Page 16 - March 2014 • Southern California Gaming Guide

by Maya Winkler
Pile your plates high and prepare to dine on an amazing variety of fresh, delicious and bountiful bu ets at Southern California casinos. ere’s a spectrum of dishes, a chaotic blend of styles, a sea of varying ambiance and consistent great value at local casino bu ets. Some are lavish in abundance, some just plain good food — and plenty of it. Leave your diets behind, wear comfortable clothes, and bring a hearty appetite. You’ll be dazzled with these awesome casino bu ets!
Southern California casinos originally took a page from Las Vegas all-you-can-eat legendary bu ets that provided casual surroundings and great food at exceptional prices. e rst Las Vegas bu et was the 1940’s El Rancho Vegas Hotel’s Midnight Chuck Wagon that o ered tables laden with good hearty fare, and all for a dollar! is was the brainchild of the hotel’s owner, who was looking for a way to keep his guests in his hotel at the blackjack and craps tables after the second show. It worked, and the Vegas bu et was born.
When Southern California casinos rst opened, they o ered amazing prices (some at $3.99) for their bu et spreads to entice folks to make the trips to see what they had to o er. On weekends, there are still bu et lines, but the spreads have been incredibly upgraded, the ambiance re ned, and the value increased. In Southern California you cannot nd any bu ets that o er the range and number of food choices with the quality of ingredients that Southern California casinos o er. All of these bountiful meals are great bargains.
Seasons Fresh Buffet at Barona Resort & Casino features a Ship of Seafood, plus over 200 individual menu items.
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Each featured casino bu et stands out for one of several reasons — and some for a combination of ambiance, service, food, and value. Many are family-friendly, and all are easily accessible, usually right o the casino oor. e all-you- can-eat casino bu et caters to all tastes, and in Southern California, they usually include inventive Mexican, Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese items alongside impressive carving stations, salad bars, dessert depots, and live-action stations, where cooks prepare made-to-order dishes with the air and aplomb of celebrity chefs on the Food Channel.
And don’t forget, most casinos o er players club member discounts, or comps for bu ets. Yes, using your players club card every time you play at a casino can deliver a discounted or even free casino bu et. Check each casino for bu et details including hours, and prices.
Barona Seasons Fresh Buffet: Multi-Award Winner Recipient of the 2013 California Restaurant Association Gold Medallion Award for Best Casino Dining, Barona Resort & Casino was also awarded one of the Best Buffet awards by our readers in the 2013 Best Casinos Reader’s Choice Awards. Seasons Fresh Buffet o ers an enormous variety of all-you-can-eat dining options prepared right before your eyes in a gorgeously appointed cavernous room with plenty of comfortable seating. You’ll enjoy the Ship of Seafood, featuring favorites such as smoked salmon, smoked white sh, and bay shrimp. Plus over 200 individual menu items translate into an around-the-world culinary journey. Selections include Seafood, Mexican, Chinese, Dim Sum, Mongolian, American BBQ, Rotisserie, Soup and Salad,OmeletandCrepe,PotatoBar,ShipofSeafood, and Dessert & Flambé. For more information, visit Barona.com or call toll free 888-7-barona.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
The Buffet at Valley View Casino & Hotel features All-You- Can-Eat Maine Lobster, and over 40 new menu choices.
The Buffet at Valley View Casino & Hotel: Maine Lobster Buffet Star
e award-winning The Buffet at Valley View Casino & Hotel o ers over 200 delicious menu items including a fantastic dessert bar, and features its renowned dinner and brunch bu et star, All-You-Can-Eat Maine Lobster! In fact, more than half a million pounds of lobster a year are served at the wildly popular e Bu et. Voted the rst place Best Buffet in the 2013 Best Casinos Reader’s Choice Awards, and best in numerous local and national awards, this fantastic bu et—a seafood lover’s dream—also boasts shrimp cocktail, crab legs, fresh rolled sushi, plus Prime Rib, authentic Italian, Asian, Mexican, American specialties and a 100-foot dessert bar. In Valley View’s recent Extreme Casino Makeover, 40 new menu choices were added, plus expanded seating to make room for its throngs of guests. And when you join the Valley View Casino & Hotel Players Club, your rst lobster bu et is free! For more information visit ValleyViewCasino.com or call 866-view-win.
Paipa’s Buffet at Sycuan Casino: 100% Smoke-Free
One of the very few casino bu ets that is entirely 100% smoke-free, Paipa’s Buffet is in the non-smoking east wing of the casino and is set in dazzling contemporary décor. O ering over 100 delicious fresh food items including specialty carved slow-roasted Prime Rib, seafood, international food stations, including Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese and Mexican choices, it also has
MARCH 2014