Friday, April 20, 2012

Jean Philippe Patisserie, Bellagio--Las Vegas, NV

As a certificate, issued by the Guinness Book of World Records, near its entrance proudly states, Jean Philippe at the  Bellagio in Las Vegas is home to the world's tallest chocolate fountain. Being 27 feet high and circulating two tons of chocolate, it surely appears to be quite the attention-getter. Yet, it stood like a mere sideshow compared to the treats available for sale in the store. Available were desserts in just about every class imaginable: gelatos, chocolates, pastries, cakes and creative individual delights.
When we visited last week, we settled on a cupcake that had a shiny chocolate dome, which itself was chocolate mousse. The packaging made it distinctive and made me feel like I was walking away with expensive jewelry or fine china. In any case, it was at the very least a work of art. Ever into appearances, even Jean Philippe's plasticware had a fine metallic sheen. After opening the box, we didn't pop the cupcake out of the packaging as one might with a traditional cupcake. This cake truly came in a cup. So, instead, we used a fork to eat the mousse and then dig into the soft moist cake itself.
With so many beautiful desserts positioned along the arc where the lined formed, one needed an enormous amount of self restraint while waiting to pay. But, with individual desserts priced up to $10 (our cupcake was $5.50), cost places a restriction. The line starts to get long, by the way, at about 10:00 am. Don't arrive too early, though. The desserts, especially the tarts and individual creations involving fruit, don't come out until about 9:30 or so.
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
jpchocolates.com