The name, menu and concept are all new at VUE 24, but Foxwoods’ lofty 24th-floor restaurant still has that enviable sweeping view.
The Mashantucket resort casino recently decided to transform the former Paragon, shifting the menu away from its French-Asian inspired fare with a selection of upscale small plates. VUE 24 relaunched in January, offering what the casino describes as “lavish brasserie charm,” but with the same romantic vista from the Grand Pequot Tower.
Adam Odegard, Foxwoods’ vice president of food and beverage, calls VUE 24’s menu “old familiar classics, with a twist.”
“This is not a chef-driven restaurant,” he said. “This is basically a restaurant that celebrates classic continental dishes, great crafted cocktails and really unique, old-school French desserts.”
New general manager and sommelier Jan Sedlak, a veteran of Daniel Boulud’s restaurants in New York, oversees VUE 24’s daily operations, and chef de cuisine Michael Yaffe, most recently of the Eiffel Tower restaurant in Las Vegas, is leading the kitchen. Yaffe is a Massachusetts native whose culinary career began in Boston, and he says he’s happy to be back on the East Coast.
“The whole idea [is that] it’s above all the craziness downstairs,” said Sedlak. “[You have] the whole experience coming here to Foxwoods, the gambling, playing, entertaining, and if you want to have a nice dinner and kind of be above it all, you come here to VUE 24.”
That continental cuisine has touches of French influence throughout the menu, with such throwback classics as coquilles St. Jacques, boeuf bourgignon and trout Grenobloise. Other dishes spotlight local meats and seafood, sourced from Connecticut and the region, like butter-poached Stonington lobster and New York rack of lamb crusted in Dijon and herbs.
And befitting of the casino setting, there are plenty of extravagant choices: foie gras terrine, veal Oscar, Osetra caviar, king crab, Chateaubriand and a variety of steaks with several preparations. (VUE 24 is directly beneath Foxwoods’ exclusive Stargazer Casino, reserved for the highest of rollers.)
Plats premieres, or first courses, include grass-fed beef tartare with a local hen egg, oyster gratin, escargot and New England cheeses ($12 to $24.) Dinner entrees, including Yaffe’s take on duck a l’orange with coffee-scented duck breast and burnt orange Grand Marnier sauce, are $32 to $80.
Desserts are handled by Foxwoods’ pastry team, led by head chef Franck Iglesias, and feature classic showpiece presentations: Cygne Chantilly with a cream-filled swan sculpted from choux pastry, profiteroles au chocolat and millefeuille. Servers also present a cart full of colorful French macarons.
Though the atmosphere is glamorous, Sedlak and Yaffe are quick to say VUE 24 is approachable.
“It’s fine dining with a casual twist,” Sedlak said. “Is it a place for a special occasion? Definitely, but is it a place just to treat yourself and experience something good? Yes.”
“I think it’s perfect. … It should be the once-a-month spot where you just get to relax and enjoy,” Yaffe said. “It’s not stuffy.”
While visitors do often enjoy multi-course dinners, guests are also fond of bar dining, and a lounge menu features a burger, an avocado BLT, duck sliders and braised short rib sandwiches ($18 to $23.) The bar is where they encounter popular mixologist Stephen Armitage, a Foxwoods veteran of 18 years. Armitage’s craft cocktails ($15 and $16) feature a silky-sweet peanut butter martini with vodka and Godiva chocolate liqueur and his own house-infused version of Fireball whiskey, made with fresh cinnamon sticks, agave nectar and Thai chiles.
The restaurant maximizes that panoramic view on Sundays with its Sky Brunch, featuring a $40 fixed-price menu that includes one choice each from the starter and entrée sections along with assorted breakfast breads and a grand dessert buffet. Options include French deviled eggs, sliced smoked salmon on a bagel, grapefruit brulee, shrimp cocktail and larger plates like croque madame, pain perdu, steak frites and an omelet with butter-basted Stonington lobster. Classic brunch cocktails are $15 apiece, like mimosas, bellinis, a bloody “Marie” with shrimp and bacon and a Pimm’s cup.
VUE 24 is on the 24th floor of the Grand Pequot Tower at Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. The restaurant is open Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Sky Brunch. 800-369-9663 and foxwoods.com/vue-24.
