The Marketplace by Fabio Viviani — Restaurant in California

I have been extremely leary about buffets since Covid, so we didn't even consider going to Morongo for a long time. I was there for some resort time last month and heard they were revamping the entire buffet amd that it would be open in a couple of weeks. I was bummed. We decided to take a trip down there for dinner last night and I am so glad we did. Their new concept of upscale casual dining at The Marketplace was amazing. They took the concept of the Ala Carte food court type environment and twisted in some amazing market type stations and gave it a single all you can eat price of what equals about $50 per person before gratuity like you would pay for a nice meal in a good restaurant anyways. There were servers at each station making plates to order with appropriately portioned servings, and if you want more, you can always ask or come back. I really thought this was a great implementation of reducing food waste. Upon entering, I was a bit overwhelmed at what was available. They had a Primal Cuts station with carved prime rib, chimichurri chicken, and salmon with some great sides including potatoes and roasted vegetables. Next to that was a southern type station that I can't remember the name of but it had fried chicken and waffles and kielbasa and basket with other sides that included some really great red cabbage slaw and a white cheddar mac n cheese that was epic. There was a pizza and pasta station that looked amazing. My wife had a lobster shrimp mushroom and sun dried tomatoes dish and she loved it. The pizzas appeared to be set up in a station on some type of partially cooked bread and then fired in a brick oven on request. Super cool. There was fish and chips with freshly made potato chips and an oyster bar with a lobster roll and peel to eat shrimp. They had some gumbo amd chowder here as well. The lobster roll was definitely different from anything I've had with lobster but it was good. There will be a pic attached in here somewhere. Next was the sikiru station which I absolutely loved. The Ramen was outstanding. The miso soup was great. The fried tofu dish was really unbelievable for being tofu. I wouldn't have even tried it had the lady that sat us not recommended it. Orange chicken was good but a little too sweet for me. I don't remember what else I tried here but all was good. The last food station was the star of the show for the guests as it had a line for the duration of the time we were here. It was called Al Comal. The signature dish appeared to be the Al Pastor tacos but they also had blackened fish which were stellar, and carne asada. There were cheese pupusas, refried beans, rice and an unexpected big winner for us: Jicama Salad. It was so delish. It had jicama, cucumber, pineapple, cilantro, in some type of a sweet vinaigrette with tahin sprinkled on top. Very refreshing. Finally there was the dessert bar. I will add some pics, but by the time I was done grazing, I just couldn't eat dessert. The final thing that I thought was really just a cool touch was their root beer tapper style soda machines that had some standard Pepsi products along with an assortment of stubborn sodas including root beer and black cherry. There is a full bar inside as well for those of you that drink and that is a separate Ala carte station that is paid per drink. The staff was amazing as well. April at the Al Comal station was so nice along with her coworkers over at the oyster and seafood bar Abby and Cassandra. Hats off to these 3. They were exceptionally friendly and helpful. I also had an opportunity to talk to the Executive Chef of the Resort Resort, Steven. Super cool dude and definitely passionate about his work and the new venue. Thanks Morongo people. Job well done! We will be...

The food depends on what is on the menu, Raw Oysters were great and nothing more is needed to be said but... Lobster Roll were alright, problem is that you couldn't taste the lobster, if it was called "Lobster" Roll, one would think that we would be tasting Lobster. I couldn't taste it, so it could be Lobster or it could be crab or imitation crab. The bread was too filling and the chips were flat in the center. The Gumbo Soup felt slimy to me and I don't know what true Gumbo taste like but if it is like that, I don't like it. Fisherman's Catch or clam chowder mixed with seafood, I couldn't taste the clam in the chowder, the milk in the chowder overpowered everything in the seafood except for the crawfish. My dad had the Salt and Pepper Prawns, and it was bad, the shrimp wasn't fresh and the vegetables were undercooked. He also had prime rib which he liked. Tonkotsu, Soup was alright, ramen were alright, pork was eating like bbq pork instead of real chishu pork, there were no options of choose what egg would you like so only fully cooked egg was available and not soft yolks egg. So the tonkotsu was a hit or miss and it was a miss for me. Dessert were good as long as you have some bitter coffee if you cant handle too sweet and some were. I like Flan, so I'm very critical of my Flan and I had no issues with the Flan, it had enough milk and eggs mixed in so it was allow to keep its texture and shape, the caramel was light and not bitter but I would like it bitter so it could counter the sweetness. Or than that, I had no issues. I kind of miss the crab legs that used to be there and the restaurant style cooking was a good idea but the main problem is that with an open kitchen and it is a buffet style, one miss is all it takes to lose all your customers. I would like another Lobster Roll if I could taste the Lobster but I had four rolls and I still could not taste the lobster, something must be wrong. Raw Oysters were great but not at that price if little items are great and everything else needs a lot of improvements.

12-14-22 Update

As usual the oysters are great as always, had shrimp and chips are deep fried shrimp are very good And chips were chips, I was actually expecting fries. Tuna poke were great, no comments needed. Lobster roll, were a slight improvement, had a second opinion on it. Eating the lobster meat by itself, you can actually taste the lobster but... ever so slightly. When I had eaten it as a whole as usual from my last review the bread and dressings overwhelmed the lobster taste. Clam chowder were an big improvement, and as for the lobster stew, I don't know what I tasted, it was all over the place. The taste should be consistent, I couldn't taste the milk, cheese nor lobster at all. It should taste the same from the top of the pot to the bottom of the pot, hot or cold. Something like Kirkland lobster stew counterpart. I tried the smoked brisket and it was great. The St. Louis pork rib, had a mixed review, it tasted great for me but for the second opinion person it was a little strong. I avoided the noodle dish this time around. The Mexican dishes were great. And the...

Came here on a Sunday around 5:45pm. In order to get seated, you need to make a reservation at the kiosk and pay in advance (about $50 per person with additional $20 for crab legs). Luckily we were able to get a 6pm time slot. The concept for this buffet is unique - it’s an AYCE food hall with different stations to cater to different food/cuisine preferences (Mexican, Asian, Italian, Seafood, Carving station, Southern, Desserts)

My fave was the seafood station! I loved the scallops! They were flavorful and tender. The fisherman’s stew was delicious too! Had good pieces of mussels and clams! I also shared the lobster roll with my bf, and I thought it was good, although they use “Lobster sensation” instead of fresh lobster meat, so it tastes more like imitation crab. The tuna poke was solid, although they put too much sauce over the fish. The raw oysters weren’t very good - small and not super tasty. I tried some of my bf’s fried calamari, and it was pretty good, although the batter was quite thick.

From the Asian station, I tried the gochujang ribs and the assorted dumplings. The ribs were pretty good, but not a lot meat. The dumplings are small and colorful. The inside was yummy, but the outside was hard/crusty.

From the Italian station, I tried the lobster penne (they also use lobster sensation). It had a strong seafood flavor and some good lobster pieces. The penne itself was too soft and would have been better al dente.

From the Southern station, I got the brisket. It was surprisingly tender especially with the fatty pieces! The coleslaw was also yummy. This was one of my fave items that were non-seafood. My bf loved the catfish. I tried the mac and cheese, but it needed to be cheesier/gooier. The corn bread was meh

From the carving station, I got the prime rib and the teriyaki salmon. The prime rib was supposed to be medium rare, but it was well done, so it wasn’t very good. This was my least favorite. The salmon was pretty good - some parts were tender, but some parts were drier.

From the dessert station, I got the peanut butter cookie and this smores-looking the dessert. The cookie wasn’t anything special,...