Bardot Brasserie
LAMill Coffee
2017 La Vieille Ferme Rose
La Boulangerie – Canele, Kouign Amann, Pain au Chocolat, Raisin Snail
Seasonal Fruit – Frozen Yogurt-Pistachio Parfait, Buckwheat Beignets
Bardot Baguette – Salted Butter
Escargots Bardot – Wild Burgundy Snails in Puff Pastry, Toasted Hazelnuts, Chartreuse-Garlic Butter
Foie Gras Parfait – Ruby Port Gelée, Toasted Brioche, Cornichons
Steak Tartare – USDA Prime Filet Ground to Order, Egg Yolk, Sauce Verte, Gaufrette Potato Chips
Brandade – Rouille, Pickled Watermelon Radish
King Crab & Endive Salad – Belgian Endive, Parmesan Cheese, Caper Aioli, Herbed Bread Crumbs
Pastrami Cured Salmon – Marble Rye Profiteroles, Smoked Wild Salmon, Chive Mascarpone, Marinated Cucumber, Caper, Red Onion, Dill
Puntarelle – Anchovy Vin, Dill, Fertile Egg, Fresno Chilis, Prosciutto Chicharrón
Special Hunter’s Waffle – Glazed Duck Confit, Poached Eggs, Sauce Maltaise, Duck Breast, Black Truffles
Bardot Breakfast Sandwich – Maple Sage Sausage, Fresh Baked English Muffin, French Omelette, Mimolette Fondue, Hash Browns
Hearth Baked Quiche Lorraine with Double-cut Bacon and Kale – Simple Salad
Chocolate Macaron – French Chocolate Cookie, Dark Chocolate Mousse
French Toast – Brioche, Vanilla Mascarpone, Almond Brittle, Orgeat Syrup
Nutella Sticky Bun – Warm Vanilla Brioche, Brown Sugar, Candied Hazelnuts
Baked Alaska – Pumpkin Spice Cake, Hazelnut Ice Cream, Roasted Butternut Squash, Toasted Meringue, Butterscotch
They say the best Restaurants are the ones where you want to go back even before leaving, and with friends in town the opportunity to visit Bardot Brasserie again proved too tempting to resist, a table of seven taking their seats prior to noon for a feast from the hands of Chef Josh Smith and his team.
Now the fifteenth visit to Michael Mina’s first foray into French Cuisine, an unmitigated success thanks largely to his choice of executive Chef, it was once again after a podium greeting that guests were led past the grand bar to seats in the center, a Champagne toast kicking things off along with bottomless Coffee and two Pastry baskets filled with Viennoiserie including the city’s best Kouign Amann plus a Canele that has matured with time to rival those found in France.
Chatting over the din, a full-house on Sunday morning expected at Las Vegas’ premier Brunch, it was not long before Pastries were followed by Josh’s Fruit Plate highlighted by Blood Orange and Frozen Yogurt, those not wanting to fill-up too fast passing on sugared-Donuts made of Buckwheat but nonetheless succumbing to warm Baguettes with Butter far better than one will find in their home state of Ohio.
Moving next to several Bardot classics, items present since the Restaurant opened in January of 2015, it was tasting Snails for the first time that guests marveled at both texture and flavor, the Steak Tartare also a crowd pleaser thanks to the Herbs and fancy Potato Chips while Foie Gras was more polarizing, though that just meant more for those who love the creamy spread since nothing but a smear went back to the kitchen from two jars.
Following a Tasting Menu format to the extent possible, Fish arriving after Amuse and Appetizers, course three included recent favorites such as layered Endives dressed with Crab plus house-cured Salmon alongside dainty Profiteroles, and considering five visits in the past calendar-year Chef Smith also couldn’t resist testing out two new recipes including golden Salt Cod Fritters that are menu-ready plus Puntarelle Salad still in need of tweaking as thinly cut Chicory and Egg turned the Pork Skin soggy within seconds thus compromising the intended textural interplay.
Following next with Brunch Entrees, Bardot’s Quiche again beyond reproach from Crust to Custard, those seeking something a bit more meaty should not overlook the Breakfast Sandwich offering housemade Sausage, fluffy Eggs and Mimolette…unless of course they are starting to get full and are presented with Chef Smith’s Hunter’s Waffle that on this day came with Duck Breast from the Dinner Setup plus fragrant Black Truffles.
Never leaving North America’s top Brasserie without Dessert, both the billboard-boasted French Toast and oversized Chocolate Macaron deserving of signature status, it was after finishing most of these plus the majority of two Sticky Buns that a familiar cart arrived, the Winter season seeing Pineapple replaced by Pumpkin Spice and Hazelnut at the center of a Baked Alaska whose tableside flame is extinguished by gooey Butterscotch.
FIVE STARS: If you follow Josh Smith on Instagram it is quickly evident that this is a Chef who never stops trying to improve, the laborious process of perfecting Marble Rye Pate a Choux just one example, but then you stop in and realize again-and-again that everything tastes just as good as it looks and you can’t help but being impressed no matter how many times you visit.
RECOMMENDED: Canele, Kouign Amann, Pastrami Cured Salmon, Foie Gras Parfait, Hunter’s Waffle, Bardot Breakfast Sandwich, French Toast Baked Alaska, Brandade (if available.)
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: As above, Brandade and Puntarelle are not yet on the menu but follow @bardotjosh for these and other daily specials.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.michaelmina.net/restaurants/las-vegas/bardot-brasserie/
