Michelin-starred restaurants aside, I've never wanted to try anything more than Sterling Brunch. Watching the Worth It guys lick their lips after a lobster tail as they wash down dark pearls of caviar with crystal glasses of champagne unleashed an insatiable lust for luxury, and when OpenTable didn't have a reservation, I cried harder than an onion-chopping chef who just poked himself in the eye. I sobbed to the reservations person at Bally's, and they were able to squeeze us in. I'm guessing I'm not the first sob story they've heard.
$95 is a lot for a buffet, but Sterling Brunch is no ordinary buffet. They have raw oysters, king crab legs, medium-rare filet, plump and pink lamb chops, and giant tails of lobster. Don't fall for it - it really is too good to be true. They can't have people eating them to bankruptcy so they put all sorts of safeguards in place, designed to pad their profits. The quality isn't great, and the filet is no quality cut. Like the lobster, the steak is so saturated in butter than I dare say they use a full stick for every piece. I may put away over 20 ounces of porterhouses at Mastro's, but Sterling Brunch got me after a couple bites. The lobster is supposed to be succulent, sweet, and light, but theirs is so doused in butter that there's no other taste, and it sits in my stomach like an expanding brick. The oysters aren't bad, but they're bland, and you really can't enjoy an oyster unless it's really fresh, which theirs are barely mediocre. The king crab legs are pretty fresh, but the spines make it extremely painful to pull apart. You can't eat much crab if your hands are bleeding. They have regular crab legs too, which are either Jonah or dungeness. Those are a lot less painful, and they're much easier to crack. And the lamb chops are delicious.
The Sushi sucks, and it makes me angry. In a tiny little buffet with a relatively small selection, why even serve sushi if you're just going to go cheap? No one's paying $95 for California rolls and practically-blanched shrimp nigiri. And yes, that is all they have. There's caviar too and slightly stale pancakes to smear it on. Not bad but a bit too salty and briny for me. They also have a few lighter selections: tomatoes and mozzarella are enjoyable, and the berries are fresh. The Belgian waffles are adorable if you're looking for actual breakfast, and they have bacon and eggs and an omelet station as well.
Tread carefully at the dessert bar. People are literally pushing each other aside despite there being plenty to go around. My favorite is the raspberries hooded by macaron cookies, and the fruit tart is light and fun. The raspberry mousse-type martini glass is sweet and smooth, and I love the lollipop with melty chocolate inside and the crunchy pistachio layer on the white chocolate strawberry. At least all this gluttony ended on a nicer note.
Everything they do at Sterling Brunch has a motive. Even the unlimited champagne is meant to derail your gluttony with the strategic use of bubbles. I really love the spread here, but they could do without the sushi bar, and for that price, I would have liked to see a little more variety. The girls get roses on the way out, and I nibbled on this white chocolate lollipop as we weaved through a cloud of smoke to go sleep off our food coma at the Cosmo.
When in Vegas, Sterling Brunch is an experience to be had and one you may want to splurge on, maybe only once. At least it still costs less than restaurant surf n' turf in this part of town. That said, Sterling Brunch is NOT an experience I ever need to repeat, but at least I got my money's worth in lobster tails.
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