The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Bread and Butter
Strawberry Doughnut
Pecan Honey Bun
Christmas Tree Old Fashioned
Chocolate Croissant
Ham, Egg, Cheese, Rosemary Bechamel Wafflewich
Driving to Vegas for the first time and thus with far more off-strip mobility than prior my Christmas vacation began in Henderson as I awaited the arrival of my friend’s plane from Florida – a perfect time for pastry beginning at former Bouchon Bakery master Chris Herrin’s Bread and Butter, a large bakery and sandwich shop in a rather unattractive strip mall but a true case where you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Featuring friendly service, ample seating, and a selection of pastries both classic and novel I was lucky to arrive just as a fresh order of brioche strawberry doughnuts were emerging from the fryer and identical to those at Bouchon both the eggy dough and thick jam were expertly crafted – a theme that would carry over to both the crisp and flaky chocolate croissant and the nearly half-pound cupcake, rife with cocoa and topped with thick vanilla frosting. Less successful, the honey bun was simply a case of an item sitting on the counter for too long – the flavor fine but the yeasted dough already getting weighed down by the ample, rich toppings.
Moving to more savory options, the restaurant’s signature Wafflewich would prove to be every bit as delicious as any sandwich crafted of similar high quality ingredients but literally drowned with creamy Bechamel I personally would have preferred the waffles to be a bit more crisp, perhaps even a bit ‘crunchy’ for texture…but I have to say the rosemary was an inspired touch to what was otherwise a well executed croque madame and although I’m not sure I would call Bread and Butter a ‘destination’ bakery I’d certainly return if driving up from Phoenix again.
Crepeshack and Waffles
Bananas Foster with Banana Nut Ice Cream Crepe Cone
Wandering the local shops and checking out parts of Nevada I’d never before had the chance to explore a later stop would take me to “Crepe Shack & Waffles,” another Henderson newcomer where I at first considered another waffle but instead went with a crepe – the right choice, I’m rather certain, as the fluffy and light disk was made-to-order by a friendly young woman named Sandra and subsequently rolled into a cone and stuffed chock-a-block full of Banana Nut Ice Cream, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Fresh Bananas, Caramel, and a dash of Sea Salt.
Apparently a Japanese trend now gaining popularity on both coasts and featuring a large, spacious, and modern look with friendly servers, myriad options, and great prices ($5 for a crepe cone, $6 for a topped waffle) this is definitely a trend I can support, though in an ideal situation a place doing such a thing with house-made ice creams and condiments would be all the more appealing – and to find that in Vegas I think the best option is a crepe and some ice cream or gelato at Jean-Philippe in the Bellagio at nearly twice the price.