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| - I was in town for CES with a number of friends this year, and I was waiting in a giant line to board the Harrah's monorail the first morning when I saw the usual booklets of Vegas info in a little stand within the station. Figuring I could use something to kill time, I picked one up and started perusing the contents. On one of the pages was listed the top 10 buffets in Vegas. I figured, "Well, Rio has to be at the top with Bellagio 2nd and going on from there...", but was surprised to see that Wynn was ranked #1, Rio #2, and Bellagio #4!!!
So I did some research and learned that the Wynn seems to be the new rage in buffets on the strip, so we decided to check it out. We arrived at around 7 and waited for about 45 minutes before getting on a Saturday evening. Not too unreasonable.
We were eventually seated and provided drink orders then went to town. Here were some of the highlights:
Pre-cut cold King Crab legs - This is my favorite part of every buffet. King is king, and if they are hot legs they are the best, but most buffets do cold legs to keep them lasting longer. The line for the seafood was the longest in the buffet, and it was worth it. When I finally got to the crab legs with my giant empty plate I started putting them on while a working behind the counter started gathering a ton of them in his gloved hand. He then asked me if I wanted what he had collected on my plate. I said yes, and instantly my collection of 3 legs with tongs turned into around 15. I added a few more and got some drawn butter and the rest is history. Awesome legs.
Braised short ribs - Only slightly dry if not in the sauce, but the meat literally fell of the bone and shredded easily with a fork. Very tender and flavorful.
Pumpkin Ravioli - I don't really like sweet food for dinner items, but these were excellently done with great texture and flavor. The spice was really present and enhanced the item well.
Lamb Chop - Super tender and tasty. Again, fall off the bone goodness. A little fatty, but easily trimmed away.
The ice cream bar - It's like a Coldstone or a gelato bar... Tons of ice creams. They also had crepes for those interested.
I tried a little of everything, and these were the things that really stood out to me. The rest was average and not overly impressive. The thing is, I would want to compare this to Bellagio since it took the number one spot and highlight some of the differences between the two that might help you decide which is better for you.
Bellagio Pros:
Better variety (Beef Wellington, Venison or Buffalo, etc)
Lower price
High quality
Wynn Pros:
Crab legs are cut in half for easy access (if this applies to Bellagio, then forgive my forgetfulness and remove this item)
Lamb chops
Ice cream and crepe bar
In general, both have tons of desserts (of which most suck), and lots of standard items like salad, pasta, tacos, prime rib, etc. The Wynn presentation for food was higher (nice pictures taken by one of my friends), but the Bellagio offers a better deal; better bang for the buck.
Summary: Most of the food was good. Some of the food was great (crab legs, short ribs, ice cream bar). Food presentation was excellent. But when it comes to overall deal for the price, it's not worth it. Bellagio seems a better deal with greater variety and comparable quality for less.
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