Fresh ideas in Vegas buffet dining

By Lena Katz and Samantha Chapnick

Not all buffets will have you returning from your Las Vegas vacation with an expanded waistline. The focus at these buffets is on home-style intimate settings and servings.

When Cravings Buffet at the Mirage opened in 2004, it kicked
off a trend in Vegas buffet dining: going small. Eleven themed areas,
each with its own live-action station, give the illusion of going from
restaurant to restaurant rather than traversing the steam-table lineup.
Dishes are cooked in small batches and presented in serving bowls like
you might see at home, which we think makes forfresher, more appetizing food.
Designer Adam Tahani masterminded the architecture and décor of
Cravings specifically to look like an intimate, formal dining
restaurant, not a buffet.

Rio Carnival World Buffet was the first buffet in town to do
individual themed stations, and to actually cook food fresh at those
stations. It’s still the largest in Vegas, offering everything from
Asian and Mexican to a Teppanyaki grill and an Italian pasta bar.
Carnival Buffet can get extraordinarily busy, so if you want to skip
from station to station without waiting, we suggest going on weekends between 3:30 and 6
p.m. or weekdays between 5 and 7 p.m.

The same goes for the buffet at sister property TI. Redone completely
in 2006, it now focuses on individual portions and made-to-order dishes. The pastry chef doesan
entire presentation of ‘50s comfort desserts. Our favorites are
the miniature donuts, but the malted chocolate cake scores high on the
endorphin Richter scale as well.

Flavors at Harrahs was introduced all-new a little while ago. It,
too, now offers the small-serving, small batch preparation style. Food
is rotated out about every 20-30 minutes. You can actually see the
chefs making the food in the kitchen right behind the buffet.
And what’s particularly rare for a buffet is that you can ask them to
make something special or customized. If you eat here, our not-to-miss list includes the
Brazilian wood-fired rotisserie barbecue, or the ice cream, which is
prepared on a marble-topped counter. This remains one of our picks for best values among Las Vegas restaurants.

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Hear more recommendations from travel writers Samantha Chapnick and Lena Katz in this Orbitz Insider Podcast.

Tagged: Las Vegas