And so, pampered and refreshed, I made my way to Caesar's Palace. The Forum Shops and Casino at Caesar's are very lively and boisterous, but the restaurant is located far away from the noise and bustle. It reminded me a bit of Per Se in that regard- you walk through this great throng of people, only to end up in a hushed space at the top of the stairs, with massive doors, leading into a beautiful, modern space, with a beautiful, cozy bar at the front and giant floor-t0-ceiling windows at the front of the dining room. I was seated facing the windows, with a view of a giant billboard of a showgirl's ass at Bally's across the strip right in front of me. Viva Las Vegas, indeed.
Upon sitting down I was presented with the Champagne service (I ordered a glass of rose) and two amuses bouches which I did not manage to photograph: a "French club sandwich", two small disks of black truffle foie gras terrine sandwiched between four slices of pain de campagne, presented on a silver skewer, and a scrumptious and perfectly cooked tiny little hamburger, also served "a la stick". I chose a glass of rose from the bucket of six by-the-glass champagnes (two MV's, two roses, one vintage and one tete de cuvee).
I received a copy of the wine list, which rather resembled one of Moses' tablets, and came with its very own little table:
Then the service started in earnest, with a third amuse, a parsnip soup over a salpicon of raw root vegetables, served in a precious little dish which provided a little platform for a pile of piment espelette: 
and also concealed a "suprise":
Regretfully, I don't remember what the little sandwich was- some sort of rillette, I think, which did vaguely remind me of tuna fish salad, in a good way.
The first course of the meal was "Oysters in Ice Gelee":
Oysters buried in a gelee made from their juice, and stirred with a fork to resemble crushed ice, with a creamy oyster custard underneath, and garnished with a little carrot "flower". The oysters were presented on a bed of beautiful seaweeds.
Then came the bread service, which was really lovely:
The bread waiter offered to give me bread pairings with my tasting menu, which I thought was rather silly, but fun, so what the heck.
This is the "Colors of Caviar": Caviar vinaigrette at the bottom, then a caviar cream, caviar, haricot vert puree, and all topped tableside with caviar sabayon. Paired with seaweed bread, naturally. I enjoy caviar, but I can find it a bit overwhelming, so I braced myself a bit for this dish. Unnecessarily, as it turned out. This dish is a real triumph, in that the flavor of the caviar is potent and intense, but supported so well by all of the other flavors that it is at no point "too much". The haricot vert puree was, I thought, an especially masterful touch- the slight grassy flavor was the perfect accent to the rich briny caviar. This was also a ton of food, which you wouldn't really guess at first glance. Very filling.
At this point, I ordered a half bottle of the 04 E.Guigal Condrieu, which was a lovely and aromatic accompaniment to the dishes to come.
Next up was the sea bass. It was served in a creamy fumet nage with baby leeks and black trumpet mushroom, with "delicate spices"- black and white pepper, coriander, and, um, some other stuff. But the real revelation here was that the fish was cooked with the SCALES ON!
I have never heard of such a thing. The fish is seared at a very high temperature, which crisps the skin and the scales, and makes them edible. Now, from the perspective of a cook, this is fascinating- something new under the sun. But as a diner, I'm not entirely convinced. Truthfully, I just didn't like the feeling of the scales in my mouth. They had a kind of potato-chip crispiness, which had a certain appeal, but they were also a little sharp and...icky. I wonder if this would be more successful with a fish with smaller scales, like branzino or something.
This is the artichoke and black truffle soup with parmesan, accompanied by a wild mushroom brioche.
This is one of the restaurant's signature dishes. It had a great viscosity (white veal stock?), and a very pure artichoke flavor, but I didn't find it transcendent- merely very good. The mushroom "brioche" was really much more like a croissant (trust me-not a criticism), and was completely addictive. The truffle butter didn't hurt. I was served a glass of Volnay with this course, which accentuated the earthiness of the dish, and whose bright fruitiness was in turn highlited by the soup.
Roasted foie gras with chestnuts, chestnut praline, and chestnut bread tuile, in a cardamom-scented duck jus. Naturally this course was accompanied by chestnut bread.
This was the best course of the night for me- so rich, savory, and delicious.
At this point in a very serious meal, it was a real treat to enjoy a little humor:
The beautiful roasted veal ribeye, which must have weighed at least two pounds, was presented tableside before carving- unfortunately I didn't capture a photo. This is the plated dish, with a side of truffled pomme puree:
And then, the piece de resistance:
My selections: a piece of the lovely herb-coated goat cheese above, an ashed goat, and a 6 year old gouda, which had practically transformed into a nugget of the most delicious caramel.
I cannot tell you how badly I want one of these carts for my apartment. Oh, heaven.
Dessert amuse:
And the lovely dessert- "Citrus", which used Earl Grey tea poured over dry ice to provide a little visual and olfactory excitement:
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