::the food chicks::

two berkeley girls love food and love talking about food

March 31, 2004

Someone asked me yesterday, "You have that food blog right? Do you have a recommendation for me?" and I blanked. In the spotlight, I balked under the pressure to find a somewhat obscure, affordable, quality restaurant to recommend. And I vow never to be in that situation again. Next time, I might go the safe Kirala or Zachary's route, or I might recommend Carol's ramen place on University.

However, in this 3 am entry, I want to talk about Las Vegas buffets. I was in Vegas for 3 days and ate 3 meals in between my incessant gambling, all buffet style and here is the rundown:

Dinner- Monte Carlo, $15.95:
The most basic of the buffets we sampled, the Monte Carlo offers an affordable buffet dinner with some of the perks of the fancy places. I enjoyed the BBQ ribs as well as the herbed chicken. As with all the buffets, I did not bother with salads or other non-meat items. This buffet also featured oysters on the half shell, which seemed a litlle shady to me. However, I did end up eating all of mine as well as my friends, with no ill side effects later. There is a made to order pasta bar, but the pasta ended up a little overcooked. The actually eating area itself was pretty standard restaurant style, with booths and tables. The buffet is on the small side, but with plenty of room to manuever. There is $5 blackjack at the Monte Carlo, so make your way to the buffett if you're in the area.

Lunch- Bally's Paris, $17.95:
If you only have time/money for one Buffet in Vegas, this is it. A little pricey yes, but Paris has got to the the most charming casino we visited and the buffet lives up to that title. Off the main casino floor, the buffet is Parisian themed from the seating areas to the waitresses. The food area is very spacious with separate areas for different themed food. Highlights included the CHEESE bar, as well as the smoked salmon and the whitefish salad and the fresh mozerella. The flan was amazing, as well as the lamb (though I still think it was mislabeled beef) and basically everything else at this buffet. The ambiance is very quaint and the theme is VERY well established here.

Brunch- Bellagio, $12.95:
I personally thought the Bellagio's buffet was a little overrated. The decor did not quite match the elegance of the establishment, and the selection of food wasn't quite as wide, though we went at the transition between breakfast and lunch. Standouts included the smoked salmon and bagels, as well as the french toast and the steak. The scrambled eggs were a little mushy, however, and there was a random selection of Asian food. However, the price before 11:30 can't be beat for Bellagio quality, which is why I would rate this higher than the Monte Carlo.

Overall, all were great deals- at weekday prices. Weekend prices shoot up exorbitantly. Lydia's tips include avioding all asian type food b/c frankly, you didn't go all the way to Vegas to eat fried rice or sweet and sour pork. Also, don't bother with the salad bar- salad bars are all the same. Everything else is game- but don't stuff yourself silly. It ain't worth the money.

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