After lunching at Lotus of Siam, The Astronomer and I explored two new additions to the Las Vegas strip—the City Center and the Aria Resort and Casino. It seems to me that Vegas developers will not sleep until every casino has its own Gucci outlet and Wolfgang Puck eatery. What a yawn. After walking nearly the entire length of The Strip, The Astronomer and I were due for an energizing snack. We stopped by Bouchon Bakery located inside The Venetian for a quick pre-dinner bite.
While I’ve eaten at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry and Ad Hoc, this was my first time visiting his Parisian boulangerie-inspired bakery. Tucked beside the theater and steps away from the casino floor, Bouchon Bakery’s atmosphere was decidedly uninspiring. The air smelled of cigarette smoke mingled with air conditioning, and not a trace of the aroma of freshly baked pastries could be detected. Considering the resources available at a casino like this, the bakery felt more like an ordinary snack bar than a temple of baked goods. On an upbeat note, I really dug The Phantom of the Opera tunes piping out of the speakers. I bet they don’t have that in Yountville!
Since it was Halloween weekend, quite a few of the treats were dressed up in holiday garb. I picked out a pumpkin-shaped TKO—Thomas Keller Oreo ($3.25). According to the bakery’s website, Oreo cookies are one of Thomas Keller’s favorite snacks. His upscale version employs a chocolate sable cookie dough and a white chocolate ganache filling.
The Keller-fied Oreo was a total knock out. The cookie’s texture was spot on, while the cream was appealingly smooth. A slight touch of salt kept the Oreo’s sweetness in check. If there’s one thing that Thomas Keller is known for, “it’s all about finesse.”
To supplement the Oreo, The Astronomer and I shared a red velvet cupcake ($3.50). It was one-and-a-half times the size of regular cupcake, but somehow, we managed to polish off the entire thing. While I was prepared for an in-your-face punch of sugar, the cupcake was surprisingly well-balanced, even with a tunnel of cream cheese frosting running down the center. Bravo!
So, while Bouchon Bakery’s ambiance didn’t do much for me, its cookies and cupcakes more than made up for it. Ah, the magic of Vegas.
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Bouchon Bakery at The Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone: 702-414-6200
I saw a cupcake funnel last time at bed bath and beyond and it made me reconsider my sliced-layer-cake-over-cupcake-any day way of life 🙂
any plans on going to the pop up bakery??
Mmmmm I’ve always wanted to try the Bouchon bakery! Good to know about them being in LA in December, cuz I’ll be back (in terminator voice).
Helen – I think I’m going to let the pop up pass me by this go-round! Still recovering from Eat My Blog and holiday cookies 🙂 However, my gal The Food Librarian checked it out and thought it was great!
Oh dear. I might have to stop by the pop up for a TK oreo when I go get my eggnog cupcake from Sprinkles next week… I can’t resist anything with finesse and salt!
I haven’t had Bouchon’s sweets but I’ve gone crazy and bought like $100 worth of their breakfast baked good.
they look teeny
Sarah – It must be photography trickery because the sweets were more than amply sized.
This is perfect. I am planning a quick weekend trip to Vegas next month. Now I can just follow all your eats like I did for my Seattle trip 😉