Friday, February 25, 2005 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Dishes

A Real Treasure: With cozy alcoves and prompt service, Treasure Island's Dishes moves beyond the standard buffet

Dishes at Treasure Island looks rather more like a restaurant than a buffet. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

Have you been to Dishes?" The Boss asked (and no, I'm not talking about Springsteen).

No, I said, but I knew that was about to change, since The Boss doesn't generally make such inquiries solely for his own amusement.

As it turned out, The Boss had walked past the new buffet at Treasure Island. He'd seen a guy in a window making chocolate-covered strawberries, and wondered if they really were destined for the buffet.

Yes, indeedy, as it turns out. Because Dishes is not just another buffet.

For one thing, it has the feel of a restaurant, as my co-diner pointed out. Lighting is relatively subdued, decor sleek and refined, the space broken into cozy alcoves. There's no smoking section, so we didn't have to endure wafting clouds of smoke as we ate.

There are a number of other innovations that distinguish Dishes, including the salad area. Displayed at either end are a number of pre-made salads bearing both names and numbers; the idea is that you tell an attendant which you'd like, and it's made fresh for you.

There's a downside to that, in that it takes away the guest's ability to sort of graze along a salad bar. There are several upsides, though (not the least being that it takes away the guest's ability to sort of graze along a salad bar), including the fact that both of the salads we tried -- a Chinese chicken and a Cobb -- turned out a whole lot better, with more components in better proportions, than if we'd tried to put them together ourselves. And the salad lady was so agreeable we have no doubt she'd have been willing if we'd asked to make a few alterations to tailor them to our tastes. The plates were a little too small for the salad heaped upon them, making the salads more difficult to eat, but that's a quibble.

Other Dishes pluses: Well, let's get back to those strawberries. There they were, red and ripe and freshly dipped (we watched a guy dipping them, too) in a nice not-too-sweet darkish chocolate. There was a lot more to like on the dessert bar, such as tiny freshly fried donuts and surprisingly good renditions of creme brulee and chocolate souffle. They'd also made smaller, individual versions of standard cakes, such as carrot and lemon, which remained much more fresh and moist than if they'd been cut from a larger cake. Even cotton candy, if you're feeling gimmicky or channeling a needy inner child.

We saw an attendant rolling a cart and thought maybe it was dim sum but it turned out to be chili. That seemed somewhat of an odd choice, but maybe not, since it was yet another of those damp, rainy evenings we've be having a lot of lately. And this was to-your-order chili, with a variety of toppings to be added at will had we chosen to indulge.

We didn't, but only because there was so much else to keep us occupied. As we waited at the pasta bar for a cook to prepare for us a fresh plate of tortellini tossed with pesto (quite nice), we watched him take a big bag of split lobster tails out of a refrigerator and spill it into a saute pan, adding fresh herbs as he stirred and then popping on a lid so the shellfish would steam. It was destined for a nearby buffet pan, where the previous supply was rapidly disappearing.

Sushi bars are becoming more common in buffets, but we especially liked this one both for the care that was taken and for the options offered. There were, for example, a number of plates available atop the bar, each containing two pieces of different sushi (such as tuna nigiri sushi and a California roll), with a decorative squiggle of wasabi and a little pile of ginger, all ready and waiting. But the sushi chef also was standing by to custom-make a plate if desired, and there were bowls of wasabi and ginger at the end of the bar and an urn of soy sauce with pretty little stoneware bowls.

Prime rib is de riguer on any Las Vegas buffet, but at Dishes there were a few pieces pre-sliced and waiting, so the rationing feel isn't there. There was a poached salmon half as well, and some turkey, and better-than-average side dishes that included a melange of white potatoes, sweet potatoes and various root vegetables, cut into big chunks, seasoned and sauteed crisp-tender.

Not everything was perfect; fried items, in particular -- the bane of any buffet chef -- were soggy and heavy, as in shrimp tempura and General's chicken. And while there was plenty of chilled shrimp and chilled crab, some warm crab (admittedly a rarity on local buffets) would've been nice.

Much of the success of Dishes stems from its tendency to take standard buffet items and improve on them, so that the old-familiar cold cuts become mortadella and cappicola, otherwise standard pizza includes variations with seafood chunks and fresh herbs, sauteed mushrooms are nice and garlicky, barbecue is cooked over wood and coffee is represented by a big selection that includes chocolate espresso (excellent), mocha, cappuccino, coffee with milk and dark roast (though curiously no decaf). Our server also asked, at the end of our dinner, if we'd like coffee.

Actually, the service was a big part of what's different at Dishes. As I approached the salad station, two people behind it were talking -- business, but talking. But as soon as they spotted a guest standing there, they immediately turned to me with profuse apologies. And I had been waiting only seconds.

Our server, as well, was excellent. Like many of those around us we ordered glasses of wine, which are handled separately, and when I gave her a $20 bill for a $12 tab (the wine was decent enough for a house, and nicely served), she disappeared for change. We waited, and finally decided to head to the buffet. Upon our return, she promptly reappeared with the receipt and the change and counted it out. And she came by frequently to refill our water and ask if there was anything we needed.

Much of what elevates Dishes, nearly any buffet could achieve with a little care.

Dishes is $26 for the upgraded Friday and Saturday buffet (which is what we sampled), $20 on other evenings, so it's out of the realm of the bargain buffets of old.

Then again, especially in view of the Las Vegas restaurant revolution, we're all looking for something better these days. At Dishes, we found it.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are unannounced and done anonymously at Review-Journal expense.