Twist by Pierre Gagnaire [4,] Las Vegas NV

Twist by Pierre Gagnaire

Kumquat Meringue Tartlet with Goat Cheese and Short Bread Cookie / Smoked Sable with Chervil and Apple / Carrot Sesame Mousse / Parmesan and Sea Salt Biscuit/ Red Beet Gelee with Hazelnut Crumble / Souffle of Comte Cheese, Lavosh

Baguette, Brioche, Bacon Cheddar, Sauterne Pumpernickel, Cherry Walnut – Isigny Salted, Echire Unsalted

Chanterelle Soup – Coffee Morel Ravioli, Peppered Shrimp, Langoustines, English Peas

Spring – Chanterelle Soup with Parmesan, English Peas, Spring Onion, Swiss Chard / Stuffed Rabbit Saddle, Fresh Herb Jus, Black Olive, Baby Artichoke and Nougatine / Asparagus Custard with Chervil and Mozzarella Ice Cream / Tomato Tart with Basil and Spinach

Foie Gras Terrine – Charred Onion Gelee, Passion Fruit Pulp, Artichoke Cream, Spinach, Crispy Toast, Semillon Vinegar

Hudson Valley Foie Gras – Ringo Starr (Milk Chocolate, Gold, Chantilly of Foie, Terrine of Foie, Smoked Pepper Puree) / Foie Gras Ice Cream with White Port, Charred onion Gelee, Passion Fruit Syrup, Baby Turnip, Watermelon Radish / Apple and Shallot Marmalade with Cinnamon, Sliced Duck, Cassis Tuille, Red Beet

Grilled Beef with Fresh Herb Butter – Eggplant Slice, English Mint Pea Puree, Chorizo, Tomme de Savoie/ Bone Marrow Croquette with Ramp and Potato Crisp / Bordelaise Sauce

Maine Lobster – Lobster Fricasse Turner, Chantilly Lace / Green Apple, Cucumber Gel, Lobster Rillette / Jasmine and Basmati Rice with Lobster Bisque

Seasonal Mushrooms

Pont Neuf Potatoes with Iberco de Bellota

Zwart Kaas (5 year aged Sheep’s milk Gouda, Netherlands) / Gres de Champenois (Cow’s milk Double Crème, Champagne) / Cana de Oveja (Soft-Ripened Sheep’s milk log, Murcia) / Carboncino (Charcoal ash crusted Blend, Piedmont) / St. Agur Bleu (60 day Cow’s milk Double Crème, Auvergne) / Gorgonzola Pear Ice Cream, Dark Chocolate Trail Mix, Kirsch Cherry Marmalade

Praline Éclair – Vanilla Pastry Cream, Coffee and Cognac, Pear and Caramelized Almond with Hazelnut / Black Sesame Ice Cream, Sliced Apricot, Hazelnut Crumble

Calvados and Caramel Parfait with Milk Chocolate Coated Apple and Kumquat Compote / Nashi Pear Wedge with Apricot and Peach Compote

Grand Dessert – Raspberry Sable with Basil, Mascarpone Coulis, Parfait Glace / Pistachio Biscuit Moelleux & Green Tea Ice Cream, Sweet Wine Cubes / Black Chocolate Ganache, Milk Caramel Ball, Bailey’s and Coffee Granite / Cherry Soup, Prune Cream, Cassis Sorbet, Meringue Sticks / Peach and Apricot Compote with Rosemary, Pistachio Sugar Leaf, Orange Almond Cream

Lime Tart, Chocolate Vanilla Truffle, Apricot Marshmallow

Suffice it to say that I’m a known entity at Twist and with my predilections to Chef Ryuki’s interpretation of Pierre Gagnaire’s cuisine well known a meal on Saturday night would prove just as thrilling as those prior, a showering of plates with mostly stellar service lasting over four hours in the butterfly adorned Spring dining room. With Gagnaire himself present in the kitchen – as well as the dining room, bar, and even lobby – tending to details both small and large it was to an array of innovative canapés plus a quintet of breads with butters from Isigny and Echire that we began and moving next through six courses of meticulous sourcing and style rare would be a lull, a full emersion in the kitchen’s stream of consciousness with a leisurely flowing pace. Opting for one tasting and courses a la carte to match ‘Spring’ began with flavors smacking of the season and although mushrooms both here and later were slightly over-seasoned everything else showed fresh and vibrant, a concept that carried right along to the course that followed – a flood of foie gras comprising seared, salad, torchon, terrine, and even ice cream. Transitioning to ‘surf n’ turf’ in an eight plate third course of butter poached lobster juxtaposing aggressively peppered beef before progressing to five cheeses novel to even the experienced it was at last in two separate courses that sweets arrived and with Gagnaire himself overseeing the pastry preparation that evening every item arrived with a flourish; a garnish here or an extra plate there to cap another stunning meal.

FOUR AND A HALF STARS: More crowded than I’ve ever seen the space, nearly every table occupied up until 10:00pm, the food at Twist remains the most innovative in Sin City and although a touch heavy with the salt shaker on two variations of mushrooms while ice creams thrice arrived already melting it would be nearly impossible to find fault in anything else served, a true rarity given the complexity of both plate and presentation.

RECOMMENDED: Anything done with foie gras, game meat, or pastry.

AVOID: More ‘basic’ presentations such as the mushrooms or steak – there are plenty of other spots on the strip for that.

TIP: While ordering prix-fixe or tasting is certainly more cost conscious the true beauty of Gagnaire’s cuisine is found a la carte, the mix and match satellite platings playing on concepts of texture and flavor discrepancy in a way few chefs dare.

WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor

http://www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas/fine-dining/twist-by-pierre-gagnaire/