Michael Mina 4 (5x$$$$$)

Michael Mina is a well liked and celebrated chief from the San Francisco. He has opened a number of restaurants in Las Vegas and has published a series of cook books introducing gourmet cooking into the average American home. I however fine his food average.

His restaurant gives the appearance of gourmet food in both atmosphere and price. His menu is sent in two different categories the tasting menu: consisting for five courses, with only one choice with wine parings for $154. Or the three course menu, in which you can choose between seasonal trios or classic single dishes. On this occasion I chose two classical dishes and one themed trio dish.

• Black mussel soufflé, with chardonnay and saffron sauce.

• Lobster pot pie with Brandied lobster and seasonal vegetables in cream sauce

• Squash trio, pumpkin pie, butternut squash cake with parmesan ice-cream and kabocha squash crepe.

The black mussel soufflé was excellent, but it was also ordinary and tasted just like the mussel and clam stuffing that my family makes for thanksgiving. It was very light, but rich in taste, the sauce needed to be poured rather generously to compensate for the dryness of the soufflé but over all it was a good dish. The diced pieces of mussel were a nice detail.

The lobster presentation of the lobster pot pie is excellent. I have never been so initially impressed by the presentation. However my opinion of the dish quickly plummeted when I took my fist bite. The pot pie is brought out in a large copper pot. The pastry crust is golden and flaky and you can smell the warm butter in the air. Your waiter will cut the top of the pie off and assemble the copped lobster on top of the pastry over which he pours the sauce and the seasonal garden vegetables. I actually found the vegetables to be better than the lobster in this case. The lobster was definitely frozen when it was flown from Maine. and was then over cooked giving it a very tough rubber texture. I was actually un able to eat more than a single claw it so disgusted me.

The dessert course, consisting of the squash trio was ordinary and plain. I thought the pumpkin pie tasted like pumpkin pie, but cake was very average and the crepe was like baby food inside a sweet cracker. I actually liked the crepe the best, despite its pureed texture.

For Price I give this restaurant a 5x$$$$$
It was really far to overpriced for the quality of the meal.

The atmosphere receives only a 6 in my opinion. Michael resides in the St. Francis hotel in down town and while surrounded by the best of the city it is unable to break away from the city noise and disturbance.

For taste I give Michael Mina 6 out of 10. I was severely disappointed and I often felt that I could produce better given the resources that this restaurant subscribes. The more exotic ingredients in a dish were often masked by contrasting flavors. There was no balance or flavor story, and the taste was often just homely in all ways.

The service: I prefer to pay for very good food and do without service all together. In Michael Mina’s case, the service did not make up for any dysfunction in the kitchen.

Over all I give Michael Mina a 4, a rating even lower than I would ascribe to another restaurant of the same quality. In this case, I feel that the anticipation and prejudice conceived by Michael’s name is unwarranted. I was so disappointed by the work done in his name; I felt it should only result in a hefty point deduction.

I would not recommend Michael Mina to anyone. Nor will I have very high expectations for his other restaurants when I visit them in the future. Everyone deserves a second chance, I hope he will surprise me in the future.

Oriental Buffet 7 ($$)

Oriental Buffet

There is certainly a time and a place for buffets. For instance, Las Vegas would not be as beloved a vacation destination without its all you can eat buffets. In this instance my husband and I ventured to this restaurant on the recommendation of an acquaintance. This acquaintance of mine is the wife of the local Chinese Restaurant Produce and Meats Supplier. I periodically ask her if there are any new places worth visiting in the area; on one occasion she recommended Oriental Buffet because “they always buy the best”.

The Oriental Buffet, does in fact boast a broad menu, some dim sum, hot and cold rice and noodle dishes, many of the common meat dishes like sweet and sour pork, general chicken, broccoli beef ect. But it also has a sushi bar, and a Mongolian barbeque bar.
The food was as I expected, the more usual fare as far as quality of the cooking, but there were a few more exotic numbers as well.
For instance fried frog legs, thousand year old eggs, and langoustine, which is basically a large shrimp with claws.

Overall I give The Oriental Buffet a 7 out of 10, it neither exceeded my expectations nor did it disappoint me in any way. It was just as I expected.

For taste I give this buffet a 5 for the same reasons as stated above. In general I don’t really believe buffets can ever exceed a rating above a 7 in any category. I mean lets be honest, it’s a buffet, so we are eating there because its a lot of food for a relatively cheap price.

Which does bring me to price. For cost Oriental Buffet receives a $$ for two people. I believe that is very competitive for the buffet market.

Also of note:

this buffet has a very nice banquet room for parties, and large family gatherings, I did not inquire to how many people it would accommodate but I should think a party of 20 or so would be comfortable in there.

They do take out, probably not as good a deal as the all you can eat, call for prices.
located on Broadway, Sacramento