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| - Bacchanalia, a festival of merriment and libations, a riotous tribute to Bacchus, the god of wine and ecstasy. Intoxicated revelry, drunken orgies...the Romans had it good.
Contemporary visitors to Caesar's Palace aren't so lucky. They must queue up before indulging at the Bacchanal Buffet by checking in at the self-service kiosks. A piece of parchment with a wait time will be dispensed.
At 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday, our wait was CLVI minutes. That's fancy for 156 minutes, which is, in other words, 2 hours and 36 minutes. Within an hour and a half, however, they delivered a message that our turn was up, at which point we were allowed 15 minutes to come claim our spot.
The price for dinner was LVIII dollars and some change. You're better off not deciphering that. For those who put in the effort to understand it, you'll probably want to know, was it worth it?
If you just want to load up on typical buffet foods like crab legs and prime rib, you can be satisfied somewhere else and pay less. The draw of Bacchanal is their dishes, prepared with the attention you may find at a fine-dining restaurant.
Many of their selections come tapas-style, on a tiny plate or miniature pan that you take with you to your table. They even provide silicon finger tabs so you don't burn yourself as you grab. The seabass on wasabi mashed potatoes was outstanding as well as the shrimp on grits.
As for seafood, crab legs were available hot or cold and cross-sectioned for easy extraction. Raw oysters were offered but only half-shucked, and they weren't that meaty.
Dessert items were hit or miss, but the chocolate-filled beignets were exceptional, and the chocolate macarons were on par with the ones from a nice bakery.
Although the price and wait time may make the gods gasp in dismay and tumble out of Mt. Olympus, the quality preparations would satisfy the pickiest of the pantheon. The god of wine continues to inspire cult-ish gatherings, this time in the name of refined gluttony.
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