Daniel Boulud's DB Brasserie at Venetian was easily one of the best new restaurants to arrive in Las Vegas last year, and if you're wise you've been back as often as possible to sample Boulud's food as interpreted by executive chef David Middleton. But if you haven't revisited DB, the time is now.
The restaurant is celebrating its first anniversary with the special Le Grande Burger, an Angus beef patty decorated with braised short rib, foie gras, confit tomato petals, frisée and horseradish dijonnaise on a fresh parmesan-oregano bun. Through the rest of May, it's served with fries and a glass of Veuve Clicquot for $50. Is this extravagant lunch (and dinner) package worth the dough? After one bite of the burger, I'd say so. Boulud's legendary DB burger helped inspire the gourmet burger craze that's been sweeping the Strip for years, and Le Grande is very similar to that original creation. (A key difference: the foie gras is on top of the patty instead of stuffed inside.)
Fresh herb-crusted halibut with zucchini and summer squash and sauce vierge.
Middleton has been teasing us with the possibility of bringing that infamous DB burger to Las Vegas but it hasn't happened yet. As good as it is, to focus on this special anniversary burger would be a crime if it means missing out on the new, permanent additions to his menu. Steak tartare ($18) is a recent arrival and an exceptional version of this classic dish, made with Brandt Farms beef. The new pasta is spring pea spaghetti ($23), a bright and brilliant combination of sugar snap peas, mushrooms, prosciutto and a blast of citrus. For something heartier, a New York strip steak ($45) is sparked with chimichurri sauce, though I love the thick Pont Neuf potatoes almost as much as the robust beef.
A couple new seafood dishes steal the show, however, starting with tender halibut ($40) with a beautiful green herb crust and then big, sweet, seared sea scallops ($32) with braised leeks and mushroom sabayon. Tie it all together with the irresistible chocolate Framboise ($14) with Bailey's-infused chocolate mousse and dark chocolate cake plus raspberry gelato and maybe you'll understand why I've been back to DB Brasserie as often as possible to stay on top of the constant evolution of this inventive menu. Follow my lead.
DB Brasserie Venetian, 702-430-1235. Daily, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
