Spago
Indian Notion – Bombay East Gin, Pimm’s, Lime Juice, Cucumber Basil Syrup, Ginger Ale
Trampled Rose – Bulleit Rye, Leopold Cranberry Liqueur, Lime Juice, Five Spice Syrup, Bitters
Baguette, Wheat, Rosemary, Cranberry Walnut, Gruyere and Dijon Bread
Corn Dashi Custard with Osetra Caviar, Bonito Flake, Lime Zest and Beausoleil Oyster with Yuzu Kosho
Uni and Sushi Rice with Soy Ceviche Sauce and Chive
Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi with Fennel, Daikon, Green Apple, Sea Salt / Chilled Maine Lobster Salad with Hearts of Palm, Avocado, Grapefruit, Asian Pear
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Basil Aioli, Haricot Vert, Micro Arugula, Aged Balsamic with Tomato Water and Basil Oil
Farmers Market White Corn Soup with Cipollini Onion, Cornbread, Cherry Tomatoes, Basil
White Truffle Semolina Pudding with Egg Yolk
Black Truffle Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce, Smoked Burrata, Sorrel Greens
Surf & Turf – Pan Roasted Alaskan Halibut, Summer Squash, Haricot Vert, Cherry Tomato, Basil Oil, Fried Squash Blossom / Snake River Farms Rib Cap, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Bacon, Apple Chutney, Whole Grain Mustard, Sauteed Spinach
Caramel Cheesecake – Praline Powder, Brownie, Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Chocolate Passion Cake – Whipped Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Crumb, Passion Fruit Sorbet
Warm Apple Crisp – Oatmeal Crisp, Vanilla Ice Cream
Orange Beignets – Vanilla Sauce, Grapefruit Curd, Tangerine Gelato
Dark Chocolate Souffle – Whipped crème Fraiche, Hazelnut Ice Cream
Assorted Cookies – Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia, Walnut Blondie, Pistachio Butter Cookie
Still holding the original Spago as one of those seminal fine dining experiences, a family meal at lunch in 2008 at that time one of the more refined with both service and food showing the sort of quality not found near my Northwest Ohio home, it was finally on the invite of a friend that dinner was served in the Las Vegas location, a nine course and fourteen plate feast showing similarly skilled waitstaff and Chef Eric Klein to be one of the city’s most under-discussed talents in the kitchen.
Admitting up front that although the ingredients served to us were of the same peerless quality as those offered to the rest of the room, it was in to a carte blanche tasting of small-plates that our table was treated with a few crafted ‘a la minuit’ while the majority at least bore some resemblance to the sizable appetizers and entrees offered on the proper menu.
Particularly impressed by the herbal cocktail at CUT a week prior it was with a similarly infused Indian Notion that the meal commenced, and with Klein now offering his bread at the Downtown Summerlin Farmers Market the rumors of one of the most delicious complimentary offerings in Las Vegas immediately put me on notice that a stop would soon be imminent, the fruit and nut slices as well as the cheese and mustard rolls each amongst the city’s very best.
Constrained in time, at least a little, due to a concert beginning at nine it was with a slower-than-usual roll out of lighter items that the tasting got underway, a strong start of off-menu corn custard crowned in caviar alongside a particularly buttery oyster opening the palate to three seafood-centered bites to follow, a freshly shucked urchin as perfect in taste as it was in presentation while the Maine lobster salad was a little lost in all the citrus, the two ribbons of tuna paired to apples and fennel a far more dynamic and balanced pair.
No doubt benefited by working with Puck’s purveyors and his own ties forged at the locals farmer’s markets, course four saw Klein sent forth a beautiful heirloom tomato salad deftly tinged with acid and yet as good as the composition was its flavor was quickly supplanted in my memory by the late-season corn soup, a rich and creamy potage finding levity in light froth with topnotes tinged in onions and herbs.
Showing off a bit in the penultimate pair of savories it was with a tableside shaving of black Perigord truffles followed by the season’s first from Alba that the meal marched on, the handmade gnocchi each dainty beneath smoked cheese while the semolina pudding somehow managed to outperform even the aforementioned soup, the egg yolk delivering the white truffle essence in an bold, slowly residing wave.
At this point turning away a forth (or 8th) round of bread for fear of falling asleep at the show, a makeshift “Surf & Turf” duo was sent forth from the kitchen, the beef quality readily apparent in a ruby red cut of rib cap while firm yet moist halibut compared favorably to any served in Sin City, the crispy squash blossom replicating the texture of skin an innovative bit of flare.
Never shy to request additional sweets, especially with the name Kamel Guechida attached to the carte, it was to much amusement that a second table was positioned in the aisle to accommodate each of a half-dozen offerings, only my personal distaste for passionfruit denying absolute delightment as everything from simple cookies and fruit crisp to an elegant souffle and cheesecake were perfectly executed, the orange curd infused beignets a ‘best-of-the-genre’ sort of dish that would have been just as good at any time of day.
FOUR STARS: Truly the “Grand Dame” of reinventing Las Vegas dining from AYCE Buffets and Prime Rib Specials to what it is today, the food and service at Spago in The Forum Shops remains destination worthy under the guidance of Eric Klein, my only gripe being a bit of ingredient redundancy in terms of the use of tomatoes as well as corn, obviously both seasonally appropriate and delicious but all-told a bit too pervasive with the appearance of one or the other in more than 50% of the savories served…a first world problem to say the least.
RECOMMENDED: Orange Beignets, White Truffle Semolina Pudding, Tomato Salad, Halibut.
AVOID: The Maine Lobster Salad got a bit lost in the citrus and Passion Fruit simply isn’t something I favor.
TIP: According the Chef Klein the format at Spago is soon to change, a proper tasting menu likely to be part of that evolution as well as a consistent menu unifying patio and dining room, though plans and timetable are far from finalized.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/9044
