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.
Fresh Doughnut Holes Fried to Order with Vanilla, Chocolate, Raspberry Sauce
French Toast Crème Brulee
In a city that never sleeps where absentee landlord chefs abound Michel Richard’s Central LV stands alone; a 24-Hour restaurant off the lobby of Caesar’s Palace where one can theoretically order an item off any part of the menu at any time of day – at least according to the undisclosed person who answers their e-mail – though if you happen to ask for a Mille-Feuille /Napoleon at 6:15am you’re certain to get a vacant look from one of the most lackadaisical and slow moving servers in all of Las Vegas followed by assertion that this dish is not on the breakfast menu.
Service, misinformation, and excessive pricing aside I will note that the two dishes I did receive after an inexplicable forty minute wait were actually quite good – the doughnut holes light and hot with each topping delicious, particularly when mixed, while the Crème Brulee French Toast was a textural masterpiece with caramelized bread sandwiching milky custard good enough to justify a ten dollar price tag, but certainly not a $17 one…even if I did save a few bucks in leaving a paltry tip for my server Alexander’s total of four visits to the table during my 55 minute stay (menu drop, order, plate drop, check drop.) Having visited both Richard’s fine dining Citronelle and original Central in Washington DC I can only imagine the service at Central LV is Harrah’s and not his doing; probably the pricing as well.