Monday, January 15, 2007

A Vegetarian in Vegas

V had to make a last minute trip to Vegas last weekend for CES and I decided to play hooky from work and tag along; and we ended up having a wonderful time!

On Sunday we decided to try out the buffet at Wynn, the newest hotel on the Strip. It was a rather pricey choice, but after lounging there for two hours chatting and eating and chatting, we felt we got our money's worth. The setting was simply gorgeous; the irregular-shaped white plates and silverware unique and the staff attentive (ready to fill my cup of joe!)

By sheer luck, we ran into the Executive Chef; V with his characteristic charm started making small talk with her and we ended up getting the best out of the buffet. So here's how to survive as a vegetarian at a Las Vegas buffet:

  • Make friends with the Executive Chef and make him/her walk you through the buffet.
  • V fixed us a beautiful salad with fresh greens, cherry tomatoes and beautiful red strawberries topped with crème fraîche.
  • The Chinese station served congee (rice porridge)-- V brought us each a bowl topped with green onions and sautéed mushrooms. (Etymologically, the word congee comes from the Tamil "kanji"; which is actually the staple food of the working class in some parts of Southern India.)
  • V also ordered a special vegetarian kung-pao for himself with lots and lots of peanuts (just the way he likes it) and was nice enough to share a teeny-bit with me.
  • I ordered special vegetarian Eggs Benedict for us -minus the bacon. The hollandaise sauce was out of this world!
  • The Mexican station had vegetarian fajitas, which was bit of a disappointment. So were the California rolls at the Japanese station
  • Dessert overload! Seriously, they had a whole room as big as an ice cream shop dedicated to desserts! Fresh pastries, ice cream and sorbets, cookies, crème brulee, pecan pie; there was so much choice, I didn't know what to take and what to leave. Finally we settled for a crème brulee, a nutty cookie, a slice of pecan pie, and an unusual dessert that reminded me of "ras malai". It was yummy!

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