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Alize at the Palms By: The Lady of The Night Out Why should you eat at Alize? Has this ever happened to you? Friends or business colleagues arrive in LVNV. Their first question is: “What’s a great restaurant?” If they can only eat at one fress to impress place, it’s Alize. (all-ee-ZAY). This restaurant has it all. It’s a dining room with a view; the panorama is peerless, peering out from the 56th floor of the Palms. The food is a reflective approach to the classics -- every morsel a revelation. And some of the “hip” from the Ghostbar down below seeps in to give the place an over-the-top flavor. Who Should Eat at Alize?
Who shouldn’t eat at Alize?
Ok, so what’s the food like? Dive into the duck. These birds must have been raised by Weight Watchers because I couldn’t spot an ounce of fat anywhere. Every medallion was super succulent. Chef Jacques used lemon zest and cranberries for a flurry of fruitiness. Roasted artichokes added chewiness while strands of spinach gave a vegetative edge. The milk fed veal rack masquerades as a rack of lamb; the bones jut out at a sharp angle. Chef Jacques brushes the meat with a violet mushroom mix – I wonder if those babies glow under a black light. Their partner: crispy sautéed sweetbreads seared in the veal jus. The best item at Alize has disappeared until fall: it is the venison loin. The medallions were so tender there was no need for a knife. A huckleberry sauce augmented its woodsy over tones. Chef Jacques has an unusual take on the crab, avocado and tomato trio. He tosses lump crab meat with lime zest and olive oil and then engulfs them in 10 slices of avocado; they literally wall in the sea. This silo of crab sits in a soup bowl. The waiter arrives with a tureen and dishes out a cold tomato consommé that becomes a moat around the crab. The effect: familiar tastes, unusual textures. Order the mixed green salad for its coup de gras: a paper thin, heavily garlicked crouton. Dessert in the desert: Alize doesn’t serve its chocolate mousse in a boring glass. Mais no. The mound of mousse is covered in a hard, dark chocolate skin. It sits on a pound cake pedestal soaked in hazelnut liqueur that’s surrounded by sand dunes of microscopically cut walnuts. Unlike most chocolate desserts, this one is light and lacey. History: Alize is the name of the gentle trade winds of the Caribbean. It is the third restaurant in a growing group spearheaded by Chef Andre Rochat. He opened the original Andre’s downtown in 1980. Alize opened in November, 2001. (The third restaurant is at the Monte Carlo.) Chef Jacques, who grew up in Pretoria, South Africa, has been at Alize a month. In 1988 he sold his car and came to Washington, D.C. with $50 in his pocket. He cooked up a job at the South African Embassy until he broke into the D.C. restaurant scene by going to work at Palladin in the Watergate. Chef Jacques and seven of his pals relocated to LVNV in 2000 to open the London Clubs at the Aladdin. The last word: Alize has replaced Auerole as my favorite restaurant in LVNV. The food is downright terrific even though it is pricey. The view of the Strip is priceless. Where is it? Alize is at the Palms Casino Resort, Flamingo at Valley View. The phone is 702.951.7000.  By: The Culinary Curmudgeon I really identify with Jimmy Stewart, the star of Vertigo. I could never be an iron worker because structures piercing the sky don’t agree with me. I arrived white-knuckled at the 56th floor of the Palms to dine at Alize (I’ll –EEE-zay) even though the elevator thankfully wasn’t glass. I definitely didn’t want a coveted chair near the windows. The Hausfrau told me the view of the Strip was breath-taking. It sure took my breath away! Like Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, I experienced the sorry results when there is a failure to communicate. I told the waiter I wanted my lamb Mary Kay pink – isn’t that graphic enough? (I’m not a bleeding edge kind of person.) My medallions were sadly overcooked. The next time I dine at Alize I’ll bring along a Sherwin Williams paint swatch. Let’s see if the kitchen can match the shades as well as Home Depot. Speaking of failures to communicate, where on the menu does it say that you have to order a soufflé before the opening cocktail arrives? Alize requires 60 minutes before the kitchen can preoduce its legendary Grand Marnier soufflé. We just ordered another bottle of wine and waited it out. But if you’ve got show tickets, that shocking news would certainly deflate your dining experience. It’s truly unfortunate Chef Jacques changed the menu to echo the frisky freshness of spring. The venison is gone! Deep-sixing the deer is a criminal offense since I’ve been hunting for good venison for ages. I don’t want to wait for fall for another opportunity to have a shot at this dish. Everything at Alize is so creative. So what’s up with the boring bread? Granted, the steaming French bread is crusty on the outside and play-doh pliable inside – in other words -- perfect. But the other fress to impress places in LVNV offer a smorgasbord of yeasty treats. Read the newspapers, people. We health nuts want some whole grains. And haven’t you noticed olive bread is now required at restaurants that require a lot of bread to pay the bill? I loved the security at Alize. It was oh so rigorous but disarmingly polite. Please teach those new transportation department employees at McCarran the genteel way to keep the riff raff away from the gate. Aired 04 April 2003
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