Mike and I talked a lot about restaurants going into the wedding. What restaurant were we going to host the reception dinner at? Where were we going to have the rehearsal dinner? Where were our parents going to meet over dinner?
And so on.
However, the most discussion we had was over our “honeymoon.” Honeymoon dinner, that is. Some people go on a fancy vacation. We just spent money on a fancy dinner.
Knowing that we wouldn’t be in Las Vegas for some time, there was only one choice: Guy Savoy. And once we decided (it was one of the simplest eating decision we made the entire trip) we talked about it almost every night going up to the trip. Mike stalked the Guy Savoy website for weeks, waiting for the Spring menu to be released. We discussed the champagne we’d get, the cheeses from the cheese cart and what breads were best with what. It was nearing on obsession.
Luckily the dinner did not disappoint. I was coming off of nearly five days of barely eating. I just lost my appetite – I heard it’s common for brides. The day of our dinner at Guy Savoy things were returning, though. I had a mai tai by the pool and relaxed, preparing for our meal. We took a taxi over to Caesar’s from the Palazzo, and strolled into the restaurant.
We were welcomed back with open arms. We were given special amuse bouche courses (three in total), Franck Savoy (Guy’s son) came out to greet us. There was an extra dessert course. If our first visit to Guy Savoy was memorable, this one was unforgettable.
The spring menu was fabulous, and featured many special items especially good at this time of year: asparagus, morels, so on. We indulged in the cheese course, though we agreed we would forgo it on our next visit after two tours of it. We got the six course menu elegance.
Although initially I thought I might take a night off of photo taking for the blog, I couldn’t resist once the first large course came out. It was just so effing amazing.
Asparagus “raw cooked” with lauris sauce. Lauris is a mayonnaise, cream and paprika sauce. This dish is a Guy Savoy speciality. I think the most impressive thing was the serving style. The mandolined “trees” of asparagus were stunning. Here’s the recipe. We also got a bottle of champagne to start off the night right.
Squab and morels with a miniature savoy cabbage. Not to be mistaken for a brussel sprout.
Admittedly the dish looks…well, bland. Even after doctoring it a bit in Photoshop. But the flavours were rich and creamy and anything but bland. It just lacked visual charisma, I guess. Sort of like when the snow melts off from Edmonton, leaving that horrible dry brown dead grass, until the spring starts to appear in green grass and trees. Or atleast until the street cleaners appear.
Always the charmer. Back off ladies, he’s mine.
Ah yes, the cheese cart. My old friend who I had dreamt of many times.
Between Mike and I, I think we got one of each kind of cheese. The aged Edam was my personal favourite. The ancient goat cheese (below, at 12 o’clock) was especially intense.
We also got a soup course (the Savoy traditional: truffle artichoke) and a fish course.
Hmm. Some kind of sorbet; lychee? This was a freebie. They were very good about adding in extras that night.
And then dessert.
First, the coconut, six ways.
Coconut shavings on top. Coconut sorbet and granita. Coconut tapioca and julienned coconut meat. Coconut cream. It was best when you hit all the layers and experienced each one. And yes, you could taste each one.
Chocolate praline chicory cake. Super rich chocolate fondant cake with crispy praline layer and roasty coffee flavoured chicory cream on a dish that was made for this dessert.
ALMOST too rich to finish.
Then, the dessert cart.
I went with a trio of all white desserts, because I could. One of my favourite things was the lime marshmallow. Last time they had several kinds of mini macarons available. This visit, many kinds of mini marshmallows. On Mike’s recommendation I tried a macadamia sable, but even one tiny bite was too much for me, and I had to tap out. I was fuller than full. I had to rest in the lobby for some time before being able to get into a taxi.
I got some intensely red tea, an herbal blend. Because who the hell wants to stay up all night in Vegas?
(Seriously, why didn’t I get a latte? I bet they’re incredible.)
Mike poses with a friend in the Bubble Bar of Guy Savoy. He was made up of tiny little … styrofoam bubbles? Ball bearings? I don’t even know. He was pretty cool though.
So: three amuse bouches, four courses, five dessert courses and a dessert cart visit – it capped off a wonderful week. And more than made up for a week of not eating.
Read about the first visit to Guy Savoy here.
