Rate-A-Restaurant, #78 in a series

Restaurant: Dishes (Treasure Island buffet)

Location: 3300 S. Las Vegas Blvd. (Las Vegas)

Type of restaurant: Buffet

We stipulated: Buffets, in general, are awful. It's not the quality, but the quanity. I've never been much impressed with the offerings in Vegas, even if they're a casino staple. So when Maria's mom (who had separately driven to Vegas) asked us which buffet we wanted to check out, we first suggested Bellagio. She suggested Treasure Island, and we're glad she did. Redesigned in 2004 as part of Treasure Island's makeover as the hipper, younger "ti," Dishes doesn't feel like a buffet.

They stipulated: As any casino buffet, if you're not a guest, you've got to wait in line. Thankfully, even though it was a Saturday afternoon, the line wasn't long.

What we ordered: The buffet, obviously ($15)

High point: The Las Vegas Review-Journal listed "Dishes" as the city's top buffet in its 2005 "Best of Las Vegas" edition, and we'd have to agree. Just as the Hard Rock Hotel is the anti-casino casino, I'd say Dishes is the anti-buffet buffet. Unlike typically bright, cafeteria-style buffets you usually find in Vegas, Dishes is designed more like a modern, semi-hip restaurant, with dark colors, and seating divded into alcoves. Dishes also thankfully pares down its offerings, specializing in a smaller variety of foods (particularly sushi, Chinese and made-to-order pasta) giving it more of a specialty vibe.

Low point: No restrooms inside, which means we had to dip into the main casino to change Blogger Baby's diaper. But even those restrooms didn't have baby changing facilities. Yup, it's true: The family-friendly Vegas of the mid-90s is long gone.

Overall impression: If you've gotta go buffet, this is the place to do it. Makes the others look even worse.

Chance we will go back: We generally avoid the buffets, but if we're back in Vegas and have to choose one, this is it.

For a complete archive of our Rate-A-Restaurant reviews, check out our newly revised companion ratearestaurant.blogspot.com website.