Bartenura Moscato

More than any other type of wine, my husband and I buy Moscato.  It's sweeter than a lot of wine, and my husband likes his wine sweet.  It's usually a safe bet that we'll like Moscato, some more than others, but we usually don't have trouble finishing the bottle.

Well, we were in Vegas last week, and wine/cocktail/beer prices at restaurants/bars there aren't cheap.  Instead of paying $15/glass, we decided to buy a bottle of wine at the nearby Walgreens. 

We almost always stay at the Palazzo when we're in Vegas, and right on the strip in front of the Palazzo and the Venetian is a huge Walgreens.  The Palazzo and the Venetian are connected inside, and you can access Walgreens by walking down a long hallway in the Venetian (near the canals).  When you exit, you go down an escalator, and you're there.  This Walgreens has everything you'd expect it to have plus lots of Vegas souvenirs.  The liquor bottles cost about double what I'd usually pay at my local Total Wine back in L.A., but it's definitely cheaper than drinking out.  Besides, when you have a beautiful hotel suite with a strip view, it's a luxury to stay in.

We looked at several different types of Moscato, but in the end, the label on the Bartenura bottle intrigued us.  I know you can't judge a book (bottle) by it's cover (label), but we had to know if it tasted as good as it looked.  Also, it was an Italian wine, and we tend to like Italian wines.

The verdict?  It's very sweet, a great dessert wine.  In fact, it was our dessert that night.  It's also crisp and refreshing.  We didn't eat anything with it; it was great by itself.  However, it's not the best Moscato I've ever had.  I'm glad we tried it, but for the price (about $20), it's not as good as I expected.  I've paid less for Moscato in the past and been even more pleased. 

However, props to the Palazzo for having everything you need to enjoy a bottle of wine in your room...wine glasses, bottle-size ice-bucket and even a corkscrew.  Ahh!

Happy drinking!

Wicked Spoon - Buffet at the Cosmopolitan

This was my first visit to the Cosmopolitan, and I have to say, I'm hooked.  I love, love, love the glamorous yet whimsical decor throughout the casino, and that same attitude flows into the Wicked Spoon buffet.

I didn't plan on visiting Wicked Spoon this trip.  I had vaguely seen it listed on a top 10 list of Vegas buffets, but I thought I'd just stick to my favorites.  We did a timeshare tour, and in exchange, we got this buffet for free.  I'm so glad we did or I never would've known how wonderful it is.  It's definitely a surprising new favorite.

During this trip to Vegas I actually ended up eating at The Wicked Spoon twice.  The first time was on Labor Day.  We arrived during the end of brunch.  Wicked Spoon only does brunch and dinner where some other buffets have separate breakfast, lunch and dinner food and pricing.  Usually the buffet is open from 8am-2pm for brunch during the week and from 8am-3pm on the weekends.  Since it was a holiday, brunch lasted until 3pm.  Also, usually The Wicked Spoon buffet is closed after brunch until 5pm when it reopens for dinner, but on Labor Day, it stayed open all day.  Take note of this because most buffets don't close between lunch and dinner.  Make sure you arrive with enough time to enjoy the buffet before it closes if you're arriving for brunch.

Since we were there on Labor Day, bunch cost as much as dinner usually costs.  Holidays always cost more.  That doesn't mean the food is any different than usual though.  Although, in this case, it meant that the buffet didn't close between brunch and dinner, and we were able to enjoy brunch food and then stay and enjoy dinner food as well.

There are 2 lines at this buffet before you're seated.  You have to get in line to buy the buffet.  Then you get in a 2nd line to be seated.  I'd never seen that before.  At every other buffet that I've been to, you get in one line to pay for your food, and then you stay in the same line to wait to be seated.  I just got in the second line at Wicked Spoon.  There actually wasn't anyone in the first line, so I basically didn't even see that I was supposed to go somewhere else first.  The hostess was nice enough and let me hold my place in the second line while my husband jumped in the first line to pay.

As I've already mentioned, I love the decor.  The square booths are super cute, and the pictures are whimsical, for example, a high heel stuck through cheesecake and a necklace wrapped around an onion.  I also love that the flat screen TVs scroll through definitions of different food terms. 

A beverage comes with the buffet, so I started with coffee.  It came in a nice tall cup, but it was a little strong for my taste.  One cup of coffee, and I moved on to Diet Coke.  I like that they have Coke products instead of Pepsi.





















Now, onto the food.  There was a lot to love.  During brunch, the roast beef and herb roasted tomatoes were standouts.  The salad bar area had a lot of individual serving size salads.  I loved trying all of those.  For dinner, I thought the prime rib and lamb were just okay, but the crab legs and the gnocchi were amazing.

I didn't love most of the desserts, but for me that's actually a good thing.  Usually I like them too much.  I do have a sweet tooth.  The chocolate covered strawberries dipped in toffee were pretty good, and the gelato selection was about the biggest I've seen at a buffet.  The salted peanut caramel was awesome.

We enjoyed the buffet so much that we went out of our way to visit it for brunch the day we left to drive back to L.A.  We arrived just before 11am on a Saturday.  The line was pretty short, and we were seated right away.

I tried a few brunch items that I hadn't tried the first time.  I loved the Blue Moon Beer & Granola pancakes.  They were especially good when topped with whipped honey butter, powdered sugar and syrup.  I usually don't get seconds of the same food at a buffet because I want as much variety as possible, but I ended up going back for a second pancake.  They were just that good.

I also loved the Ciabatta Panini with scrambled egg, bacon and white cheddar.  You really can't go wrong with that combination.  It was a wonderful breakfast sandwich and a million times better than the fast food english muffin version.  White cheddar is amazing.

I read in one review of this buffet that this is the only buffet where you'll see model-types eating on a regular basis.  There are a lot of small plates and healthy options.  I really like that about this buffet.  You can eat a lot, enjoy it, get variety, and not feel like a pig.  Wicked Spoon is now my second favorite buffet in Vegas.  I look forward to eating here during future trips to Vegas.  Well done, Cosmopolitan.  Well done.

Happy eating!

The Buffet at Bellagio

The Buffet at Bellagio used to be the top rated buffet in Las Vegas, but over the past few years a few new buffets have come along that have trumped it.  Still, this is an impressive buffet, and depending on what you're in the mood to eat, it might be exactly what you're looking for.

I first went to this buffet several years ago, back when it was rated #1.  I went again today, a Friday, and I was pleasantly surprised.  I had forgotten about the outdoor decor like street lamps and brick decorating the dining room area.  I had also forgotten just how big this buffet is.

We arrived at lunch and stayed for dinner.  You know about this trick, right?  You arrive shortly before lunch ends, pay the lunch price and stay for dinner.  This works out well if you're willing to eat an early dinner (or a late lunch) since dinner starts at 3:30pm.  For frugal people, this is a really good deal, especially on Friday and Saturday when Bellagio has a special gourmet dinner featuring 3 kinds of caviar.  That's right folks, pay the normal lunch price, and you too can taste caviar.  I actually didn't try it.  Eating fish eggs just doesn't appeal to me.

We arrived around 2pm.  The line was almost nonexistent, and we were seated right away.

They serve Coke products here, which I like.  I had Diet Coke.  They also have coffee, tea, etc.

At lunch they also had breakfast food, making it more of a brunch.  I enjoyed the eggs benedict.  The egg was cooked long enough that the yolk was hard.  I don't like runny yolks.

As far as lunch food, I enjoyed the salmon, the mashed sweet potatoes and the pesto mashed potatoes.  They had beef and turkey sliders which tasted a little bland and overcooked.  I like the sliders much better at the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace.  There were several different carving stations.  They had flank steak, but it wasn't nearly as good as the flank steak at The Buffet at Wynn, and they had turkey, but it wasn't as good as the turkey at Le Village Buffet at Paris.

As far as dinner food, I enjoyed the beef wellington, which I hadn't seen at any other buffet.  They also have crab legs (but so does every buffet at dinner time), and as I mentioned earlier, 3 types of caviar.

Regarding dessert, I especially enjoyed the bread pudding, bananas foster and coconut macaroons. They had chocolate covered strawberries, but I like them better at Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan.

They don't have gelato, which is a huge negative considering this is an Italian-themed resort/casino/buffet.  They do have 2 soft-serve ice-cream machines.  One has chocolate, vanilla and swirl.  The other has peach sorbet, raspberry sorbet and swirl.  The ice-cream and sorbet were too icy and cold.  It wasn't creamy enough.  If I wanted soft-serve at a buffet, I'd rather eat the soft-serve at Le Village Buffet at Paris.

To end my meal, I finished with a cup of coffee, which was perfect.  That's one nice thing about buffets, everything (except alcoholic beverages) is included.

As far as buffets go, I rate Bellagio's buffet as #4 in Vegas.  It has a lot of variety, and most of the food is well cooked and well seasoned, but the flavor is better at other buffets.  Also, the lack of gelato is unforgivable considering it's Italian theme.  And, one more annoyance, some of the food labels were wrong.  For example, "peach sorbet" was labeled "raspberry sorbet" and vice versa.  Also, the "eggs benedict" and "eggs florentine" labels were switched.  I didn't see mislabeling at any other buffet.  It just seems like sloppy work.

Still, there are some "gourmet" items on this menu that you won't find elsewhere.  If you want caviar, this is the buffet for you!

Happy eating!

Le Village Buffet - Paris Resort & Casino

There are lots of buffets to choose from in Las Vegas, but the decor at the Paris buffet is the cutest.  When in Vegas, I really can't get enough of the decor where you're inside but you feel like you're outside.  Some people may criticize it for kind of being like Disneyland, but I love that it really tries to make you feel like you're in a French village.









We went to Le Village Buffet twice during our most recent trip to Vegas, once for dinner on Labor Day weekend and once for lunch later in the week.  One thing to note is that the prices are higher than usual on holiday weekends.  This is pretty much true at every buffet.  Just be aware.

The buffet comes with a beverage.  They have Pepsi products, coffee, tea, juice, etc.  The buffet also includes one glass of complimentary wine, but we weren't told that during our visit there for dinner on Labor Day weekend.  It was only when we returned for lunch that we were offered our choice of red or white house wine.  If your waiter or waitress doesn't offer you wine, make sure you ask about it.  I had chardonnay, which was light and fruity.  Wine definitely seems appropriate when dining in "Paris."

One of the standouts at this buffet is the brie & bacon mac and cheese.  I could just eat a plate of that and be happy.  You must try it.  The sweet potatoes were also delicious.

I love the crepe station.  The only other buffet I know of that has a crepe station is the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, but I prefer the crepe station here at Paris.

When we were in Vegas in January, I had crepe #2 (a berry mixture).  It was so good that I finished it even though I was already super full.


This trip, when we went for dinner, I had crepe #3 (apples).  I love cooked apples.  It was amazing, and once again, I finished it.

When we returned for lunch, I decided to start my meal with one of the savory crepes.  I chose #5 (spinach and mushrooms).  It was truly delicious.  I think that'll be my new "usual" crepe selection, although, I really don't think there's a bad choice. 

Other standouts food items include the lamb, spinach artichoke dip, tri tip and Brussels sprouts.




As far as desserts, I loved the macaroons, creme brulee, lemon meringue pie, bread pudding and the oatmeal chocolate chip raisin cookies.

The cookies were way up there on my list of favorites.  I know a cookie doesn't sound too impressive, but if all I'd had for dessert were one little cookie, I would've been very happy.

They don't have gelato at this buffet, but they do have a soft-serve ice-cream machine with vanilla, chocolate and swirl.  That's not as fancy as gelato, but with so many other delicious desserts, it was satisfactory. 

The limited variety and lack of gelato makes this buffet rate only #5 in my list of favorite Vegas buffets as far as food is concerned, but like I said, you can't beat the cute atmosphere.  There's a lot of comfort food on this buffet, and the crepes are huge and delicious, so it's difficult not to overeat.  If only the calories you consumed in Vegas would stay in Vegas.  Pace yourself and enjoy. 

Happy eating! 

Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace

Since opening almost a year ago, the new buffet at Caesars Palace, the Bacchanal Buffet, has been rated the number one Las Vegas buffet by several top sources.  I can see why it gets this top rating, but in my opinion, it comes in third.

I first visited the Bacchanal Buffet the first week of January.  The wait for lunch was at least 2 hours long.  The line was wrapped around through a bunch of turnstiles and snaked out towards the door.  We waited a few minutes, realized there was no way we'd make it to the front of the line before dinner started and left to go have lunch at The Buffet at Wynn (my #1 favorite buffet) where the wait was only about a half hour.

We still wanted to try the Bacchanal Buffet during our January visit to Vegas, so we stopped there again around noon on a Friday, the day we were heading home.  The line was shorter but still long.  All the turnstiles were filled, but this time the line didn't go all the way to the door.  I think it took about an hour for us to get to the front of the line.

More recently, we visited Vegas close to the 1-year anniversary of the Bacchanal Buffet.  For better or worse, everything seemed the same as on my previous visit...except for the line (thankfully).  We probably waited about 10 minutes during lunch on a weekday.  That was certainly a welcome change.

The seating in the dining rooms is comfortable, and I like that different dining areas are decorated differently.  For example, one area is more metal and modern looking.  Another area is more wooden and rustic.  Even the chairs and tables are different in different areas.  It's kinda cool.  You could eat there multiple times, sit in different dining areas and feel like you're eating at different restaurants (although the food would be the same).

You really can't beat the variety on the buffet.  The only buffet I've seen with more variety was at Rio, but Rio is desperately lacking in quality and atmosphere.  Bacchanal has Chinese food, sushi, a salad bar, an amazing meat and cheese selection, pizza, pasta, Mexican food with a whole area devoted to different kinds of salsa, American comfort food, a carving station with the biggest selection of meats at any buffet, seafood and probably the biggest dessert area of any buffet I've seen.  I'm probably missing a few areas.  There's really a lot to take in.  I know they also have soup, juice, bread selection, the list goes on.


There's no question that this buffet has the best presentation of any buffet in Vegas.  First of all, you can watch the chefs prepare the food.  I believe they call these areas "live-action stations".  Also, many dishes are served on tiny individual serving-size plates.  It's adorable but not entirely practical.  All these little plates limit what you can carry on any one trip to the buffet.  Still, thumbs up for presentation.

So, why is this only my third favorite buffet?  Flavor, or lack of flavor.  Variety and presentation aren't very important if you don't love the taste of what you're eating.  I believe this is also the most (or one of the most) expensive buffets in Vegas.  For the price tag, you definitely want to enjoy your meal.

The slider is really the only thing that I crave after leaving this buffet.  It's perfectly cooked and combined with the bun and cheese, it tastes like butter.  The price of the buffet is a lot to pay just to eat sliders though.  Everything else is fine but not remarkable.  That doesn't mean that the other food isn't good, it's just not craveably addictably good like at my 2 favorite buffets...The Buffet at Wynn rating #1 and Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan rating #2.

Besides the sliders, I was most impressed with the cheese selection.  This is the only buffet in Vegas where I saw brie and goat cheese.  They were amazing when spread on onion rolls or pretzel rolls.  The sea bass and salmon were pretty good.  The meatloaf is better at Wynn.  If you like heat, the spicy sausage at the carving station is good but greasy.  During dinner, they bring out meatballs, which are really good if you like them spicy (which I do).

As far as dessert, their gelato selection rivals Wicked Spoon.  The strawberry cheesecake flavor was delightful.  They also have my husband's favorite, creme brulee.  Honestly, this is the best creme brulee in Vegas.  They have both chocolate and vanilla.  I haven't seen chocolate creme brulee at any other buffet.  There's also a crepe station, but I prefer the crepes at Paris' Le Village Buffet.

In summary, the Bacchanal Buffet has unbeatable variety but the individual dishes are lacking in flavor.  Get out that salt and pepper; you're doing to need them, but make sure you try the sliders and the creme brulee.

Happy eating!