**Eagles Buffet at Casino Arizona - $60 Crab Legs, a Little Exercise, and a Few Surprises**…read more
It was Wednesday night, and we had one thing on our minds: crab legs. Not fine dining, not culinary sophistication, just a good old-fashioned seafood feast where the only limit should be your appetite.
We'd visited Eagles Buffet twice before. The first time, we stood in line for over an hour. The second time, we gave up after ten minutes. This time, we arrived early, hoping to avoid the human traffic jam.
To our surprise, the line was reasonable, and we were seated quickly. A promising start.
Now, let's talk money. At $59.99 per person, this isn't exactly a bargain, but considering today's restaurant prices, all-you-can-eat crab legs don't sound unreasonable. Get yourself a casino rewards card and save 5%. Not much, but every dollar counts. Bringing the kids? Brace yourself. They're $59.99 each, too, without the discount. Apparently, childhood doesn't come with a reduced appetite around here.
On to the food.
The buffet offers the usual suspects you'd find at just about any American buffet, only with a surprisingly limited selection. Watery mashed potatoes, bland gravy, overcooked green beans, forgettable fish, ordinary roast beef, and butterfly shrimp that were a little greasy but edible. Nothing particularly offensive, but nothing worth writing home about either.
Then there's the main attraction: the crab legs.
They're served one cluster at a time. That's right, one cluster. So after dropping $60, prepare yourself for a little cardio between servings. Wear comfortable shoes, practice your patience, and keep smiling at the lady guarding the crab legs. She's simply doing her job, but you'd think she was handing out gold nuggets.
There are cold salads and a handful of other dishes, but at nearly $60 a head, I wasn't there to fill up on lettuce.
The desserts, however, deserve some applause. A great selection and a genuinely delicious ice cream bar. Easily one of the highlights of the evening.
A few things worth knowing before you go.
If you're dining with a group of six or seven or more, expect an automatic gratuity. Even when everyone pays separately, that additional $12-$15 per person can appear on individual checks. Suddenly, your $60 buffet is approaching $75. Something worth clarifying before sitting down.
And keep an eye on the kids. Let's just say the restaurant manager made her presence known during our visit. I'll leave it at that.
The casino itself is as good as any other place to donate a few dollars to the gambling gods. Parking can be challenging, and the restrooms earned a respectable B on the Luis Scale. Yes, Luis was along for the adventure, and yes, he personally inspected the facilities. Standards must be maintained.
The verdict?
Eagles Buffet isn't a culinary destination. It's a place where you pay a premium to crack crab legs, make repeated trips to the serving station, and hopefully eat enough seafood to justify the bill. The desserts help, but the ordinary buffet offerings don't exactly inspire a standing ovation.
Would I return? Possibly, but strictly for the crab legs, and preferably with comfortable shoes.
As always, take care of your servers and tip them well, unless gratuity has already been added to your bill.
Until the next culinary adventure... On to the next!