9.99 for cafeteria food at a casino - just say no

We all love a deal but when does a deal fail ?

this past weekend we went to checkout the $9.99 Buffet at Greektown Casino in Downtown Detroit. The experience was flawed from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. lots of spaces in a very short and tight configuration that may be as tall as 10 stories high.

the parking lot is free for self parking. as you wind your way up the circular ramp to the individual floors, you are looking for any opening to exit the snail like enclosure. it's lanes are tight and allow no room for stopping or going around the vehicle ahead of you. the drive up makes you feel claustrophobic and because it is a single lane it seems quite dangerous. this means we will never go into that parking lot again. the spaces are so tight that a regular car will knick the door of the vehicle beside it if opened all the way and you're parked in the center of the space. there are approximately 4 handicapped spaces on each floor. far too few.

as we walked from what seemed to be two city blocks to the casino entrance doors, hubby remarked that we had just passed a crime scene. What ? the space beside the door that we entered was the location of a suicide leap just the week before. Oh Myyy..

the elevator bank vestibule is a grey concrete waiting area similar to the waiting area of a sports stadium. there are four elevators in total and a large stairway. after waiting more than 10 passes of the elevators - because they were filled to capacity, we decide to follow a group of men walking down the two flights of stairs to enter the casino building.

we enter and are immediately hit in the face with a blast of cigarette smoke and freezing cold air; even though it's barely 60 degrees outside. the smell takes a moment to get used to. needless to say we aren't inside the casino yet and we have nothing good to say; sigh.

as we walk up the corridor we pass a glass windowed cafeteria. little do we know that this is the location of the $9.99 International Buffet. we round the corner and continue up the wide hall into the piazza of the restaurant and main gambling casino. there is a small boutique just as you round the corner. there are lots of blinging pieces of costume and genuine jewelry. in the window we notice beautiful handbags of many different styles. more on that in a later post.

we enter the line for the buffet unsure of what we'd experience, but ready to check it out. while standing in line we discuss what we see in comparison to the previous casino dining experience. one thing that stands out is the people and how they are dressed. hubby remarks that there are more blue jeans and less designer attire. he also remarks that there are more men and older folks than at MGM Detroit. the line moves quickly and within 15 minutes we are standing at the front of the line to be seated.

The Maitre D's

Every restaurant has a seating pattern and it is the job of the Maitre D or Host to maintain that order and keep the flow moving. the hostess was counting us as heads and talking into a walkie talkie. strange. when we reached the head of the line we knew that we'd be seated quickly as we could see people streaming out of the restaurant as quickly, as they were seated. there seemed no lag time. the dining room capacity is 275 heads but it was no where near full even at the height of the dinner hour on sunday. we were told to walk way past loads of empty seats and tables to a crammed part of the dining room - in the back. Why ?

the male host was standing there with a walkie talkie in his hand counting seats for the hostess and pointed us to a table. Yes I Said Pointed Us Toward a Table. Unbelievable.

this should have been a hint of the dining experience ahead..

to sum it up we'll use an easy scale for you A for Best - F for Worst

1. Food Quality
   
2. Presentation
3. Cleanliness
4. Variety of Selections

On 1. Food Quality they get a D -

the food appears to have come from institutional tins and been heated on the site. even the iceberg lettuce salad was clearly rusted on the edges, indicating poor quality and no onsite preparation. the dressings were poured from large plastic jars directly onto the salad bar, as we watched in shock. Could I Be In A Cafeteria instead of a Casino Buffet ?

On 2. Presentation They get an F

the cafeteria atmosphere is scary and unneccessary. cramming tables so tightly together that parties at different tables are forced to interact to sit or stand. when comming to or from their tables each guest is obliged to say excuse me many times to all the diners in their path. This is unrealistic and very dangerous.

if there is an emergency or a need to get up to go to get more food - everyone has to move who is in your path. that coupled with the slippery tile floor surrounded by sticky nasty dirty carpet is absolutely a health and safety concern that needs to be addressed quickly. they don't see any problem with it apparently. I watched as a little girl slid across the floor when she stepped from the carpet onto the tile to follow her mom to the steam tables. the maitre d' smiled. how silly to ignore a potential safety issue with a smile.

On 3. Cleanliness -They get an F

The Dining Room floor was Sticky; the Bus Attendants carried multiple plates to large garbage dump bins, where other men in green jumpsuits came and wheeled them away in black trash bags. certainly not conducive to atmosphere or cleanliness. a few of the suppossedly cleanly washed plates we picked up were littered with stuck on food; from the dishwasher. as well the silverware was sticky, fingerprint embedded and nasty - sitting bare on the table when we arrived. Totally Gross. the tables were squeezed so tightly together in the half full dining room that you literally had to ask the person at the table next to you to pull their chair in if you wanted to get out of your seat; or to sit down when returning from the "Steam Tables" yes I said Steam Tables.

On 4. Variety of Selections - They Get an F

They got an F; because if there was a lower grade I'd give it. Tacos with premade taco meat swimming in grease; sourcream in a vat - not on ice or refrigerated made me steer clear of the mexican station. the american station was as well a questionable situation with fried chicken that was indecipherable by piece because of the strange little cuts and overfrying. the mashed potatoes would hold a spoon up and were so lumpy they were never whipped. we stopped at what they called the sushi station to step immediately away for fear of salmonella from the non refrigerated sushi and sashimi.

the bread basket was at the end of this counter and the rolls were neither fresh, or appetizing. the Italian Station had a variety of 2 pizzas. yes i said two. there were two pastas, two sauces and chicken parmigana that appeared to be from a banquet warm up dinner box. sad indeed. Dessert was cut little pieces of cafeteria cake and plain cheesecake on styrofoam bowls and plates. tacky to say the least. when I tried the chocolate cake, I took one bite and wished I hadn't.

All in all, when we left, we went to get something to eat because we were still hungry. the food was basically Inedible.

WE Paid $23.00 For Dinner and Left Hungy

There is nothing I can say good about this place except that it's across the street from alot of really great restaurants in Greektown; where you can get a fantastique meal for about the same price, without the wait or cafeteria style food.

no doubt someone will read this review and believe I am being hard on this restaurant. let me assure you that if you print my review, take the trip and see for yourself, you will come back and report that I did not fudge one fact; nor were my assessments unfair, this is the one casino restaurant in Detroit that Sadly Needs a Make Over Quick.

Chef Ramsey Where are You when we need you ?