Joel Robuchon: Can the best of D. C. compare?

[Joe H]

Last week my wife and I did our best to eat our way through Las Vegas during a week of trade show entertaining as well as private "indulgence." Lotus of Siam has long been thought of as the best Thai restaurant in the United States. A visit last Wednesday night confirmed this: there is nothing in the D. C. area that compares. Nothing in Southern California that compares either. Superb Penang sauce with any of a half dozen meats or seafood, outstanding crisp garlic shrimp and impossibly incendiary butterflied grilled shrimp with long shards of fresh green chili and a piquant vinegar dipping sauce. Without question the hottest dish I have ever had in my life. This includes slurping teaspoons of straight Tabasco sauce. Still, I put away almost a pound of the fresh green chilied shrimp feeling that any second I might stoke a fire on the top of the table with my breath!

"Animal fries" at In-n-Out (fresh potatoes topped with melted American cheese, minced grilled onion and "spread" ((i.e. Russian dressing)) ) were superb. But not as superb as what we had at Vleminckx in Amsterdam a month ago and reported on here which were topped with mayonnaise, curry sauce and minced fresh onion. The double double remains a worthy contender to Hell Burger and the In-n-Out several blocks off of the Strip is the highest grossing fast food restaurant (of all) in the U. S. Remarkable, that at 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon over 200 people were in it with four grills going, two stationed at each grill and a walled bank of french fry cookers adjacent with baskets of fries being emptied literally every thirty seconds. On Sunday afternoon we counted six taxis in the parking lot with passengers who had all come over from the Strip including two with luggage stacked in the front seat. In Vegas the time mechanism is $30 an hour. Still, they all considered as us, that In-n-Out was "worthy."

Did I mention that with the almost $10 million that this outpost does each year they still manage to serve fresh potatoes for their french fries? (Sorry, Michael.)

But the dinner of the trip was at the three Michelin star Joel Robuchon in the MGM Grand. I was at Robuchon in Paris in the '90's before he first "retired." This is not as good. Still, it is a remarkable effort that is unlike anything in the D. C. area for its style. There were individual carts for: bread, butter, cheese, dessert and petit fours. A cart was wheeled by for each. The butter cart was extraordinary: a server pushed it over and on top stood a tree trunk sized slab of butter almost a foot high and six to eight inches thick. The server bent over and scaled the side of it, slicing off a thick curl that he placed on each of our plates. Following this he sprinkled fleur de lys on top. All of this to compliment one or two of the 20+ different breads and rolls that another cart featured.

There were two Great dishes including possibly the single best dish I have tasted in years anywhere: "braised veal cheeks with Thai broth and vegetable couscous with broccoli" along with an intense, rich, delicate "chestnut velouté with foie gras and smoked lardons foam." We deeply wafted the rich broth of the veal cheeks, almost sucking them into our nostrils as no other food I've found in years. Layers and layers of flavor: all four of us, all sophisticated at this level almost overwhelmed at the extraordinarily complex being pulled off so well. I've not had a meat dish in the D. C. area-or Europe for that matter that was better than this. Perhaps none that was as good. Anywhere.

Still, there was weakness at Robuchon. For myself and several others at the table we didn't think it merited three stars. Despite the two incredible dishes and the showstopping presentation of the butter it was not on the level I found in Paris in the mid '90's. But it tried.

There is nowhere in D. C. that approaches its style. However, for what is on the plate I would suggest that Maestro in its last months came close. And, Enzo at his Chef's Table at Teatro Goldoni. Dishes at CityZen and Citronelle also were on or near this level. At least three or four dishes at Volt's Table 21 were almost as good, too. Komi has incredible lamb that approaches the succulent excellence of the veal cheeks. None of these have endless serving carts wheeling by the table with an army of servers to look over your shoulder. I should mention here that all of us thought that overall this "army" of servers was rather amateurish and lacked the kind of passion found with some at Volt and Komi or the professional excellence of several at Citronelle. In Vegas this was staff hired to be everpresent, not to be ever excellent.

Still, it was a remarkable dinner. A remarkable price, too. $195 for six courses plus a couple of amuse with a 16 course degustation that is the most expensive in America at $385. That's plus wine, tax and tip. We didn't do the degustation. We took the difference and spent a couple more nights in Vegas! In'n'Out and Lotus of Siam also allowed the cost of the meal.

Over the next month we are going to do our best to revisit some of our best experiences here to see how they measure against Robuchon. On Saturday of next week a group of us go to the ambitious Plume, a week later we visit Fabio at the Four Season in Manhattan and then, around Christmas, we'll revisit the new Chef's Table that Enzo has created at Teatro Goldoni.

Then, in January, Roberto reopens Galileo with his Lab following a month or so later.

Joel Robuchon is one of only a single handful of three Michelin starred restaurants in the U. S. I believe that there may be a number of dishes here that can compare (i.e. Enzo's egg shell and his cigar box). We don't expect the rolling carts but we also don't expect the cost of a vacation to be on our plate either. Rather, our hope is that D. C.'s best can hold its own against Michelin's idea of what is America's best.

I think there is a real chance.