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| - Okay, you're going to try it once, like so many other things in life.
I was there on the evening of 1 January, which means I expected the crowds to have cleared out. My error. So here is the process: you go to the buffet area, and check in electronically on a machine that is in front of the TSA-like queue. You get a print out telling how long you're going to wait. Ours told us 70 minutes, but that's the wait to join the queue, not to go in. They have your phone number at that point, so go wander around or find a place to hang. Tip #1) The Cigar Lounge is quiet and excellent, with big screen TVs and nice bartenders. Then, you 'll come back to the queue and join it at your appointed time. Get ready to wait some more. It probably took us another hour to get to the pay station, pay for our meals, and then join yet another line (this one blessedly shorter) for a hostess to seat us.
When it comes time to be seated, follow your hostess. Warning: the place is huge. Bring flares so you can find your companion. Don't expect elegance. The two-tops have tables that are quite big, probably to accommodate the large number of plates that are going to show up. Tip #2) think carefully about how much you plan to drink Individual glasses of wine are $9, but there's an all-u-can-drink deal that is in the low $20s. Consider it.
Then, go scope things out. There's a lot of different choices, to say the least. Here are some things that my dining companion and I decided were amongst the best of the offerings.
Tip #3) Try the following
* Peking duck
* Beef ribs
* bone marrow
* shrimp (her say-so)
* baby carrots
* shrimp and grits (her say-so)
* ribeye
* crepes for dessert (chocolate is good)
It's worth doing once, but I don't know that I'd come back.
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