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| - The prices have gone up at the buffet, probably to bring them closer to the upscale Strip-priced places that Red Rock has been rapidly adding to the roster. The cute little self-contained glasses of wine have been replaced by Barefoot little bottles. Barefoot isn't a bad brand, but we buy a whole bottle at Suncoast's liquor store on sale for just a buck more. I wouldn't mind any of this if the buffet had maintained its previous high standards for food and presentation. Alas, that's gone, too. And now there's a two-hour limit - stay longer and they'll throw you out.
Our most recent foray was, again, for the Passover additions to the buffet. Not that we don't eat all the other stuff, too. But the entire buffet is now a ghost of its former glory. Many of the holiday offerings - listed on a big cardboard sign in front of the entrance - were nowhere to be found. Macaroons? Nyet. Matzo Brei? Nein. Potato kugel - yes, but totally tasteless.
Also tasteless was the ceviche, California rolls, and almost everything else I tried. The brisket was pure fat, through and through. Gelato was not gelato, but the most ordinary Chinese restaurant ice cream you've ever had.
A waitress was present in our section almost the whole time we were there, but she wasn't ours. Our waitress was apparently out to lunch.
My husband spoke with two managers before we left. One told him that, yes, there was a new chef. He also said that before he became a manager, he used to be a customer, and he's noticed the difference, too.
The decline of the Feast Buffet is in line with all the other hellish changes that have taken place at Red Rock over the last year or so. Put this together with the now 2-star rating for the Hotel and Casino, the removal of all the machines I loved to play, now replaced with glitzy, noisy one-armed bandits that truly are bandits, reduced payouts, reduced offerings for regulars, and you have a place that no longer cares about locals. And locals have fewer and fewer reasons to go. What's their next move - charging for parking?
It's sad.
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