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We reviewed dinner at the Main Street Station Garden Buffet in the September 2023 issue of the Advisor after trying it on a Friday night in August. The title of the post was “Where Is Everyone?” Here’s how it began: “We arrived right at 6 p.m., thinking we might have to wait in line for 20 to 30 minutes to get into the only downtown buffet, which serves dinner Fri. and Sat. nights only. Au contraire! We didn’t have to wait even 20 seconds. We walked right up to the cashier, paid, and had plate in hand within a minute.” The room remained mostly empty for the next 90 minutes while we were there and we wondered if the buffet might be this empty regularly.

When we stayed at the Plaza the weekend before F1 in November, we were a five-minute walk from Main Street Station, so we determined to check out the line situation at various times.

We started walking over at 1 p.m. on Saturday. No one was in line and not much was happening with an hour to go for brunch, which closes at 2 p.m.

We went back at 4 p.m. for the opening of dinner. This time, the line filled up all three rows of fixed barriers, then stretched to the door; the 70 people or so were handled by two cashiers, one for the VIP line. By 4:15, even with another 25 or so stragglers showing up just after opening, the line was pretty well handled. By six, however, there were two lines, one backed up most of the way to the entrance with people waiting to pay, the other 10 deep after paying and waiting to be seated. The room was pretty full, so tables needed to be cleared before the second line moved. The same pattern repeated on a couple of checks on Sunday evening as well.

Sunday morning we went back and got there right at 8 a.m. to review brunch. Frankly, we weren’t expecting a line that early, so we were a bit surprised that 25 people were ahead of us, almost all hungry Hawaiians (mostly Japanese-Americans). There was only one cashier, but she was very efficient, handling both the VIP and HP (hoi polloi) lines in staggered fashion. By about 8:30, most of the early activity had been handled, but around 9, the later crowd started showing up and the line stayed long until we left at 9:30. Plus, the tables had filled up, so the second line had formed.

Our conclusion? The reason we walked right in to review dinner was that it was a particularly slow weekend night in August. But over a busy weekend in November, the Garden Buffet fills up and the lines get long. For both brunch and dinner, it’s best to arrive as early as you can; for brunch, late is also the better play.

As for the brunch buffet itself, the selection was as extensive as dinner and the quality was about equal, which is to say good enough for downtown’s only buffet.

Being brunch, the salad bar had romaine, spinach, and toppings right next to bagels, lox, sliced tomato, kimchee, namasu (sliced cucumbers and carrots in a light vinegar sauce), and a toaster. Next to cold cereal and milk were six different kinds of pizza and garlic toast, crepes, corned beef hash, pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Steam-table eggs were scrambled plain or with chorizo, along with bacon, sausage, and home fries. The carving station offered ham, chicken, and three kinds of sausage (kielbasa, Italian, and Portuguese). Our cooked-to-order cheese omelet came out in less than a minute.

The lunch food included pulled pork and cabbage, Hawaiian beef stew, fried and shoyu chicken, fish of the day, roasted yams, green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, and mac and cheese.

The desserts occupy an entire serving island: self-serve soft chocolate and vanilla with toppings, pies, pastries, puddings, cakes, cookies, muffins, and sugar-free selections.

We went back for seconds and thirds of namasu, a second bagel and lox, pulled pork and mashed, and desserts.

The total price came to $29.95, which in this day and age is quite reasonable for the only Las Vegas buffet within several miles and a decent one at that.

Angie’s Lobster, with seven restaurants in Phoenix, has come to Las Vegas.

Angie’s is well known in the Valley of the Sun for its $9.99-$10.99 lobster rolls, made possible by Angie’s owning a wharf in Maine, buying lobster and seafood right off the boats, and processing it all in its own plant nearby. Then, Angie’s ships the product to Arizona, and now southern Nevada, in its own reefer trucks. The owners opened their first shop in Phoenix in 2021 after selling Salad & Go, which has 150 locations throughout the Southwest.

We wonder if this is the future of “fast food.” It’s definitely fast and amazingly inexpensive, but it’s several cuts above Carl’s Jr. and KFC; it is lobster after all.

Also, it’s completely cashless. You walk in and go right to one of three ordering screens, which are pretty easy to navigate. The first screen shows you the meals that come with fries and a drink for $12.99. If you want a la carte, you change the screen with a tab on the top nav. Other tabs take you to the drinks and add-ons. If you want a receipt, it’s digital, so you have to input your phone number or email address.

Angie’s menu also features shrimp, snow crab, and cod rolls from $6.49 to $10.99, along with two breakfast rolls (eggs and bacon, eggs and lobster) and French toast ($3.19-$7.99).

We went twice, once when it first opened just to see, the second time to try everything by feeding the office. We were unimpressed with the snow crab roll. We also got four lobster rolls, two chilled, two warm (for $1 extra). Even if you’re eating at Angie’s at one of six tables inside or six outside on the patio, 32 seats altogether, there’s no real reason to get the warmed-up lobster (by the time we got the food back to the office, both were room temperature). We also tried the scallop roll, clam roll, and a side of fried cod ($2.99).

Even with the big order and a busy room at lunchtime, we were in and out of the place in 13 minutes flat. Very efficient and, as we say, fast. The only time you see anyone is when they call your name to pick up your order at the window.

The lobster was a bit mushy, but tasty. The cod was big, firm, and moist, though mostly tasteless, like most whitefish. The clams, however, stole the show. Big, juicy, and tasty, they melt in your mouth — again, surprising for fast food. The scallops are small, but definitely scallopy. Melted butter and tartar sauce come in small sealed plastic bags. The only thing missing are lemon wedges. But the house-made lemonade is an adequate substitute.

For the six rolls a la carte, side of cod, and lemonade, the bill came to just over $63 including tax.

Angie’s is located on the south side of Blue Diamond a half-block east of Decatur.

[Editor’s Note: This is a guest review from friend of LVA George Antanakos.]

The closing of Chinglish out at Charleston and Rampart did away with the best dumplings and dipping sauce in the city and sent me on a hunt for dim sum outside of Chinatown.

Enter Lucky House Seafood Restaurant. Located on Durango just south of Flamingo, it opened early this year and as soon as I walked in, I knew it was authentic: Several gorgeous golden-brown roasted ducks hang near the entrance. Also, it’s a great sign when I’m one of the only non-Asians in the place and it was busy on a random Wednesday at 2 p.m., not exactly prime time.

We ordered up the dim sum and tried a couple of other dishes. We found the truffle and regular siu mai ($6 and $7, respectively) above average, but couldn’t tell the difference, so the regular is the play. The true dim sum stars at Lucky House are the shrimp; the har gow and shrimp-and-chive dumplings were sublime.

We also ordered the “roasted pork” entrée, which is actually pork belly. If you like juicy fatty belly with perfectly crispy skin, this is the dish for you. The kung pao chicken was the big surprise. It’s usually a disappointment, even in Chinatown, but at Lucky House, I tried unsuccessfully to recall another kung pao that even came close. I’m not easily impressed, but this is a must-eat version.

The bill came to $78.03 with tax, but not tip.

All in all, Lucky House is an excellent option and a hidden gem, especially if you don’t want to fade the traffic and parking issues in Chinatown.