Steve
09-18-2005, 02:11 PM
Famed chef's first Vegas venture offers his classic dishes.
By Ken White
Acclaimed French chef Alain Ducasse's first Las Vegas outpost features French and American cuisine, Ducasse's classic dishes and a view of the Strip and surrounding valley.
Designed by Patrick Jouin, Mix in Las Vegas, atop The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, features floor-to-ceiling windows that show off the Las Vegas Strip 400 feet below.
There's also a large lounge area, operated by China Grill-Las Vegas, with an outdoor patio.
A glassed-in chef's table sits opposite the restaurant's open kitchen.
Suspended above the main dining room is a 24-foot chandelier of 15,000 hand-blown glass spheres ranging from 4 inches to 20 inches in diameter, custom made in Murano, Italy.
The dining room floor features lace, which looks like snowflakes, over mirrors.
Above the dining room, a small section with four tables can be reached by curving stairs.
Ducasse, who keeps close tabs on the restaurant, brought in Bruno Davaillon, formerly of Beau Coup in San Francisco, as executive chef. Desserts are made by Gregory Gourreau under the supervision of Ducasse's corporate pastry chef Nicolas Berger.
Davaillon says the restaurant's shrimp cocktail is a big seller. "It has all the ingredients of a classic shrimp cocktail but prepared differently," he says. "We try to balance the classics with more nonclassic dishes. All the items are selling evenly, which surprised me."
This is Davaillon's first experience working with Ducasse. "He knows what he wants and he gives you the tools to be successful, which really helps," Davaillon says.
The centerpiece of the Mix menu features classic dishes from Ducasse's restaurants in Paris and Monte Carlo (listed here under "Extras").
On either side of the center menu are contemporary and classic French and American dishes created by Ducasse specifically for the Las Vegas restaurant.
Seating 240, Mix is open for dinner from 6 to 11 p.m. daily. The lounge opens at 5 p.m.
Reservations are accepted (632-9500).
• Starters: Lobster salad, avocado, tomato confit and caviar cream ($26); duck foie gras and date-apricot chutney ($26); shrimp cocktail, horseradish and spicy tomato syrup ($22); bluefin tuna tartare, melba toast and Riviera condiment ($20); Tuscan artisanal pasta, shellfish and basil ($26); Thai beef salad, mango and green papaya ($20); seafood youm koumg hot and spicy soup ($22); and kampachi carpaccio and yuzu olive oil dressing ($26).
• Entrees: Seared diver scallops, vegetable nem and lemon marmalade ($32); Atlantic cod, capers and lemon ($30); lacquered Dover sole, baby leeks and sesame seeds ($46); sauteed salmon, osetra caviar, endive and sea urchin emulsion ($42); and spot prawn-crusted halibut and cream of lettuce ($36).
Bison tenderloin, "sauce au poivre" and a mix of vegetables ($48); Colorado rack of lamb, caramelized ribs and potato boulangere ($42); farm-raised pork en cocotte with creamy grits, barbecue sauce and corn bread ($29); duck breast "dolce forte" and glazed black mission figs ($37); and fricassee of guinea hen, preserved citrus and couscous ($32).
• Extras: From the restaurants of Alain Ducasse in Paris and Monte Carlo:
Appetizers -- Tender potato gnocchi, porcini and enoki mushrooms, asparagus and black truffle shavings ($27); pressed chicken, black truffle and foie gras and crunchy artichoke salad ($28); and winter fruits and vegetables and pork belly ($18).
Entrees -- Roasted Maine lobster "au curry" and coconut basmati rice ($54); striped bass, spinach, white mushroom and champagne reduction ($32); beef tenderloin rossini, potato galette and black truffle sauce ($55).
Desserts -- Exotic contemporary vacherin; chocolate sorbet with coffee granite, cappuccino cream and traditional hot chocolate; and Baba au rhum, Monte Carlo style ($11 each).
• Desserts: Black and white chocolate pizza; litchi, raspberries and rose "coupe"; apple layered composition; Black Forest tart and chocolate crumble; Napoleon with maple syrup and macadamia; Mix candy bar, a dacquoise covered with praline paste and a layer of caramel, glazed in chocolate glacage and decorated with hazelnuts, almond slivers and gold leaf and served with lemon sorbet; and home-made ice cream, sorbet selection ($10 each).
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Mar-09-Wed-2005/living/25989256.html
By Ken White
Acclaimed French chef Alain Ducasse's first Las Vegas outpost features French and American cuisine, Ducasse's classic dishes and a view of the Strip and surrounding valley.
Designed by Patrick Jouin, Mix in Las Vegas, atop The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, features floor-to-ceiling windows that show off the Las Vegas Strip 400 feet below.
There's also a large lounge area, operated by China Grill-Las Vegas, with an outdoor patio.
A glassed-in chef's table sits opposite the restaurant's open kitchen.
Suspended above the main dining room is a 24-foot chandelier of 15,000 hand-blown glass spheres ranging from 4 inches to 20 inches in diameter, custom made in Murano, Italy.
The dining room floor features lace, which looks like snowflakes, over mirrors.
Above the dining room, a small section with four tables can be reached by curving stairs.
Ducasse, who keeps close tabs on the restaurant, brought in Bruno Davaillon, formerly of Beau Coup in San Francisco, as executive chef. Desserts are made by Gregory Gourreau under the supervision of Ducasse's corporate pastry chef Nicolas Berger.
Davaillon says the restaurant's shrimp cocktail is a big seller. "It has all the ingredients of a classic shrimp cocktail but prepared differently," he says. "We try to balance the classics with more nonclassic dishes. All the items are selling evenly, which surprised me."
This is Davaillon's first experience working with Ducasse. "He knows what he wants and he gives you the tools to be successful, which really helps," Davaillon says.
The centerpiece of the Mix menu features classic dishes from Ducasse's restaurants in Paris and Monte Carlo (listed here under "Extras").
On either side of the center menu are contemporary and classic French and American dishes created by Ducasse specifically for the Las Vegas restaurant.
Seating 240, Mix is open for dinner from 6 to 11 p.m. daily. The lounge opens at 5 p.m.
Reservations are accepted (632-9500).
• Starters: Lobster salad, avocado, tomato confit and caviar cream ($26); duck foie gras and date-apricot chutney ($26); shrimp cocktail, horseradish and spicy tomato syrup ($22); bluefin tuna tartare, melba toast and Riviera condiment ($20); Tuscan artisanal pasta, shellfish and basil ($26); Thai beef salad, mango and green papaya ($20); seafood youm koumg hot and spicy soup ($22); and kampachi carpaccio and yuzu olive oil dressing ($26).
• Entrees: Seared diver scallops, vegetable nem and lemon marmalade ($32); Atlantic cod, capers and lemon ($30); lacquered Dover sole, baby leeks and sesame seeds ($46); sauteed salmon, osetra caviar, endive and sea urchin emulsion ($42); and spot prawn-crusted halibut and cream of lettuce ($36).
Bison tenderloin, "sauce au poivre" and a mix of vegetables ($48); Colorado rack of lamb, caramelized ribs and potato boulangere ($42); farm-raised pork en cocotte with creamy grits, barbecue sauce and corn bread ($29); duck breast "dolce forte" and glazed black mission figs ($37); and fricassee of guinea hen, preserved citrus and couscous ($32).
• Extras: From the restaurants of Alain Ducasse in Paris and Monte Carlo:
Appetizers -- Tender potato gnocchi, porcini and enoki mushrooms, asparagus and black truffle shavings ($27); pressed chicken, black truffle and foie gras and crunchy artichoke salad ($28); and winter fruits and vegetables and pork belly ($18).
Entrees -- Roasted Maine lobster "au curry" and coconut basmati rice ($54); striped bass, spinach, white mushroom and champagne reduction ($32); beef tenderloin rossini, potato galette and black truffle sauce ($55).
Desserts -- Exotic contemporary vacherin; chocolate sorbet with coffee granite, cappuccino cream and traditional hot chocolate; and Baba au rhum, Monte Carlo style ($11 each).
• Desserts: Black and white chocolate pizza; litchi, raspberries and rose "coupe"; apple layered composition; Black Forest tart and chocolate crumble; Napoleon with maple syrup and macadamia; Mix candy bar, a dacquoise covered with praline paste and a layer of caramel, glazed in chocolate glacage and decorated with hazelnuts, almond slivers and gold leaf and served with lemon sorbet; and home-made ice cream, sorbet selection ($10 each).
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Mar-09-Wed-2005/living/25989256.html