Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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" Every chef in the nation and internationally is represented in Las Vegas." DANIEL BOULUD RIGHT: Boulud and Executive Chef David Middleton. BELOW: Boulud's chilled carrot soup with lime and caraway. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SABIN ORR (MIDDLETON); SETH OLENICK (SOUP) DB Burger, the braised short rib and foie gras – stuffed masterpiece served at his NYC outpost DB Bistro. So far, no sign of that burger in Vegas. The DB Brasserie menu takes some unexpected twists and turns, like Thai cala- mari and Tunisian lamb with merguez sausage, as well as the all-American seafood classics: Maine lobster and Dungeness crab. The innovative wine list, put together by Dinex Group wine director Daniel Johnnes, aka the dean of American sommeliers, is international in scope but has a decidedly American accent, with a generous selection of wines from California, divided into three categories: Pioneers, "the first to prove the quality of American terroir," according to the menu; Classics, including such second-generation names as Kistler, Newton, and Ramey; and New Frontier, showcasing younger wineries inspired by old-world counterparts. Those who wish to wash down their coq au vin with a more traditional quaff will find plenty of French classics from Alsace, the Loire, and the R hône. Boulud himself is partial to the wines of the southern Rhône, the region that has traditionally slaked the thirst of nearby Lyon. As we were finishing up our meal, Boulud's very pregnant and radiant wife, Katherine, arrived and eased herself into the seat beside Daniel's. "Next week, I hope," she replied in answer to the obvious question. And indeed, a few minutes before midnight on May 4, just four days before the grand opening of his second Vegas restaurant, Katherine gave birth to their first son. I predict a bright future for both. DB Brasserie, Venetian, 702-430-1235; dbbrasserie.com, venetianlasvegas.com V arrival in the States, he has also absorbed American inf luences and devel- oped a special fondness for American ingredients, putting peekytoe crab, black sea bass, and other local foodstuffs on the culinary map. Indeed, his menu was among the first in the country to reference the sources of his ing redient s, be it Sa int Ca nut Fa r m suck ling pig or La ncaster Count y guinea hen breast. I was amazed when he recounted, not long after we met, a recent trip to an island in Maine to visit the crab pickers responsible for his peekytoe crab. "We don't have the appellation contrôlée system in America, but it's important to showcase your ingredients and to show that your chicken is a special one from a particular place," he tells me. The new Vegas spot, like the French brasseries that spawned it, strikes a bal- ance between culinary ambition and Gallic comfort food. "I wanted to do a classic Parisian brasserie—halfway between a restaurant and a bistro," Boulud says. With its white tablecloths and ambitious wine list, DB Brasserie takes its inspiration from the grand Parisian iterations of the tradi- tion, the kinds of places where you expect to eat well without having to whisper rever- entially about the food. His last Vegas venture, the much-loved, Michelin-starred DB Brasserie at Wynn, shuttered in 2010, and Boulud has had his plate full, so to speak, with openings in Toronto and Singapore and New York in the years since. "I definitely got quite busy in the time since we left Wynn, and I didn't think I would go back. But this opportunity was exciting. Every chef in the nation and internationally is represented in Las Vegas, and I really enjoy the time that I spend there." The new place, he says, is "a little more authentic, a little more urban, a little more Saint-Germain." D esigned by Jeffrey Beers International, DB Brasserie is situated just off the casino f loor of Venetian. The bar area, with its f loor of hexagonal tiles and its marble tables, seems like the place to nosh on some pâté de campagne or oysters and to throw back a cocktail or two, while the main dining room's wide board f loors, dark tufted leather banquettes, and white tablecloths seem an appropriate setting for a seri- ous meal. The restaurant's focal point is a large faux skylight reminiscent of those in classic Beaux Arts train stations. Not sur pr isingly, t he menu, presided over by Execut ive Chef Dav id Middleton, includes French bistro classics like French onion soup, crispy duck confit, and steak frites. But the three different burger selections give an American spin to the menu, although Boulud dubs one of them, served with Morbier cheese and pork belly, the Frenchie. Dedicated foodies will remember that Boulud started the gourmet burger craze in 2005 with the continued from page 64 66 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM BACK IN TOWN