Perfunctory Bouchon, Las Vegas

[Pigging by Wilfrid: April 5, 2017]

I've eaten mediocre French bistro food in cities all over the United States.  If I want over-salted duck and bread dumped on the table without a smile, I can get that on the Lower East Side.

And the problem with Bouchon is that it really announces itself.  And really jacks up the prices.

It's a Thomas Keller operation, of course, which despite Per Se's recent bad reviews might lead one to expect a little bit of extra care and attention, both in the cooking and the service. Ironically, I had to decline an invitation to dinner at Per Se in the very same week I ate here. The comparison would have been interesting.

It's on an upper floor of the Venetian, and you tramp through smoky casino floors, and then down fabulously silly mock-Renaissance corridors, to arrive at the solemn door-plate. "A French Bistro"--which interestingly implies The French Bistro.

Actually, it's more like any-old,  "Will this do?" French bistro.  It's busy, noisy (high ceilings), and you're just sitting there reading the specials, and wondering what they did to a lamb shank to make it worth fifty bucks, when slam!

There's a loaf of bread dropped on the table by a speeding bus boy, with an unexplained dish of cashews.  And some butter.  Just dropped.

A cocktail arrives, and it's recognizably a Negroni, but it's a small one and rather warm. Looking at the wine list, however, I have to admit that the mark-ups (consistently 200%, where I had knowledge) are less of a gouge than Manhattan.

But the food prices?  Mains range from just under $20 (for chicken or mussels) to almost $60 for a grilled ribeye. A portion of duck confit was unexpectedly offered as an appetizer. And $17 might have been tolerable, had it been a little more edible.

The duck leg was crisp, but ragingly salty, served over barley itself lapped by a salty reduction. One might have been offered a spoon for the puddle of sauce, but one really didn't want it.  This would be a poor dish in an unpretentious, cheap bistro.

I wasn't in the best mood when the boudin showed up. This was another dish which came in just below $30, and there was certainly plenty of it. The puréed potatoes were good.  The caramelized apple was a nice idea, but the large slabs were inelegant. 

As I anticipated--and so can't complain--the boudin noir had the mushy, near-liquid filling which seems popular in the United States.  All over Europe, and especially in the UK, it's more likely to be a firm, peppery sausage.  But this is what you get.

I saw no reason to risk dessert.  This is the kind of place you'd regret going to if it had no famous chef, no over-priced specials, and was in the neighborhood.  None of which (unless you live at The Venetian) are the case.

Note: A fair point is made by a Las Vegas resident who knows about these things, that in eating at the hotels and on the Strip, I am not getting the best of the city--and certainly not the best value. So it seems fair to point out that this was a business trip and I was tethered to a convention center in one of the big hotels throughout my short stay.