| rev:text
| - In case you are wondering about the name, FYI it is not related to Wicked the musical, and it serves more than soup, ice cream, and other foods eaten with a spoon. And yes, it is wicked delicious.
TL;DR: eat selectively, and share when possible. Even when the items are pre-portioned into small plates, sharing is feasible and allows you to strategically sample the endless dishes.
=Round 1: Apps & Veggies=
(++) Shrimp & grits with beer blanc - Subtly cheesy grits and plump shrimp, with boozy-augmented flavors. I like the incorporation of new dimensions on the otherwise simple comfort food classic
(+++) Cipollini onion with pinenut praline, Mandarin, & candied pumpkin seeds - It seems like it would be an Onion prank that one of my favorites of this famous buffet be... an onion. Pun intended, but the interplay of sweet, nutty, and fruity was indeed quite memorable
(+++) Vanilla infused beet salad with stacciatella cheese & hazelnut vin - Another fascinating vegetarian masterpiece. I had to squint to taste the vanilla, but the incorporation of hazelnut was creative, an avant-garde culinary concept I've seen only at high-end restaurants
(++) Kale salad with ginger dressing & spiced pepitas - Somewhat too heavy on the dressing, but tasty. Would likely please kale non-enthusiasts
(+) Bourbon glazed carrots - Too much sugar and too little bourbon; nonetheless still a thoughtful rendition on carrots
=Round 2: Seafood=
(+/-) Seared salmon cauliflower puree with blistered tomatoes - Salmon was dry and inconsistent (friend's piece was grossly undercooked). Also unimpressed with the tiny smudge of cauliflower puree
(+++) Made to order seafood - Cooked to order with your choice of shrimp, molluscs, and fish paired with scampi or garlic white wine sauce. I think this is the omelette station at brunch; the fact that this replaces it for dinner makes the price difference well worth it. The cooks were very friendly, generous with the seafood, and helpful in making it ultra customized (a bit spicy, extra garlic, and no salt with white wine sauce was my favorite!). Man do omelettes seem lame now
=Round 3: Meat=
(+/-) Lamb leg with rosemary & garlic - I was excited for lamb, but it ended up being tough, dry, and lacking flavor. Could at least use more rosemary and garlic to distract
(+) Prime rib - Quite dry and not remedied by the au jus, which was also placed under the heating lamp making the spoon too hot to hold
(+++) Celeriac polenta with short ribs - Eat this instead of the prime rib! Tender, flavorful short rib cuts balanced with an earthy infused grainy polenta
(+) 5 spice pork belly - Honestly I was skeptical of the Chinese food, but this was an interesting flavor profile addition roast pork. It also has more layers of alternating crispy, lean meat, and fat than what I'm used to
(-) Bone marrow - From the rare times I eat bone marrow, I remember it being much tastier. This mostly seemed like a maple BBQ sauce on a fatty vehicle
(++) Jerk chicken - Unexpectedly, the chicken turned out to be the star of the carving station. Roasty and multidimensional from spices
=Round 4: Pasta=
(-) Angry mac & cheese - I guess the chipotle addition and crispy garnish are novel, but nothing interesting and it's very dry for mac & cheese. Makes me angry that everyone likes this so much
(++) Trofie pasta w/ kale pesto & Italian sausage - The al dente texture is so perfect with the kale pesto, which is light and slightly nutty. Paired with an umami Italian sausage for oomph
(-) Tortellini with tomato fondue & fried basil - Meh, typical pasta in my opinion
Round 5: Dessert
(++) Blueberry cake - I like how the blueberry is not too sweet
(+) Opera cake
(+) Strawberry cheesecake
(+) Almond apricot torte
(++) White chocolate & apricot mousse cone - I thought this would be gimmicky, but the combination of thin chocolate surrounding apricot mousse is delicately on point
(+++) Mango & passionfruit zenith cake - Most beautiful item of the buffet! The texture is a little reminiscent of meringue; also, it's an amorphous blend of cream, plain sponge cake, and pieces of fruit, more attenuated than full-on fruit cake
(+++) Tres leches - Mmm, deliciously alcoholic
Surprisingly, the much-anticipated carving station was underwhelming as much of the meat was dry and lacking flavor. Instead I was most impressed by the various vegetable dishes, which remind me of the fancy novelties crafted in the realm of fine dining.
~$42 for weekday dinner buffet is a good deal; however, prices are marked up on weekends as are all the Vegas buffets. I also opted out of the $5 happy hour cocktails in order to conserve my precious stomach space for noms P:
Fun fact: There's another place farther down the Strip called Wicked Slice... if you eat pizza with a spoon there, does it become Wicked Spoon?
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)