In recent years, more than a few local casinos have attempted to redefine the buffet idiom, with limited success. I remember being wowed by the variety and creativity when the Buffet at Bellagio first opened, and more recently, the absurdly opulent new Cravings at Mirage, designed by the famous Adam Tihany.
For sheer volume, value and variety, though, the recently reopened and newly redesigned Carnival World Buffet at the Rio takes a backseat to no one. Reputed to serve a mind numbing 5,000-plus covers on a good day, this sprawling complex offers just about anything anyone could want, at prices almost anyone can afford.
Locals even get a break, although cashing in on it isn't as easy as you might think. For lunch or dinner, the buffet is discounted for anyone with a Nevada driver's license or local ID, $5 off for lunch, $8 for dinner.
The key is to know how this works in advance. I waited in one line for lunch, but when I reached the front and told the cashier I was local, she redirected me to a different line, where I waited a second time. Then I had to figure out how to use the special machine that dispenses vouchers for locals. The next time, it will be much easier.
And there will be a next time. I was impressed by much of what I ate here, and I barely scratched the surface of what was available. Entering this buffet almost feels like going to sea, being faced with wave after wave of hot and cold food, a veritable tsunami of carbs, fat and protein.
Seating areas are diffuse, and the many food stations are spread out, so that getting a hot dish to your booth before it cools can be problematic. There is probably a scientific way of attacking the many stations, but I can't tell you what that is.
In practice, I made a beeline for the dim sum station, where dishes such as char siu bao, bread dumplings with a sweet, barbecued pork filling; and a toothsome shrimp dumpling called ha gow, are dispensed. There must have been eight or nine choices, and all of them tasted as good as they do in Chinatown.
Then I stopped by the noodle bar, another Asian station, where you order your noodle of choice by number. The noodles are diverse, things like the flat rice pad Thai, Vietnamese-style pho, and various Chinese pastas. The chef will then place your noodle in a delicious broth, and you will embellish it at a nearby condiment bar. I tried the pho with minced pork, cilantro, bean sprouts and crunchy bo vien, Vietnamese meatballs, and it was a show stopper. The possibilities are endless.
I'm not much on fillers like composed salads or pizzas at a buffet, but for those who are, there is an impressive number of options. Science compelled me to try a slice of pepperoni pizza, and it was workmanlike—hot, tasty and not very crisp.
The hummus here is just fine. So is a raft of Italian pastas, with sauces to match, all sitting in their respective trays at a steam-table station. An impressive array of dishes such as chile verde, quesadillas, enchiladas and carne asada is the ticket at the beautifully stocked Mexican station, with condiments, hot sauces and leafy green herbs to match.
Chickens spin on several rotisseries, crisp-skinned, juicy birds with a nice crust of spice. But pass on the pot roast, which isn't as tender as it might be. There are three kinds of peel-and-eat shrimp, all differently spiced, by the first-rate seafood section, which also features a stainless steel wall into which portholes filled with blue water have been etched. Also in this station are assorted fried fish, like scallops, halibut and shrimp—components of a Fisherman's Platter in a Cape Cod restaurant.
Hand-rolls and sushi are available at a well-stocked sushi and Japanese food station, which also features pop-out-of-their pods edamame (salty, green, boiled soybeans), plus teppanyaki, meats and veggies cooked on a grill, Benihana style.
And of course, there are interminable desserts, most of which are forgettable, a parade of sugar and empty calories. There are one or two bright spots, though.
A wonderful hot crêpe suzette server is filled with citrusy, butter-drizzled crêpes, as good a version of the dish as you would have had in an old Vegas gourmet room. A gelato bar serves eight different flavors of the dense, creamy Italian ice cream, and tiramisu in little chocolate cups is a treat, as well.
But the sugar-free chocolate cream pie tasted like soap, and the cookies and bars are so sweet they will make your teeth hurt. Carnival World is a terrific deal anyway, especially for lunch.
The main difference in the dinner buffet is the addition of king crab legs and prime rib, but given this kind of selection, would you really miss them?