Chef Rory Herrmann with Larry King and his wifePhoto: Hadley Tomicki
Bouchon Beverly Hills threw a lavish grand-opening party last night, two days before the highly anticipated restaurant opens to the city. Thomas Keller's third outpost of his French bistro offered an abundance of two things: food and celebrities. It was a difficult task not to trip over a Cheryl Tiegs or Julia Louis Dreyfus when reaching for the raw bar or to snap a photo without being accused of stalking Don Johnson's table. Hosting roughly 400 revelers through the evening, Bouchon gave the crowd free reign to wander, allowing unsupervised access from the kitchens to the walk-in fridges. Fortunately, none of these nooks were used for canoodling, though "ooohs" and "aaaahs" still echoed from impressed food fanatics checking out the extreme organization of produce and poisson.
Don Johnson Sits with KingHadley Tomicki
After passing the first-level Bar Bouchon, slated to open in December, guests were greeted upstairs by a large beach ball made of ice and tins of Petrossian caviar. Under the spell of a Gallic accordion player, celebrants dispersed to enjoy views of Montage Hotel's half-frocked guests from wide wrap-around balconies. Like any great party, a majority of guests gravitated to the kitchen where Bouchon Vegas' exec chef Mark Hopper helped crank out hors d'oeuvres to complement the charcuterie and cheese, raw bar, pastries, and small bakery spread throughout.
Keller greets his fansHadley Tomicki
Enjoying said eats was a cast of A-list news spinners, random celebs, and people that made us exclaim, "Oh, that's where they are now." While Jay Leno appeared ravenous, double-fisting food as he made his way about the room, a dapper Ludacris kept his cool and Fred Savage confidently told jokes in the bakery, where guests were invited to score and bake their own bread. Larry King was a guest of honor, being personally lead by Chef Rory Herrmann, who we heard name-dropping King's daily breakfast spot, Nate n' Al's. We later overheard King sharing a common concern with his wife, "Our plane only fits seven people."
More fries Mr. Leno?Hadley Tomicki
We got out of a slimmed Star Jones' way in the pastry room, then watched Thomas Keller himself out-star the stars, posing for photos with everyone who wanted a piece. While Aziz Ansari hung out in the corner as the dude we most wanted to have a drink with, handsome actor Pierce Brosnan stood tall as the dude everyone would most like to be. Sadly, we never bumped into Ryan Seacrest or Lionel Richie, who were rumored to be in the house too. In this sneak peak celebration, Bouchon gave Beverly Hills the Hollywood-style red carpet opening that we never really thought went on in L.A. outside of the movies or the opening of celeb-bait like Philippe Chow. For this blockbuster name of a restaurant, it felt grandly fitting. Not that we weren't already paying attention.
Earlier: What Keller's Second Coming Means for L.A.
Thomas Keller Hands Us The Menu for Bouchon Beverly Hills
Interview: Bouchon's Chef de Cuisine Rory Herrmann
