Samba
At: The Mirage

This is a Brazilian-themed meat buffet in the Mirage. I’m pretty sure the location used to house a California Pizza Kitchen if that helps you locate it any better.

The dining area is open to the casino, but it doesn’t seem to be a busy part of the casino, so the smoke and noise were not obtrusive. Decorations are in bright colors, and the salt and pepper shakers are bright plastic balloons. Despite the Brazilian Carnival decorations, there was not a single topless dancing woman to be found. Seats were decently comfortable, although I don’t think you’ll be falling asleep in them.

The whole idea behind this place is rather like Chinese Dim-Sum. You sit at your table, and waiters wander the floor with long skewers full of big cuts of meat. If you want whatever they happen to be carrying, they cut you off a slice, and you dig in. They also supply a plethora of side dishes in brightly colored plates. The black beans and rice were good, the plantains were fantastic, and the creamed spinach looked kind of like cat yak. The food keeps coming as long as you keep asking for it. There is also a menu for those who aren’t into the endless supply of meat thing. They give you bread with the meal, but instead of butter they give you a brown bean-paste spread. Seemed like a waste of good bread to me.

The service was very good. Our waitress was friendly, and checked back on a regular basis to make sure we were taken care of. The place is not real big, so I don’t see a problem getting hold of the servers when you want some more grub. The cuts they give you are a little small, but in most instances by the time I finished one helping they were just coming around again with something else.

The quality of the meat varied wildly from serving to serving. The sausages were good and nicely spicy, if not a little greasy, while the ribs were just greasy and pretty tasteless. The sirloin and the pork with pineapple on the other hand both varied from juicy and tender and wonderful to dry and choking and burned depending on when you got them. Much like a backyard barbeque, at it’s best the food was superb, and at it’s worst it could be almost inedible. Unlike a backyard barbeque, you’re paying through the nose for the stuff, and a professional is manning the grill. I don’t feel out of place expecting said professional not to overcook the meat.

The drinks were good. They have some brazilian drinks made from cachaca, a sugar-cane based booze that tasted (to me anyway) kind of like a very sweet rum. I had the Capirina, a lime and cachaca drink, and really enjoyed it.

The buffet is $30 each, so two people could spend up to $100 if they worked at it a bit.

Overall, they would have to stabilize the quality of the food for me to return. On the other hand, I don’t regret coming here, and I could see where some people would really dig it. I highly suggest you try it.