Dinner at Technique in Las Vegas was extraordinary.
You never heard of the place? No wonder. It's way off the Strip, and the name is brand new.
Called Café Bleu until recently, Technique is the restaurant attached to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. It's a classroom where students spend their final six weeks, half the time in the kitchen, the other half working on table service, wines and beverages.
Anyone can eat there. I wound up in Technique because I took a food tour to Thailand.
Also on that trip was Heinz Lauer, Le Cordon Bleu's culinary program chairman and executive chef. That made Technique the first stop when the tour group held a reunion in Las Vegas.
We didn't eat Thai food, although Cordon Bleu students do learn the techniques of Thai cookery.
Instead, we sampled luxurious things such as duck confit with apple and pear tarte tatin and an apple-honey reduction (below).
Chef de Cuisine Carlos Fernandez talked up the caprese salad, dressed with a basil oil and balsamic reduction, which was as good as he said, judging by the remarks I heard.
No surprise that the entrees included chicken cordon bleu, but the top choice that night was seared diver scallops with sweet potato risotto, a red wine reduction and Parmesan foam (below).
Le Cordon Bleu makes sure its students keep up with trends such as flavored foams.
I sat in on a foam-making lesson there in January. The procedure is not delicate and touchy but simple--as long as you have lecithin on hand to stabilize the bubbles.
Technique's menu changes but not frequently, because it's a teaching tool and has to be consistent.
Other fall entrees are sauteed fresh salmon with a winter vegetable melange in tomato saffron broth; grilled beef tenderloin with chive mashed potatoes, asparagus, crisp fried onions and a creamy peppercorn sauce (above), and a grilled herb-marinated lamb chop with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, asparagus and Dijon herb sauce.
My group didn't explore the wine list because Chef Heinz brought out his own red blend, made with a group of friends and labeled with their names. Deeply colored and off dry, the wine earned good marks.
Desserts were set out randomly. I was lucky to get a chocolate lava cake with a molten center.
Others were Madagascar vanilla crème brûlée topped with a crisp, lacy tuile, and assorted berries with Grand Marnier sabayon.
Prices are low for such stylish food, and it's only fitting to tip well. Gratuities don't go into the servers' pockets but into Le Cordon Bleu's scholarship fund.
Technique is open Tuesday through Friday, except for holidays and school breaks. Lunch is noon to 1:30 p.m., dinner 6 to 7:30 p.m. Call (702) 851-5322 for reservations. Le Cordon Bleu is located at 1451 Center Crossing Road, Las Vegas, NV 89144. The main phone is (702) 365-7690.
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