Opened in 1980 by Chef André Rochat, the restaurant in Downtown Las Vegas became known far and wide as one of the best - if not THE best - place to eat in the entire city.

The original Andre's is long gone but Rochat's cuisine is still on fine display at Alizé, which takes everything that was great about his first restaurant and elevates it to a higher level - literally. The dining room high atop one of the towers at The Palms has some of the best views of The Strip you'll find anywhere, although with food this good you may be so focused on the plate that you won't even bother looking out the big windows.

A lot of people are intimidated by French cuisine but Alize makes it accessible even for newbies. Yes, there are things like snails and foie gras but no one is going to make you eat those if you don't want to. Instead, start with a classic French onion soup or, even better, the Maine lobster and tomato bisque. The latter was creamy and rich, delicately seasoned and presenting itself as the best bowl of tomato soup you will ever eat in your entire life.

We also sampled the braised pork belly, which was basically like a small, cut-it-with-your-fork tender pork chop served in a sweet apple and cream sauce. If this wasn't a fine restaurant I would've licked the plate clean.

Lamb, venison, duck, chicken stuffed with crab, lobster, and a Dover sole were on the menu when we visited but we were more in a beef mood so we got the filet mignon, done with a green peppercorn crust and served in a cognac cream sauce, and the prime ribeye in a pinot noir sauce. Both steaks were prepared perfectly and needed none of the dressing up with toppings or sides that some steaks require in order to be interesting (although both came with vegetables - this is not an ala carte experience).

Desert sealed the deal with a mint chocolate mousse and raspberry cheesecake. The latter was prepared inside-out, in a way, as cubes covered in a light graham cracker crust and stuffed with raspberry compote. Delightful in presentation and in taste.

The menu changes often based upon seasonal offerings and the chef's moods but based on the items we sampled and the restaurant's long history of accolades, I am confident that you will not be disappointed regardless of the specifics.

Of course then the bill comes. This is not even close to being the most expensive restaurant in town but it's very pricey. Appetizers range from $13 for a basic salad of baby greens and goat cheese up to $28 for the pan seared foie gras while entrees ranged from $36 for the crab stuffed chicken breast to $75 for the lobster. Our meal with drinks, two starters, two main courses, two desserts, tax, and tip came to about $250. There are lots of restaurants in Vegas charging those kinds of prices but Alizé is one where you will feel as if you got your money's worth.