The top five Las Vegas buffets step up to the plate
Pigging out on all-you-can-eat is a Vegas tradition.
While the days of cheap casino grub are gone -- unless you're a comped gambler, coupon ace or lover of low-end spreads --quality now trumps the obligatory quantity at top resorts.
With the just-opened $17 million Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace proclaiming itself the biggest and best in gluttony-promoting Sin City, USA TODAY -- aided by the input of readers and Vegas insiders -- took a tasting tour to pick the top buffets of the moment. Adults can expect to spend about $11-$40 a person, depending on the meal and day.
Before we start, keep in mind the mantra of Vegas.com content director Jennifer Whitehair: "Buffets are like politics," says the Vegas local. "Everyone has his or her favorite, and you can't change their minds."
Her pick (without having sampled Bacchanal): The Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, also proclaimed No. 1 by a panel of eight Vegas insiders that USA TODAY polled in 2011. "Not your traditional buffet," she says. "There's so much variety. I even had bone marrow."
No. 5: Wicked Spoon
Oh, what a difference a year makes!
On a weekday dinner visit last week, the ambience at Wicked Spoon (orange light boxes casting a glow from recessed ceilings, food served in cute containers such as mini metal fryer baskets) remained hip. But the cuisine wasn't rave-worthy, as it was on previous visits.
Prime rib looked good but was tough. Crab legs were succulent, but small cocktail shrimp in tiny glasses tasted bland. Whitehair's beloved truffled scalloped potatoes were undercooked on this night; French fries were cold; the waiter's recommended stir-fried ginger chicken was dry; pasta was mushy. Only the creamy corn risotto prompted a second helping.
We consulted two tourists at the next table, who turned out to be foodie restaurant managers from Bethlehem (the one on the West Bank). "We were extremely disappointed," said Amira Canavati as they left plates half-full. Overall, "the food has no taste and is not interesting. It wasn't worth the money." Companion Spiros Lichnos found the gelato (18 flavors) "too sweet," though we liked the espresso flavor.
Cost: $22 for weekday brunch to $38 for weekend dinner
Information:cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
No. 4: Studio B
On to a locals' favorite: Studio B at the M Resort Spa Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard, about 20 minutes south of the Strip. It's Whitehair's No. 2 pick and winner of Las Vegas Review-Journal 2012 readers' choice award.
Studio B's airy, light-filled contemporary dining areas draw residents for many reasons, not the least being all-you-can-drink wine and beer and espresso drinks with shots of liqueur included in the price. Eat at faux granite tables surrounding food stations displaying dishes from chimichurri shrimp to green curry chicken. Generous slabs of prime rib were top-notch, shrimp was decent, crab legs so-so. New York strip was overcooked and thin. The wine, from Nathanson Creek, was not bad.
Save room for creme brulee, gelato or mousse, topped off with a foamy latte, while you watch the food videos on giant screens.
Cost: $10.99 for weekday breakfast (no booze included) to $39.99 for weekend dinner
Information:themresort.com
No. 3: The Buffet at Bellagio
Want to start an argument? Ask Vegas vets which spread they prefer: Steve Wynn's former "wife," The Buffet at Bellagio, which he oversaw when he created the Bellagio resort, or his latest culinary spouse, The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas.
Wynn was the winner of an online survey taken by more than 2,700 USA TODAY readers and is the top choice of LasVegasDirect.com chief Dale Bock. (His reader/staffer survey, though, favors Bellagio.)
Anthony Curtis, founder of LasVegasAdvisor.com, also is partial to the Bellagio for quality and consistency. And so are others.
Among those in a lunchtime queue: Greg Anderson and Mike Mazzella of Phoenix. Both men, in their late 40s, are in the insurance business, and Anderson was taking Mazzella to his favorite Vegas buffet.
During a half-hour wait -- not bad if you aren't a VIP or big player -- Anderson laid out his buffet strategy: Walk past every dish to see what you want "and decide if I want to save room for dessert."
Offerings forked up in a series of dining rooms with traditional but dated decor were less cutting-edge and varied than at some other buffets. The turkey was dry, the penne overcooked. But the prime rib (great with horseradish sauce) was flavorful and Lyonnaise scalloped potatoes divine. Shrimp, in a tempting pile, was high-quality, crab legs OK. Don't miss the warm bread pudding.
The food wasn't as great as Anderson remembered, though he snapped up smoked trout. Mazzella's verdict: "This wasn't bad, but you hyped it too much."
Cost: $16.99 for breakfast to $36.99 for weekend dinner
Information:bellagio.com
No. 2: The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas
Later, at the Wynn buffet, Las Vegas Advisor's Curtis was surprised -- in a good way. "This is pretty strong," he pronounced, as he dug into watermelon salad with feta cheese served in glasses. Then came Thai beef, Korean kimchee, beef brisket, crab legs and crepes made to order with strawberries, homemade whipped cream and drizzled chocolate on top. Notable for Vegas: multiple vegan options that even meat-eaters lapped up. Curtis upped Wynn to the top of his personal buffet list.
Wynn is a believer in feasts for the eyes as well as stomachs. The decor is as elaborate as the confections that line dessert cases, including peach- and celadon-colored walls, white pillars and colorful Carmen Miranda-ish fake fruit and flower arrangements.
Cost: $19.99 for weekday breakfast to $39.99 for weekend dinner
Information:wynnlasvegas.com
No. 1: Bacchanal Buffet
It just opened Sept. 11, but any buffet that costs $17 million to build and has chefs with good credentials manning nine cooking stations that turn out 500-plus dishes daily is stacking the deck in its favor.
Caesars Palace's nearly 600-seat Bacchanal, part of Caesars' push to be even more of a dining destination, aims to please foodies as well as the average Joe or Jane who likes to load their plates. It looks like an upscale restaurant rather than a mass feedery: sleek, chic and ultra-contemporary, with blond wood tables, comfortable upholstered chairs, hip music and multiple intimate dining rooms.
Buffet standards are augmented by upscale-restaurant-quality dishes from around the world -- many cooked in front of you. They include tortillas, custom sushi cones, charcuterie, crepes and -- unique in Vegas -- made-to-order mini souffles, warm from the oven.
At a pre-opening preview, a slab of prime rib lacked flavor, a flaw Bacchanal executive chef Scott Green aimed to address. Standouts on a tasting tour with Green included lobster/corn chowder, Mexican pork carnitas with multiple homemade salsas, Chinese roast duck and dumplings that squirt savory soup when bitten into. Promoting Roman Bacchanalia: Pay $17.29 extra to quaff unlimited wine and beer.
So many dishes, so little room. If Green & Co. can keep up the quality, Bacchanal has the winning hand.
Cost: $19.99 for weekday breakfast to $39.99 for weekend dinner
Information:caesarspalace.com