Visit Three, this time for Brunch:\nUme Breeze - Plum Sake with Champagne\nWhite Sturgeon Caviar - Traditional Condiments, Choux\nFoie Gras - Croissant Batons, Honeycomb, Fruit Puree, Caramelized Nuts, Balsamic\nLobster Tomato Soup\nPotato Salad with light balsamic\nIberico bacon and Potato Croissant Sandwich\nMango Sorbet, Mint Jelly\nStella - Strawberry Tiramisu\nVanilla and Black Currant Cream Puff with passion fruit and raspberry marshmallows\n\nAsked by a man who many would say has dined better than anyone they know to join him for brunch during a one day stay in Las Vegas it was my pleasure to suggest Sweets Raku on Sunday afternoon, my third visit overall but the first time during a lunch service that sees the predominantly dessert menu expanded by a duo of sandwiches plus soup, salad, and the occasional quiche. Small, spotless, but now rendered less sterile by light Japanese music playing overhead it was just prior to noon that we arrived, and seated on the corner as soon as the restaurant unlocked the doors it would not be long before an order was crafted - a six-course meal plus supplements rolling out over the course of the next hundred minutes at a slow, but deliberate pace. Beginning first with cocktails, the light sake and bubbles pairing nicely to a both creamy foie gras with laminated pastry batons and caviar that could have used a little more cr\u00e8me fraiche to balance the brine, it was largely conversation about food that passed the time between courses and with a shooter of soup and crisp salad balancing light vinaigrette with creamy potatoes both pleasant enough, our 'main courses' each impressed - for him the salmon and ikura while I opted for fatty bacon crafted of iberico belly matched to crisp potatoes inside of a crispy, hot croissant. Transitioning from savory to sweet with mango sorbet dressed in mint jelly that unfortunately got lost in the sweetness it was onward to better things that the meal progressed and while my friend enjoyed the Mont Blanc I opted for the seasonal Stella, a star of strawberries served over an almond-soaked financier with cream melding the two into a designer 'strawberry shortcake' with texture and nuance to spare. Wrapping up the afternoon in puffs of choux offered with options for both cream and jam it was with little hesitation that both of us selected vanilla and black currant, the shell giving way in a crisp break to just a touch of pressure and melting on the tongue leaving me to wish they offered profiteroles by the plate. \n\nA bit underwhelmed by the caviar presentation but again impressed by everything else, including a croissant and cream puffs that made me think Raku should consider a bakery style counter as its next conquest, I still contest that Sweets Raku should be a destination for everyone who loves pastry and anyone looking to impress an out of town guest - a genuinely un-Vegas experience mere miles from the strip where passion and artistry matter much more than publicist noise or the name on the door.
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