A tale of two Daniel Boulud cities
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Karen Hamilton
July 26, 2009
How often does one get the chance to try the cuisine of a celebrated chef in two different cities in North America?
I imagine that it doesn’t happen often – not unless, like me, you happen to live in one of them and your husband is in love with the glamour of the other.
Here’s our take on the two Daniel Boulud outfits in our hometown of Vancouver and our weekend getaway of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Daniel Boulud Brasserie (Las Vegas)
It was our first night in Sin City and my first day ever in this town of gambling and glitz when we strolled into the plush Wynn for our 6pm seating at DB Brasserie.
The ostentatious luxury that the Wynn oozed was certainly present in this restaurant. We were ushered to a patio table that overlooked a vast pond and an even more expansive waterfall, where we were told by our server, Paco, was the site of a light show and froggy song-and-dance as the evening waned. Puzzled by this description, we shrugged and looked at the menu.
Prices were sky high as to be expected of this town and of a restaurant of this reputation. My husband decided on the 3-course prix fixe. It was affordable at under $40 USD, but the quantities sounded enormous. I opted for 1 dish: a duo of beef containing Boulud’s signature slow-braised short ribs. That alone exceeded Kurt’s order by nearly $10, but I could at least expect to minimize food waste.
I should have just ordered a soup, because the kitchen adorned us with amuses and petit fours anyhow. However, I am incredibly glad that I had ordered the duo, because the short ribs were unbelievably spectacular. Worth every penny that we paid; I only wish it hadn’t been paired with a tenderloin. While clearly of good quality, it was so overwhelmed by the goodness of the short ribs that it somehow detracted from the discovery.
By the time dessert came round, the American portions had gotten to both of us, and Kurt declined the dessert that came with his meal. Paco, perhaps concerned that we weren’t enjoying our food, may have had something to do with the kitchen finding out about Kurt’s 30th birthday and sent him a molten ganache cake with a special message written on the plate. They threw something in for me since I was just sitting there…and then came the petit fours!
Combined with the show on the pond, meeting Chef, and the tremendous customer service of Paco and the rest of the front of the house, we had ourselves a good time indeed.
DB Bistro Moderne (Vancouver)
It was with this extreme experience in our short-term memory that we found ourselves at the Daniel Boulud restaurant in Kitsilano less than 3 weeks later, this time to celebrate our 3-year wedding anniversary in style. [Hmm - that's a lot of 3's.]
Incredibly, DB Bistro held up to its glamourous Vegas counterpart. No crazy hotel or giant pond frog with the voice of Louis Armstrong, but each dish exuded the same quality of taste that we first had in Nevada.
Each dish was again sized for American tastes: much too large for the smaller, multi-course portioning we are accustomed to in the West Coast. For the second time, Kurt declined the dessert that came with his prix fixe menu. For the second time, our server conveyed to the kitchen that we were celebrating our anniversary, adding also that we had homemade pie waiting for us at home.
You’d think that it would cause the kitchen to take a hint and simply send us off with a small plate of petit fours… instead, they chose the lightest of their desserts, wrote “Happy Anniversary” on the plate, and watched as we ate every last bite and thanked them for their thoughtfulness.
One thing’s for sure – if you are in a Daniel Boulud city and you celebrate a special occasion with them, make sure they know of it, because they’ll treat you like royalty.
Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Food, Kitsilano, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Travel, USA
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