L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the MGM at Vegas (10) 2X$$$$$$

Archived review 12/22/07

We chose this restaurant because it was rated #1 of all restaurants in Vegas for this year and boasts the “chef of the century”. I am always interested in tasting the best, and in Vegas there sure is a lot of it. This restaurant in particular stands out from all the others, The Mix, Fleur de Lys and all the others by its more casual atmospheres. Reminisant of sitting in mother’s kitchen, small parties of fewer than four sit at the counter while the cooks pass you dish after dish over the black marble top. The kitchen it open and all its mysteries laid bare. Its amazing how clean, organized and mesmerizing sitting at that counter can be.

On this occasion we elected the discovery menu, ten courses featuring the chiefs personal favorites. We started out with a pallet opener, L'AMUSE-BOUCHE. It was amazing you could actually taste the parmesan in the froth top!
Next we hadLA TOMATE: en gaspacho aux croûtons dorés Chilled gazpacho with croutons. It all sounded like it would be very exotic but really it tasted like breakfast. It tasted like a soft boiled egg with a little soy sauce; you basically have what has been the breakfast staple of china for hundreds of years. It did have a new twist on it though with little chopped mushrooms and croutons. It was some how it was green too.

Some thing new! I have never had LA LANGOUSTINE before. The French name didn’t really mean anything to me, so I asked what it was. The chief described it as a shell fish between a crawdad and a shrimp. And it in fact tastes very like raw chilled crab meat, very fresh, very sweet, cool and a little on the slimy side but delicious. I especially liked the sea salt and poppy seed dressing.

One dish we didn’t really like was the Halibut. It was a covered in a caper and vegetable salsa with a lemon thyme sauce, I normally love capers but this combination did not really agree with me. What’s more, I’m not really a fan of this particular fish, because of its gamey texture, indifferent flavor and white color. I didn’t eat more than three bites. My husband had even less. So we tried to skip this course. The chief found this particularly offensive and prepared us another fish dish. This one was much better, and more to my liking because it was a grouper and had a different kind of relish on top.

The Atmosphere gets a 10. I give it a super A++ for romantic atmosphere. Couples who are even a little low on conversation will find the night quietly relaxing and the counter seating becomes very conversationally stimulating.

For taste alone I will give L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon a 10. I can’t really be upset about the Halibut. And I think the chef thought me either very critical or ignorant. I’m not really sure which of the two I would prefer but I appreciate that he took the time to re-impress me.

According to their website, on average people spend about $$$$$$ per person, I believe the two of us managed 3x$$$$$ after the ten courses, and a glass of the champagne at the beginning.

Over all I really loved this place, its simplicity, beauty, sophisticated but not extravagant style. L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon reflects taste and class in everything from the décor, the champagne menu, the espresso and dessert at the end. It rates a 10 out of 10. But in the future I will just request something other than Halibut.

Some advice! Always make a reservation, no matter what it says about it being casual seating and not needing to make one, call anyway.

MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vega, NV 89109
702-891-7925

Ink, eats and drinks (8) $$

Ink is an edgy, modern and contemporary tavern style restaurant. Their ceilings and walls are decorated in classic tattoo motifs and the booth seating keeps it very comfortable and private. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner until 3 am generally and have a full bar. Their regular menu consists of four basic categories, small plates, salads, sandwiches, and large plates. I have only eaten from their small plates menu but I am pretty sure that their other selections are just as good.

On this occasion I had invited a large group of friends to dinner at eight for my husband’s birthday. I called in advance to make reservations for about twenty guests. I figured that I should make a reservation despite it being a Monday, and as it turned out, it was a very good move because Monday night at eight o’clock every table was full. We walked in with just four of us, intending to meet everyone as then came but we actually had to wait for another ten minutes until a table cleared. We then had a booth all to ourselves but were forced to wait another 30 minutes until the other side of the restaurant was empty so that we could move our large party over there. Luckily most of the party was unable to be there until later but I was still very peeved that I had to be kept waiting. I had courteously made a reservation for nothing, but at least I wasn’t the one who looked bad.

For atmosphere they receive a 9 out of 10, its creative, fun, edgy, and would appeal to all people of all ages. The music is upbeat and they have too flat screens to display Family Guy, Kings game high lights or Monday night football.

Prise wise Ink is an ok value. two people would be able to get out of there for under $40 assuming they didn't drink all that much, but for big parties its not that good a deal because they don't serve pitchers of anything. We got out of there for $173 for about 17 people and a few of them didn't eat.

The food gets a 10. I have never had better macaroni and cheese so late at night nor early in the morning. It really is the best, with the home made cheese, penne pasta, and bread crumb and parmesan crust on the top. They also serve decent sliders with caramelized onions, pretty good fries and the meatloaf sandwich looked really good. Also very popular is the shrimp quesadilla.

The service in this instance was a little lacking, just because they were not ready for us despite being warned ahead of time. But they were very quick to apologize and work with us after wards. The waitress came round the table often enough that glasses were rarely left empty and the bar man was very quick despite having so many orders to fill at once.
I am forced to give them a 5 out of 10 in the service category

Over all I would rate Ink a 8. Around 3 0’clock in the morning their food is really really good, but around lunch time its not as good as you thought it was the night before. It has a fun tavern like atmosphere without being dark and low feeling and it would be ok to have lunch there with friends and underage family. It does have that neighborly feel too it, I think a lot of locals are definite regulars but a little later at night and the place nearly empties out.

I would recommend it to anyone and everyone for somewhere to eat. Beats Lyonn’s and Denny’s any day.