French Toast Bread Pudding

So, I was just sitting around, with some extra time on my hands (not much doing, this weekend, you understand); and I thought to myself, “Self, you should be gettin’ blog-y wit’ it!”  And since I knew a lot of folks were visiting from out-of-town, this week, I knew just what to talk about.

There’s nothing quite like a great brunch.  And when you’ve got one that puts its own spin on what is already great, it has the potential for fabulousness.  Such is the situation at Wynn Las Vegas with the Cookin’ with Jazz Brunch, Sundays at Wynn Country Club.

Bloody Mary

The dozen years Chef Carlos Guía spent working as Executive Chef for that revered New Orleans’ restaurant dynasty, the Brennans –  first at Palace Café, then Red Room, followed by the exalted Commander’s Palace, then the Las Vegas outpost of Commander’s – are evident in the flavors he bestows upon his fare.

Upon taking his leave from Commander’s Palace, Chef Guía joining Louis Osteen as Partner/Executive Chef of Louis’ Fish Camp at Town Square and Louis’ Las Vegas, after which he spent a year as Chef de Cuisine at SW Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas.  Then, when Chef Rene Lenger opened Switch at Encore, Guía donned the toque at the home of Las Vegas’ most glamorous power-lunch spot, Wynn Country Club.

Carving Station

With a view like none-other on The Strip, the vistas from Wynn Country Club provide a spectacular back drop for the restaurant, lounge and patio in the luxurious natural hues of the Tom Fazio-designed golf course; lush, verdant greenery including 6,000 trees, as well as abundant water features culminating in a dramatic 37-foot high waterfall on the 18th Green.  Talk about building the fantasy!

Meanwhile, before you even make it two-thirds of the way down the hall toward the Country Club, the delicious smells of the Haute Creole cooking have wafted to you, and (much like the Millennium Falcon, caught in the Death Star’s tractor-beam) you are engulfed in something to which you much submit.  Simultaneously, the Dixieland stylings of the David Poe Mojo Band are urging you to dive into the filé gumbo.

Breakfast Potato Hash with Lagniappe

As you sip on your Bloody Mary, you are asked if you’d like to peruse the menu – which you find rather confounding, as the buffet you’ve just passed was like heaven in chafing dishes.  Of course, we ordered a few things from the menu (for purely scientific purposes, you understand), and they were awesome.  Jacob got a Grilled Beef Hot Dog, while I ordered the French Toast Bread Pudding with Vermont Maple Syrup, Berries, Candied Pecans, and Applewood-smoked Bacon.  I also ordered a side of the Breakfast Potato Hash, and since I was already well-past the point of no return cholesterol-wise, asked the server to ask the kitchen if they wouldn’t mind adding some garlic and melting some cheese on top (which he assured me wouldn’t be any problem).

Grilled Beef Hot Dog

Around this time, I decided to peruse the buffet.  Oh, the smell was intoxicating, but I took my time, and just soaked it all in (otherwise I would have been full before my entrée had even arrived).

Back at the table, once more, the food was just, in fact arriving, and it was terrific.  The Beef Hot Dog that Jake had ordered was served Grilled with Sauerkraut, Onions, and House-Made Spicy Pepper Relish.  My French Toast was sinfully good, the Bacon was firm, and the Breakfast Potato Hash was crispy and  seasoned.

Creole Spice-rubbed Jumbo Shrimp

Really, though – it was all about the buffet.  I started with a cup of zesty New Orleans Gumbo with Shrimp, Crayfish and Andouille Sausage; just your basic bowl of hot and spicy goodness.  It cleared my sinuses and my pores simultaneously.  I think my eyelashes were sweating, too; but I didn’t care.  I just love a great gumbo.

I grabbed some Shrimp Cocktail and Red King Crab Legs off of the Shellfish Station, then made my way to the first carving station, where I partook of some Smoked Salmon and some Orange-Tarragon Gravlax (both of which were yummy, but I was holding back for my next trip).

My Buffet Plate

While Jacob (like most buffet amateurs) got sidetracked by such items as the Salumi Display, Grilled Vegetables, and Seasonal Fruit, I made a beeline to the main carving station.  I asked the chef for his finest cuts of Beef Tenderloin, Chile-rubbed Turkey Breast, and Brown Sugar-brined Pork Chops, as well as a slab of House-smoked Andouille Sausage and a couple links of Grilled Chicken and Herb Sausage.  I also skewered a few Creole Spice-rubbed Jumbo Shrimp upon which I drizzled a bit of New Orleans Rémoulade Sauce, and grabbed a dollop of Creamy Horseradish on my way back to the table.  As good as these sound, and as gorgeous as they look, they taste even better.

Dessert Station

By the time we were finished, I was sated.  Of course, I’d forgotten one aspect of any meal in the Big Easy…  Dessert.  Oy!  Chocolate Éclairs and Tartes aux Fruits and pieces of Opera Cake and Le Rêve Chocolate Bars (a house specialty), and perhaps the most incredible brunch desert I’ve ever tasted, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Macaroon!  I don’t know how best to describe this obscenely delicious pastry except to tell you to imagine a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup as a moist cookie/pastry on a stick.

Dessert Assortment

Meanwhile, as we were on our first round of desert, the David Poe Mojo Band went on a little parade, through the lounge and the restaurant, playing such Dixieland anthems as “Iko Iko” and “Earth Angel” as well as a medley of “When The Saints Go Marching In” and “Frosty the Snowman” – all with the jolliest of pomp and circumstance.  To paraphrase Hank Williams, Jr., the whole thing just made me want to grab “my ma cher amio… and be gay-oh.”

So, if you’re looking for a truly gourmet brunch with a soupcon of Bayou flair, then the Cookin’ with Jazz Brunch at Wynn Country Club is where you need to be, on Sundays.

Cookin’ with Jazz Brunch
Sundays from 10am – 2pm
Wynn Country Club at Wynn Las Vegas
VIEW BRUNCH MENU

 Get into it!