Viva! Las Vegas! and the Bellagio Buffet

It's been almost six years since I've been to Vegas, eight years since Norwegian cousin has been here, and first time for her friend. I almost always have lots of fun, even though I never gamble. Well, once I spent $10 on the slots. I won $6 and should have cashed out! Hmph. Really, I hate losing money.

Since it was Norwegian friend's first time to Vegas, I started the tour off at my favorite hotel - The Venetian.






Then we made our way to Paris Las Vegas.




Before heading to Bellagio. Like in Ocean's 11 they asked? Yes, indeed, like Ocean's 11. :)

Don't you just love the Dale Chihuly lily pads? I feel like I'm under water every time I look at it. I caught the Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago in 2002 where his glass sculptures were nestled among the flowers and plants. Just wonderful.

But no time to linger, we were hungry!

Psst! *Looking around furtively.*

Dinner service at the Bellagio Buffet starts at 4 p.m. And the lines can take up to 45 minutes during peak times. So just mosey on over around 2:30 p.m. or so and pay the lunch price (for weekdays it's $19.95). Then stay until dinner when the King crab legs come out.

Surely you can keep yourself occupied eating some chicken and bacon, shrimp pesto, Hawaiian, and flatbread pizzas?

Perhaps you'll go for dessert first?





I went for chicken Wellington, roast leg of lamb, made my own gyro, asparagus spears, roast duck leg, rice pilaf, and steak. Well, actually, I'm sure the steak was some nice cut of something but I can't remember.

The funny story with this is that I met up with a high school friend who was in town that week with her husband. He had three slices of steak on his plate. When he sat down, she speared a slice. And as she was eating, realized how delicious it was, and stole another slice of steak off his plate. He kept giving her "the look" and repeating that she was gonna go back to the buffet to get him more steak right? Right? Right? :P

The salad Nicoise was excellent. With seared tuna!

Ah, look, they're prepping the tuna and salmon for the dinner service sushi. Look at the size of that tuna. Is my timing great or what?

More dessert?


OK, maybe just to make sure I have room. I got some carrot cake, peach frozen yogurt with pecan bread pudding, hazelnut chocolate cake (OMG! It was like licking a jar of Nutella!), more rice pilaf, a slice of Hawaiian pizza, a slice of chicken bacon pizza, and shrimp cocktail.

Well, and then I tried the shrimp pesto pizza, another slice of steak, ham and peas tortellini, lemon curd tart, seaweed salad, tomato salad, artichoke hearts, and a salmon mousse tart.

And then the gigantic chocolate-covered strawberries came out! And the flan was real, not made from a mix. So smooth and creamy and delicious.

And then a little after 4 p.m. the King crab legs came out! Along with some tuna and salmon poke. But I was bursting at the seams! No more room!

And I timed it so we'd end right at the hour mark so we could ponderously make our way to the front of the hotel just in time to catch the water show.



Bellagio
3600 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109