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Friday, April 08, 2011

Bet on the belly: You will get hungry

By Bill Previtti
For the Journal
          Gambling, you see, makes a body hungry. It's even in the good book — in the Book of Billy, where it says "man does not live by bet alone."
        An undernourished casino patron will make gaming mistakes like not splitting a pair of eights during a blackjack hand. That's fatal.
        Next to their prime drive of stuffing the gaming floor with the latest in slots (some costing up to $25,000), casino bosses drive to keep the players satisfied. One way to accomplish this task is to feed them. Well, it works. Check out the following casino dining dots on your way to winning.
        SANDIA RESORT & CASINO: Sandia has two kinds of upscale snack bars, and it has labeled each a Deli & Grill. They serve up a variety of eat-and-run items, none of which are pricey, all of which are satisfying.
        The home run here is Sandia's penchant for bargain burgers: $2 for a very good hamburger. Slap a slice of cheese on it — no charge. Usually the casino throws in another item for the same $2 bill.
        During March and Lent, they laid out a shrimp basket with fries. Included in the price was all the self-serve soda pop you wanted.
        Sandia's Thur Shan buffet room serves breakfast, $7.95; lunch $9.95, and dinner $12.25. Sunday brunch goes for $14.95.
        The Council Room restaurant also serves the three traditional meals daily from 6 a.m.-10 p.m., and nothing on the menu is priced to dent the bankroll.
        Fine dining and penthouse pleasures, this is Bien Shur resting at the top of Sandia's hotel. It features exquisite entrées, live mood music, great cocktails, a killer wine list and a view all the way to Malibu.
        SANTA ANA STAR CASINO: Up I-25 to Bernalillo and Santa Ana's Star Casino, the hungry gambler finds The Feast Buffet. Lunches in The Feast are just $9.95 and dinners Mondays-Wednesdays are $12.95. On Thursdays, The Feast goes international, from Mumbai to Barcelona, and the trip costs only $9.95. Fridays are for seafood, and yes, crab legs are on the menu and the tab is $19.95. Sunday brunch is another bargain, $13.95.
        A big magnet at The Star is The Snack Shack. Everything on the menu board is $1.75 or less. Hamburgers, hot dogs, Frito pies, pretzels on steroids, plus jumbo cookies, all are $1.75 or less.
        HARD ROCK CASINO AND HOTEL: Hard Rock's Eagle Nest Buffet serves breakfast on weekends for $7.95. During the week lunch is $8.95, dinner is $13.95 and the Friday night seafood bonanza is $19.95. Sunday's brunch is a purse-saver at $10.95.
        Lucha, Hard Rock's penthouse restaurant, opens Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, starring Mexican fare. Incidentally, the view from Lucha's balcony is a panoramic wonderland of everything New Mexico. That alone is worth the trip.
        The Rock's 505 Fusion is a hot spot of high-energy music, hypnotic lights, complicated cocktails, tapas, pizzas and steaks. Every afternoon at 5 it lifts off with scores of followers who believe this corner of Hard Rock becomes the center of the universe.
        There's a mini restaurant inside Hard Rock, on the east side, one of my favorite time-out places. This wee diner serves tacos, burgers, short-order platters; it seats maybe 50 patrons. Prices are deliciously low and seniors get a discount. It includes all the soda pop you desire.
        ROUTE 66 HOTEL CASINO: The problem with eating in 66 Casino's Thunder Road Steakhouse & Cantina is in a couple or three days you'll be hungry again.
        It offers everything from table-side guacamole and fresh ceviche to the El Jefe platter with beef ribs, carnitas, chipotle chicken and shrimp, $12.99.
        There are seven steak entrées, a half dozen seafood plates and a dozen appetizers, soups and salads to pore over. Tuesdays have the powerhouse offer — all you can enjoy barbecue, $10.95.
        But wait, Route 66's buffet beckons. This dining trip is like Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days." The 66 Buffet features tempting dishes from Asia, South America, Europe and our American Southwest — more than 140 items to tempt your palate. Lunch and dinner at the 66 Buffet is just $7.99. Saturday dinners beginning at 4 p.m. offer all-you-can-eat barbecue for $19.95. On Sundays the brunch might be the best bargain of all, $9.99 all day, all evening.
        There, that's enough to keep the hungriest craps shooter satisfied. Next week we'll visit three out of town casinos who serve up good food, lots of it, at fire sale prices.
       

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