The buffet gets an A for effort but an E for execution. Today it’s a little sad-feeling, as befits a hotel with Carrot Top as its artist in residence. Luxor, which for a long time was the coolest hotel on the Strip due to its being a literal pyramid and having the world’s strongest light beam shooting up from its crown, has been overshadowed by the newer and fancier players in town. Feel the urge to hoard? The crab legs are still a free-for-all pile. Things get really good with the not-your-typical-buffet-fare offerings, including chorizo chilaquiles, mortadella pizza and duck wings with soy caramel glaze. Many of the Cosmo’s buffet standards get a twist: gingerbread pancakes with cream cheese frosting and candied walnuts French toast made of cinnamon bread “angry” mac and cheese infused with a spicy kick. Ultimately you will be thankful for the corrective action the Spoon takes, because it makes room to work the room. Eggs benedict comes by the half-muffin and fried chicken is doled out in dainty duos of wings. Shrimp cocktail? Put the ladle down: You get one butterflied shrimp atop a dollop of cocktail sauce and a sliver of lemon. The purported wickedness of the spoon is at odds with the schoolmarmish urge this buffet has in its efforts to encourage portion control by swapping heaping platters of food for bite-sized morsels allocated into tiny dishes. Here are six great off-Strip places to help ensure you’re making the most of your time in Vegas. BPįood Coffee in Las Vegas: 6 spots to get your caffeine fix in Sin City The rotation is constantly changing, with weekend specials like whole roasted suckling pig, wrapped in banana leaf with mango-pineapple salsa. Afterward, pick up some made-to-order tacos (al pastor, carne asada and chicken) or visit the noodle bar for ramen or udon. Maybe you will hit up the dim sum station to pluck out some char siu bao and eat them on the way back to the table. There are no rules to stop you from erecting a tower of fire-roasted bone marrow with gremolata in the middle of your plate and surrounding it in a sacrilegious moat of ancho chile-braised birria and Impossible mapo tofu. Once you make your way into the cavernous interior, you are the Roman god(dess) of gourmandizing eat according to thine whims. You have to shell out a few bucks to book a reservation time otherwise arrive early or be prepared to wait at least an hour. Since undergoing a $17-million renovation in 2012, it’s been consistently lauded as one of the best buffet experiences on the Strip. The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, like Vegas itself, is a celebration of lavish excess, demanding indulgence of the highest order. Do we need grapes labeled for us? At weekend brunch ($36.99, or $58.98 to add unlimited Champagne), there’s a make-your-own-omelet station, a limited selection of sushi (mainly California and spicy salmon rolls), and the buffet-ubiquitous heaps of crab legs and shrimp on ice. Little effort has been made to make anything sound better than it is: The placards plainly state white toast, wheat toast, green beans, pancakes, waffles, grapes. That sense of basic-ness carries over to the food. To enter, you pass dated posters with a hybrid home-ec/travel agency from the ’80s vibe, advertising a “Taste of Italy” over a photo of pasta, olive oil and tomato or a “Taste of the Far East,” with shrimp, chiles and shiitake mushrooms. Most meals in the hotel are luxe, eaten in view of the fountains they make for picture-perfect postcard Vegas Memories™. Something about the buffet experience falls short of the usual Bellagio extravagance. As with many of the buffets in town, you’re kindly thanked for “limiting your dining experience to two hours.” Don’t think you’re arriving at lunch and then staying until dinner, buddy. That said, there’s also some buffet weirdness, like the way that pancakes are served as slices out of one massive pancake. Among the standbys, you’ll find an offering of menudo and glazed plantains, a tandoor station and, at breakfast, a big vat of cream of wheat. Does the name reference coloratura sopranos? The youngest Stark girl on “Game of Thrones?” (No on both counts.) The pragmatically named Buffet at Aria ($30.99 for brunch, increased to $35.99 on weekends) has variety on its side. Aria Resort & CasinoĪmong the major Strip hotels, the theme-less Aria is a mystery. We sifted through a heap of them to help you decide where to do your patriotic duty. By the transitive property, that makes the AYCE buffet the most American thing imaginable. Nothing says “America” like excess, and nothing says “excess” like Las Vegas, and nothing says “Las Vegas” like the all-you-can-eat buffet.
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