Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Problem with Vegas Buffet

One of the things I was looking forward to in Vegas, were the legendary all you can eat buffets.

I now have a Buffet Belly (tm) to show I have indeed checked some out. And theyre as advertised - a lotta food for not a lotta money (most of them). However, its not all blintzes and creme.

- There are no longer 24 hour buffets in Las Vegas.

One security guard said "Every day someone comes up asking for a 24 hour buffet. There hasnt been one in Vegas for 10 years."

Sonuvabitch. There are times when I want a deep buffet at 2am.

Not that all is lost - there are ways to get good cheap eats after hours, but you kinda have to know where to go.

- Limited hours on the buffet.

Similar, but a sort of different complaint. Most buffet hours end at 10pm, which means you want to arrive at 9pm the latest to be able to be served and eat without hurrying. And you have to wait till 7 or 8am for the buffet to open. And THEN the buffet hours change depending on if Lunch, Dinner or breakfast is being served, so only Dinner is expansive. And naturally, it tends to be the most expensive, as the prices change depending on the meal period .

So, you have to arrive on time for Breakfast or Lunch and not too late for dinner.

- The selection can suck.

Here is the thing about cheap buffets... It is All you can eat, but the cheaper it is, the less the selection.

Granted, there is only just so much food one can consume at a sitting, but jeez.

- The quality varies wildly.

The food ranges from sublime to adequate, to average to inedible, tending to the adequate. A lot depends on the chef running the show, but when shovelling out mass quantities of food, the first thing to go is quality. Some do a great job making sure there is always fresh food out there, but at least you can shove the inedible food away without consequences.

I hear the better buffets do a good job of quality, but they tend to be on the expensive side.

That said, the buffets are a great way to eat cheaply, and well, in this town. And I have a lot more exploring to do.

2 comments:

gg said...

i had always heard a good tip with vegas buffets is, you want to arrive at the tail end of the lunch time (around 2-2:30?), then stay for dinner, which they switch out fairly early. that way, you pay the lunch price, but get the dinner selection! :D

Joe Pennant said...

Sometimes works for breakfast too. But sometrimes (like at the Palms) they'll do the bums rush