DanEats

The Buffet at Treasure Island:

The last morning of Alex’s bachelor weekend in Las Vegas the whole gang went to Treasure Island’s Buffet . The last time I was in Vegas was when Miles Simon and Mike Bibby won the college basketball national championship. The Treasure Island at this time had the pirate show out front and I remember the buffet being bad. Since then they have dropped the pirate show, changed their name to TI, and the food has not improved. 

The decision to go to The Buffet was made because some members of our group had a discount coupon. I strongly objected in my head, but didn’t feel it was my place to vocalize those objections. I didn’t want to take on 15 plus people, especially if they were getting a discount. So I dove in head first like Nick Pappagiorgio at the craps table in Vegas Vacation. I punished that buffet until it punished me back. 

The pictures speak for themselves. They served worse than mall food court renditions of “ethnic” food from around the world. The “orange chicken” seemed to be everyone’s favorite. For some reason I went back five times for more food. I couldn’t stop. I think I felt compelled to get my thirty dollars worth. 

When it was all said and done I walked to the 15 passenger van in 110 degree heat feeling like I needed to have c section to save me from the mass of food in my stomach. The eight hour car ride back to Los Angeles allowed me plenty of time to listen to my stomach digest the meal. Most everyone in the group agreed the food was disgusting.

Buffets are a dicey game because there selling point is quantity. Quantity often means compromising quality. Vegas is a dicey game because it too sells quantity. In a town where quantity trumps quality every day I think you would be hard pressed to find a good buffet in Vegas unless you were shelling out serious bucks. I won’t be doing that unless someone else is picking up the tab. I also will now speak up before 15 people, including myself, are about to make a bad decision.

Sharezad:

Ben and I found ourselves in Westwood for lunch the other day after a quick trip to the Eames House. After learning about Tehrangeles and eating at Raffi’s I was craving some more Persian food. Shaherzad popped up with 4 stars on Yelp. Ben was game because he had never been to a Persian restaurant. The place was packed during lunch time. We didn’t have to wait for a table but I would guess there might have only been one empty table the whole time we were eating. Almost every table had a pitcher or glass of the thick yogurt drink, Dugh. I can’t drink a glass of milk so there was no way I am going to try a sour, thicker glass of white liquid. Ben was intrigued but not enough to order one. We did order the yogurt and shallot dip. That I can handle.

I love going to ethnic restaurants and being able to order off the special lunch menu because of the bang for your buck and you get try more than one thing. Have you noticed that most “American” restaurants don’t offer a lunch special. That has always bothered me.

Ben ordered the Baghali Polo, which was a lamb shank and rice with dill and lima beans. Ben said when he made a bite with lamb shank, rice, and yogurt his dish was great. He prepared me a bite and I agreed.

I ordered the lamb Tahchin, which consisted of rice mixed with yogurt and saffron with a layer of lamb. The tahchin is topped with barberries and served with a side salad. It’s like Persian lasagna, but maybe lasagna is more like Italian tahchin. I don’t know who invented the dish first. Regardless, I would order this over lasagna any day. The top was like deep fried rice that gave way to a creamy saffron flavored rice. The lamb was succulent and moist. The barberries on top were a little too sweet for my taste so I scraped them onto the side of my plate. The dish is so heavy that you only need about a third of the portion they served at Shaherzad. It is a must try and must split.

I didn’t have the kabab at Shaherzad so I can’t really compare the place to Raffi’s. Shaherzad is a must try in my book if you are curious about Persian food and think it’s only kababs and rice. The yogurt shallot dip was terrible compared to Raffi’s. It lacked the intense kick, but I also didn’t taste my food for twelve hours after my meal. To sum up the meal at Shaherzad, it was the perfect weekday lunch adventure. Be prepared to take a post meal nap if you finish all the tahchin.