Crossroads at the House of Blues
Joey Kramer’s Rockin’ and Roastin’ Coffee
Buttermilk Biscuits with maple butter
“Big ole’ Bluesberry Flapjack” – blueberries, buttermilk, maple butter, Log Cabin syrup
So French Toast – Raisin Brioche, powdered sugar, Log Cabin syrup
Located in Mandalay Bay and popular for its Gospel Brunch as well as concerts, including a current Santana residency, I’d probably walked by House of Blues fifty times before finally deciding to stop in for breakfast and with pleasant greetings at the door it was mere moments after the 7:00am opening that I was sat at the center of Crossroads, a menu in hand and the first of several cups of coffee poured as Bob Dylan got Tangled Up in Blue overhead.
Obviously a touristy spot, with theme park level decorations from top to bottom and a gift store at the front, suffice it to say that the early morning menu at Crossroads is little more than a collection of upcharged American classics and unfortunately informed that there was “no way” the restaurant’s signature cornbread could be prepared before the unlisted 11:30 lunch hour it was in a trio of personal favorites that I instead decided to invest – the $32 tab after tax and tip only serving to further salt a wound created by a meal in which only the fluffy biscuits proved memorable in the least.
Admittedly taking a chance in visiting anyplace that proudly advertises the use of Log Cabin ‘syrup’ it was within a seemingly inconceivable seven minutes of ordering that my items emerged from the kitchen and already smirking at the three tiny berries alongside a $5.99 flapjack the situation became all the more amusing when I realized there were probably only a half-dozen more within the buttermilk batter – the whipped butter and 100% Maple Syrup brought from home doing an admirable job of at least making the pancake worth eating while neither did much to rescue the dismal French Toast that was neither ‘thick cut’ nor particularly fluffy, no matter what the menu would lead one to believe.
ONE AND A HALF STARS: Touting the recipes of Aaron Sanchez, apparently a Chef of some celebrity renown, one would be hard pressed to name any particular reason to visit Crossroads for breakfast in a resort featuring Citizens, Veranda, or Della’s Kitchen and with a dinner menu that seems to tread in the same waters it seems a good bet to go elsewhere for later meals as well, though I will admit the cornbread and bread pudding still present at least a little bit of intrigue while the soundtrack trends better than almost any on the Strip.
RECOMMENDED: Buttermilk Biscuits.
AVOID: French Toast.
TIP: Featuring an all-you-can eat Gospel Brunch on weekends those interested in such things are advised to purchase tickets in advance, the event apparently oft to sell out…at least according to conversation overheard between a server and the table to my right.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
http://www.houseofblues.com/lasvegas/crossroads
