Invasion of the Crab Snatchers
When we were in Las Vegas, we went to the Wynn Buffet. OK, we went twice, but there's a reason for that other than a combination of indecision and gluttony (which is the whole idea behind buffets anyway).
The first time we went was with Karen's cousin Tara and her boyfriend Damien. The four of us wanted to have lunch, I wanted Asian food, and Tara and Damien didn't. The buffet seemed like a good way to keep everyone happy, and it was. The four of us got in line and waited to get into the brunch seating; they've got a theme park-style serpentine line that doesn't really fool anyone into thinking that it's going to be a short wait; on the other hand if the line were straight, it would have stretched halfway across the casino.
After about 45 minutes or so, we made it to the front of the line and were seated. It doesn't look like a big place, but its appearance from the outside is deceiving; there's a lot of seating capacity, so that explains why the line moved with reasonable speed. We opted to forego the bloody mary/champagne option and go for the $28 buffet. The food was good, and there was a wide variety, everything from sushi and ceviche to Mexican, Italian, and buffet standbys like prime rib. There was also a good dessert selection, and being a sucker for sugar cookies, I liked their version (chewy); the oatmeal raisin cookies on the other hand were kind of dry and not as good a choice.
OK, so we had a good lunch, but we didn't expect to go back. Until the next day... when the casino comped us a free buffet meal. We tried to get the dollar value assigned to another restaurant, but they wouldn't budge. So, it looked like our last meal before heading to the airport would be a buffet dinner.
The dinner buffet is a lot like the brunch, but with a few exceptions. First, and most popular, is that they have King Crab. Giant crab legs. As if they were caught near some underwater nuclear facility. And the patrons devour them. each crab leg is about 2 feet long (way bigger than the plates) and people come back with piles of them. I had three and felt like a pig, but I was peckish compared to most there. People like to feel like they're getting a deal, and stuffing oneself with crab makes the $38 buffet seem like a great value. Unfortunately, I couldn't help thinking that this type of thinking and these type of buffets must mean that in 20 years there will be no more crabs (or maybe much else from the oceans). Maybe I've watched the Deadliest Catch too often, but it seems like the Wynn buffet in a couple of hours uses as much crab as one of those boats catches in a year. Yikes! I hope I'm mistaken, but I fear that I am not.
They have a lot of delicious different foods at the dinner buffet. Karen and my favorite was probably the Indian-spiced chickpeas, though Karen liked it over Basmati rice while I favored short grain Japanese rice; it was spicy and delicious. The mahi mahi with mango and edamame was perfectly cooked, moist, and delicious. For those with a shrimp cocktail fetish (count me in), the shrimp were big and tasty and the cocktail sauce was a good match. They had at least four different varieties of ceviche, and I liked the octopus/watermelon best (though it was spicier and better at lunch than at dinner).
The Kobe meatballs in marinara were disappointing because they tasted like... meatballs in marinara. I've seen this at some fancy Italian restaurants, and I'm glad I won't get suckered in when there are better choices. Also, the sushi, which was said to use the same fish as their fancy Japanese restaurant, was OK, but no better than I would expect buffet sushi to be.
For dessert, I stuck with the sugar cookie (still good), while Karen could have her favorite, Bananas Foster. She feared it would have too much rum, but it didn't, and she was happy (she didn't go all they way and have it a la mode, though). :(
With visions of George Costanza gorging himself on shrimp (so he could get off his "jerk store" comeback), all I can say is get your crab now, while there's still some left in the ocean and before you have to take your grandkids to the "All You Can Eat Surimi Buffet".
