the wagon so I raised my glass of water in cheers.

The trout. 

Our server was Brittney, the girlfriend of my pal Charlie who used to be the sommelier @ Seablue. She was very sweet and cute. (Good going Charlie!) We took our time to order. My parent's aren't big eaters so we didn't go nuts with food. It's a good thing because they brought out an amuse: their special of gnocchi with shrimp & creme fraiche. Dad really liked that. It was good but I'm not a big gnocchi fan. Something about the consistency. Mom ordered the Saumon Poele (salmon) and app-ed it with a carrot soup. Dad got the prime flat iron and I decided on the Truite Amandine (trout) with some olives to start. They loved their dishes as did I. The shaved toasted almonds on top of the trout were ridiculous. I could have eaten a bowl of those. They brought out braised cabbage fondu and macaroni much to our surprise. They were also delish. The cabbage fondu would be good on a cold winter's day in Minnesota.

Desserts. Yum.

Dessert anyone?

At this point we were full but not uncomfortably so. Brittney brings us desert menus. Mom & dad decided to "go all out" on their last day since they'd been good the past 4 days and share the Profiteroles. I got the Classic Blue Log cheese. I'm not a sweets fan. I like salty. About 10 minutes later, out come not only what we ordered but 2 other deserts including their special brownie & Thomas Keller's signature lemon tart. Mom & dad did their best and got thru about 1/2 of the deserts while I ate my cheese. At this point we're now all deliciously full. We need to stand up and walk…

Goodie Bags from Bouchon

I ask Brittney for the check. I'm fairly certain there won't be one but I don't want to embarrass anyone, least of all my parents. "It's taken care of," she says. I leave her a Benjamin and we head for the door. On the way out I went to say thank you to Adam the GM for taking such great care of us. "I almost forgot the most important thing," he says as he turns and grabs 3 bags with goodies from Bouchon Bakery. This is how it's done. The goodies aren't fancy or expensive. But it's a classy move that makes the night that much better. 

Thank you to Adam, Brittney, Charlie and the team @ Bouchon for capping off a great week with my parents. Sante.