When you head over to Aria to try out the new lunch menu at Bardot Brasserie—and you will, because your impeccable taste and executive chef Joshua Smith’s precise cooking have already made you a fan of Bardot’s dinner and weekend brunch offerings—you’ll be tempted to order the more casual dishes. I’m talking about a burger layered with comté cheese and garlic aioli ($24), decadent onion soup gratinée ($18) or a French dip-cheesesteak hybrid made with prime rib, mimolette fondue and creamy horseradish ($23). Are they delicious? Of course. But you’re lunching in a pretty place with foie gras parfait, steak tartare and escargot. On the lunch menu. Let’s elevate a bit.
On the lighter side, there’s a lobster-laden take on a Niçoise salad, a chopped veggie creation with radicchio and wild arugula ($26). The Caesar incorporates Belgian endive, sweet king crab meat and caper aioli ($24). Moving on up, there’s a double decker Croque Madame ($21), that wondrous duck confit-topped Hunter’s Waffle from brunch ($24) and a perfectly grilled Mediterranean sea bass with a lovely smoked tomato vinaigrette ($28).
You can group up many of these dishes with Bardot’s “power lunch” option ($37), but be sure to kick out the extra four bucks for dessert, where the obvious choice is a baby vanilla mille fuille that begs for a little coffee to finish things off. Now you’re lunching right.
BARDOT BRASSERIE Aria, 702-590-8610. Lunch, Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
