It's been a while since I've been so inspired by a restaurant that I felt it necessary to write a review immediately after returning from my first visit. As you can see by all the glowing reviews so far, the Buddha Belly Deli is well on it's way to becoming a success story. I foresee this restaurant as having the uniqueness necessary to become one of the places that tourists come to for an "off the strip" experience. I also predict it to climb the charts in the Yelp list of top restaurants in Vegas/Henderson amongst the likes of The Sparklings and Soho Japanese. I was one of the first few customers of those restaurants when they were new and it's clear to me that Buddha Belly Deli has that certain "je ne sais quoi" that those other restaurants did. So mark my words here. This restaurant is definitely a keeper and if you haven't been yet, you should definitely cross it off your to-do list. Get to it!
Enough about me singing Buddha's praises, let's talk about the food. I tried the top three items that all the trailblazer yelpers before me recommended and I was a fan of all three of them.
I started with the Thai Clam Chowder. Such an ingenious idea to merge an American classic with Tom Kha soup. Good stuff!
Then I moved on to the "Pho Dip" which is a Vietnamese spin on the classic French Dip sandwich. The dipping broth is pho soup. The sandwich consists of a soft & squishy fresh French bread, perfect for absorbing that yummy pho like a sponge. The inside is filled with slices of rare beef, jalapeƱos, onion and bean sprouts. A definite must try.
Last but not least I had the Szechuan Shrimp Po-boy... Crispy shrimp, spicy Szechuan mayo & shredded lettuce sandwiched between a sliced baguette. It wasn't spicy enough for me so I think next time I'm going to try out the homemade spicy sauce that Nate was raving about and kick my sandwich up a notch.
Then there were the little touches, like the container of forks being labeled "Fork You" and the knives were labeled something else equally clever but I can't remember for the life of me. My point though is that it's obvious the owner thought of something creative right down to the last little minute detail... A detail that was not lost on me. Totally my style of the way I would do things if I had a restaurant. Now I must know what every single thing is labeled so I need to come back and see. Inquiring minds wanna know! Great conversation piece for guests.
I'm already plotting and planning my next visit. I can't wait to come back and try more items on the menu. Another patron was recommending their Sloppy Joe to me and said it's so good that it brings tears to his eyes. This is an awesome new addition to the community and it's right next door to a really good nail salon, not that you need any further incentive to visit but I'm just saying...