Here is a non-casino Las Vegas lunch buffet. Pretty good Thai food and relatively inexpensive. I don't remember the details but around $7 per person. Gets pretty crowded so show up early. Dinner is ordering off the menu only.

Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave, Las Vegas - (702) 735-3033

i'm trying to drop some LBs, so I'm generally steering clear of buffets these days, but I did recently enjoy Holy Land at the Midtown Global Market in MSP. Excellent pita, hummus, tabouleh, lots of other great stuff. You could either pay by the pound (3.99) , or pay a few bucks more for a single visit. the set up is not fancy by any means, it's basically a food court, but less generic, without the corporate brands, but everything was fresh and tasted homemade.

Just in case anyone in Sydney is interested in hitting a suburban-area (or SYD?) Stamford buffet (North Ryde-Macquarie), here is an updated review. I suppose other Stamfords here would offer the same buffet.

- Seafood includes a large fresh slection including crab, large crayfish, king prawns aka jumbo shrimp but larger again, oysters, mussels;
- Five seafood salad options (as well as smoked salmon);
- Asian noodle shop (cooked to order noodles with whatever meat, seafood, veges, in whatever style you wish);
- Fairly poor hot food selection (basically a standard hot buffet);
- Hot selection included some Asian dishes plus fish but they are all best avoided;
- Extensive dessert selection but not to my & Mrs B's taste);
- Design-your-own Caesar salad incl anchovies;

Optional all-you-can-drink red/white/sparkling wine selection (this time Jacobs Creek - we'll pass ).

I'd rate the seafood as good as can be expected - good quality produce.

Service from waiters varied but mostly extremely friendly, helpful and efficient.

IF you look at the photos in the GS North Ryde link above you'll see the restaurant overlooks a Japanese garden/waterway - fairly pleasant views, though it isn't Kauai! Pianist provides some additional ambience and the bar is decorated as you'd expect in a resort poolside bar.

The restaurant was busy but not overcrowded and there was never a wait for the buffet food (just a wait for cook-to-order, obviously).

I have more tips but will not waste space here- just PM me.

It's a reasonable $59ea ($47 if you use a Citibank card and ask for the 20% discount).
Not bad if you seek a variety of quality seafood, for a set price.

I'm very fond of the Todai chain, which started in So Cal and is slowly spreading...

An asian-seafood buffet, with roughly 50' of cold seafood & salads, 50' of freshly made sushi & sashimi (and chefs who will make rolls to order), 50' of hot dishes mixing asian and western influances (Lobster Thermidor & Peking Duck), and a small array of fresh fruits and pasteries for desert. The quality is top-notch and it's not the usual "too long on a steam table" food.

Is there anyone here from RIC that can confirm that the Sunday brunch buffet at the Hotel Jefferson is as good as I remember? I was there for the first time (family lives in RIC) about 20 years ago and I was overwhelmed. I remember the "story" that the "Gone with the Wind" stairway was based on the one at the Jefferson (or maybe was the one from the Jefferson!)

I actually don't like the Spice Market at PH - it's never appealed to me as anything better than a standard run of the mill Vegas buffet and was pretty lame during my last visit in October.

Bellagio is a big disappointment these days since going corporate. Wynn knows how to do things right - MGM-Mirage knows how to do things by the bottom line. My last visit included ice-crusted, semi-frozen shrimp and crabs legs. I was not impressed.

I love the Wynn - I can enjoy the best crabs legs in Vegas (King, not Queen legs), huge shrimp and some very interesting dishes. Although I concur Bellagio does serve a few innovative items of its own, the overall experience doesn't compare to Wynn anymore.

Todai is really hit and miss - some of them are pretty decent, while others are a night of barfing just waiting to happen. When in So Cal, the O'Nami restaurants at West Covina Mall and San Diego make even the best Todai pale in comparison.

I agree Todai is hit or miss. There is/was one in the desert passage shopping area and it wasn't particularly good. It was the worst of all the ones I've been to (Houston, Las Vegas, Honolulu).

Sorry to hear that, all the ones I've been to have been pretty to very good (Woodland Hills, Westminster, Daly City, Fairfax) with my local one (Woodland Hills) being consistantly top notch.

I agree 100% with bocastephen on the above.
Spice Market was pretty dissapointing last week.
Wynn was fabulous.
Todais are VERY hit or miss-with the one closest to me usually a miss.

I find Spice Market to be disappointing when it gets busy. Seems the workers just throws the food out there and don't give a d@mn. On lighter days, I've had shrimp and king crab legs that are just as good as Wynn with the crab legs very meaty.

Todai quality is all based on the restaurant manager which in and around Los Angeles county is quite poor. Even the one in City of Industry has gone down hill.

bocastephen, next time you are in LA, give Cafe Sierra a try inside Universal Hilton. Buffet is during weekends only. Been a while since I've been there but I thought it was pretty good. Be forewarned, they serve
"queen" crab legs but has lobsters similar to ones made at Todai (but better).

I thought the one time I was at the Peabody for Sunday Brunch in Memphis it was very good. Not cheap (don't remember the exact cost because I wasn't paying....) I would go back.. but then again, I'd go back to Memphis. Cool place.

As for Vegas, I was there last week and stayed at the MGM-Grand. Didn't do the buffet because I hadn't eaten in 20 hours and didn't want to wait in line for a overpriced buffet. I just filled out a survey for them and made a point to ding them on the food, the pricing (wayyy overpriced). Exception: Emerill's was very good. Salmon was delicious, and presentation etc done well.

I'll check out the Wynn. Steve Wynn gets it, corporate America does NOT.

Michael

Here's a Buffet story about a Hearty eater.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080102/...32J8uFaCwDW7oF

As the New York Magazine said in the Best of New York 2007 eating and drinking:

#
ONE WORD�SMORGASBORD!
#

Aquavit

65 E. 55th St.; 212-307-7311

What to get: Sunday�s Swedish spread is stocked with all the herring, gravlax, and meatballs you can eat; $48 includes a Carlsberg.

If you like Scandinavian food (and I *love* it) it's an amazing deal. I've eaten at this restaurant many times (I try to go whenever I'm in NY) and being a huge fan of all things smoked and pickled and fishy I'm in heaven there for Sunday brunch. I mean, nine different kinds of herring! Of course they have lots of yummy non fishy and non smoked/pickled/marinated things too!

You mean this isn't for stories about Jimmy Buffett or Warren Buffett?