French Market Buffet at The Orlean's Casino

Our final day in Las Vegas was exhausting mainly because we were so tuckered out from a very busy vacation. We took our time checking out of the Four Queens then decided to find a slightly lower keyed casino to spend the afternoon then have dinner. The Orlean's was just perfect for this purpose being sufficiently busy but not over crowded. This casino has a New Orlean's theme heavy on the crocodiles and Mardi Gras, laid back and fun with an 18 screen movie theatre on the second floor and a 70 lane bowling alley for those wanting other entertainment. Like most casinos, The Orlean's buffet is impressive so I thought I would post a few more pictures just so you have a better idea of what Las Vegas buffets look like.

French Market Buffet

Huge green gator statues greet visitors to the casino. Througout the casino more huge character statues form part of the decor. Outside of the French Market Buffet two larger than life chef statures great you just before the wonderful aromas hit your senses. This is in an all-you-can eat restaurant served buffet style. It features Italian, Mongolian, Barbecue, American, Seafood, Mexican and Chinese cooking. The inside of the restaurant is spacious and the staff is very friendly. It's has a nice glittery glam with a lot of shiny surfaces but the mood is comfortable and relaxing.

Food choices are divided into stations. The large salad bar and dessert bar is in the centre of the serving areas with the food stations around the end perimeter of the restaurant.

It was all you could eat sirloin steaks for $14.95 but again we had a two-for-one coupon. The meal came with complimentary non-alcoholic drinks or wine. As with most buffets it included a lovely soup and salad bar, many options for the main course and a good selection of desserts including fruits and ice cream. You can't go wrong with all all you can eat steak buffet providing the steaks are cooked the way you like them.

Steak, Ribs & Seafood

I should mention that proper etiquette when photographing inside any restaurant and even the facade is to get permission. I've never been turned down yet but it is always nice to ask first. I have some wonderful pictures of me with various chefs that make for great scrapbooking layouts. Don't worry about what other diners might think either. Just get some good photos and enjoy your meal!

The salad bar is quite large with a substantial offerings of salad greens, salad vegetables, dressings and toppings. Prepared salads such as macaroni are also available. Soups were at one end of the salad bar. Peel and eat shrimp was chilled on ice ready for plating. They were a nice sized shrimp with shrimp cocktail sauce and lemon wedges available. The crayfish were also abundant, cooked to perfection. House smoked ribs were available from a server in the barbeque station. He cut off the desired number for you. They were as promised finger-licking good!

What was impressive was the sirloin steak because immediately one would suspect that any steak on a buffet wouldn't be all that great. The steak was cooked to varying degrees of doneness then placed in a large warmer. What this did was to allow the steak to rest slightly before being plated and since steak continues to cook for a brief period after removing from the grill, I suspect the chef slightly under cooked each steak.

Casseroles

One of the best features of buffets is you can pick and choose what you want combining cuisines to your heart's content. It's also a good way to do a small sample test without taking a whole serving. I often browse through a buffet with plate in hand for this very purpose taking only a table spoon of a few things I would like to try. Two casseroles that caught my eye on the buffet were turkey enchilada and lasagne. There were other combination dishes but these two had wonderful eye appeal and looked mouthwatering! Lasagne has long been a family favourite here so I make it fairly often using 9 cheeses and homemade spaghetti sauce with meat. The turkey enchilada is something a little different. Buffets are wonderful for this because they will tempt you to try something you might not otherwise try. Chances are with a bit of tweaking you can come very close to the dish when making at home. The important thing is this really gives you a basis to start with.

I simply had to have a little taste to see if this would be a possible family favourite. I think it has the potential even though my husband wouldn't eat it with black olives. That means a bit of tweaking. So I'm going to be searching for a tried and true recipe as well as doing a bit of experimentation for turkey enchilada casserole to fine tune at home. I'll post my version once tweaked.

Desserts

Talk about tempting eye candy! Never mind fighting the urge to resist and you know they do say two desserts are better than one. The French Market Buffet, located so you have to pass it to get to the main course offerings has a large selection of scrumptious desserts including sugar free versions. The various beautifully decorated cheesecakes are sure to tempt but it doesn't stop there. Cream puffs, chocolate eclairs and other pastries line display cases. Slices of luscious fruit, cream and meringue pies enticingly fill a counter. If you are looking for something cold there is soft ice cream with the option of various toppings. Fresh fruit is always an option for those who don't want a heavier dessert.

Plated

I decided on a tossed salad followed by the sirloin steak (medium rare) with crayfish, baked potato, mixed vegetables and glass of house wine. Sour cream was available for the baked potato as was drawn butter for the crayfish. I skipped the heavier desserts opting instead for a nice bowl of watermelon. It was a lovely meal!

I should mention a couple of things about buffets. First there is so much that there is the temptation to over eat. The second problem is sticking to the tried and true bypassing anything you are not familiar with. Buffets are certainly the time to indulge but that doesn't mean you have to over indulge. It is quite possible to enjoy a buffet while staying within any dietary restrictions. Other than that experiment and try new things.