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9.18.2011

what it's like at aureole.

Aureole was one of the Strip restaurants on my "can't believe I haven't eaten there" list until this week. That list is getting smaller all the time. I am lucky, but also fatter.


Years ago I wrote a column about wine with Aureole sommelier William Sherer. It was an educational experience, and the lesson learned was how fun it can be to indulge in the expert's recommendations and try new things. The wine program at Aureole is one of the best and biggest in the country, and so we were honored to dine there and let Sherer do his thing. The meal started with canapes: a crispy, creamy chicken croquette; a slab of horseradish-accented country pate on toast; a perfect, delicate fig tart; tuna tartare in a crisp pastry cylinder; and in the center of the tic-tac-toe-type plate, a chunk of spicy, earthy merguez sausage. We foolishly ordered cocktails and finished them with this opening dish.


Then, ricotta ravioli with smoked salmon, baby artichokes, sugar snap peas and lemon thyme, an entire universe of cheesy-smokey-sharp tastes, and a salad of rosso bruno tomatoes, burrata, radish, arugula pesto and walnut tuille. The salad looked like a painting and was a study in clean, fresh flavors. The kitchen did not allow us to rest with those as our first courses, firing away with Hudson Valley foie gras with rhubarb and strawberry sorbet, a perfect contrast of rich to tang, and an off-menu dish, seared scallop over a creamy risotto with great big shards of black truffle.


On to the mains: a blue cheese-crusted beef tenderloin with macaire potatoes, onion jam and asparagus, and roasted Mediterranean sea bass with fennel quinoa and romesco sauce. Sherer hyped that romesco up, and it paid off, thanks in part to his masterful pairing with Borgo Del Tiglio Collio Rosso, a rich red deep and wide enough to cover that sharp sauce and buttery fish. On the side, there was a decadent sweet corn succotash with a hint of bacon, and an even more indulgent spinach au gratin.


Dessert was never-ending. Pre-dessert was a charming selection of sorbets (pictured) augmented by Sherer's choice of Tintero Moscato d'Asti Sori Gramella, a brisk, sparkly, dry white. Actual dessert was creme brulee with two sublime macarons riding along, just for fun, and a trio of Meyer lemon creations: a classic tart, warm lemon pudding cake, and a creamy lemon-olive gelato. Then came a plate of warm-from-the-oven madeleines, which soaked up coffee. We were then placed in a cushiony wheelbarrow and toured through into Chef Vincent Pouessel's kitchen. He's a very friendly guy who has lasted much longer -- 8 years -- than so many great chefs in so many big money kitchens. Overall, it was one of the greatest meals of all time, made more meaningful in a restaurant that has been around long enough to lose some of the Vegas spotlight. But it really hasn't lost a thing; there's no falling off at Aureole.