Las Vegas – September, 2009 (3)

This morning we didn’t leave until a little later and we drove to the Rio. Even though we had vowed not to eat any buffets ever again in our lives – we are prone to making those type of impossible for us statements – we couldn’t pass up the one at the Rio. Much of that has to do with price. Another part is that I like to eat a little bit of a lot of different foods. Unfortunately, I do eat a little bit of much too many different foods. We got there just after breakfast so we had to pay the lunch price of $16.95. Before I even go on, let me say that this is an amazing buffet for that price and, if you like large buffets with very good food, the Rio is the place to go.

There are 11 different food stations serving ethnic and American food. They were carving roast beef (too well done for my taste) and ham. I did what I usually do when entering a buffet – I cruise through the situation to decide what I want to eat first. Lo and behold there was lox and both onion and smoked salmon cream cheese. But where was the bagel? I put the lox and cream cheese on my plate and went looking for the bagel. Then I asked and she said that breakfast was over. I replied that I had lox and cream cheese but nothing to put it on. She went to look for a bagel and told me they were all gone. I found that weird. I did put it on a small roll and that worked.

I also had sushi which was very good. They were making this Japanese dish (I forgot what it is called) where you put all the vegetables into a bowl and the meat as well and then they stir fry it. It looked very good but I didn’t get it. I did have a delicious sweet potato dish and some excellent mushroom rice. Carbs, anyone? They had many different kinds of sausages that Bonnie really liked. I was more careful this time and didn’t really overeat but I ate enough. There was also an excellent salad bar with many different salads. Since I didn’t want to overeat, I skipped the salads.

For dessert I had no sugar added chocolate gelato that was wonderful. We also liked the cookies. There was an array of pies and cakes ( some sugar free), bananas foster and so much more. If you want to go to one buffet that doesn’t cost a fortune and is very good, this is the place.

The Rio may have a wonderful buffet but the gambling left a lot to be desired. I lost again. This has not been a profitable trip for me. Well, there is always tomorrow.

I went back to the hotel and again went to the pool area to relax. Again I enjoyed it and Bonnie joined me a little later. We were not hungry at all before the show so we decided to wait to eat until after it. Criss Angel is quite a performer. He teamed up with a group from Cirque de Soleil (sp?). It was a spectacular production with pyrotechnics, lots of fog, and lots of booming noise, much to Bonnie’s chagrin. It was a rather dark story but the dancing was magnificent and his illusions were breathtaking. I sort of wished we saw more of the illusions but we both really enjoyed the show.

By the time it was over, we were hungry and went to the Pyramid Café at the Luxor. Bonnie ordered an appetizer of meatball sandwiches. She got four of them and they were very good. I felt more like a snack than real food so I ordered nachos and got enough to feed four. They were also excellent. The only soda they have here are Pepsi products and our waitress was nice enough to go to the bar and get me a bunch of limes to put into my soda. I think the prices are a bit steep but the portions are very large and we thought the food was quite good.

Tomorrow morning we leave. The check-out time is 11:00 and we are planning on going to my favorite restaurant here - Mon Ami Gabi, a café at the Paris. They have fantastic French onion soup and the crispiest frites I have ever had. That will be our last meal here. I will not be posting this until after I am home since I no longer have internet access.