March 20, 2001
We’ve finally had a chance to visit the Spice Market Buffet at The Aladdin, and in keeping with my usual practice of giving complete details about buffets after visiting them for the first time, this is my report/review.
The Spice Market Buffet absolutely belongs on the list of top-notch Las Vegas buffets, and I think the ranking one might give it in, say, their top five, depends mostly on personal preferences.
The buffet room itself is very handsome. It is located in a dedicated area downstairs from Aladdin’s casino, and is accessible by stairs, escalator and elevator.
When you look down the stairs from the casino level, it is almost impossible
to tell if there’s a waiting line, as the line forms in a
typical snaking arrangement, off to the right of the entrance where it cannot
be seen from up above. We visited for dinner at about 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday,
and had a wait of about 20 minutes to be seated. The room holds a generous 550
people, so the line moves along steadily.
Though the room is somewhat noisy, dining areas seem semi-intimate because shoulder-high dividing walls define most of the areas. An especially thoughtful touch is that the smoking areas are in the center portions of the room, where the dividing walls and the excellent ventilation seem to contain the smell of smoke. The larger, non-smoking areas occupy the outer sections of the room, closer to the serving stations, which allows non-smokers to select their food and move to and from their seats without passing through smoking sections.
Unlike most buffet rooms in town, this one has its own public bathrooms on the premises, so diners don’t have to exit the room to visit a restroom.
Table sizes are especially generous. The four-tops allow plenty of elbow room for a full table of diners, and the five of us could have easily accommodated three more without getting in the way of each other. Spice Market is also one of those buffets that use good-quality cloth napkins rather than paper ones.
In keeping with modern buffet practice, the different serving areas are separated and organized mainly by type of cuisine. What follows, as my regular readers would expect, is a complete listing of everything served at Spice Market Buffet.
Far right and far left sides of the room are the salad areas, the only such
areas that are duplicated. These sections feature: tossed mixed greens, mainly
romaine and iceberg; seasoned tomato slices; mixed marinated chilies; curried
cashew slaw; red beet and apple slaw; German meat salad; mushrooms a la Grecque;
onion salad; marinated cucumbers; field greens with poached pears; wedge-lettuce
salad; Caesar salad; Chinese chicken salad; primavera salad; imported cheeses;
assorted fruit
platter; large peeled cocktail shrimp; garbanzo salad; pepperoncini; buffalo
mozzarella and seasoned tomatoes; croutons; parmesan cheese; marinated olives;
house vinaigrette; ranch dressing; Thousand Island dressing; bleu cheese dressing;
cocktail sauce.
The Mexican station has a fairly limited, but high-quality, selection: seafood ceviche; Chicken fajitas; quesadillas; flour tortillas; Spanish pork; four-frijole charros; beef tomales wrapped in cornhusks; Spanish rice; tropical fruit pico de gallo; chipotle salsa; guacamole; sour cream; fire-roasted tomatillo salsa; mixed marinated chilies; shaved Sonoma jack cheese; tri-colored tortilla chips.
Soups: On this day the choices were chicken noodle and cream of asparagus.
The Spice Market Buffet clearly distinguishes itself from its competitors by presenting a nice selection of Middle Eastern items, and every one I tried was excellent. Offerings are: basmati rice with lentils; curried chick peas and potatoes; eggplant with tomato and onion; toasted couscous with vegetables; skewered lamb shish ka bob; tandoori chicken; grilled vegetable skewers; tzatziki; baba ghanoush; couscous salad; dolmas (stuffed grape leaves); harissa; humus curry sauce; minted lamb jus; mint jelly;.
Seafood, at a station labeled Jewels of the Sea: Alaska king crab legs; shrimp salad; red slaw; cocktail shrimp; cocktail sauce; grilled swordfish with tropical salsa; green beans almondine; new dill potatoes; steamed clams; steamed mussels; herb rice; paella salad; breadsticks; assorted rolls; corn muffins;
Italian: Baked ziti with meatballs; Brussels sprouts medley; fried ravioli with marinara; cavatelli with basil garlic cream; penne with tomato sauce; roasted eggplant; chicken rotelli; steamed clams Italian style; assorted fresh-baked pizza.
Asian - steamed buns; mu shu duck; pot stickers; vegetable egg rolls; stir fry beef with Chinese beans; vegetable fried rice; sweet & sour chicken; spicy egg plant; white rice; sweet & sour sauce; plum sauce; hot mustard; teriyaki sauce; hoisin sauce; Thai chili sauce;. American - Rustic mashed potatoes; broccolini; wild rice pilaf; shrimp scampi; hickory rotisserie chicken; roasted rack of pork loin; herb-crusted strip loin of beef; BBQ baby back pork ribs; sweet corn; salmon with mushroom soy; mushroom ragout; grilled asparagus; roasted sweet potato halves; grain mustard; country apple sauce; beef jus.
Fruit slices: watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple.
Desserts: bread pudding; fruit cobbler; sugar-free brownies, cakes, tarts; fresh fruit; chocolate-covered strawberries; fruit tarts; lemon mousse; chocolate mousse; cookies; soft-serve vanilla custard and butter pecan ice cream; lots of toppings; apple-crumb and cherry mini-pies.
As you can see, there are a number of ambitious items on the menu, and almost everything was absolutely delicious. Highlights for us included the peeled and chilled cocktail shrimp, as well as the delicately flavored steamed clams and mussels. The lamb shish ka bob was juicy and flavorful, as was the roasted pork.
Criticisms of this buffet are so minor as to be inconsequential. The Chinese chicken salad and marinated cucumbers had almost no flavor. One of the salad areas runs so close to the seafood station that diners can earn unfriendly stares from folks in line if they cut through a line to help themselves to an item that no one else in line seems interested in taking.
Aladdin’s Spice Market Buffet is open for breakfast Monday through Friday from 7:00 to 10:30 a.m., priced at $10.99.
Lunch is Mondays through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., priced at $12.99.
Dinner is seven days a week from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., priced at $18.99.
Champagne brunch is Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., priced at $15.99.
This is a great buffet, well worth your sampling, especially if you like Middle
Eastern food and are in the area when your appetite calls. A lot of comparisons
are made between the buffets that are in close proximity to each other on the
Strip, particularly Bellagio, Paris and Aladdin. We believe Bellagio has more
going for it, and if we were rating on a scale of 1 through 10, we’d put
Bellagio at the top with a 10, then Aladdin with a 9, and finally Paris with
a 7. And if we went off the Strip to
compile our list, we’d slip The Regent buffet into 2nd place with a 9.5.
But of course, these things are subjective, and each person’s opinion is as valid as that of the next person.
--Best wishes from David in NV
