It was the last of five days in Las Vegas for work. I probably had consumed about 50,000 extra calories at this point and was quite honestly reaching my max on heavy food items. But, come on, I was on an expense budget and in the city of sin, why think about being healthy now? Why not have one last fantastic meal??? No worries, I followed my stomach and not my head and went for it.

Because of my obsession with Bravo’s popular hit, TopChef, I was well aware that one of the world’s most renown chef’s, Thomas Keller, had a restaurant in Las Vegas. Since being a vegetarian and French food don’t usually go hand in hand, the only meal it really works for is breakfast. And that is exactly what I reserved as my last meal in Vegas before departing.

Bouchon at The Venetian, Las Vegas

My very close friend Anuja moved to Las Vegas a few years back and she was so awesome to take a half day off work to hang out with me before I headed to the airport. How perfect to have breakfast with a great friend at a highly respected restaurant? She came and met me at the Wynn (where I was staying) and we headed over to The Venetian to check out Bouchon Bistro.

Some of my co-workers who had already departed went to the quick cafe version of the restaurant and mentioned that the pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) were to die for. Hello, no brainer!!!!

After Anuja and I reviewed the menu, we found what was the perfect option for us to split (since we kind of wanted to try a bunch of things rather than get our own meal). The Breakfast Américaine (two eggs any syle served with bacon, country sausage, pommes frites & toasted brioche served with your choice of a breakfast pastry, fresh juice & Bouchon blend coffee) looked ideal. Now obviously we asked to switch out the bacon and country sausage and our waiter was happy to accommodate our request. We were able to get the creamed spinach and a side of fruit instead. And do I really need to spell out what we chose as our breakfast pastry???

Chocolate Croissant at Bouchon

Let’s start with the chocolate croissant. This divine creation took me back to the streets of Paris. It was a perfectly flaky croissant that was slightly crisp on the oustide and soft and buttery on the inside. The chocolate in the center was so flavorful and slightly melty so that it was a part of each bite. It really could not have been more amazing or indulgent. I was trying to savor each bite and not just inhale it in three bites. “Trying” is the operative word in that sentence.

I have to admit I was actually blown away by the rest of the breakfast. I didn’t really have any expectations, since my one-track mind was focused on the croissant. But everything from the freshly squeezed orange juice to the tasty, creamy spinach to the amazing rosemary potatoes with grilled onions were fantastic. Even the scrambled eggs were light and fluffy and something that just can’t ever be replicated at home (I’m not much of an egg person, but why can you never recreate eggs the way they do in restaurants?) The brioche toast was even really good and better than just your average toast you get anywhere else.

Breakfast Américaine at Bouchon

While we were both in awe of how magnificent this breakfast turned out to be, we were also wondering how one person could put all that food away on their own?? We just split that breakfast and were stuffed!!!!! It really was the most ideal breakfast because we got to try many of the amazing items Thomas Keller created. Also, I was highly impressed with the service. They really had great attention to detail and I just loved the ambience of the restaurant. I really did feel like I was at a true French bistro back in France. It is probably a good thing that Bouchon is far away from me because I could see going out of my way to get those croissants….