High-End Buffet?

[itsstillmatt]

I was at a fantastic buffet a few years ago at The Vintage Club in Palm Desert. It was mainly seafood, and the only do it yourself part was where you grabbed smoked fish, boiled lobster and stone crab flown in from Florida. All of the other stations were manned by chefs and prepared whole lobsters, a couple of scallop selections and some pasta. Desert was also by buffet. Fantastic stuff, and the set up looked like it was out of Escoffier's time.

The Wynn buffet and its ilk still suck.

 

[LabelKing]

I was at a fairly nice--that is to say, presentable buffet--in Shanghai. It was at the top of the Pearl Tower, and the decor was vaguely dated in a '60s Futuristic manner.

The food was done up quite nicely and there were several waiters milling about.

 

[tlaxa]

I tend to find that you can get an excellent meal in a real restaurant for 3/4 the price of a buffet of the same quality...

However, there is no greater joy in pigging out at a cheap buffet, leaving behind a hill of pizza bases, pie pastries, the crappy parts of pavlovas, and pretty much the crap parts of all food.

 

[Maharlika]

Speaking of buffets the nice one I remember was at the Biltmore Hotel in Montecito, California. Very well done. It still doesn't replace the elegance of a real formal dinner.

 

[TheClearanceGuy]

Bellagio, Vegas ... Love it...

 

[bcx]

This is like Dinner Impossible against Iron Chef. No contest.
A proper fine-dining restaurant will always beat a buffet. It's simply a case of quality vs quantity.

For every "high-end" buffet you name in Vegas there are 10 restaurants there that are better. You can probably find them in the same hotel.

Picasso or Michael Mina > Bellagio The Buffet
Alex > Wynn Buffet
Joel Robuchon > *

I'm not quite sure if anything in Bally's is better than the Sterling Brunch buffet because I don't know the restaurants there. But I'm willing to bet the restaurant where the buffet is held is better during non-buffet time.

 

[level32]

I love the Vegas buffets only when they are comped. mmm free food to pig out on!

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by level32

I love the Vegas buffets only when they are comped. mmm free food to pig out on!
Last time I got a buffet comp at the Wynn it was the most expensive free lunch I've ever had!

 

[eg1]

The midnight seafood buffet at a Portuguese wedding is something to behold.

 

[Doc4]

Rampant obesity??

Never heard of it.

 

[Davidko19]

go to a brazilian steakhouse (curassacaria or some name like that). THAT is a buffet.

 

[Septavius]

Originally Posted by Davidko19

go to a brazilian steakhouse (curassacaria or some name like that). THAT is a buffet.

+10,000

Now you're talking! The salad bar is help yourself, but otherwise, the waiters come around and bring items to you.

 

[acidboy]

^ churrasco(sp?). it is meat lover's heaven if done right.

 

[RedLetterDay]

Originally Posted by stevejobs

Bellagio, the luxury Las Vegas casino, has a high-class buffet service that is a respectable eatery, though in a casual restaurant setting. Do you think a high-end buffet could be replicated and compete against traditional fine dining establishments?

To me one of the most important parts of going to high-end fine dining restaurants is the experience. Sure the food is arguably just as important, but there's a lot more that you're paying for than just the food you're served.

In that sense, I'm not sure a buffet could ever reasonably compete with a more traditional restaurant, regardless of how good or well prepared the food is.