[lost meals] Twist by Pierre Gagnaire [2,] Las Vegas NV

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.

Hemingway Visits Asia – Dragonfruit Rum, Lime Juice, Grapefruit Juice, Maraschino Liqueur, Grenadine, Simple Syrup

Smoked Sea Salt Sable / Duck Confit covered in Panko Bread Powder / Flax Cracker with Carrot Chantilly / Squid Ink Tartlet with Trout Roe and Foie Gras Custard / Roquefort Tartlet with Mustard seed and Mascarpone Cream / Tequila Pomegranate Gelee

French Baguette, Walnut Raisin Molasses Bread, Italian Buttermilk Bread, and Bordier Butter

Black Truffle – Pumpkin Cake with Salt Cod, Black Truffle, Gold and Red Beets, Spinach Veloute with Garlic

Hudson Valley Foie Gras – Poached Foie Gras with Horseradish Emulsion, Sauerkraut, Morteau Sausage / Glenmorangie Glazed Duck Foie Gras Terrine with Gingerbread Powder, Dates, and Hazelnut / Dundee-Pinky Condiment with Apple Ice Cream and Poquillo Pepper Compote

Four Story Hill Farm Poularde – Black Truffle Puree, Diced Artichoke, Fennel, Cuttlefish, and Dauphine Potatoes over Savoy Cabbage / Cold leg roulade with Ginger Salad and Lemon cream

La Grande Dessert – White Chocolate Glace with Lemon Gel, Lemon Confit, Crème Parfait, and Grappa Syrup / Grapefruit Marmalade with Pineapple and Red Pepper Confit, Pink Champagne Granite / Pear Liquor Cremeux with Anise Poached Pear, Coffee Soaked Biscuit Jaconde, Milk Chocolate / Chestnut Orange Gateaux with Clementine Syrup / Guanaja Chocolat Ganache with Caraibe Chocolate Ice Cream and Salty Caramel Tartlet / Passionfruit Syrup, Marron Glace, Pistache Diplomate

Chocolate Crunch / Cassis Gelee / Nougat / Pistachio covered Cherry

If one has never been to a Pierre Gagnaire restaurant, as my friend hadn’t, I think it is best to set the expectations appropriately. First of all, the room will be dramatic and the service will be exemplary. Second, there will be ingredients you have never heard of presented in manners you never imagined. Third, there will be a point in the meal where there are at least four plates resting in front of you and you’ll have no idea where to start. Fourth, chances are good that there will be at least one plate that leaves you scratching your head wondering “what were they thinking?” Last of all – the other ten to fifteen plates will not only be delicious, they’ll make you wonder “why didn’t anyone think of that before?”

Understanding that Twist is high risk and high reward in a city where a gamble is the very basis of the economy is part of the experience and while the reward may not come in the form of a financial windfall the cost of admission at the restaurant newly helmed by Ryuki Kawasaki comes with myriad rewards in the form of cuisine like no other in Sin City – a foie gras dish exploring both bitter and sweet, then bringing it to a peak with super-sweet ice cream only to follow-up with a firey finish being the most impressive example while a brandade dish marring salt and earth elegantly only to leave a sweet, vegetal note on the palate somewhat akin to pumpkin pie also wowed. To the other end – the true risk taker of the evening came with dessert as the nearly unpalatably bitter grapefruit, champagne, and pepper cocktail was served front and center completely overwhelming the palate only to be followed by five additional sweets stimulating the rest of the palate and completing the vision.

Certainly not a restaurant or meal for those happy to dine at a buffet in order to get back to the craps table Twist is a place to sit, think, enjoy the scenery and the service, and embrace the chef’s vision – it is like no other place in Vegas, and all-in it remains my favorite restaurant in the city.