Lunch Club: The Wicked Spoon Buffet at The Cosmopolitan (Las Vegas)

I have found my new favorite buffet in Las Vegas! It's the Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan. Why is it my new favorite? Two reasons: amazing food and everything is portioned out into little containers.

Besides being super cute, the little containers help ease my worries about buffets being germ-y places. I mean, come on, we've all seen someone picking up food at a buffet using their fingers instead of the tongs, right? Well Wicked Spoon has all but eliminated that unfortunate part of buffets! And, because they've pre-portioned most everything into small servings, it's easy to not overeat and to be able to sample a little bit of everything. And seriously, who doesn't love something in miniature form?

And did I mention the food was tasty? Well it is. It's not your run-of-the-mill, mass-produced food. It is gourmet in every sense of the word. They have the staples -- like salads, carved meats, and crab legs, -- but they also have unique things, like bone marrow (I didn't try it, but my nephew did and he said it wasn't bad).

Those of us who suffer from food allergies are somewhat on our own here to figure out what is safe. If you ask enough people, I found that they have papers printed up behind the food stations that state the ingredients, but it takes a bit of work to find someone who knows where they are. One of my favorite food allergy stories happened at this restaurant and the conversation went something like this:

Me: I'm allergic to eggs. Do you know if this dessert has eggs in it?
Employee: No, it doesn't; it's dairy free.
Me: I asked about eggs, not dairy.
Employee: I know. It's dairy free so you're good.
Me: Eggs don't come from cows.
This dialogue is followed by an awkward silence; after which, I just walk away.

I swear I'll never tire of that story......

Anyway, I loved this place so much I ate here for dinner and then went back for breakfast the next day. It was that good.

On to the photos:

The mini burger in front is made of wild boar. One of the two dishes in the background is shepherd's pie made with beef tongue. I can't remember what the third dish is. When I say gourmet, I mean it...I believe this is the first appearance of wild boar on this here burger blog.

Now, I know this is a burger blog but I want to show you other photos, too. Because I'm obsessed with the miniature portions and I hope you will be as well.

California roll, dumplings in the little silver container, and steamed rice in a mini box.

A little fry basket of fried chicken, a little sauce pan of maple-glazed squash, another mini burger (although I don't remember what it was made of, maybe chicken of some sort), and a small sauce pan of au gratin potatoes.

All the little fry baskets and sauce pans lined up on the buffet line, safely behind a sneeze bar. See how easy it is to keep it germ free? No need for tongs, you just pick up an item by the handle.

More squash and au gratin potatoes in the back. In the front is house-made sausage and a cold beet salad.

Fancy desserts.

Seriously, could the portions be any smaller? They are the perfect size to sample everything. And if you find something you love, you just get more than one serving.

All the different Chinese foods lined up. In the background, you can see a plated dish of what's inside the boxes. There were noodles, dumplings, Kung Pao chicken, rice dishes, etc.