Elephant Bar is Atmosphere with a Very Happy Hour!

Sorry everyone! This is my MOST popular blog and I've been on hiatus for a moment - OK - since April, BUT I've returned with good stuff! This post I am talking about the Elephant Bar. Biggest number one perk? Seven days a week! Oh how I wish that they would build another Elephant Bar closer to my residence on the west side of Vegas but it's that good that I am willing to trek over there for the goods!

I'll probably be battling some of you out there for a seat when I arrive next time but it's all good! If I can get you to try their awesome food, I'm happy to do it.

Happy Hour Times are: Monday-Friday - 3-7 PM and Every Day 9 PM-Close.

The Elephant Bar is located at Green Valley's The District which is right next to Green Valley Ranch Casino and is a mix of American food with Asian dishes as well. Yes, I know. It's quite different but while it's not necessarily traditional Asian dishes, I do appreciate their twist on it.

The first item that is always a 100% order for me at Happy Hour is the steamed Edamame with coarse sea salt on it. They give you a lot and while I'm down for Edamame steamed hot or chilled, I absolutely love munching on these steamed hot pods before any meal. A generous portion for $3.50! Go with this first!

Another item I order about 85% of the time is their Wok Seared Chicken Lettuce Wraps. What I really appreciate about this dish is that

they don't over sauce it - therefore making it a very dark and salty dish. They keep it as a very light wok seared dish and the chicken very much retains its light color. It's delicious. The sauce served with this isn't the traditional hoisin sauce but a green type of sauce. I can't say that I know what it is - but it's all good! I've had this dish as a main entree for myself before but it's a great one to share so you can try more things on their menu. This appetizer goes for $5.50.

The Baja Chicken Quesadilla is also very good. It's a full-sized quesadilla that is filled with flavorful chicken. The Spinach and Artichoke Dip (not good for diets!) is great and as a precaution, any time that I order this appetizer anywhere, I always ask for it to by bubbling hot - it's the best way to eat it! As of lately however, as tempting as this dish is and I do drool when others order it, I've been staying on the route of the Edamame and chicken wraps. Both of these items go for $4.50.

I am also a fan of the Tempura Salmon Rolls. It's a sushi dish but has a lot more complex flavors in the roll that has made me a big fan of it. While it may not look like a huge dish, it definitely satisfies my stomach when I couple it with the Edamame once again. This dish goes for $6.50.

There are some items that I have not yet tried - but I can say that visually when they are served to someone else they've been looking pretty darn good!


Here's a breakdown of more Happy Hour Menu with some combo items that pair a dish with a draft:

$3.50: Edamame, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries
$4.50: Spinach Artichoke Dip, Baja Chicken Quesadilla
$5.50: Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Big "E" Burger, Parmesan Crusted Green Beans
$6.50: Quick Fried Soy Ginger Calamari, Tempura Salmon Roll, Korean Beef Tacos, Coconut Shrimp Skewers

Combos:
$6.75: Big "E" Burger + Regular Size Domestic Beer
$7.50: Korean Beef Tacos + Regular Size Domestic Beer or House Margarita

Red Rock Casino and Green Valley Ranch Buffet 2-for-1

For the entire month of August (sidenote Mon-Thurs ONLY) Red Rock Casino and Green Valley Ranch's Feast Buffet are offering 2-for-1 deals. Typically there is a catch - and really - this time, there is no catch. This is what you do:

1. Go to either of these casinos and find the Rewards Kiosk. There are many of these throughout the casino floor.

2. Swipe your Players Card, enter your PIN, and the promotion of 2-for-1 Feast Buffet will appear on the screen.

3. Select the Feast Buffet Promotion and it will print right out of the kiosk.

4. Now, take this voucher with you to the buffet.

So, you see it's relatively easy and you don't have to accumulate any kind of points to receive the promotion. You can only receive one 2-for-1 voucher per day so strategically think about which meal you want to use it on. If you have a friend or a spouse - now - then you can actually take advantage of this twice each day. One swipe per card.

If there was a catch, I'd say it'd be this. THE DREADED WAIT. No doubt, Station Casinos was smart, once again. If you offer 2-for-1 to their two most premium properties with the most premium buffet, you are going to get people coming onto the property attempting to eat on a deal and ultimately throw dollars into machines or on tables. That's fine. That's the point of a casino.

However, I have now attempted to go to the Red Rock buffet twice now. The first time was on a Tuesday evening around 7pm. OK. Bad decision. Not only was the regular line long and wrapped around the post, but the handicap line was almost equally as long! Whoa! Now that was going to be a wait and as starving as I was, I couldn't stand to wait. I should have known that en route to the Feast Buffet that when I saw a long line even at the Cafe that there was some bad news for the buffet line. OK. It was time to hunt for another spot. Strategically, I thought, let's go during lunch. On Thursday, I once again landed at Red Rock and got my voucher. It was 12:30pm. I walked to the Feast Buffet and I saw the dreaded line again! Ugh. Did I just hit prime lunch hour now??? So as they say, third time's a charm. Perhaps I need to up my meal to breakfast next time and show up at 7am. I am determined to get at least one 2-for-1 before August 31st!