Vegas Pearls Ep.01 - Buffets on a Budget

I know, I know, the url of my blog has Vegas in it, but yet I've never mentioned anything about Vegas. So here goes . . .

If you're comin' to Vegas on a budget (for whatever reason, maybe to spend more on gambling, maybe you're broke, etc.), here's some helpfull tips on eating at buffets.

• Well here's one that came from BrianG who does this everytime he comes here. You know those expensive buffets at Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, or Aladdin, etc.? To eat dinner for the price of lunch, go to the buffet about 20-30 minutes prior to dinner being served. For example, whenever Brian and friends are here, we go to Mandalay Bay at around 2:30 pm. Usually there's still a line, so by the time you get in, after ordering your drinks, the dinner dishes will be out waiting for you. However, be forewarned that they start serving dinner at 3:00pm and close out the line to the buffet at around 2:45pm. Anyone that arrives on or after 2:45pm will have to pay the dinner price (unless you flirt w/ the chick who's closing out the line and tell her to let you in ;) Worth all the effort? Savings - $10; but that's $10 extra dollars you'll have to drink or gamble, whichever is your preferred vice. And trust me, the menu is sooooo worth it. They've got more sliced meat selections (i.e. usually lamb, veal, filet mignon, etc.), tastier dishes, and a better selection of seafood. Oh yeah, the desserts are to die for. 1 more thing though, this doesn't work on Sundays because the price is the same throughout the whole day (Sunday Champagne Brunch and then Dinner). This applies to most, if not all strip casinos. The only thing you gotta find out is what time they serve dinner.
  

• Many places people seem to forget when coming to Vegas are the casinos off the strip. One place I often frequent w/ local and out of town friends is The Orleans French Market Buffet. It's about 1 mile from the 15 freeway off of Tropicana. This place is freakin' cheap - lunch is $7.45 and dinner is $12.95. Relatively speaking, this is an awesome deal. They offer international dishes from American, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and even Cajun. They have the usual buffet meats such as prime rib, turkey, ham, but they also have ribs, salmon, and for you seafood enthusiasts, crawfish! If you really want variety, go here. The really popular international buffets are the well publicized Rio Carnival Buffet and the Aladdin Spice Market Buffet. No doubt their dishes are excellent, but if you're on a budget, I don't suggest going to those places.

• Want an all you can eat sushi buffet? Forget about ghetto Todai. They use to be really good, serving lobster and fresh sashimi, but now, they no longer serve lobster and their sashimi is still frozen when they put it out. Even their little tiramisu slices sometimes have icicles in them - blehhhhhh. They actually have one at Aladdin, but I don't reccomend going there. In Vegas they've got a more satiating place - Makino Restaurant. There're 2 locations; one on South Decatur in the Renaissance Plaza and the other at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets. I personally think the one on South Decatur has better quality, but if you wanna do some shopping after eating, then go to the the Premium Outlets. They don't have as much selection of cooked food as Todai, but their food tastes wayyyyyy better. Here's one of the things I really like: their tempura is organized into two pans - 1 w/ shrimp, the other is vegetables. Hell yeah!!! I hated backing up the line in Todai because I would be picking through the tempura just for the shrimp, only to find 1 measly little piece. While at dinner they don't have lobster, they serve fresh oysters and uni. They have a bunch of different sushi rolls (some of your typical ones - i.e. California Rolls, Philly Rolls, etc. - and many of their own creations), sashimi, and an ok selection of salads (who are we fucking kidding? why the hell would we go to a sushi buffet for a fucking salad? go to sizzler biatch!) One more thing, they've got my current favorite dessert - creme brule! If you wanna read reviews about this place you can read here, here, and here. But anyways, prices are around $13-$15 for lunch and $17-$20 for dinner (I forget).

So this is how I would plan the weekend . . . on Saturday, go to Mandalay Bay or one of the other expensive restaurants and do the Brian. On Sunday either go to The Orleans or Makino Restaurant. Yeah that's right - eat only once/day . . . spend the rest of your damn money on either alcohol, gamblinag, or at the strip bar!!! Especially on Sunday, why the hell would you eat 2 meals if you know you'll be travelling later that day?!?!

If I've got anymore tips, I'll further edit this post.