2.5 stars? NO WAY!!!
Last week, on a random trip to Vegas, the BF and I stopped by Aria to check it out. After scoping out the interior and playing at the tables/slots for a bit (they have the COOLEST slot machines!), we decided that we should probably eat.
Neither of us were very hungry, so we didn't want to check out a steakhouse or anything... In fact, we didn't even want to check out a buffet.
So why we ended up at The Buffet, I've no idea. What matters is, we did.
At 9:30pm on a Monday night, the place was pretty dead. Apparently, last seating is at 10pm, so we weren't surprised by the near-empty restaurant. But whatever. We weren't in the mood for anything special anyway.
The cashier at the front was lame. She wasn't rude, but she was totally disinterested. Then again, 30 minutes before closing on a Monday night, her blah attitude was understandable.
But the hostess and the servers? Super nice and friendly! All throughout the meal, they were very attentive, refilling our every glass, even going so far as to bring me a box of tissues (I couldn't stop sneezing for some reason).
The servers behind the buffet were just as friendly, taking care to explain all the various dishes they had out and making their recommendations. Again, 30 minutes before closing on a Monday night, we didn't expect excellent food choices.
To be fair, the food choices were mediocre. There was an Asian section (most of it was just whatevers), an Indian section (I didn't try it, but the BF thought it was pretty stellar), an Italian section (I didn't bother), a full-service pasta station, a seafood station (I didn't go near here, but I assume they had crab, bc I saw people eating crab legs), a meat carving station, a kebab station, yadda yadda.
Admittedly, the "choices" were plentiful. However, not everything was available. For example, they were out of kebabs for the night. Completely understandable.
I got myself a giant hunk of prime rib. I debated on the turkey and the lamb, but thought better of it and stuff to my beef. They had everything to go with it (mint jelly, horseradish, blah blah blah), and all the yummy sides.
The salad bar was pretty decent, too.
Here's the thing. It's a typical buffet. BUT!!! The QUALITY is amazing! Everything was SO FRESH!!!
Again, I have to note that it was 30 minutes before closing on a Monday night. How fresh could the food be? I was sure it had been lying around all night, and the "cooks" probably didn't even bother to put their hearts and souls into the food.
However, everything was crisp, cold, hot, fresh, etc.
I don't normally like buffets because the food tastes old, but The Buffet had food that practically tasted made-to-order!
As if that wasn't satisfying enough...
THE DESSERT.
I only recently became a fan of desserts. Even with my newfound appreciation for the sweet concoctions, however, I can't exactly say that I love to gorge on desserts after every meal. I'm more of a "few bites" type of gal.
Well... The Buffet's dessert selection was SO AMAZING. Everything was plated so beautifully on modern frosted glass plates, each bit of dessert complimented by some sort of accent "side."
After a second of browsing, the BF and I decided... We had to try EVERYTHING.
Yep.
Key lime pie with a homemade marshmallow stick - I don't even LIKE key lime pie, but this was great! Not too tart, not too sweet... and the marshmallow stick was AWESOME!
Strawberry Shortcake - Hands down MY FAVORITE. The marscapone cream was so light and perfect, and the cake itself was FANTASMO!
Nutella Cake - I expected this one to be weird, but it was a great mix of hazelnut chocolate and coffee. Holy cow. I think this one had some sort of orange marmalade looking thing on the side.
Bananas Foster - This was the only thing I was MEH about. I thought it was good, but much too sweet.
Creme Brulee - I've NEVER had a creme brulee at a buffet and thought it tasty. This was PERFECT! The consistency wasn't all super-curdled. It was light and not too yolk-y. I don't remember what this was paired with.
Cream Puffs - Cream puffs at buffets are usually gross. THESE WERE NOT. Little puffs of HEAVEN, dude!
There were a bunch of other desserts, like rice crispies (totally good!), cookies (a great variety), bread pudding (steaming!), and whatnot. Each plated dessert came with some sort of pairing. I can't remember which dessert it was, but there was one with some pineapple marmalade sort of thing, and that was GOOOOOOOOOOOOD.
They also have a gelato bar.
Anyway. Seriously. Five stars just for the dessert alone. FAN TAS TIC!
I swear, I'm going back again and again and again and again.