Buffalo Run, Miami, OK

We went to Joplin last night to pick up our friend Jake and then the three of us went to Miami to the new Peoria Tribe Buffalo Run Casino, which just opened last week, to cheer Tony up.

The casino is in a very unusually shaped building that's sort of onion dome shaped in profile, but very long. It has the usual assortment of gambling machines and bright flashing lights, plus a whole bunch of large crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. At one end of the building is a large meeting hall, which is to be the venue for music concerts and boxing matches. In the other end of the building are the administratiive offices plus their fine dining room.

Dinner was very interesting. This is Miami, mind you, and I don't mean the Miami in Florida, so fabulous food is not something one expects. For Miami, the menu was *very* expensive, but by Tulsa and Florida prices, we thought it quite moderate. The most expensive entree on the menu was only $21. It's a very nice restaurant, which could be white tablecloth if they wanted, but they opt for bare tables. The main disappointment, though, is they don't have their liquor license yet, so we could only drink 3.2 beer.

For our appetizers, all of which were $9 each, I had four very nice cheese encrusted grilled scallops presented on a plate with a rolled crostini in the middle like a tower, with a sprig of rosemary in the middle of it, Tony had a fresh mozzarella and beef steak tomato salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and Jake had a shrimp cocktail served with two dipping sauces. Next was a Caesar salad for Tony and me and a house salad for Jake, which automatically came with the entree. We were somewhat distressed that the waitress brought these things all at the same time, rather than serving them in proper courses.

Then, before we were finished with our two first courses, she arrived again with the main courses. Jake and Tony had rib eye steaks and I had a porterhouse. Mine was tasty, but I thought it was rather over marinated. I did like the accompaniments, which included a bourbon spiked sweet potato puree, a mashed red new potato (with skins) and roasted sweet corn combination, and a melange of sauteed squashes, onion, and herbs. For dessert we all shared a single chocolate mousse cake, which was commercial.

I liked the food on the whole, plus the prices were fine. The waitress was friendly and down home (she kept calling Jake and Tony "Hon"), but the problem is that the wait staff is not trained to the level one would expect for such a menu and restaurant. Our waitress had not tried many of the menu offerings, and could not identify several things served on the plates. I don't blame her, though—this is a management shortcoming.

We gambled a bit. I made $10 and I think Tony made $40. Then, we went to The Stables, another Indian casino in town, for cocktails. Eventually, we took Jake back to Joplin and we made the long trek home in the drizzle. I was glad to be home!