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| - After not having been to Vegas in a few years, we booked a last minute trip due to a free hotel stay at the Venetian. One of the things I wanted to try was the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace. I put together a plan and even gave ourselves about 2-3 hours extra to get there on time. Well, the buffet Gods were not smiling down on me this day. I ran into traffic. A LOT of traffic. While I did drive like it was a Cannonball Run race, to make up for lost time, I got there a little late. Because I always have a plan B when we travel (heck, I even put spreadsheets together), Tacos El Gordo was our back up.
Ok, I know I already mentioned Bacchanal and Tacos El Gordo already. And you're probably wondering what business you clicked on. Well, don't worry. It's coming.
It was late, so me and the wife decided to go check into our hotel, get the kids washed up and into bed, while I was going to pick up those tacos. However, we did have to get the kids something to eat. So, since Mesa Grill was open, and it was on my Yelp bookmarks to try, we went in. See, I told you it was coming.
Anyway, we didn't want to eat too much since we were getting tacos. We went with quesadillas for the kids and a light snack for us: Blue Corn Pancake with Roasted Duck and a Corn Tamale with Garlic Tiger Shrimp. The pancake with duck was great. The barbecued duck was tender and the 2 sauces, habanero chile and star anise, complimented the flavors perfectly. As good as that dish was, the tamale was even better. However, I'm probably a little biased here as I'm a lover of cilantro. Served with the tamale and garlic shrimp was a scrumptious cilantro cream sauce. If you've ever been to Luche Libre in San Diego (another restaurant, Jamie? Stick to one!), then it is very comparable, if not better. While my doctor probably wouldn't like me to, I would drink that stuff if I could.
All-in-all, a great place to get a snack, but I'm sure it's even better for an actual dinner. Be aware, this is still Vegas, so the dishes are a little pricey for what it is. The appetizers were about $20 still. Service was ok, but it seems they switched off or something because 3 different people came to our table.
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