The Time Machine

The Mansion, Las Vegas, NV
Is there such as thing as a time machine? One may so "no", "nope", "non", and "no way!" Joel Robuchon's, The Mansion, is a time machine to the past, present and future. The Mansion dining experience brought my wife and me back to our dining experiences in France - Le Meurice, Le Cinq, and Restaurant Paul Boucuse. The service is attentive, friendly, and non-pretentious. When we needed anything, there was the staff. There were even cushioned stools for ladies' purses.

I loved that by the time we were seated at our table, we were greeted "Good evening" at least five times- after the complimentary limo ride from our hotel: the hostess; the matire'd; a couple of servers assigned to other tables; our waiter; and finally Chef Robuchon's right hand man. I won't count Chef Robuchon's greeting nor his executive Chef Claude Le Tohic's greeting because it was at a break in our tasting and at the end of our dinner. Yes, we were lucky Chef Robuchon was in The House!

At your service

Indeed, how lucky we are to live close to this destination- a short flight, maybe now-a-days, a 8 1/2 hour drive. (Gas prices have declined, somewhat.) Of course we would love to go to Paris for dinner. Las Vegas will do now. Yes. To savor the caviar & dungeness crab; langoustine & sea urchin; foie gras & duck breast, and kobe beef & vegatables; and the seabass dishes were absolutely divine.

Foie gras and duck breast

The futuristic desserts were sweet yet not too sweet, moist and tickled our tongues. When we looked at the mint chocolate cake dessert, the mint topping was green but a blue-green color. Where was the chocolate cake? It was under a thin white layer of meringue like sweetness. The chocolate cake was really really good. My wife had a passion fruit dessert and the fruit was settle between two fluffed sweet gel.

It was an experience to remember- service, food and atmosphere. Those who are treating, bring your wallets but don't worry. It is all worth it. Plus, one doesn't need to fork out for two airline tickets to Paris or to find those passports.

Cavier with dungeness crab

Seabass and broth

Langoustine and Sea urchin

Kobe beef & vegtables

Not cheese wiz, but the cheese cart whizzing by!

Dessert cart galore.

Mint chocolate cake dessert- Petite teton?

Americano at Hotel Vitale

The Americano offers Italian food. Chef Paul Arenstam got the mushroom pizza with fontina cheese and truffle oil right! The thin crust is crunchy, and the mushroom and truffle oil make a tasty combination. It's surely the taste of Autumn.

For the main dishes, my wife had the butternut squash ravioli. The texture of the the butternut squash was smooth and soft. The ravioli was fresh. The dish was sweet and savory.

I had the duck breast special that night. The breast slices were seared nicely, but I prefer the inside to be a bit more rare. It was served medium-well and I preferred it to be medium-rare. The serving portion was good- about eight slices. The potatoes were cooked just right topped with watercress. Next time, I will order the rib-eye because I know it's more flavorful and could get it medium-rare.

For dessert, the fried creme brulee caught our eye on the menu. It sound interesting and tasted interesting. Usually creme brulee is soft and jiggly in a ramekin, but the interesting characteristic of this dessert was that it was fried. The cream was firmer and drier. What makes the dish is the passion fruit-caramel sauce. It added sweetness to the otherwise flavorless cream. The portion had two triangular pieces.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was very nice. We chose a half bottle of 2005 Opus One. It's a wine collaboration of Mondavi and Rothchild. It had a nice aroma and dark ruby color. There were hints of blackberries and currant. There was a spicy finish. It really matched well with all our dishes. It was surprisingly smooth for an young Cab.

The service was a bit lacking, though our server was very friendly. It was hard to get his attention behind the see through curtain. The dining area can get loud from the patrons at the bar.

We would go back for the pizza if we were in the area.