John Katsilometes on four-course 90 Minute Experience featured at the recently opened Guy Savoy

Sun, Jul 23, 2006 (7:41 a.m.)

It's not exactly fast food - not even in the same universe, in fact - but the breathtaking Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace, occupying the second floor of the hotel's Augustus Tower, is offering what is billed as the 90 Minute Experience.

Savoy and his son, Franck, and daughter-in-law Laura, who operate Savoy's Las Vegas restaurant, are giving a shorter option to patrons who might not be able or willing to commit to multicourse meals that can sometimes last four hours (and beyond).

The four-course Experience ($190 per person, not including beverages, tax and gratuity) is a procession of foods often found only in slick gourmet magazines, beginning with marinated baby mackerel and seaweed lemon granite, moving on to artichoke and black truffle soup, toasted mushroom brioche and black truffle butter; American prime beef tenderloin and paleron a la francaise, and summer melon soup with basil-lime sorbet. My dining partner on Friday, Caesars exec Kenneth Langdon served as the Paul Giamatti to my Thomas Haden Church ("The baby mackerel wouldn't be complete without the seaweed." "Right. Seaweed. Nice.")

Guy Savoy himself was on hand Friday night; he plans to spend about 70 days a year at the Vegas restaurant, which opened in May. The internationally acclaimed chef glides around the room with a twinkle in his eye. When complimented on the soup, he remarks with a wink, "This is the first night we have ever served it. It's a keeper, no?"

NoteMart

A noble concept that can use support is the WineNart Sunday festival program, a recurring series of art gatherings and wine tastings at Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas. The next festival runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today. Featured will be Margaret DeClerk, Christine Wetzel, Tom Di Giacco, Dray and Cybele ...

Ensuring that this column covers the full culinary spectrum, a new Bob's Big Boy opened Tuesday at 7125 N. Durango Drive (but it does not offer toasted mushroom brioche and black truffle butter) ... Confusing headline found on an Internet search for a story in the Canadian Press: "Dan Quayle walks out of John Mellencamp concert in Las Vegas". The former VP did bolt a Mellencamp show, on July 14, but it was at Harvey's Lake Tahoe, not Vegas. Mellencamp, unaware Quayle was in the audience, took a shot at the Bush administration for not doing enough to help the nation's poor ...

Having too much fun out there: A silver Isuzu Rodeo with the plate WHPDDO.