Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
saving room for—grab some sweets from the patisserie area in the center and then
head over to the crepe bar for one slathered with heavenly Nutella. While I'm not
a fan of buffets for breakfast (see my comments on p. 70), this one, because of
that crepe bar, may just be worth it. Heck, it will cost you $7 next door just for a
crepes with eggs in the AM; here you'll pay $13 for as many crepes as you like,
plus pastries, made-to-order omelets, a truck-load of fresh-cut fruits, beverages,
and more. Not to be too Pollyanna-ish, there are some disappointments here: The
line to get in can be massive and the “fondue” isn't (instead of dipping, the servers
pour a soup of cheese over whatever veggie or bread cubes you've chosen to
immerse). Most annoying are the salads. Though they're already slathered in
sauce, there's no sign warning patrons about this and a bunch of salad dressings
are set next to them, leading to some very limp greens if you aren't careful. But
these are small quibbles; all in all, I do think this is one of the most successful and
fun buffets in town.
$$-$$$$
Designed by Adam Tihany, who also created the high concept decor
at Mandalay Bay's Aureole restaurant and didn't want a word as gauche as “buf-
fet” to be used in his creation,
Cravings
5
(in the Mirage;
%
702/791-7111;
www.mirage.com; daily 7am-10pm; breakfast
$
13, lunch
$
18, dinner
$
23, Sat-Sun
brunch
$
21; AE, DISC, MC, V)
is supposed to be different from the rest because of
its abundance of “live action”—chefs in their whites, carving, tossing, sautéing, and
well, generally pretending that this place isn't a buffet. It is, of course, though one
with a much more mod decor than most, featuring brilliantly colorful backlit glass
walls, a swooping metal ceiling sculpture, and resin table tops. It all looks ultra
luxe...until you get to the buffet itself, which is, well, sparse. Don't get me wrong,
the fare is generally quite appetizing, there just aren't piles of it lying around and
giving vacationers that happy Roman orgy feeling that most buffets impart. And
interestingly Cravings seems to assume that what diners are craving is really
unusual fare; the Asian food, in particular, has some downright odd choices like
fried gluten with peanuts, bok choy with oyster sauce, kimchi, and
congee
(a type
of pudding) when I last visited. I tried them and they were terrific, but I seemed
to be one of the only people there that night with a sense of adventure. Most were
sticking with the nicely tossed salads (which they do so you won't tire your arms),
BBQ, pizza baked in a wood-burning oven, and standard Mexican dishes. The
menu changes frequently, but there are always 11 stations to choose from. Along
with the relative lack of variety, dessert is a bit of a disappointment, though they
do have a lovely array of gelatos, instead of the usual ice cream machine.
$$-$$$$
If you're going to the buffet really for the variety of dessert options,
the one you want to hit is
The Buffet at TI
55
9
(in TI at the Mirage;
www.treasureisland.com; daily 7am-10:30pm; breakfast
$
12, weekend champagne
brunch
$
18, lunch
$
15, dinner
$
20 except Fri-Sat when it's
$
25; AE, DISC, MC, V),
which takes the sweet stuff seriously. One large corner of the space is devoted to
desserts, and it's the buffets' showplace, backed by a large glass wall so people in
the casino can watch the three or four chefs who man the area dip fresh strawber-
ries into rich dark chocolate, fry up mini donuts, and scoop out a rainbow assort-
ment of ice creams (seven satisfying flavors in all). Cakes are all individually sized,
a great innovation, because they stay a lot fresher than the ones that are sliced into
