5 Diamond Award Winner: Joël Robuchon Restaurant at MGM Grand

Michelin Star Rated Restaurants of Las Vegas*
Restaurant
Hotel / Casino
Michelin Stars
MGM Grand
***
Wynn
**
Caesars Palace
**
Bellagio
**
Palms
*
Mandalay Bay
*
Caesars Palace
*
Wynn
*
Trump
*
MGM Grand
*
Bellagio
*
Bellagio
*
Mandalay Bay
*
Hard Rock
*
Wynn
*
Palazzo
*

Click on the Restaurant Name for a Detailed Review

*Michelin 2009 Guide

American Chefs both Welcome and Dread The Michelin Guide

When you walk into any high end restaurant in Las Vegas, inevitably you’ll be confronted by the laundry list of awards  or letters of recognition for that restaurant. However, just like in Hollywood where there are a myriad of awards: The Golden Globes; Peoples Choice Awards; The Academy Awards, there is only one award that actors and directors, et al really covet. The same is true for restaurant chefs, and that award are the Stars from the Michelin Guide.

Eric Ripert the chef and co-owner of the three-star Michelin rated Le Bernardin in Manhattan discusses the buzz among top chefs in New York prior to the arrival of the Michelin Guide:

I remember sometimes chefs here, especially the French ones, and even the American ones, we were a bit frustrated that we will never be judged by Michelin. But at the same time we were a little bit, like, more relaxed because obviously the Michelin puts pressure on chefs and restaurateurs to be excellent.

The French are Deadly Serious about Michelin Stars

The French anticipate the arrival each year of the new Michelin guide the way Americans anticipate the Superbowl. Which chefs gained a star and which have lost a star. Some analysts reckon that the loss of  single star can cause a restaurant to lose 25% of its business, on the other hand restaurants can see large gains on the addition of a star, chef Bernard Loiseau saw a 60% gain in business when he first earned his third star. The gain for the chef is more than monetary, the chef’s status changes from mere cook to something akin to an American Rockstar.  Loiseau’s fame rose to such a level in France that a poll in L’Hotellerie showed that nearly nine out of ten Frenchmen recognized Loiseau by sight. So one can appreciate the devastating loss it is to a French chef to lose a star.Bernard Loiseau once told a fellow chef that if he ever lost a Michelin star, he would kill himself.

An article appeared in Le Figaro in early 2003 stating that Bernard Loiseau was on thin ice with Michelin, and was at risk of losing one or more of his stars. In February 2003 he was told he would keep his three stars in the next guidebook, although he was warned that he was in danger of losing a star in future editions. Another article appeared stating that Loiseau’s third star was living on borrowed time. Two weeks later Bernard Loiseau committed suicide. He had suffered from depression, and had some financial problems, but there were still lingering thoughts that fear of losing a Michelin star in the future may have contributed to his untimely demise. (A more detailed account of Bernard Loiseau’s story can be found in this 2003 article in The New Yorker ) There are other cases of chef suicides connected to Michelin, French chef Alain Zick committed suicide in 1966 after losing a Michelin star.

The Michelin Guide was started as a way to increase the use of Michelin Tires

The Michelin guide books, which date back to the beginning of the last century, originated as away to encourage people to take extended road trips, on Michelin tires. The star rating system first appeared in the 1933 edition of the guidebook. Michelin defines the stars as follows:

  1. *     = A very good restaurant in its class
  2. **   = Excellent cooking, worth a detour
  3. *** = Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

What really separates the Michelin guide from other guides, particularly the popular Zagat guide is the level of training the Michelin inspectors are given. Zagat, of course, doesn’t have professional reviewers, but relies on an army of amateur reviewers. Not only are Michelin reviewers professionally trained, they go to great lengths to remain anonymous to the restaurants they are reviewing. Most city paper restaurant critics fail the test of remaining anonymous.

Lunch with a Michelin Inspector

This past Autumn 2009, Michelin allowed a writer from the New Yorker to meet and have lunch with one of their inspectors at Jean Georges a Michelin three star restaurant, considered one of the best, if not the best, restaurant in New York City. (Jean Georges Vongerichten has Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio and Jean Georges Steakhouse at Aria)    Lunch With M : Undercover with a Michelin Inspector

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The woman took a seat at one of the tables in the center of the room. She wore a light-blue dress with a high neckline, little makeup, and no jewelry. There was nothing remarkable about her appearance, and her demeanor was quiet and unassuming, as if designed to deflect attention, a trait indispensable for her profession as an inspector for the Michelin hotel and restaurant guide.

A degree in cooking or hotel management is mandatory for all Michelin inspectors. All American inspectors go through a rigorous first round of interviews and restaurant inspections with a European inspector overseeing their progress. If the prospective inspector passes this initial phase  they are flown to France for more intensive training. The third phase involves additional training in another European country. If the inspector passes this phase they return to the United States for a three to six month apprenticeship, during which, at any point they can be told, “It’s not working out, goodbye”

One funny side note in the article is when the inspector asked the waiter a question about a menu item and after the waiter answered, leaned into  John Colapinto the New Yorker writer and said:

Inspectors love it when they ask a question and can tell the waiter has made up an answer.

At  the end of the meal the inspector states that she thought the meal was excellent, to which Colapinto asks what she liked about the meal. Her response is telling:

It’s not really a “like’ and a ‘not like’ It’s an analysis. You’re eating it and you’re looking for the quality of the products. At this level, they have to be top quailty. You’re looking at  ‘Was every single element prepared exactly perfectly, technically correct?’ And then you’re looking at creativity. Did it work? Did the balance of ingredients work? Was there good texture? Did everything come together? Did something overpower something else? Did something not work with something else? Everything was perfect.”

You begin to see why a Michelin three star rating is so difficult to garner. The only Vegas restaurant to achieve a Michelin three star rating is Joel Robuchon’s restaurant at the MGM Grand.

Bobby Flay first Vegas Chef to Lose a Michelin Star

Joel Robuchon's Michelin Stars

Joel Robuchon's Michelin Stars

In the short few years since Michelin has been rating restaurants in Las Vegas, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill has both earned a Michelin star and lost his star. Mesa Grill currently does not have a Michelin star, and he will have to wait at least until 2011 to earn anther star, as Michelin is not updating their 2009 book for 2010.
Bellagio Dining/ Picasso AAA Five Diamond Award
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Franco Dragone is the creative director of the first two Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, Mystere and “O”, and thus the man largely responsible for the dramatic change in the entertainment landscape that has occurred over the last twenty years. Of course, as with any significant change in Las Vegas over the last twenty years, Steve Wynn played a pivotal role in this transformation, as he was the man that brought Franco Dragone to Las Vegas to produce both shows.

Franco Dragone is Cirque du Soleil’s Original Vegas Creative Director

Franco Dragone is a most unlikely person to have ended up as a major player in Vegas entertainment. Dragone was born  in Cairano, Italy in 1952 and moved to Belgium at age seven. He studied acting at the Belgian Royal Conservatory and was drawn to commedia dell’arte, his early work had a strong political bent. In the early 1980s Dragone was working in Canada, and his work attracted the attention of Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque du Soleil, in Montreal. Dragone was soon directing Cirque shows that were attracting attention far beyond Montreal. Part of Dragone’s innovation was combining featured acts like acrobats with themed peripheral performers. As Chris Jones states in his article Frank Dragone At The Limits Of Las Vegas

(Dragone) has a knack for making an audience feel that something important is taking place before their eyes

Steve Wynn Invites Franco Dragone to Las Vegas

Perhaps having this knack was part of the reason Steve Wynn invited Dragone to Las Vegas to create Mystere, which opened at Treasure Island in 1993, and is still playing to a full house twice daily five days a week. Wynn’s initial reaction to Dragone’s creation was less than enthusiastic, he  called it “boring like a German Opera”. Mystere is the purest expression of a Cirque du Soleil show, the staging is minimalist compared to future Vegas productions, and there is no plot line or dialogue to distract from the spectacle.

Mystere is a Big Success in Las Vegas

The success of Mystere led to a second, and far more expensive collaboration between Wynn and Dragone, when Wynn built a custom $80 million theatre to house Dragone’s next Cirque du Soleil show, “O”. The water-themed show utilizes an elaborate stage that can be transformed from a pool deep enough for high divers to a faux sand beach, and everything in between. “O”, like Mystere, is a show with no plot line or dialogue, but as Chris Jones says in his essay:

Dragone had figured out a way to burrow into the psyche of a broad spectrum of the general public. Audiences may not feel like they understand the whole thing, but they tend to understand with unusual ease that this is also a piece designed to work on their collective subconscious.

Whether referring to Carl Jung’s collective unconscious or some other unprovable theory, there is something about Cirque du Soleil shows that begs this type of discourse, and of course leads directly to The Great Latke-Hamantash Debate. The Great Debate is a spoof  of academic symposium where obtuse theories and sesquipedalian  speakers are the norm.  (The debate is held once a year at the University of Chicago, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.) As enjoyable as Cirque shows are, they have a slightly pretentious after-taste.

The Great Debate featuring Ted Cohen, Philosophy Professor and member of the Committee on Art and Design at U of Chicago is particularly germane. (The audio of the Debate is available here)

it is—is predicated upon this prior conception. Most modern art is like this: you must know in advance what the artist thought he was doing if you are to make sense of his art.

I’m sure there are countless “Mystere” and “O” audience members that have thought as they walked out of the show, the only way I can make sense of this show is if Franco Dragone sat down next to me and explained to me what he thought he was doing! Even if you ignore the inherent problems of a show devoid of plot, the individual  acts lack any real  Ah ha moments. Many of the acts, if not most, offer spectacular feats of acrobatic and gymnastic skill and are thrilling to watch, like a great fireworks display. However, like a great fireworks display, where one spectacular rocket burst just leads to another, no enduring connection is made with the audience.

Mummenschanz versus Cirque du Soleil

Mummenschanz, is another show that relies on non-verbal communication to thrill the audience, and is filled with Ah ha moments. The audience is forced to stay intellectually engaged  to get the full impact of the show, Cirque du Soleil allows for a much more passive audience experience.

After Mystere and “O” Franco Dragone and Cirque du Soleil amicably parted ways. Dragone stayed in Vegas and sprinkled his magic dust on Celine Dion’s elaborately staged show at Caesars Palace. Working with Celine Dion’s catalog of mostly non-narrative songs presented a real challenge to Dragone.

Obviously,  I could not interpret the songs literally. If I did, the show would have been ” I love you, I love you, I love you. I had to find the metaphors behind them.

There can be little doubt that some of the huge success of Celine Dion’s show was attributable to Dragone’s creative choreography. As a matter of fact Franco Dragone and Cirque du Soleil have become the dominant entertainment form in Las Vegas, even Vegas magicians feel the need to add a little, or a lot, of the magic dust to their shows. Magician Criss Angel, of Mindfreak fame,  added substantial Cirque du Soleil elements to his show at Luxor. Twenty years ago a Beatles tribute show would have been four guys and perhaps an large screen projector, is now Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE at the Mirage. A forthcoming Elvis production is en route at CityCenter. Neither of these shows have Franco Dragone’s direct involvement, although I’m sure his influence is still felt.

Franco Dragone and Steve Wynn Join Forces Again with Le Reve

Franco Dragone’s final project, at least for now, is Le Reve: A Small Collection of Imperfect Dreams at Wynn. Le Reve is another water show, like “O”, with the added complication that it is performed theater in the round, where no audience member is more than forty feet from the stage. Unlike “O” the show has a darker tone. As Chris Jones states in his essay:

Long-time admirers of the director can’t help but wonder if Dragone has finally met his limits in Vegas. His new creative darkness, perhaps, is testing the artistic boundaries of a casino show aimed at satisfying a mass market of vacationers.

The most interesting quote in Chris Jones essay is by Franco Dragone himself, “I can’t do gibberish any more, now, everyone does gibberish” What is one to make of that?

Franco Dragone Has Forever Changed the Las Vegas Entertainment Landscape

There is no doubt that Franco Dragone and Cirque du Soleil have forever changed the entertainment landscape in Las Vegas, not only by the shows they have running on the Strip, but also by other shows that might have never been given a chance if not for Cirques huge success. I doubt Blue Man Group would be in Vegas without Cirque or perhaps Penn & Teller, two shows with a non-traditional Vegas appeal. I’m still waiting for Mummenschanz to join the Vegas entertainment lineup.


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