(From our archives) I was kidnapped yesterday and taken to the Boomtown Casino on the West Bank for Sunday champagne brunch. Generally, that wouldn’t be on my list of places to check out, but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and quantity of what was on offer.
The Sunday brunch runs $12.95 per person (no idea what kids cost, call 1-800-366-7711 and ask ahead of time), but there were an awful lots of large families there, so it must be somewhat economical.
I think I set a personal record for ingesting eight different types of protein in a single serving. Yes, this would be Atkins heaven if you were pursuing that culinary plan.
The individual serving stations were amply supplied and refreshed often, even though the dining room wasn’t particularly full (we were there about 2PM). Brunch is served from 11 – 4, at which point the price is bumped up a couple bucks for dinner. The lowest price during the week is $8.95 for lunch, Monday thru Saturday, and at that price point, this is a great bargain.
We started with the salad bar, which had a variety of greens and plenty of dressing choices. The salad bar also included a wide variety of prepared salads (tuna, seafood, slaw, etc.), a couple of soup choices, and a monstrous pot of chilled boiled shrimp. Two conspicuous absences for my taste, no cottage cheese (I like it on greens), and butter (but plenty o’ ‘whipped spread’.)
The hot entree area is comprised of four or five serving stations which, in toto, are probably 40′ in length.
One can start with “Bayou Classics” (jambalaya, etoufee, mounds of fluffy white rice, sausage avec peppers, sausage sans peppers), before moving on to the “Wok Station” which has a variety of Asian favorites (Boomtown seems to go out of their way to cater to the local Asian population – much of the signage is bilingual English/Vietnamese). Traditional hot entrees include fried chicken and fish, broiled fish, fried shrimp, chicken tenders, and the requisite number of sides like several types of potatoes and gravy, ample vegetable selections (including broiled, topped, tomatoes) of all colors. There is a carving station with deep-fried turkey (which was VERY good), lean whole hams, prime rib, and for some reason, the boudin was on the carving station.
Not enough? The “Chef’s Station” will prepare you seafood (fish, shrimp, et al) to your liking – grilled, broiled, boiled; during the Sunday brunch, this station is converted to a bespoke omelet bar.
Desserts are plentiful – including (at least) two different cobblers, cakes, brownies, and the requisite soft-serve.
The price includes everything, even your beverage (soft drinks, coffee, tea, and champagne on Sunday).
As I said, I wouldn’t usually think of going to a place like this, but it was good food, well-prepared, at a fair price. And certainly not the “cattle car” feeling of local Chinese buffets or places like the Golden Corral.
