Friday, July 28, 2000 | 9:07 a.m.
Muriel Stevens' dining column appears Fridays. Her shopping column appears Wednesdays. Reach her at [email protected] or 259-4080.
Will success spoil our much ballyhooed Thai restaurant Lotus of Siam? I've enjoyed many fine meals there, but ever since Lotus was discovered by Gourmet magazine the restaurant has been swamped.
This mom-and-pop operation is ill-prepared to handle a full dining room. The rush at dinner means service is terrible -- the wait for food at a recent meal was more than 90 minutes. Instead of the usual glow my friends and I normally have after dining here, we were grumpy and out of sorts.
Lotus is a modest neighborhood eatery with a very small staff. The husband-and-wife owners work as a team. Bill Chutima covers the front of the house; Ding does the cooking. The kind of Thai cooking done here is demanding. With little expert help in the kitchen the burden falls on the owners. When it's as busy as it has recently been, Bill assists in the kitchen, but that means he can't oversee the front of the house. Overwhelmed by the demand, it's frustrating for the diners and the owners.
Until the dinner problems are solved I'll just do lunch. The full menu is available along with the popular buffet. Lunch hours are 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
More grumping: Johnathan Gold, who wrote the Las Vegas dining story in Gourmet that featured Lotus of Siam, doesn't like Las Vegas very much. He shows utter disdain for our city from his elitist opening paragraphs to his ridiculous dismissal of Renoir at the Mirage as having what he calls "soulless food." He never mentions Renoir or its award-winning chef, Alex Stratta, by name. A reference to a line of Renoirs on the walls is as inaccurate as his comments -- only a few of the paintings are Renoirs. He never says why he thought the food was "soulless." Certainly he ate there. On what did he base his appraisal?
Lotus and Piero Selvaggio's excellent Valentino at the Venetian did win his approval. Both restaurants, like Gold, have their roots in Los Angeles. Renoir is a Las Vegas original. Must be a message there. Legitimate restaurant criticism is always acceptable. An uninformed food critic wielding a blunt hatchet is not.
Charlie Palmer headin' west: Heeding the timeless words of Horace Greeley to "Go west, young man," Charlie Palmer, founder of the Aureole restaurants in New York and Las Vegas and the first Charlie Palmer Steak at the Four Seasons, will move with his family to Sonoma, Calif., in a couple of years.
Meanwhile on his sizable Sonoma property he is building a boutique hotel, Hotel Healdsdburg, Dry Creek, a restaurant, and soon, the Palmer home. Construction is expected to be completed in June.
When the move is complete the peripatetic restaurateur will reverse his schedule, spending most of his time on the West coast and making periodic visits to New York.
Of course, this means we'll be seeing more of the affable Charlie in Las Vegas. Palmer has been in town this week, checking out his restaurants. Today he is taping an appearance on Bill Boggs' "Corner Table" on the Food Network.
More Aureole: Now that Aureole has changed to serving prix fixe dinners in the main dining room as well as in the Swan Court, the a la carte menu in the Wine Tower bar and lounge has been expanded.
In addition to appetizers and salads, a number of main courses have been added. Lobster and prawn bouillabaisse, open-faced ravioli with grilled vegetables, steamed halibut, and filet mignon roasted pork saltimbocca are among the choices.
Prix fixe dinners in the Swan Court are $75; in the dining room, $55. A lavish tasting menu is $95. There is a dress code in the dining rooms, but it's not unreasonable: jackets preferred for men; casual attire acceptable. Not acceptable are tank tops, T-shirts or jeans.
Dine at Aureole daily, 6-11 p.m. The wine tower bar and lounge is open 6 p.m.-1 a.m.
Short orders
Lunch (11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) and dinner available Saturday (5:30-11:30 p.m.) and Sunday (5:30-10 p.m.).
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