Texas Star Oyster Bar at Texas Station

VERDICT: Good clam chowder and decent fish and chips....that is it for what you should order.

We went to Texas Star Oyster Bar at Texas Station again last night.  Greg actually asked me halfway through the meal, "Why do we keep coming here?"  Feeling like I was going to vomit later from the food settling in my stomach, I had to reflect.

The good points:
1. It's cool.  It's a fun little, open seafood eatery.
2. The clam chowder is exceptional.
3. The fish and chips are decent.
4.  I assume that if you like raw oysters, that the oyster are good.  I can't vouch for that though, because yuck, raw oysters are disgusting!

The bad points: 
1.  The service is slow, especially during the day when there is only one server.  Let me make that clear the slow service is not the servers, but the fact that they like to keep it understaffed. 
2.  They're expensive for everything other than what you should order (which is the clam chowder and the fish and chips.)
3.  I had the gumbo.  It was unlike any gumbo I've ever had and filled with some spice that I detest, that usually I only find in bad Chinese food.  It was this spice that made me vomity and push the plate away after a few bites.  Greg insists that it was bad crab.  So maybe bad crab is a spice.
4.  Greg had a boil with shrimp, corn, mussels and clams.  The mussels and clams were sandy.  HELLO?!  Did someone miss cooking 101?  Twenty minutes soaking them live in fresh water is all it takes and all that sand goes away.  Also, the shrimp were overcooked, making them extra chewy.


Four good points and four bad points, I guess it is a wash.  I'll have to try it again.  I just wish they would revisit their menu.

Garduño's at the Fiesta - Revisted

VERDICT: My reluctant return visit to Garduño's surprised me with improved quality.

Previously, I had written of how Garduño's was bland and tasteless.  Due to lame circumstances, we had a return visit.  At this attempt, I was determined to find flavor.  I got a three item combo.  I had the carne adovada, chile relleno, and just a plain ground beef burrito.  For those not in the know, carne adovada is a spicy pork concoction.  I figured if they were going to fail to provide spice, it would certainly show in the adovada.

 

Here's a picture of carne adovada.  You can see spiciness, no?

I'm pleased to announce that the carne adovada was flavorful and delicious.  The chile relleno, having a chile right in the name and in the dish would have to be flavorful as well...and it was.  The burrito, my control group, was actually delicious.  Little Greg, who just got three tacos, commented that he thought the quality of the food had improved since last time.  I have to agree. 

One problem with the carne adovada was the large piece of fatty pork I encountered.  Small bits of fat are normal and increase flavor, but this was an obviously large piece of fat that any astute cook, not in a hurry,  would have removed.

Let's visit the salsa bar.  Of course, the salsa bar was one of the things that they always had going for them.  The bean dip is always a favorite.  I also got the green salsa, which claimed to be "medium" and was made from tomatillo and avocado.  I found it to be refreshing like a cucumber.  Greg found it to be just a little too hot.  I also got the salsa diablo, which they claimed to be "hot".  I'm sure it would be hot for Greg, who refused to try it, but I found it to be rather mild.  However, it had a delicious smoky, chipotle flavor which I could not deny as flavorful.  

I take it all back.  Garduño's is no longer a Mexican restaurant for timid, white people.  They don't lay heavy on the spice, but they are no longer afraid of flavor.   At their prices, it is a good restaurant to visit.

 

Original Pancake House at Aliante Station Casino

VERDICT:  New York-style seating (cramped) with over-priced breakfast food, but still good.

UPDATE:  This location is now closed and replaced by a restaurant I've been told is horrid.

I never get to eat breakfast at breakfast places, because they are only open during the hours in which I sleep.  Before you start to think that I'm super lazy, please understand that I worked nights and it would be a daytime equivalent of a restaurant open from 10:00pm to 6:00am.  In other words, this is an operation that was only open while I slept and if you apply heavy-handed philosophy, that means that it didn't really exist....until now.  I'm pleased to announce that I'm daydreaming about quiting my job and have taken to sleeping at night while on hiatus from working.  Greg suggested we go out to breakfast.  This is something that I haven't heard of in seven years.  I jumped on the opportunity.  Although secretly I wanted to go to one of the egg-themed restaurants: Cracked Egg, the Egg and I, or Egg Works.  That's only because I had a dream of eating at a restaurant called "Egg".  I was delighted to learn that there were restaurants with "Egg" in the title upon waking.

The Original Pancake House at Aliante Station Casino is small.  If you don't get in a booth, then you are going to be sitting close to someone that you don't know.  That's fine, but not the best if you are going to break-up, fight, or plan a bank robbery.  Greg and I were not in a fighty mood as we are always in perfect harmony and bank robberies are so white trash.  The seating was not an issue.  I had coffee and it was predictably good; a breakfast place should have good coffee.  I got the bacon lovers special, which seemed like a good idea, but in retrospect I wish I ordered something a little more extravagant.  I got seven pieces of  thick bacon, scrambled eggs and three small pancakes.  The bacon was pretty good, but not the best.  The scrambled eggs were cooked perfectly, which seems easy enough to do.  I have had runny scrambled eggs at other restaurants that I won't name that rhyme with "Lenny's".  In fact, I only order scrambled eggs in restaurants because of the habit of short order cooks of deciding that over-easy and over-medium are the same thing and both should have runny whites.  The pancakes I got with my food were exceptional.  They were just plain pancakes, but they were really good.  I didn't think there was much difference in the quality of plain pancakes, but now I know better.

This is a picture of one of their pancakes...That's not a pancake, that's a meal!!!

Greg's omelet was huge and unique in design and flavor.  It was some sort of corned beef concoction.  I wish I had ordered one of their unique pancakes.  Now that I know that they do pancakes so well, I will have to try them in a future date, as long as I remain happily unemployed.

Garduño's at the Fiesta Casino

 VERDICT: Bland Mexican food that your ancestors from 1800's Ireland would enjoy.
Update: I've changed my mind.  Read the updated post here.

This place is consistently voted as best Mexican food in Las Vegas.  I'll admit it.  I don't know what makes real authentic Mexican food, but if this is it than I don't like it.  This is the blandest Mexican food that you can find.  Perhaps that is the secret.  I think spicy food scares a lot of gringos.  This is certainly non-threatening food in that the only spice they apparently know how to use is salt.

Greg's mother, who thinks that steamed carrots are spicy enough, loves the place.  She, by the way, once referred to a bell pepper as very spicy and refers to mild salsa as "burny hot".

I seemed to remember something made with ground beef reminding me of McCormick taco seasoning mix, the same mix my mother used to use in the 70's when Mexican food was still considered exotic, rather than a staple.

 If the thought of eating a jalapeño terrifies you, than this is the Mexican restaurant for you.  Eat there with this in mind:  There is a lot of flavor in spicy food.  You must train yourself to tolerate spicier foods, but the reward is delicious...well that and possible digestive ailments.

Revisited: check it out here.

Feast at Santa Fe Station

VERDICT: One of the better local casino buffets if you choose wisely.

I've been harsh to "Feast at Texas Station", however, Feast at Santa Fe Station is subsidized by slot machines that never pay out.  This affords for higher quality food than at Texas Station, which inexplicably also has slot machines that never pay out.  With a players card, the buffet at Santa Fe Station is a little more expensive at $14.99 a person, but how can you resist it when you always get 2 for 1 coupons in the mail.  Keep in mind that if you gamble while you are there, the meal can end up costing you hundreds of dollars or in my case $40 in a matter of minutes at a penny slot.

I still don't like buffets.  I feel like I have to stuff myself like I'm getting away with stealing food from the casino.  I was surprised by the good quality of the following items:  Peel and eat shrimp, gourmet pizza with sun dried tomatoes, wontons that you can put in soup or eat by themselves, Chinese pork buns.

Here's a picture of the Chinese pork buns in a bamboo basket.

I was not impressed with their hot and sour soup or their carving station selections.  Greg said that the macaroni and cheese was also bad as he was trying to stuff more down his gullet.  I asked him why he was still eating it and he said that he didn't want to waste it.  I had to remind him that we weren't in China and to put the fork down.  One thing that we don't do is take large amounts of an item, so it wasn't a huge waste.  Ever see those people get excited by crab legs and they pile their plate to the ceiling, only to eat a few.  We don't do that.  Just take a little and if you like it you can have more later.  If it tastes like poop, well, you've only wasted a little bit.

After I finish a plate, Greg always asks if that is it.  Well, I'm full.  Why cause myself pain?  He subscribes to the get-as-much-as-you-can mentality.  I did manage to stuff in a few more wontons and a piece of pizza.  I'm turning into the fat guy you see at buffets and secretly think, "they shouldn't eat at a buffet," as you watch them finish plate after heaping plate of fried chicken.  Luckily, I go to buffets rarely so I'm not breaking any chairs under my immense weight...yet.

UPDATE: Return visits by friends has indicated that the quality is not consistent, sometimes good, sometimes bad.  I guess that is why they call it gambling. 

Feast at Texas Station

VERDICT: Cheap through and through, price and quality.

I hate buffets. They are orgies of second-rate, poorly prepared food attended by the fat, the poor, and the "family-heavy". That sounds like I'm being snobby, but I fall into two categories myself.

The exception to bad buffets are the "gourmet" buffets in town which are expensive, but delicious.

Alas, we got a 2-for-1 buffet coupon at our local "Texas Station" Casino. Reluctantly, I went. This particular buffet is aptly named "Feast". On the way there, I kept saying, "What is this 'The Feast'?" I was disappointed to learn that it is simply called "Feast" as Greg pointed out.

Of course, there is no easy way to get to "Feast" in the casino. You must wander through the maze of table games and slot machines and observe the happy gamblers as you go. By "happy", I mean "intent" and by "gamblers", I mean "old people with oxygen tanks".

We arrived at "Feast" and were greeted with a Disneyland-esque, snaking-line formed by shiny brass rails. Luckily, it was only half as long as it could be and we made it through within 10 minutes.

"Feast" has food from "around the world". OK...OK the actual name of the place is "Feast From Around the World." I prefer to call it just "Feast". By "around the world", they mean America, China, Mexico, and Italy. I guess that really does represent the world in its entirety. They left out Kazakhstan, but who likes food from there. Also, they have a section named "Salad Bar", so they have America, China, Mexico, Italy, and Salad Bar...oh and Dessert.

I started my adventure with Mexico. Apparently, potato skins are a mexican food. I took one with some sour cream. I also took one of the in-vogue taquitos. When I was growing up, I don't think I ever even heard of a taquito and now they are everywhere. What is the next mexican food craze going to be? I wonder.

At Italy, they had pasta and pizza. I took a piece of pepperoni pizza. The pasta was premixed with the sauce. I don't know why, but pasta premixed with the sauce can only mean one thing, Chef Boyardee. Nothing against the fine culinary skills of Chef Boyardee, but Chef Boyardee and raw conch are the only two foods that actually make me vomit when I taste them. Conch just tastes horrible with a horrible texture. It's like eating someone's tongue that has been soaking in sea water at low tide. I know you think it is mean of me to describe it, but I'm the one who ate it while trying to be polite in front of the people who bought it for me. I tried to swallow it, but kept vomiting it up back up into my mouth. I kept hoping no one noticed me turning pale and having tears stream down my face. Definitely, it was one of my worst food experiences. Another bad food experience was with Chef Boyardee. In third grade, we were working on paper mache when the girl sitting next to me vomited. Mixed with the art project paste, it smelled of sweet and sour bile. When I asked her what she ate, she said Chef Boyardee and pickle juice. No wonder she vomited. Now I vomit, too.

I skipped America where they had corn-on-the-cob, corn bread, and other corn products. I got some of the chicken-fried-rice from china along with some chicken chow mein and a chicken egg roll. Greg got some lemon chicken. They also had some sort of chinese bbq chicken too. I guess they really like chicken in China. They like chicken in Mexico, too. It turned out that my taquito was a disappointment in that it was chicken as well. Maybe they don't like chicken that much, but the casino sure does like chicken for its price.

The worst thing by far was the rice. It was cooked perfectly, but was the worst tasting rice ever. Greg had the spanish rice and he asked if it tasted sour. "No little Greg, it is just the cheapest rice they could find. Cheap and bad." Skimping on rice, how cheap is that?

The next two lands I visited were Salad Bar and Dessert. I got a salad and some dessert, both were OK.

I feel like I need to get my money's worth or get away with as much as I can. Basically, once you pay admission, it's free. The two problems are that I don't like the food and I don't like to feel really full. I'm perfectly happy with a similarly-priced hamburger or even a cheaper taco. I don't feel hungry afterward and I don't feel like a bloated pig either.