| rev:text
| - "At midnight every self-respecting casino premières its $1.50 buffet--the eighth wonder of the world, the one true art form this androgynous harlot of cities has delivered herself of.... We marvel at the Great Pyramids, but they were built over decades; the midnight buffet is built daily. Crushed-ice castles and grottoes chill the shrimp and lobster. Sculptured aspic is scrolled with Paisley arabesques. They are, laid out with reverent artistry: hors d'oeuvres, relish, salads, and sauces; crab, herring oyster, sturgeon, octopus, and salmon; turkey, ham, roast beef, casseroles, fondues, and curries; cheeses, fruits and pastries. How many times you go through the line is a private matter between you and your capacity, and then between your capacity and the chef's evil eye."
-- William Pearson (in his 1965 novel, The Muses of Ruin, describing a Las Vegas buffet)
Whilst discovering the above quotation in Wikipedia, I was surprised to learn that the "all you can eat" buffet is said to have been first introduced in 1946 by Herb MacDonald, a Las Vegas hotel manager. I did know that eating at a Vegas buffet is a quintessential experience one must sample if their visit to this town is to be truly memorable. My friends and I didn't want to leave deprived in this regard, so we pre-paid for Flamingo's version for a Sunday morning (our departure day). For days, when I walked by, I monitored the line in front of the buffet room which always seemed to be unappetizingly long. I was a bit worried we were in store for a long wait and a big disappointment.
However, when we arrived at 9:00 AM on Sunday, there was not another patron in sight! Over the course of our brunch, a few other folks wandered in, but the place remained essentially empty. Because of this, we were offered a prime table with a great view of the garden, waterfalls and flamingos. Our excellent waitress kept our champagne glasses brimming throughout.
My first foray to the buffet table landed me the "heart healthy" portion of my meal--salad and fruit. What I sampled was fresh, crisp and sweet. I particularly liked the prunes (go figure).
During my second, third and fourth forays, I abandoned all intentions of health consciousness and scarfed on a huge omelette, prime rib, more prime rib and just about every other fat-filled, cholesterol-laden, blood pressure-increasing concoction available in their impressive spread.
Ref http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/_kb6GT4qawjwq47OsQ52xw?select=9yCceoQVfkBnaI1pCC8b3g
Whe it was time for dessert, I realized I was already completely stuffed and just sampled their cheese plate and some wonderfully tasty dried figs. They reminded me of my Grandmother's figs dipped in brown sugar that she dried under glass in the sun back in the 60's.
A dose of nostalgia on a full belly is always good. It was a great way to end our trip to Vegas and I definitely got my money's worth. I didn't even suffer the following day.
|
![[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)