Feast Buffet At Santa Fe Stands Out

There are dozens of buffets in Las Vegas, so what makes one stand out from another? A wide variety of food choices is an obvious answer; well-prepared and fresh food is a must. Value is a primary consideration as the price of buffets skyrockets each year. Service and atmosphere are important, too.

The Feast Buffet at Santa Fe Station stands out in every category, making this a dining experience that you absolutely must consider on your next Vegas vacation.

New as of December 2006, the buffet at Santa Fe Station takes everything the folks at Station Casinos have learned at their other hotels and improves upon it. The room is a high-ceilinged, airy affair, modern and comfortable, with plenty of booths and tables. Since it is open to the casino, the seating areas located near the front can be a little noisy, but that's a minor concern.

The selection of food is almost staggering. Start with the salad bar area, packed with the typical chilled varieties of lettuce and accompaniments, but also featuring cold cuts, cheeses, fresh fruit, rolls, soup and more.

Get into the main courses and the choices become more difficult. I highly recommend you cruise the entire length of the serving stations to get an idea what's there before you load down your plate, so you don't hate yourself later for being too full to indulge in something you missed.

There's a barbecue station with several picnic favorites such Texas macaroni salad, potato salad, and cheddar mashed potatoes; heavily sauced affairs such as ribs, pulled pork and shredded beef; plus some true southern regional cooking like collared greens.

Visit the Asian section for everything from potsickers to pad Thai with stops at things like spicy eggplant, sweet-and-sour pork, egg rolls, and General's Chicken along the way.

The Italian area has a made-to-order pasta bar where you pick from a variety of noodles, sauces, and fresh ingredients while cooks prepare itt for you, plus a pizza oven and items such as meatballs, sausage and peppers, and lasagna if you are pretending you're carbo-loading.

The American area has a carving station with turkey, ham or roast beef, plus traditional diner fare like fried chicken and catfish with hush puppies.

We're not done yet. Keep going to the Tex-Mex area for tamales, enchiladas, chicken or beef fajitas, and made-to-order Mexican favorites.

Finally, be sure to save a little bit of room for the dessert area. Most buffets in this town stumble badly in this category, but Santa Fe's Feast does a great job with cookies, cakes, pies, several different cobblers, soft-serve ice cream with all the toppings, and even hand-scooped gelato.

Keep in mind that selections change often, and I visited during lunch, so what you find may be different depending on the time of day and day of the week. But I can attest that everything was fresh, hot when it was supposed to be hot and cold when it was supposed to be cold, and very well prepared.

All of this comes for prices that are a fraction of what similar buffets on the Strip charge. Breakfast is only $8, lunch $1 more and dinner and the weekend brunch only $13. If you sign up for the free Station Casinos players' club card, they will even knock and additional dollar off of that.

The location is a bit of a drag. Located on the far northwest side of town, it's quite a trek for most Vegas visitors. But if you have a car at your disposal it's really not that big of a deal. And I don't want to hear you whining about how expensive buffets in Las Vegas have gotten -- not when there's one as winning as the Feast at Santa Fe Station.

The Feast Buffet
Santa Fe Station
4949 N. Rancho Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89130
866-767-7771
Open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Full Story

• Nevada Casinos Haul In $24 Billion
• Feast Buffet At Santa Fe Stands Out
• Vegas Q&A: Is Tropicana Being Torn Down?

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