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| - One's experience at this event depends on so many factors. If I had to wait more than a half hour just for a few bites of food, I would be annoyed. If I arrived late just to see much of the food run out by 9:30pm, I would be livid. I would have no qualms about giving this event a 1 star review.
I already had a Vegas trip planned for this particular weekend, so booking tickets for this was truly spontaneous. $88 for general admission seemed like a semi-decent deal (hey, that's 2 buffets). When I found out that Groupon LV was doing a 50% off deal, sure I was slightly annoyed, not at the price, but more about added number of people in the event. More people = longer lines and less food.
We knew that going in and waited in line early. We were the first few people from the GA line to set foot through the door, and we did the bulk of our eating from 8-9pm. My wife and I ate the food at a brisk pace, moving from one chef station to another -- all against a beautiful sundown backdrop under the bright lights of the Strip.
High-lights:
- As a Top Chef fan, it was cool to meet Austin winner Paul Qui, Angelo Sosa, and Susar Lee. I'll admit, that was part of the draw and all of the chefs were more than gracious to take pictures, smile, and chat -- all while trying to feed the hoards of people waiting in line (until the food ran out).
- Angelo's Sashimi of Fluke with Bone Marrow and Parmesan Reggiano was delicious. He briefly torched the top just a bit, so the entire bite had all kinds of flavors going on. But hey, how can you not go wrong with bone marrow?
- Paul's Sunchoke Dashi with Summer Vegetables and Bottarga may have looked like slime, but it was good tasting slime. There was delicate flavor in that dashi, and the added crunch from the vegetables gave it a nice contrast in texture.
Middle-lights:
- Just about everything else we tried was nothing really special -- from the "foodie's" point of view. Not that it's an excuse, and I'm not a chef by profession, but I know how difficult it is to prep and serve food to the masses and maintain high quality at the same time.
- I was very, very full. My wife and I had a total of 12 "courses" each to go along with the alcohol -- several shots of sake, 3 beers, and 3 fantastic (and strong) cocktails. If anything, we got more than our money's worth even at the regular GA price, let alone the Groupon price. All the different types of food didn't quite sit well in my stomach. It wasn't hell-on-earth bad, but lets just say I had ample time to read the hotel room magazine.
Low-lights:
The food started running out at approximately 9-9:30pm -- with an event advertised from 8-11pm. That's just straight-up unacceptable. I was more than stuffed by then, but I felt bad for those who didn't get enough to eat. We ate just about every chef's offering, except from Susar Lee, Raku, and Sang Yoon. I don't know if my stomach would have room to eat more anyway.
Summary: In the end, I'm glad to have attended this event. It was in Vegas, in a swanky location, and at the very least, it kept me away from the blackjack tables for a couple hours (so says my wife). So would I go again? Next time just send me the link for the Groupon, please. 3.5 stars.
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