ML - Vegas Magazine

2014 - Issue 3 - May/June 11th Anniversary

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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BELOW: Olivier Brouillet (LEFT) and Romain Thievin look right at home as the Frenchmen prepare to dine in Vegas's faux Eiffel Tower. TOP RIGHT: The restaurant's view of the fountains of Bellagio. BOTTOM RIGHT: Sautéed New York State foie gras with slow- braised pineapple and Alsace spice cake. LET'S MEET Where: Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Paris Las Vegas, 702-948-6937; parislasvegas.com When: Lunch, Monday–Friday; brunch, Saturday and Sunday; dinner, seven nights a week What: Rack of lamb, soufflé, venison Why: The view? The incredible food? Romance? So you'll always have Paris? Pick a reason. continued on page 92 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF GALE (THIEVIN AND BROUILLET, FOIE GRAS); COURTESY OF EIFFEL TOWER RESTAURANT (FOUNTAINS) I n Las Vegas, classica l civ ilizat ion is at our doorstep —from t he (fa ke) pyramids of Egypt to a (new) ancient Roman emperor's palace. But how does it compare with the actual Old World? To find out, Vegas invited a pair of Frenchmen to dine in our version of the Eiffel Tower. Romain Thievin is a professional racecar and stunt driver who lived in Paris before bringing his Exotics Racing experience to Las Vegas. Olivier Brouillet wa s bor n a nd ra ised in t he sout h of Fra nce before mov ing to ou r cit y, where he worked in some of Vegas's top French restaurants and eventu- ally opened the casual Baguette Cafe on the west side. Thievin has dined at Alain Ducasse's restaurant Le Jules Verne in Paris's Eiffel Tower, while Brouillet used to manage the front of the house at Jean Joho's Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Paris Las Vegas. The two shared a meal at this local institu- tion and discussed how the half-scale replica compares with its French counterpart, celebrating its 125th year this spring. A re people in Europe hor r i f ied by t he fac t t hat we've got a fa ke Paris? ROMAIN THIEVIN: No, but it's very similar, and it's better. Here is better? RT: It's better because it's easy and it's good for customers. In Paris, every- thing comes from [hundreds of years ago]. In Paris, everything's gone bad. People are very rude. The service is bad. That's why I think it's better here. Because they both have the same feeling, but you have better service, and people are really nice here compared to Paris. And you say that as a Parisian, you think Parisians are rude? RT: Oh, yeah. OLIVIER BROUILLET: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! RT: I appreciate here a lot because nobody judges anybody. You can come into Robuchon with just a shirt and maybe be the richest guy on the planet. But in Paris, the valet would say, "No, you can't come into my restaurant, sorry." The atmosphere and ambience is different here in Vegas. The pair enjoy menus custom-made by the chefs. Brouillet 's vegetarian menu Ersatz Eiffel IT SOUNDS BLASPHEMOUS, BUT FRENCH FOODIES OLIVIER BROUILLET AND ROMAIN THIEVIN SWEAR THE VEGAS VERSION OF PARIS IS BETTER. BY AL MANCINI 90 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM ON THE TOWN 090-092_V_ST_OTT_MAYJUNE_14.indd 90 4/21/14 1:49 PM

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