Less is more at Bally’s Sterling Brunch

It's only 10 minutes before Bally's Sterling Brunch opens, but the kitchen is surprisingly calm.

Cook Jorge Flores is in charge of four hot items, but his cheese blintzes, carrots and bow-tie pasta are done. All he needs to do is stuff the potato cups with seafood.

The filet mignon is ready. Lobster tails are in their serving dish, and desserts are prepared.

Even the boss, banquet chef Eric Piston, is relaxed. One might expect the action in the kitchen to ramp up just before service starts; that's what happens at other buffets.

But the Sterling Brunch is not like most buffets in town. Especially at $85 a head.

Where the average Las Vegas buffet is large and offers a seemingly endless array of choices -- breakfast items, American fare, Italian food, salads, Chinese cuisine -- Sterling does not. There's one hot bar with waffles, seafood, a few meats, a carving station and an omelet cook. The cold bar features salads, fresh fruit and greens. The dessert bar, a couple of soup options, a sushi case and a bread station round out the brunch's offerings.

While it may lag behind other buffets in size, it more than makes up for it with tradition.

When it opened in 1981, the Sterling Brunch was exclusively for the casino's top players, says brunch manager Ilario Pesco. It was meant to give them a Sunday dining option in addition to the coffee shop. The players would eat brunch and then gamble in the casino before leaving town.

"It started with maybe six players. The next Sunday we had 126," says Pesco, who has been with Bally's since the property opened as the original MGM Grand in 1973.

Now, they average about 210 diners on Sundays. On their busiest days, Easter and Mother's Day, that number surpasses 600.

The brunch got its name because everything in the restaurant was silver, Pesco says. Originally, it started in one of the small Bally's restaurants but had to move to accommodate the growing crowd. It's currently served in Bally's Steakhouse.

At first, only players and locals were allowed to dine, Pesco says, but that changed as the brunch developed a following and other people wanted to try it. Still, they tried to offer casino players another level of service as reward for their loyalty. Only top-tier players could sit in the steakhouse dining room. All others were seated in a nearby Italian restaurant. Those diners had to walk across a small lobby to access the buffet. Earlier this year, the brunch expanded, building a doorway to connect that dining area with the steakhouse.

Now, booths are reserved for the top casino customers. They also don't have to stand in line, Pesco says. Once they're seated, he scatters rose petals on their tables.

The brunch cost $29.95 when it opened, but when it added champagne a month later, it was increased to $44.95, Pesco recalls. The price was unheard of at the time and a subject for lively conversation among locals.

Some guests have complained about the current $85 price, Piston says, but devotees understand what exactly their money buys them. It's not unusual for people to arrive at 9:30 a.m. and stay until 2 p.m., eating as much lobster and drinking as much champagne as they want. Others take the opportunity to fill up on as much as 4 ounces of caviar, he adds.

"It's different, unique," Piston says. "There's no place in Vegas like it. You have your standard Vegas buffet, but this is another level."

Everything is small about the Sterling Brunch, but that's purposeful. It enables the brunch to maintain an air of exclusivity about it. It takes only three fry cooks, two pantry workers and one runner to operate the kitchen. They arrive at 6 a.m. on Sundays to cook for the 9:30 a.m. opening, but the hard work -- prep -- is done on Saturdays. It takes them about eight hours to chop vegetables, make desserts, marinate meats.

Since it opened, the buffet has served filet mignon, Pesco says. Champagne was added a few weeks later, and lobster tails came along during one of the four price increases over the past 30 years. A variety of gourmet and distinctive items are offered including caviar, crab, ostrich, rabbit, rack of lamb and prime rib.

The brunch goes through 400 lobster tails in one service, an average of two tails per diner. More than 12 pounds of Amia caviar is served, averaging half an ounce for each diner. Also served each Sunday: 40 pounds of shrimp cocktail, 36 pounds of crab claws, 50 pounds of Alaskan king crab legs, 35 pounds of filet mignon and 160 bottles of Perrier Jouet champagne; guests drink an average of three-fourths of a bottle.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.