Vegas: The Planet Hollywood Buffet

The buffet- supposedly the most dangerous place for a person with food allergies to venture to, so I hear all the time, but I disagree. To me, eating out is always a gamble, and whether you're servings yourself along a buffet line, or the kitchen staff behind closed doors is preparing your food, there's a 50/50 chance of being glutened.

To be glutened while on vacation is one of the worst things ever, but I made it through my trip without any mishaps. I had a coupon for the lunch buffet at Planet Hollywood and so I took the escalator down (yes the escalator; to those of you who know me well, you'll understand this is an achievement) to the buffet to check things out. I'm thinking Vegas, buffet, high traffic, they must have a list for people with food allergies. Maybe not gluten, but what about peanuts. No, no list. Instead one of the chefs came out to speak with me personally and go through all 9 or so stations of different cuisines. Dressing where made in house, no thickening agents. He was able to tell me about every different protein that was out, and go down the ingredient list with me: this salmon is ok, this salmon isn't, the beef tenderloin is ok, marinaded in....,etc. Took a little bit of time, but it was worth it.

I had fruit, green salad, lots of cocktail shrimp, beef tenderloin, roastery chicken, smoked salmon, and even more options that I couldn't squeeze into my stomach. It was a really good meal. And with all the cocktail shrimp I ate alone, it was worth the cost of the buffet. If you have severe allergies you may feel differently about a buffet, but feeling as though I fall in the middle of the scale of gluten sensitivity and my reactions, I took a risk, I enjoyed my meal, and had no reactions.

The chef I spoke with, Chuck, I forgot his last name, said he has learned a lot from his customers over the past few years, and is more than willing to assist those with food allergies. Since it's a buffet, and their offering do change frequently it is rather difficult to create a list of which items contain or do not contain certain ingredients, but I'm glad I asked, took a chance, and had a great experience.