Bachi Healthy Life Kitchen
Bella Farms Foie Gras de Canard – Blackberry Jam + Marcona Almonds + Cornichons + Cranberry Walnut Wheat Bread
Strawberry Guava Jam
Almond Brioche French Toast – Dipped in Coconut Custard with Tropical Fruits, Chocolate + Whipped Butter + Whipped Cream + Pure Maple Syrup + Blueberry Syrup + Coconut Syrup
Count meet Bachi HLK – Smoked Turkey + Gruyere + Blackberry Jam
A new breakfast and lunch concept from the team behind Las Vegas’ own Bachi Burger, Bachi HLK – or Healthy Living Kitchen – was amongst my most anticipated openings of 2014; the focus on quality sourcing and ‘green’ production values with a multitude of house-made items ready to cater to diverse diners and dietary needs encompassing everything I look for in a restaurant…and then I saw the menu. Located on West Russell in one of Spring Valley’s several strip malls and officially open 8a-4p seven days a week my arrival at Bachi HLK was greeted by the smell of fresh oranges being squeezed at the room-length open bar and soon finding smiling service from a young man named Brent I was offered my choice of seats – an exquisite experience amongst elegant blonde woods and an open floor plan marred only by slightly-too-loud pop music during my hour long solo visit. Featuring all all-day menu spanning appetizers and eggs to griddles, sandwiches, and salads it was to a veritable who’s who of personal favorites that I found myself tempted and opting for a trio even at the early hour of 8am the meal started with a bang, a creamy 2.5oz torchon of foie gras every bit on par with that at Bouchon but with better bread and house-made jam for $5 less. Already smiling as I tended to my liver it was at my request that the next plate was fired in the open kitchen and arriving with cheese still bulbbling the HLK take on a Monte Cristo was truly divine as briny bird with a hint of smoke found new light in aged gruyere while supple griddled brioche dusted with powdered sugar provided an eggy canvas for thick jam, some already onboard and more on the side. At this point sated but curiosity not yet satisfied it was with a bit of indecision that I sorted between pancakes, beignets, banana bread, and chicken on waffles but going with my instincts the final plate of the morning would prove the bet of the trio; a six stack of almond-coated custard rounds rousing the flavors of a pina colada only to be bolstered by a trio of all-natural syrups plus whipped cream and salted butter; the comparison again to Thomas Keller’s work on-strip with the “bread pudding style”, but Bachi’s more subtle and texturally appealing – a strong bit of praise considering the accolades and Michelin Stars garnered by the former.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS: Finally a destination breakfast off-strip; a place where superior ingredients receive proper treatment and results shine. The question becomes how exactly HLK will fit in given their Green Valley location as prices trend high and design harkens trendy downtown.
RECOMMENDED: Everything I ordered was delicious and beautifully prepared, but no matter what make sure you sample the house made jams, syrups, and jellies.
AVOID: Sitting too close to the front; speaker volumes seem higher the further one is from the Kitchen.
TIP: Grand opening is 4/26 and 4/27; 10% off all food orders.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
