Dinner at Bouchon's
#11
  Re: (...)
I posted this 'review' in a culinary forum that I'm a part of and thot maybe some of you would enjoy our experience also - but, please excuse some of the personal references, I'm just copying what I wrote -
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WOW!!!!

O.K., notes in hand, here goes! First note is - "truck parked in 6C" - big darn parking garage at the Venetian...

The restaurant is gorgeous and then we started -

Had a look at the menu and our tag team servers told us of the 'specials' (that doesn't seem to go with the place)

When we had what we thot we wanted to order, we had the sommelier come over to see if we could match one bottle of wine with all the goodies - and what a wonderful choice he made for us. (June and bbally, I'll list the wine first 'cause that's probably what you two will scroll down to see!)

Domaine La Milliere 2003 Vieilles Vignes
Cotes du Rhone
Cuvee Unique

My first first was when they brot out the 'in house' made rolls with a small bowl of butter, of course, but also a bowl of pistachios...I'd not seen that before, but a great combination!

Next we were surprised with an amuse-bouche - a small pastry 'thimble' filled with really sweet crabmeat and topped with a crispy tarragon leaf. What a delightful combination.

Hors d' oeuvre(s) - Confit de Canard (confit with riz rouge-red rice- and sweet peas shoots)

Roy's Plats Principaux - Gigot d'Agneau
Roasted leg of lamb with garlic braised Swiss chard, rosemary roasted sweet carrots and lamb jus (jus - to die for!!)

O.K, now here I have to digress a tad. For years my father-in-law promised to prepare sweetbreads for me, but for some reason the years passed by and he never did and I've never tried them and then he was gone.

When the server mentioned Sweet Breads was a special of the evening, I thot well, if I'm ever going to try them, Bouchon's is the place!!

They were out of this world and I'm just now realizing I could have been eating these for 30 years if....

The Sweetbreads were served with Hen of the Woods mushrooms, spring onions, thyme all placed on a very subtle vanilla infused white sauce. the 'breads' were lightly floured and sautéed quickly for a wonderful crispy outside and creamy inside. (I just know my f-i-l was looking down, thrilled that I was finally having his favorite!)

We chose to have Fromage with honeycomb to end the meal - we selected three from six offerings
St. Maure de Touraine (goat cheese)
Fourme d'Ambert (cows milk)
P'Tit Basque (sheeps milk)
and of course the honycomb served in an apple ring.

I suppose talking of money is bad form, but!! We went in expecting to spend at a minimum of $200 - but with the $50.00 bottle of wine, the total came to $148.00!! Can you believe that? (Hell, we could have ordered the Terrine de Foie Gras de Canard at $45.00/for 5 oz!!)

Speaking of the wine, this bottle saw us thru the entire meal and was wonderful with every flavor!!!

Evidently the 'house' pays attention to the requests of customers to the maitre d'. The sommelier began by saying he understood I was a semi-retired chef and they were delighted to have us with them.

Towards the end of our meal, one of the servers came over and said whenever we were ready, the pastry chef was waiting to give us a tour of the kitchen. (many of you know me well enuf by now to now how incredibly excited I was at that!!!)

We were taken back to the kitchen and met Pastry Chef Chris Heron (I'm not sure of the spelling here and at this moment, I can't find his darn card - will come back and correct). What a delightful young man and talented chef he is. He showed us the entire kitchen and we met everyone (no, not Chef Keller) at each of the stations. I spied a sauté pan of sweetbreads on the stove and headed over and the cook took me through exactly how he was preparing them - is that wonderful?? And, he seemed so pleased at how much we enjoyed them. The line cooks told me I could join them in cooking anytime I was in town...oh my!

And that friends, was my dinner at Bouchon's.
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Earlier in the day, I was lucky enuf to present a $1,000. scholarship check to a budding chef studying at the Le Cordon Bleu!! What a fun experience that was. The culinary school I went to had a tiny little add-on kitchen that was the epitome of miserly - but we did learn our craft there. But, oh to go to one of those schools - what a dream!!

That was my day - and what a day it was!! Now, I'm back on earth being semi-retired and living in a trailer....
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#12
  Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by cjs (I posted this 'revie...)
Wow! What an amazing experience that must've been! Thank you so much for sharing...I love it!
Tammy
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#13
  Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by cjs (I posted this 'revie...)
What an incredible experience!!! the dinner sounds wonderful as well---well, maybe except for the sweetbreads

Continue your journey with such enthusiasm--we should all be soooo fortunate------- SOMEDAY!!!
"Never eat more than you can lift" Miss Piggy
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#14
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by Roxanne 21 (What an incredible e...)
Oh Jean, what a wonderful day that sounds. I am so glad your anticipation of the Event was so well answered by the experience thereof. I don't think is at all non u to speak of pricings. It is part of the whole experience. And I want to know the personal snippets, they are like the crispy bits of a roasted potato!
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#15
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by Roxanne 21 (What an incredible e...)
Ha! Ha I say! You lucky devil you...wish I had been with you. Sounds like you had a wonderful time, I'm so glad you did!
Don't wait too long to tell someone you love them.

Billy
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#16
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by TwilightKitten (Wow! What an amazing...)
Wow cj, that sounds like you had a perfectly perfect day. Thank you so much for sharing, I really enjoyed reading it.
So, what exactly are sweetbreads?
Glad your trip is going so wonderfully well.
Cynthia
Cis
Empress for Life
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#17
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by farnfam (Wow cj, that sounds ...)
O.K., are you ready for this?? "sweetbreads?" these are the thymus glands of young animals - pork, beef, lamb or veal - I think mine was veal, so very tender.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#18
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by cjs (O.K., are you ready ...)
Thymus seems fairly benign to me. Involved with lymphatic and immune systems. We do, after all, eat insects, (prawns, crayfish) albeit from the sea, I don't fancy stir fried cockroaches. At all. But Huhu bugs, found in rotting wood and forest places are good Kai here. Never had them myself. They apparently taste like peanut butter. Yes, well... Spiders are popular in some cultures, and if the Huntsman I saw in the loo of an Austalian hospital is an example, I could have cut steaks off it. However, the notion is/was unattractive. If the thymus is cooked crispy on the outside, and creamy in the middle, it may be almost, sort of, like a pate. No doubt Jean will clarify my thinking as she is able. It may be a bit like liver, we eat (or at least I do) chicken liver pate, and F.G. We eat hen embryos, strips of flesh carved from a pigs belly, sausies made from who knows what, Maybe mountain oysters, hearts, sweetbreads, One of them may be their secret ingredient. Pure Pork, (with pork thymus, port heart, pork....)
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#19
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by vannin (Thymus seems fairly ...)
"If the thymus is cooked crispy on the outside, and creamy in the middle, it may be almost, sort of, like a pate."

Exactly how mine was prepared - scrumptious!
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#20
  Re: Re: Dinner at Bouchon's by cjs ("If the thymus is co...)
Bringing this to the top - more for me to read again and remember.....

It was so fun!
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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