Caviar still a rich diversion

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2000 | 8:49 a.m.

Caviar, or fish roe, is one of the most expensive foods in the world. A well- known French food expert once quipped that "it could be sold by the karat."

The best caviar comes from Black Sea or Caspian Sea sturgeon. The various classifications, Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga, to name three, refer to the size and genus of the sturgeon. Salmon roe, ikura at any Japanese sushi bar, is also a kind of caviar, as are the black eggs from the lumpfish.

But the caviar from the sturgeon alone is the one truly prized by serious gourmets.

Here are a few places in Las Vegas where you can eat in, or take out, this rare and precious cargo:

Caviarteria

Forum Shops at Caesars

This company is based in Long Island, N.Y., and has locations in New York, Florida and California. All these caviars are from the Black Sea, from Russian wholesalers. The Las Vegas Caviarteria is a narrow room with dark blue banquettes and rust colored walls. The restaurant has a second story as well, used as a cigar lounge and also for private parties.

The caviar here is sweet, nutty and fresh-tasting. When you dine in, it is most often served in one ounce portions. The setup is ingenious. Caviar remains in the small tin it was originally packed in, but the tin has been placed in a blue glass vessel, surrounded by crushed ice.

Blinis, toast points, pike roe, creme fraiche and wedges of lemon are served on the side. Prices range from $58 for one ounce of Sevruga, to $135 for an ounce of Ultra, a rare, large grained Beluga caviar.

If you want to order caviar to go, you'll get your caviar in an aluminum foil bag containing a special ice pack, which is then put in a larger insulated bag and finally in a shopping bag, all three emblazoned with the company logo. Tins are sold in many different sizes, from one ounce all the way up to original tin, size, a whopping 1.8 kilos, or somewhere around four pounds.

Just to give you an idea about price, for that special someone's Christmas stocking, that 1.8-kilo tin of Beluga prime is yours for $6,150. If a more modest portion suits your budget, then one ounce of Sevruga to go is $54.

Open Sunday-Thursday, noon-11 p.m., Friday-Saturday, noon-12 p.m..

Petrossian Caviar

Bellagio, Neiman Marcus

This famous brand of caviar can be eaten in at the restaurant/lounge of the same name in the Bellagio, or purchased to go at Neiman Marcus at 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

What could be a more elegant setting in which to eat caviar than directly in view of Dale Chihuly's shatteringly pretty glass sculpture in Bellagio's main lobby. Petrossian Lounge faces this sculpture, unless you opt for a quieter table in the lounge's interior. Either way, you are usually within proximity to the lounge's ever changing retinue of cocktail pianists.

Petrossian is the world's largest importer of Russian caviar to the U.S., to France, Canada and several other countries. The choices here are Beluga, 30 grams (slightly more than one ounce) $95, Oscetra, another large grained caviar (and note that the spelling of this caviar never seems to be the same in any two companies), 30 grams, $65, the nutty, medium grained Sevruga, 30 grams, $50, and Tzar Imperial Oscietra, 30 grams, $100.

The setup here is also quite elegant. The caviar comes in a container in the middle of a sterling silver tray, along with condiments like a thick creme fraiche, finely minced red onions, chives, chopped egg yolks and chopped egg whites.

As in Caviarteria, there is a mother-of-pearl spoon with which to eat your caviar, as it is said that metal reacts to the caviar, altering the flavor.

Tzar Imperial Beluga is a caviar with big, firm, eggs that have a unique black and jade tint. Sevruga has persistent saltiness, a dull sheen and a nutlike taste.

To buy Petrossian, head for Neiman's, and it's well-stocked, second-floor Epicure shop. There you can choose from a full line of Petrossian caviars shipped in from Paris; the Tzar Imperial at 30 grams for $95, Oscietra, 30 grams, $60 dollars, and even salmon roe, 30 grams, $8. Everything is well packed in ice. And as you can see, there is a consistent markup of around $5 per ounce when the caviars are consumed in restaurants.

The Epicure shop also sells a variety of accessories for home caviar service. A silver-plated caviar server is $85, a round, individually sized mother-of-pearl server is $50, and a large mother-of-pearl server, which is crowned by a sterling silver butterfly, is $125.

Lounge hours are 12.p.m.-12 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 12 p.m. 1 a.m. Friday-Sunday. Store hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.

Village Meat and Wine

5026 S. Eastern Ave. 736-7575.

Store hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.

This charming little gourmet food shop is best known for its prime steaks and homemade sausages, but Tim and Chemaine Jensen, the couple that owns it, always keep a selection of caviar on hand, as well as a variety of products to serve the caviar with.

This caviar comes from a New York importer called Marky's, and it is all shipped in directly from the Caspian Sea. The prices here are lower; one ounce of Beluga is $61, and one ounce of Osetra is $49, with both two and four ounce containers sold at prices exactly double, and quadruple, the one ounce price.

The couple also sells Altadena Creme Fraiche, eight ounces, $2.29, one dozen blinis, shrink wrapped and either fresh or frozen, $10.98, and many types of truffle oils, in different size bottles.

One more place to eat caviar is at Beluga Bar, in the Desert Passage mall, open from 11 a.m.-midnight on weekdays, and until 2 a.m. on weekends. The caviar again comes from the Caspian, via Miami, and to buy it to go, the company also has a commissary located at 2965 Industrial Rd. Call 247-8711 for hours and prices.