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| - I've never really had a good experience with buffets. Paradise Buffet and Cafe Restaurant reminded me why I avoid them.
Yes, it's Vegas. Yes, they are known for world-class food and excellent buffets. Just remember that NONE of them are located in Downtown Las Vegas.
The establishment is located in the Fremont casino. It's large and maze-y with roomy booths. The decor isn't vintage; it looks like a 1980s highschool set for Wizard of Oz. There's alot of green.
First off, our waitress didn't know what half-and-half was when we requested it with coffee. She kept pointing to the french vanilla creamer already on the table. I already had a feeling I wasn't going to like this place....
They had a decent variety of food from American hot-dogs and patties wading in gray, hot water to Italian pasta, dried out from the hot lamps to "Chinese" stir-fry that could rival any MacCormack seasoning packet available at most grocery stores. I opted for jambalaya, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and beef roast from the carving station. I've never had jambalaya before (at this point) so wasn't sure what to expect; it tasted okay:lots of sausage and my friend told me it tasted like it came from a can. Can you go wrong with mashed potatoes? Yes, even Paradise can! When I attempted to add butter to the flavorless mash, I could only find margarine...Ugh, isn't anything real here? Not too surprising, after all, they didn't have half-and-half... Everything ersatz!
Fresh fruit and a piece of apple pie for dessert. Pretty sad when the fruit was the best part of the meal.
Lunch buffet cost about $9. A bargain, one might say, for a "Vegas" buffet. All the strip buffets were starting around $30.
There's a reason why the restrooms are located at the exit of the restaurant with large, brightly-lit signs. Now, I love food, and if that food disagrees with my digestion but it tastes delicious, I'm willing to give a little leeway. When I eat a less than mediocre meal and additionally have the inconvenience and discomfort of immediately needing a restroom, I am not a happy camper. In toto, six out of our group of eight ended up in the restroom. The women's bathroom was clean, however, the males in our group recounted a disgusting state of the men's restroom.
Why 2 stars in stead of 1? Although the entire experience was sub-par, there is a possibility our 6 days of Vegas binging finally caught up to us and contributed to our sickened state. Even without sickness, not worth $9.
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