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| - I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES OF THAT GAWD AWFUL ZEN NOODLES!
Over the years, I've been to Grand Lux Café 8 times out of convenience; 4 times at the Venetian (open 24 hrs) and the last 4 times at the Palazzo (closes at 3 AM on weekends). The most recent visit was on Sat, 2/19/11 for brunch.
I've walked into GLC Hungover, Smashed, and Belligerently DRUNK (thank goodness for my guy friends who will yank me out so that I have some sort of dignity left). Although my other senses may be shot, when it comes to food, I still oddly have a keen sense of taste.
GLC is a sister restaurant of Cheesecake Factory. I can see the appeal of GLC; huge portions at affordable prices for the Strip. Call me a food snob, but I'm not a fan of food chains since they tend to have a "quantity over quality" mentality so you can take my review w/ a grain of salt.
W A I T T I M E:
Weekend Brunch: 15-20 mins w/ a longer wait for larger parties.
Dinner: Never more than 5 mins.
Since I tend to stay out till 4 AM, I've never made it to this Palazzo location since they close at 3 AM, however, the wait times at the Venetian has never been more than 5 mins.
If you get late night take-out it can take up to 45 mins.
F O O D:
TIP: STAY AWAY FROM THE ASIAN ENTREES!!!
Growing up in SF, I'm fortunate to be surrounded by Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc restaurants so I hold a certain standard for Asian food that simply CANNOT be found on the Strip. For any taste of authenticity, a quick 8 min cab ride to Spring Mountain Road will satiate your Asian food cravings.
*ZEN NOODLES: DISGUSTING!
This is GLC's rendition of pho ga (Vietnamese chicken noodle soup) and it's poorly executed. Chopped up rice noodles are placed in a bowl and topped w/ slices of chicken breast. Upon serving, "Swanson" chicken broth is poured over. Bean sprouts and Italian Basil (not Thai basil as stated on the menu) are served w/ the noodles. The bean sprouts were not fresh as they were brown.
My friend's bf had ordered this dish and mind you, he EATS a lot and is ALWAYS hungry, but after one bite, he spit out the Zen Noodles and decided to sleep instead. I was curious and took one bite and it was disgusting; the noodles were mushy, the chicken dry, and the broth tasted like watered-down Swanson's broth. GLC is better off serving an instant pho bowl from the local Asian market.
*CARAMEL CHICKEN & SHAKING BEEF: MEH!
I know better than to order Asian food at American chains, however, every time I'm in Vegas, I have this weird ravenous craving for Asian food on the day we're about to leave.
The CARAMEL CHICKEN is obviously from a frozen bag as the pieces are overly battered and then slathered w/ a slimy sauce. The chicken was so heavily coated w/ the syrupy sweet sauce that it was like eating thick syrup with fried batter pieces.
As for the SHAKING BEEF, the beef was tender but was more reminiscent of eating beef fajitas (w/ the grilled onions and bell peppers) b/c it was missing the tangy and pepperiness from the lemon pepper sauce that authentic shaking beef is normally served with.
The long grain rice was too dry and a little undercooked as if it was made from a box of Microwaveable Uncle Ben's.
If you have certain standards for Asian food, STICK w/ AMERICAN CLASSICS like Pancakes, Omelets, Burgers and Sandwiches which I've never had a problem with. Nothing mind-blowing or note-worthy, just standard diner fare kicked up a notch.
I have tried the FRIED CHICKEN & WAFFLES which Yelpers have raved about but it has scarred my vision of what Fried Chicken & Waffles should be and taste like. One would think it would be combo of sweet, savory and crisp and soft...
The belgium waffle lacked a crispy exterior and was more soggy than anything. It was topped w/ over breaded fried chicken tenders that was very bland. Unless I drenched the chicken and waffles w/ the pecan honey butter sauce, it was like eating dry fried batter (chicken) and wet cardboard (waffles).
S E R V I C E:
Slow and inconsistent.
The times I've been during brunch, it took about 15-20 mins to get our food which is fair, but during late-nights it can take over 30 mins.
What grinds my gears is the service we encountered during brunch last Sat, 2/19/11. Half of us wanted to order from the breakfast menu and the other half from the lunch menu. It was 10:53 AM and we asked the waitress if we could place our orders in for the lunch menu and she said, "No, you have to wait until 11:00 AM". Fine, so 11:02 AM rolls by and we placed our order.
3 mins later, I see other waitresses bringing out entrees from the lunch menu so clearly they were allowed to place their orders in but we weren't. This may not be a big deal, but if you let some patrons do it, you have to be consistent and let EVERYONE do so. And when you're hungover, starving, and in need of food to absorb the copious amounts of alcohol in your stomach, every MINUTE counts!!!
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