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from dish to dish. Interestingly, the cheap grub tends to be better than the expen-
sive side of the menu, with absolutely fine pulled pork sandwiches ($10), nachos
($8), tangy wings ($10), and a juicy meatloaf and mayo sandwich ($10). Keith's
favorite, the fried bologna sandwich ($10) on garlic toast with that most south-
ern of toppings, Miracle Whip, is an unlikely standout; and there are surprisingly
large and tasty salad meals for a place that's trying to establish its redneck cred.
Order the catfish ($15), the pork chop ($18), or the rotisserie chicken ($14),
however, and you'll need to fortify yourself with lots of $6 beers—grilled to the
moistness of the Sahara, you'd be run out of Kansas if you tried to serve these sorry
entrees at any self-respecting roadhouse there. So what's the final assessment?
Come for the music, stick with the kind of food and drink you'd order at a honky
tonk down south, and you'll saunter out with a swing in your Levis and an extra
tap in those Justin boots. But don't even cross the red, white, and blue threshold
if you're in a rush; like your grub on the refined side; or expect your neighbors to
eat quietly (the last time I was here a bunch of bombed bachelorettes turned their
meal into an impromptu karaoke session). You've been warned.
BUFFETS ON THE CENTER STRIP
Buffets are pricier in the “Central Zone,” though sometimes that uptick isn't fol-
lowed by a corresponding uptick in food quality or variety (as at the underwhelm-
ing Harrah's buffet). And there are some where the lines are so long and the prices
so sky high ($35 at the Bellagio for a “gourmet dinner”) that I can't in good con-
science recommend them—when you're paying $30 or more for a meal, you
deserve to have a maitre d' whisk you quickly to a table where you should sit back
rather than having to play waiter. Long lines and jostling crowds spell airport
security, not fine dining. So I'm including just three buffet choices for this area;
if you're interested in trying one of the ones I'm not writing up, you'll find full
pricing and hours on p. 106 for every single, darn buffet on the Strip (and some
off it as well).
$$-$$$$
Looking like a set from the touring production of
Disney's Beauty and
the Beast,
with a faux blue-painted sky and a cute-as-kittens market square theme,
all of the food stations tucked into little Gallic houses,
Le Village Buffet
555
(in Paris Las Vegas;
%
877/796-2092 or 702/946-7000; www.harrahs.com; daily
8am-10:30pm; breakfast
$
13, lunch
$
18, dinner and Sat-Sun brunch
$
25; AE,
DISC, MC, V)
wins points before you ever put fork to mouth. It's just such hokey
fun to graze here; and the lack of one central area, or even straight lines between
the food stations, helps cut down on wait times tremendously. As for the food, it's
très, très
bon, with a choice of 50-plus different entrees and sides, the grub almost
exclusively French but divided by region within that country (crepes from
Brittany, quiche in Normandy, and so forth). A number of buffets around town
distinguish themselves by offering up a lot of seafood. Le Village doesn't advertise
it, but the emphasis here is on red meat and I happen to think this is the best buf-
fet in town for confirmed carnivores. Whether it's being generously plated at the
carvery, encased between layers of pastry, or served up in a savory stew, the meat
here is, you'll pardon the expression, a cut above—tender, never stringy or dry.
Another Atkins-friendly innovation: a groaning cheese board, with truly deli-
cious cheeses of all sorts, from pungent blues to runny bries. Dessert is worth
