TASTE
SAVOIR FARE
CHEF JAMES TREES LIGHTS UP THE ARTS DISTRICT AGAIN— THIS TIME, WITH MODERN FRENCH FOOD.
By Emmy Kasten
Trailblazing local chef James Trees may be best known for his popular Italian spots Esther’ s Kitchen and Al Solito Posto, but his latest concept Bar Boheme flexes his culinary background in French cuisine. The new restaurant— located in a former tie-dye shirt shop— started welcoming guests on April 1st this year, precisely three years after the idea got wings.
Occupying an idyllic corner space with large windows facing Main Street in the Downtown Arts District, Bar Boheme plays the part of neighborhood French bistro perfectly, with a spacious welcoming bar and high exposed ceilings. Plush turquoise banquettes hug the salmon-hued walls, while brass palm leaf sconces and chandeliers echo the foliageinspired artwork. Large rattan globes float mid-space above the tables draped with white tablecloths, as if to say,“ we might serve fancy French food, but we’ re cool, too.” With Trees’ fanbase and dedication to excellence, he may have just opened another Downtown institution-in-the- making, like the Arts District’ s version of NYC’ s Balthazar.
The menu includes familiar French fare— like escargots, ratatouille, French onion soup, mussels in white wine, and roast chicken— but a closer look reveals an updated take on them, with upgraded ingredients such as free-range Jidori chicken and short rib instead of shoulder cut for the boeuf bourguinon. Even the baguettes are made of T65 flour, which is“ entirely impossible to find in the US,” despite being the standard bread flour in France for baguettes.
Though every dish is meticulously crafted, Trees puts extra attention into his Dover sole Veronique, a salute to his early days working with chef André Rochat at the old Alizé in the Palms and André’ s on South Sixth Street. As of two weeks after the opening, popular dishes include the value-priced seafood towers( starting at $ 69) and bavette steak frites($ 52), with the perfectly crispy and salted frites already amassing a fan club of their own.“ Even though we are using luxury ingredients and putting hours of work into dishes, we still want to price our dishes fairly, so that we can create community and build trust with our guests,” says Trees. This steady and mindful approach makes Bar Boheme feel like a well-guarded Downtown secret, but the word is spreading quickly, and before long, we’ ll all reflect back on the days when the area was considered up-and-coming.“ At this point, we feel the Arts District is the hottest dining district in Las Vegas,” says Trees.“ Downtown is ready to embrace a concept on this level.”
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