Lets Focus on the Food (TR Apr 21-24)

So I was in town last week and took a brutal beating at every craps table I stumbled up to, so rather than moan about that, I'll report on the foods I tried thanks to recommendations from this board, not a bad meal all week.

Tuesday night: Benihana's in the LV Hilton. For those who do not know, this is a Japanaese steakhouse where the chef cooks your food at your table and puts on a show of doing it. Immediate seating without a reservation at around 8:00PM. The place was busy but not packed. The wait for a chef was a little long (about 20-25 minutes). Our chef was Leo. I think he was new because his bag of tricks was not so big. He did make a volcano from onions which was pretty cool. So a B on the showmanship but an A on the food quality. Cost was about $100 for 2 people with drinks.

Wednesday: The Palm at Caesars. Again, no wait for a table at 12:30. Ordered the businessman's lunch special (salmon). A for food quality but a B- for ambiance. The caricatures on the wall did nothing for me, and I only recognized about 5% of them. Cuban Rick was our waiter and while nice and knowledgeable, he was too chatty for my tastes. But what I raised an eyebrow at was the drink prices. 2 people, 2 drinks each cost $44 for food and $45 for drinks. I would recommend this place for non-drinkers.

Thursday: Gave the Rio World Carnival Buffet a go. I loved the swipe your credit card machine lines to get in, that was a great line beater. The spread was huge, the food was quite good for a buffet and other than the lady who snuck her chihuahua in and fed it under the table, I liked everything about the experience. I put it up there with Wynn and Bellagio as top buffets in my travels (and I've had plenty). I think it was about $25 for dinner.

Friday: Because of the positive reviews I had seen here and since I was staying at Planet Ho, I thought I'd try Blondies for lunch before I left. However, after waiting 10 minutes for a hostess to seat me and not seeing one, I had to give up and go across the way to La Salsa Cantina where I had some great fish tacos. Muy bueno.

One little side note: The Nashville airport now has a cigar shop with a smoking lounge for customers, or a $4 fee for non customers. So they rip out the smoking room and now put one in that you have to pay for? I'm betting this is going to catch on. Sure glad I already quit

 

Thanks for the foodie TR. Well done.

later, GVJ

 

Thanks for the report. A friend of mine just got back today and also enjoyed the buffet at Rio. I want/need to go back to Vegas so bad.

 

great report will have to check out a couple of them restaurants

 

thats exactly what I did when I went to Blondies...

 

Glad you had some positives, especially after the beating you took at the tables. I'm also in Nashville. We were to have gone earlier this month, but "life" happened and we had to postpone. Glad to hear about the restaurants you went to, because they are one of the things I look forward to when I go. I have only been to one you mentioned (Rio buffet) and we make it there each time. I have noted the others and will try to get to them in October.

 

Sorry you took a beating at the craps tables!!!! I always enjoy the Carnival World Buffet - it is just so large you would be hard-pressed to not find items to your liking! It's a good job my "pup" weighs 80 lbs......or I'd take him everywhere with me if I could, lol.....I'd be the annoying lady feeding him under the table. I love my doodle!