#3, or Everything is better on a fuzzy purple couch

On June 12, I accomplished #3 on my 40 by 40 list...the Menu Degustation at Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas.

From Wikipedia:

1. Degustation is a culinary term meaning a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods and focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Dégustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dishes in one sitting.

They used to call this a 16-course tasting menu...now it's technically 9 courses with 17 plates, plus a candy cart...so really, if you count the candy cart, the bread cart the amuse bouche, you're talking about 20 plates.

Eating all of that food was intimidating to me. Without going into detail, let's just say that I've tried many tasting menus and 9 plates is the furthest I've ever made it before needing to rearrange my stomach contents.

This time I was determined to make it the end, so I read up on competitive eater training regimens. I don't have all that much willpower, so although I didn't follow the eating plan to a T, I did eat a giant meal 24 hours before the dinner to stretch my stomach out. My friends all think I'm crazy, but that's how much this meant to me.

Spoiler alert! I successfully tried every plate (except the bread) and my stomach participated happily. It's worth noting that I also limited my beverage consumption during the meal to a single glass of champagne. This definitely helped.

Ok, so let me just mention that the place is gorgeous and it's purple and I want my dining room to look like that.

But you want to see the food, right?

The famed bread cart. I did not partake, but my companions all did and raved. There was bacon bread.

Amuse bouche - all I can tell you is that it's quinoa and red pepper sauce and tasted better than those things sound.

Le Caviar - that's king crab under there and a seafood gelee. 

1er Service - (clockwise from bottom left) L'Asperge Verte, green asparagus with coriander guacamole and medley of vegetables; La Tomate, tomato candies invigorated with lemon virgin olive oil; Le Homard, Maine lobster in a thinly sliced daikon with sweet and sour dressing.

2eme Service - On the right is L'Oeuf de Poule. This was served with a fancy smoker dome over the top of the egg..the perfect soft-boiled egg. On the left is La Cuisse de Grenouille - frog leg fritters. Seriously good.

3eme Service - (from top left) La Langoustine, truffled langoustine ravioli with simmered green cabbage; Le Petit Pois, green pea and almond velouté, scallion jam and fresh mint; L'Oursin, uni atop of fennel purée with potatoes and citrus jus

4eme Service - (from top left) Le Black Cod, carmelized black cod in Malabar pepper sauce with mini bok choy (You have never tasted cod like this! Amazing!); La Langouste, spiny lobster grilled with a green curry jus and fresh coriander; Le Foie Gras de Canard, seared foie gras with sweet and sour cherries and fresh almonds. (See how cute it is with the carrot through the foie gras? That's a tomato and a rosemary sprig!) This was my favorite savory course.

Le Plat "Tradition" - L'Epaule d'Agneau, braised and roasted shoulder of lamb with southern flavors. The lamb was impressive, yes, but those potatoes sitting over there are the famous Joel Robuchon potatoes. They are like heaven and velvet and air and love.

Finally, dessert! The one on the left was their substitution because I'm allergic to raspberries. It tasted a lot like grass...fancy grass. The middle is Le Citron, buttermilk cream and lemon sorbet - refreshing and light and delicious. And on the right is the tiniest ode to strawberries and rhubarb. Also delicious.

This was my favorite! Just look at it! Every plate appeared to be custom for the course, but how precious is this?! It's a flower box! But it's really Le Chocolat Illanka! Imagine a log of chocolate mousse with jasmine cream, pomegranate gelee and edible flowers. It was almost too cute to eat, but eat it, I did.

And finally, Escortes de mignardies...or candy cart for the less civilized. 40+ tiny delicacies that they make in-house. They tell you what everything is and then you must choose. They cut me off at four. I'd never had a coconut eclair before. The whole thing was just as over-the-top as it should be. 

And believe it or not, we were all conscious and able to walk out of there, with our gift bag of lemon pound cake and souvenir menus. How great is that?!

If I eventually compile a top 5 list of things I'm so grateful I put on the 40 by 40 list, this will be on it. It was amazing. Not just the food, but the experience...the everything. I am smitten. Thank you, Joel Robuchon.