Twist by Pierre Gagnaire [5,] Las Vegas NV

Twist by Pierre Gagnaire

AMUSE – Curried Goat Cheese Tartlett, Guiness and Whisky Gelee

Brioche, Baguette, Cranberry Walnut Bread with salted and unsalted butter

SEA URCHIN MOUSSELINE WITH CAVIAR – Gelée of Bonito and Grilled Onion Infusion, Olive Oil Infused Salsify Spaghettini

LOBSTER FRICASSEE WITH KAFFIR LIME AND ENOKI MUSHROOMS – Baby Carrot Stew, Sweet Wine and Green Tea Butter, Nasturtium Leaves and Flowers

WHITE TRUFFLE RISOTTO – Pine Nut, Globe Artichoke

PALATE CLEANSER – Rhubarb and Espelette Pepper Mousse, Grapefruit Granite, Pineapple Kirsch Liquor and Cucumber

ROASTED FOIE GRAS – Coffee and Chestnut Velouté, Prunes and Porcini, Shaved Black Truffles

ORGANIC FREE RANGE CHICKEN WITH TRUFFLE – Shimizu Chicken Breast and Sautéed Squid, Celery Root and Artichoke Purée; Sauce Perigueux, Shaved Black Truffles

MILLE-FEUILLE – Puff Pastry, Praline Cream, Cassis Compote Blackberry Sorbet

GRAND DESSERT PIERRE GAGNAIRE

Cassis: Sorbet, Wurtz, Marmalade with Cane Sugar, Pink Peppercorn Opaline

Honey Orange Gelée, Shortbread, Mango and Passion Fruit, Fromage Blanc Ice Cream

Chocolate Gateau with Golden Raisins and Amarena Cherries

MIGNARDISES – Lemon Meringue, Candied Blueberries

TANZANIAN CHOCOLATE – Tanzanian Chocolate Parfait, Coffee Granité, Caramelized Hazelnuts

DOUBLE ESPRESSO ON ICE

TAKE HOME BISCOTTI – Chocolate Praline, Pistachio Cranberry

At this point on a first name basis with a reservationist at The Mandarin Oriental who keeps me abreast of when Chef Gagnaire will be visiting his Forbes 5-Starred Twist, it was with somewhat sad news that I was informed my favorite chef would be in town the first weekend of 2015 to see off current Chef de Cuisine, Ryuki Kawasaki – a man soon to rightfully toque his own project in Bangkok, and someone whose cooking myself and two others were lucky enough to experience one more time over the course of three-hours from the 23rd floor room overlooking the dazzling lights below.

Written about four times prior, thrice under the care of Chef Kawasaki whose interpretation and execution of Gagnaire’s signature style is undoubtedly the best I’ve seen, the fifth visit to Twist found the room largely unchanged as lighted baubles hung overhead and with a slight change in the soundtrack offering a mix of French tunes and mid-70s American classics a sizable four-top along the “cracked egg” wall served as our table throughout the course a night filled with superlative service and cuisine  most akin to that which was experienced at Le Rue Balzac in 2011, still the best meal of my life.

Starting with a truncated amuse consisting of two bites – salt and earth followed by bitter and sweet – to awaken the palate, it was not long after selecting a slightly augmented version of the evening’s tasting menu that plated bread arrived, and paired with two butters from Normandy all three fresh-baked selections were as good as ever, the crunchy baguette a showstopper with the salted butter while the buttery brioche proved an amicable sponge for several sauces as the meal progressed.

Wasting little time in getting started it was perhaps ten minutes after seating that plate one of the six-course menu arrived and with a spiral of thinly sliced salsify riffing on spaghetti the umami-laden sauce of creamed urchin topped with briny bubbles and hints of onion proved absolutely ethereal on its own, but all the better when blended with the ‘pasta’ and a base of consommé-clear gelee teaming with flavors of the ocean – a beautiful opening act on which a subsequent plate of snappy lobster enlivened with sweet wine and light bitters would expound before turning to things far more earthy, aromatic, and luxurious to say the least.

At this point departing briefly from the night’s grand tasting it was in a silver domed supplement that we all indulged and with each plate uncovered simultaneously the unmistakable scent of white truffles soon perfumed the air, each of us breathing in deeply before taking a spoonful of creamy risotto dotted with butter poached artichokes that proved an adept delivery mechanism for the sort of flavor one eats slowly to savor, and only wishes was available year round.

Provided with an intermezzo to refresh the palate in preparation for things yet to come it seemed most improbable that anything following the risotto would prove a more memorable dish on the night and yet as luck, as well as fresh black truffles, would have it there were two superior plates to follow – the juicy chicken atop sliced cephalopod as complex as it was impressive while the soup proved to be amongst the best dishes to grace my palate in recent memory – a tender float of foie gras atop brioche finding its foil in a base that was at once sweet and savory with a toasty base-note lurking beneath a generous truffle crown.

Opting to order the Mille-Feuille in addition to the included “Grande Dessert” it would be difficult to decide which of the four sweets was the most impressive of the night but with frozen grapes adding an unexpected degree of nuance to the small bowl titled Cassis the scaled back finale was without a doubt the most well conceptualized in my Twist experiences to date – a complimentary taste of the feather-light Tanzanian Chocolate capping the evening alongside fruity mignardises while autographed menus and duos of biscotti were offered as bonus gifts for the road.

FOUR AND A HALF STARS:  Perhaps the most ‘straight forward’ meal enjoyed at Twist to-date in terms of a diminished selection of amuses, canapés, mignardises, satellite plates, and components to the Grand Dessert it seems that a transition is already underway in the Kitchen as Ryuki Kawasaki plans his departure, but with each dish an absolute gem of taste and presentation with service that remains the most professional and least ‘stuffy’ of all the formal French dining rooms in the city it seems safe to assume that the future is in good hands – a return visit already in its planning stages, once the new Chef is named.

RECOMMENDED:  Every single time I’ve experienced foie gras, fowl, or poultry at any of Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurants I have been impressed and the same can also be said of his treatment of uni and crustaceans, particularly langoustines and lobster.

AVOID:  Served at a $50 surcharge and still aromatic despite the late season the risotto was simply ‘good’ when compared to the savory courses that followed, a case of ‘first world problems’ to be sure, but a retrospective disappointment none the less.

TIP:  Chef Kawasaki will be departing for warmer environs as of 1/10/15 with a new Chef de Cuisine to be named in the coming weeks; Chef Gagnaire is set to return for training in late February.

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/