Bardot Brasserie
LAMill Coffee
2015 Gerard Bertrand Cuvee Thomas Jefferson Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose
La Boulangerie – Canele, Kouign Amann, Pain au Chocolat, Raisin Snail
Bardot Baguette and Country Loaf with Beurre d’echire A.O.C. and Sel Gris
Crab and Endive Salad – Capers, Shaved Parmesan, Breadcrumbs
Charcuterie Board – Prosciutto di Parma, French Dry Salame, Country Pate, Pork Rillettes, Grilled Country Bread, House Mustard
Foie Gras Parfait – Chilled Mousse of La Belle Foie Gras, Ruby Port Gelee, Grilled Country Bread, Cornichons
Steak Tartare – Prime Filet, Sauce Vert, Egg Yolk, Gaufrette Potato Chips
Chicken Cordon Bleu – Ham, Cheese, Frisee aux Lardons Salad
Hunter’s Waffle – Glazed Duck Confit, Poached Eggs, Sauce Maltaise
Escargot Bardot – Burgundy Snails, Puff Pastry, Toasted Hazelnuts, Chartreuse Garlic Butter
Filet Mignon & Eggs – USDA Prime Petite Filet, Two Fried Eggs, Hash Browns, Sauce Verte, Grilled Country Bread
Wild Mushroom Hearth-Baked Quiche – Simple Salad, Mustard Vinaigrette
Bardot Breakfast Sandwich – Maple Sage Sausage, Fresh Baked English Muffin, French Omelette, Mimolette Fondue, Hash Browns
Beef Wellington for Two – 14oz USDA Prime Filet, Prosciutto di Parma, Puff Pastry, Mushroom Duxelles, Foie Gras-Madeira Veloute
Foie Gras French Toast – Brioche, Vanilla Mascarpone, Almond Brittle, Seared Foie Gras, Orgeat Syrup
Nutella Sticky Bun – Warm Vanilla Brioche, Brown Sugar, Candied Hazelnuts
Chocolate Macaron – French Chocolate Cookie, Dark Chocolate Mousse
Espresso Crème Brulee – Fresh Beignets, Turbinado Croquant
Mille Feuille – Caramelized Puff Pastry, Vanilla Crème Patisserie
Baked Alaska – Banana Rum Ice Cream Cake, Roasted Pineapple and Toasted Meringue
Canele au Calvados – Diced Pears, Vanilla Cream
Taking advantage of two visitors and a pair of holiday weekends to revisit several of 2017’s best meals it was as a party of five that Brunch was enjoyed at Bardot Brasserie on the second floor of Aria, Chef Josh Smith agreeing to prepare a carte blanche feast of five courses including one item from the Dinner menu plus three new concepts being designed for debut during Bardot’s first ever Lunch in 2018.
At this point a well-known favorite and frequent dining destination with guests, four visits during the calendar year ranging from bites in the lounge to a Royal Bacchanalian Feast with Chef Calum Franklin of Holborn Dining Room in November, it was following greetings from familiar hostesses and managers that a seat was taken in front of the spacious Kitchen, an opening Champagne toast starting things off and subsequently followed by more for many while 4/5 additionally started the day with Mina’s ever noteworthy LAMill Coffee.
Still doing good business despite Las Vegas’ “slow season,” perhaps one-hundred patrons seated amidst a grand dining room where service and expediting times remain better than stateside or European Brasseries doing less volume, it was just as Coffee was presented that a basket of Pastries was delivered alongside Bardot’s city-best Baguette, the Canele and Kouign Amann each unparalleled in Las Vegas with the former crunchy and caramelized despite still-warm Custard that was just barely set.
Laid out over the course of over two hours inside a spacious booth as upbeat French pop played at an appropriate volume overhead, the scene lively and bustling without ever crossing the line towards frenetic, it was with thick smears of Echire Butter that hunks of crunchy Baguette were carefully consumed while being mindful of eighteen pending plates, the first round consisting of Imported as well as house-made Charcuterie plus Bardot’s reference-standard Foie Gras Parfait, the chopped-to-order Tartare rich and nicely spiced with a satiny texture fortified by golden Egg Yolk.
Additionally offered a work-in-progress Crab and Endive Salad with course one, the elegant and labor-intensive layout creating individually edible leaves with a pleasant balance of tangy Dressing plus sweet Crab, it was with this dish still being enjoyed that share plates were reset, course two offering up Chef Smith’s Hunter’s Waffle topped in Duck and smooth Sauce Maltaise while five of Bardot’s Snails in Puff Pastry trailed alongside an upcoming Chicken Cordon Bleu dish that Josh admits needs a bit of work in terms of plating, though the texture and flavor are nothing short of what fans might expect.
Allowing a bit of respite before moving on, nothing but a few leaves of Frisee remaining thus far, it was with Laguiole knives in-hand that another came embedded upright in Bardot’s Breakfast Sandwich, the upscale McMuffin going so far as to bake English Muffins on-site before stacking them high with fluffy Eggs, Housemade Sausage and melted Cheese while the Filet Mignon was fairly basic in terms of presentation, but better than most thanks to the ingredients.
Additionally offering a new Quiche as part of the meal’s final savory course, a dense conglomeration of roasted Mushrooms suspended in springy Custard atop an all-Butter Crust that cuts clean, Chef Smith’s Pastry work was once again put in the spotlight by way of the traditionally dinner-only Beef Wellington “for two,” the five portions plenty at this point and the execution potentially even better than prior with distinctly different textures and virtually no blending among the layers.
Presenting the next course as “Pre-Dessert” with a chuckle, Bardot’s Nutella Sticky Bun joined by a dish Chef Smith claims yours truly “put on the menu” in the form of a block of Angel Food soft French Toast topped with seared Duck Liver, Mascarpone and Almond Brittle, it was with one final cup of Coffee that “real Dessert” was brought forth – the Macaron, Crème Brulee and Mille Feullie all as good as memory suggested while the tableside Baked Alaska proved better textured than the larger version served at the Bacchanalian Feast with booziness more restrained…though perhaps that was only in comparison to three Canele split and soaked in Calvados.
FIVE STARS: Visited a mere twelve hours after dinner at Jean Georges Steakhouse, these two Restaurants along with Herringbone creating the highest density of outstanding dining perhaps anywhere in America, this visit to Bardot Brasserie once again solidified beliefs that no one else is doing mid-priced French this well anywhere stateside and if someone is able to convince me of better in the World I’ll plan a 2018 vacation around it.
RECOMMENDED: Canele, Crab and Endive Salad, Country Pate, Pork Rillettes, Foie Gras Parfait, Hunter’s Waffle, Wild Mushroom Hearth-Baked Quiche, Bardot Breakfast Sandwich, Beef Wellington, Foie Gras French Toast, Nutella Sticky Bun, Mille Feuille, Baked Alaska, Canele au Calvados.
AVOID: The Filet Mignon & Eggs is fine, but you can get that anywhere. Live a little!
TIP: Weekday Lunch is coming soon. Crab & Endive Salad, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Canele au Calvados potentially debuting then.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
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