Bardot Brasserie
BAGUETTE – Echire Butter, Sel Gris, Confiture de Cassis TROISGROS
LA BOULANGERIE – kouign amann, raisin snail, canele, croissant
SEASONAL FRUIT – frozen yogurt-pistachio parfait, buckwheat beignets
SMOKED SALMON – everything brioche, chive mascarpone, traditional garnitures
ROASTED BEETS & GOAT CHEESE – wild arugula, toasted hazelnuts, cassis vinaigrette
FRISÉE AUX LARDONS – hearts of frisée, escarole, radicchio, dandelion greens, warm bacon, soft poached egg, sherry vinaigrette
ROASTED CHICKEN FRENCH DIP – gruyère cheese, mushroom bread pudding, haricots verts, vin jaune au jus, petite salade verte
FRANCO CUBANO – smoked pork, paris ham, comte cheese, fresno chiles, cornichons on fresh toasted baguette, gaufrette potatoes
FRENCH OMELETTE – fines herbs, gruyère cheese, périgord truffle duxelles, hash browns, roasted tomatoes, country toast
HEARTH BAKED QUICHE – forestière with goat cheese & wild mushrooms, hash browns, roasted tomatoes, country toast
HUNTER’S WAFFLE – glazed duck confit, poached eggs, sauce maltaise
MAINE LOBSTER CROISSANT BENEDICT – two poached eggs, sautéed kale, béarnaise
NUTELLA STICKY BUN – warm vanilla brioche, brown sugar, candied hazelnuts
FRENCH TOAST – brioche french toast, vanilla mascarpone, almond brittle, orgeat syrup
FOIE GRAS FRENCH TOAST – brioche french toast, foie gras, fig jam, smoked maple syrup
TEURGOULE – caramelized rice pudding, cassia cinnamon
MILLE FEUILLE – caramelized puff pastry, vanilla crème patissiere
BABA AU RHUM – crisp, cream, raisins, rum
Having already visited Bardot Brasserie thrice, the last two times arranging a prix-fixe tasting that allowed Chef Josh Smith to show his talents Carte Blanche, it was a day after sitting down with Smith at a local bakery that brunch was enjoyed in a booth adjacent his kitchen, several old favorites making an appearance along with some of the restaurant’s newest plates.
Still a bustling space over a year since opening, the brass, tile and marble still not losing a bit of their shine, it was by the same friendly face as prior that greetings were offered at the podium and quickly led to our seats by the restaurant’s Assistant General Manager it was not long before menus were presented and drinks poured, Chef Smith soon stopping by to meet first-timers and say hello to old friends.
Acknowledging no time constraints and thus afforded the opportunity to see plates presented by the Chef with lengthy descriptions of concepts as well as techniques, brunch began with Bardot’s Best-of-Las-Vegas Baguettes paired to Echire butter available for a $5 supplement plus confiture brought back from Michelin 3* Troisgros, the pairing essentially unmatched while Smith’s tweaked Boulangerie showed the Kouign Amann as good as ever while Canele were presented just cooled from the pastry kitchen, the return of wax molding yielding a crunchy shell around soft custard that is now unmatched within several hundred miles.
Impressed again by the smoked fish platter, “Everything Brioche” something that should be offered by the loaf in a market up front, Smith’s ode to The Peppermill fruit plate once again ups the ante with a fruit & nut semifreddo that could double as dessert given its creamy levity, the beignets mild in sweetness with a pillowy center beneath a golden shell that is virtually oil-free.
Offering yet *another* Beet Salad alongside the classic Frisee aux Lardons that gets its rich sapor through briny batons of bacon along with vinaigrette secretly fortified with Chicken Liver, Smith admits that his earthy red cubes stacked with Goat Cheese is a direct crib from Birch’s Brendan Collins, the results shining largely as a result of minimal manipulation of top quality ingredients with hazelnuts offering gentle crunch as bitter Arugula is well met by black currant dressing.
Finally offered a chance to see some of the Bar Menu, a Roasted Chicken Sandwich featuring the same supple hens offered at dinner beneath Gruyère and Mushroom stuffing with Pan Sauce provided for dipping, an even better flavor is found in the inspired “Franco Cubano,” a riff on the classic Cuban not particularly “authentic,” but perhaps all the better for it through the use of quality ingredients including house-smoked pork, Parisian ham, plus Comte with a relish of Fresno chiles and Mustard seeds all on a compressed baguette.
Originally planning the meal as a result of a conversation surrounding Quiche, course five featured an elegant omelette folded around canned black truffles as a lead-off to the plate and although some may feel that a thinner, more-eggy variant is more suited to their palates Bardot’s Hearth Baked Quiche remains my reference standard, the fluffiness virtually unmatched whether one opts for a meaty version or the “Forestière” which marries foraged mushrooms to funky Goat Cheese.
Impressed by the Hash Browns, each pan-seared cake crisp on the edges with a center that eats like hand mashed spuds, our final savory course consisted of butter-poached Maine lobster atop croissant layers alongside a “Hunter’s Waffle” that still managed to impress despite an egg poached to medium as Duck Confit basked in the glory of Blood Orange imbued Maltaise sauce.
Having long declared Bardot’s Billboard-gracing French Toast as the city’s best, it was as a special request that two-styles of the Brioche Block were presented as part of the penultimate round of cuisine, and although the flavor of the Orgeat and Mascarpone classic remains unrivaled one would be hard pressed to find anything more decadent than the same dish crowned with seared Duck Liver, Fig Jam and Smoked Maple syrup…though the cast iron Sticky Bun may come close.
With several at the table waving white flags despite the promise of desserts still to come, suffice it to say that Chef Smith’s shattering Mille-Feuille benefits from its stacked-to-order plating while the “Twist-face” Rice Pudding, so named for the first time Westerners tasted Cinnamon, remains nothing short of a textural masterpiece – the same to be said of a newly launched Baba au Rhum that stays true to its roots with a spongy cake soaked in booze while at the same time offering light sweetness with cream as well as raisins plus just a bit of caramelized tuille for crunch.
FIVE STARS: The rare Las Vegas restaurant given a Semifinalist nod by the James Beard Foundation, an equal novelty noted in a locally-born Chef at the helm, Bardot Brasserie and Chef Smith continue to shine in their second year of existence, the continued elevation of French Classics showing no signs of resting on its laurels or even slowing down.
RECOMMENDED: French Toast, Franco Cubano, Hearth Baked Quiche, Baba Au Rhum, Teurgoule.
AVOID: Elevating the Canele to top-tier US Standards, if a single medium-poached egg is your biggest gripe in seventeen plates I’d say eating at another “French Brasserie” is probably best avoided
TIP: The Teurgoule may be in temporary retirement on the upcoming Spring Menu, those interested should call in advance.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
http://www.michaelmina.net/restaurants/las-vegas/bardot-brasserie/
