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Pala Casino Spa & Resort's Choices Buffet has made a name for itself as a competitor to many of the gourmet buffets in Las Vegas.

For Thanksgiving it continues to impress with a feast from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The buffet will include four turkey carving stations, honey mustard crusted rack of lamb, fire-roasted grilled to order Rib Eye steak, Bone-In prime rib and oven roasted honey ham.

Choices also offers many classic seafood and shellfish dishes including Canadian king crab legs, hand-rolled Sushi, oysters on the half shell, chilled snow crab clusters, Maine lobster bisque and roasted salmon.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie with whipped topping, however, just in case it's not your favorite, there are over 80 desserts to choose from.

The Thanksgiving feast is $36 per person with discounts for club members.

Pala is located at 11154 Highway 76 in Pala.

in honor of Veteran's Day, and to celebrate America's veteran and active duty military service men and women, many Inland area casinos are offering special dining and gaming deals Sunday, Nov. 11 and Monday, Nov. 12.

Pechanga:

Complimentary buffet on Monday, Nov. 12 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with proper military I.D.

Spotlight 29:

Complimentary breakfast at Cafe Capitata on Monday, Nov. 12 from 6-11 a.m. with proper military I.D. and Club 29 card.
Veterans Day buffet for $9.95 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Soboba:

$25 in free slot play Monday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

San Manuel:

Veteran's Day celebration and special bingo Sunday, Nov. 11 and Monday, Nov. 12. Buy-in is $25 Sunday and $15 Monday.

Pala:

One free buffet on Sunday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with proper military I.D.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. At Choices the Buffet at Pala Casino, the frosty treat is taking center stage.

Besides its daily line up for 80+ desserts, Choices serves made-to-order, hand-mixed ice cream delights. There are four basic selections: banana split, strawberry shortcake, double chocolate fudge sundae and root beer float. But with 14 ice cream flavors and more than 15 toppings to choose from, the combinations can go from classic to coo-coo-crazy. The "ice creamiere" mixes each concoction in about two minutes on a frozen counter top.

Here's Choices' recipe for strawberry shortcake, classic style. Take two hefty scoops of strawberry ice cream. Add fresh berries, chopped sponge cake and toasted almonds. Mix, mix, mix, then scoop into a bowl. Top with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry. Wait -- add some more fresh strawberries. Say "to heck with calories!" and dig in. Be sure to save room for lunch or dinner -- Choices also serves plentiful, um, choices of seafood, grilled items, soups and salads, international cuisine, and more.

Choices the Buffet is open for lunch ($18.74) and dinner ($24.99), brunch ($21.24) and specialty dinners ($29.99). Reservations recommended for groups of 10 or more. Find details at the Pala website.

The view overlooks the lush Palomar Mountains. You just can't buy a setting like that.

But you can buy the food and enjoy the view at Amigos, Pala's Mexican restaurant.

If you prefer your views in nature, optional terrace seating is available. And if the weather doesn't cooperate? Bar-style seating lines the floor-to-ceiling windows that make it seem you are suspended over a forest of trees.

And if a choice of inside versus outside isn't enough, Amigos gives you another choice: Get seating and full service in the restaurant or go to the counter and get your order to go.

Once you enter the full-service section of the restaurant, homemade chips and salsa are immediately brought to your table. The warm chips and fresh salsa were a great way to start off the meal.

For the main dishes, Amigos has all the traditional offering of a Mexican restaurant: burritos, tacos, fajitas, nachos (pictured above), tostadas, tortas and quesadillas. It also offers a traditional Native American dish: fry bread tacos. The dough is fried into the shape of a hard taco shell and then filled with traditional taco fillings.

If you cannot make up your mind between all the options, Amigos offers combinations. Take your pick of either two or three entrees, including taco, enchilada chile relleno or tamale. These plates are also served with Spanish rice and refried beans.

Although Amigos is not open during breakfast hours, it does have egg dishes served in a variety of different ways. They come prepared Con Chorizo (housemade Mexican sausage), Y Jamon (ham steak), Rancheros (ranchero sauce and cheese), or A La Mexican (cilantro, onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos). Each dish is served with Spanish rice, refried beans, and corn or flour tortillas.

To go along with your food, Amigos has a wide variety of traditional beverages. It offers beer and margaritas. If alcohol isn't your thing, try the horchata.

Like choices? Then Amigos offers plenty to choose from. And they all come with a view.

Amigos

Where: Pala Casino Spa & Resort, 11154 Hwy 76, Pala

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11a.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

Entrees: Breakfast, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, fajitas, $3.95-$14.95

Beverages: Fountain sodas, beer, margaritas, and horchata

Information: 877-946-7252, www.palacasino.com/h.aspx/Amigos

Pala Casino Spa & Resort

What: Choices, The Buffet

Where: 11154 Highway 76, Pala

The spread: The 20,000-square-foot dining room seems to go on forever, and the south wall offers a picture-window view of the rock-covered mountains that surround the resort.

Interactive stations include an island devoted to steaks and grilled meats such as build-your-own burgers.

The dessert station includes cheesecake on a stick. 

Breakfast: Not served.

Lunch: Monday - Friday, 11 a.m. -3 p.m. $18.74

Dinner: Monday - Thursday, 4-10 p.m. $24.99

Specialty meals: Friday night is seafood night, Saturday is steak and shrimp, Sunday is steak and seafood. All are 4-10 p.m. and cost $29.99. Brunch is served 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for $21.24.

Information: 877-946-7252, www.palacasino.com

Mama's Cucina Italiana is a fun place for a special-occasion meal before catching some live entertainment at Pala Casino Spa & Resort.

You'll definitely want to call in a reservation on show nights. Mama's is pretty busy -- but in a good way.

There is a lot of energy in the dining room, which looks like a traditional Italian restaurant but without the clichés.

If you have an Italian favorite, it is most likely on the menu (and in Italian), from the pasta e fagioli, $8.95, as a starter, to the ossobucco on the higher end at $34.95.

Landing in the middle of the pasta menu price-wise is spaghetti alla carbonara, one of my Italian favorites. Mama's was particularly creamy, with a satisfying amount of bacon.

Seafood lovers have some choices here, including ahi tuna, halibut and shrimp.

Pizza, probably on most people's list of favorites, is baked in a wood-fire oven with meat-free choices such as Margherita and Quattro Formaggi as well as, of course, sausage and pepperoni.

Mama's is only open for dinner. Arrive early and peek into the room where they make their pasta, which has a window to the casino.

Where: Pala Casino Spa & Resort, 11154 Highway 76, Pala
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Entrees: $14.50-$34.50

Beverages: Full bar

Reservations: Advised

Information: 760-510-5100 before 5 p.m., 760-510-4541 after 5 p.m., www.palacasino.com

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Noodles is a fast-casual restaurant that offers traditional Asian dishes from a variety of countries: China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. Take your choice of a seat that looks straight into the kitchen, giving you a view of the large woks or one that looks into the excitement of the casino. Each destination offers a variety of wok-fried noodles and soup noodles to choose from:

China includes Chow-Fun, your choice of protein mixed with thick rice noodles, or Pala Signature, a soup dish with your choice of pork, duck or chicken.

Vietnam presents Mi Quang, a rice noodle dish mixed with shrimp, pork, tofu, peanuts, bean sprouts and lettuce, or Beef Pho, flank steak served in a soup base with rice stick noodles.

Thai encompasses Pad Thai, a traditional Thai dish stir fried with a variety of meats and vegetables with rice stick noodles, or Spicy Chicken Tom Kah, a soup flavored with coconut and lemon grass and featuring rice vermicelli noodles.

Japan contains Yakisoba, egg noodles cooked in a wok with pork, cabbage, carrots and dried seaweed, or Vegetarian Udon, a variety of vegetables in a traditional chicken broth.

In addition to the myriad noodles offered, the restaurant also offers a variety of dim sum, a small dumpling that is usually steamed or fried and filled. The options include Pork buns, pot stickers, and many more.

If you are looking for a main dish that is not noodle-based, there are many featured dishes that are served with rice. Traditional Asian dishes include Sweet and Sour Chicken, Teriyaki Beef, and Seafood Delight.

But no matter what Asian cuisine tickles your taste buds, there likely is an option at Noodles.

Noodles

Where: Pala Casino Spa & Resort, 11154 Hwy 76, Pala

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m.-4 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

Entrees: $6.95-$12.95

Beverages: Fountain sodas, tea, sake, and beer

Information: 877-946-7252, >www.palacasino.com

Pala Casino

What: The Oak Room

Where: 11154 Hwy 76, Pala.

Type of food: Steak and seafood.

Hours: Monday-Tuesday: Closed. Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: 5-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday: 5-11 p.m.

Price: $8-$46.

Cuisine: Features lobster, steak, chicken and salmon.

Beverages: Wine list.

Information: 760-510-5100, http://www.palacasino.com/dining/the-oak-room/

Pala Casino Spa Resort seems to be in competition with itself.

Its flagship restaurant, The Oak Room, specializes in elegantly presented beef.

But at the Pala Café, just around the corner from the Oak Room, you can get filet mignon with grilled asparagus for $19.95.

You could, but I didn't. I ordered a New York strip steak topped with bleu cheese and onions for the same price. And it came with asparagus.

It was a satisfying and generous cut of meat.

The Oak Room is a place to go for special occasions, but I found the café to be special, too. The dining room has a warm, wood atmosphere with a touch of California Craftsman. (There is also seating in the food court.)

The café is always open, so there is a menu for every time of day. The breakfast menu includes the two-egg dishes for $5.95-$8.50 but also cantaloupe stuffed with cottage cheese or raspberry sorbet and served with fruits and fresh spearmint. The cost is $6.95.

Lunch options include a range of burgers for $7.95-$8.50.

There is also a range of specialty martinis for $6.

Desserts cost $4.95, and most diners seem torn between the cheesecake with strawberries and the strawberry shortcake. I'd go with the cheesecake.

Reach Fielding Buck at 951-368-9951 or fbuck@PE.com

Pala Casino

What: Pala Café

Where: 11154 Hwy 76, Pala .

Type of food: California cuisine, features hamburgers, salads, sandwiches and steak.

Dinner: 24/7.

Price: $4-$20.

Beverages: Wine list, beer and signature drinks.

Information: 877-946-7252, http://www.palacasino.com/dining/pala-cafe/

Pala Casino

What: Promenade Deli

Where: 11154 Hwy 76, Pala.

Type of food: Steak and seafood, features salads, sandwiches, hamburgers and pizza.

Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday-Saturday: 11-2 a.m.

Price: $3.95-$10.95.

Beverages: Wine and beer.

Information: 877-946-7252, http://www.palacasino.com/dining/promenade-deli/

Sushi Sake provides an authentic Japanese sushi bar experience with a Southern California influence.

The restaurant can be found about two feet from Pala's casino floor and there is no closed door to prevent you from watching the casino activity. Twelve seats line a bar with two chefs waiting to hand-craft your sushi when ordered. Or, there is a grab-and-go option that allows diners to enjoy their sushi wherever they'd like.

After we were seated, the hostess presented us with the restaurant's extensive sushi menu. Very promptly after making up our minds, the chef behind the bar cordially asked us what we would be having. It's a treat being around a guy who loves his job, and our sushi chef clearly loved his.

The menu offers a variety of fresh and baked sushi. The traditional Spicy Tuna sushi roll is made with spicy tuna, cucumber, radish sprouts and yama gobo wrapped in the sushi rice and seaweed. The California sushi roll has sushi rice and seaweed wrapped around crab meat, cucumber and avocado.

If you are looking for something a little more adventurous, go for the Fresh Water Eel Sushi Roll with eel, asparagus, yama gobo and tamango topped with eel sauce.

The sushi bar also offers nigiri sushi, which is a style of sushi that is served raw. Among the many choices are tuna, salmon, yellowtail, squid, and, for the daring, sea urchin. If you can't make up your mind, the Sushi Platter offers a little bit of everything, including tuna, salmon, yellowtail, whitefish, albacore and shrimp served with either a California roll or spicy tuna roll.

Sashimi, a Japanese delicacy, consists of thin pieces of raw seafood served with a dipping sauce. The Sashimi Platter (above) is served with fresh tuna, salmon, albacore and whitefish. The ceviche is medallions of tuna, yellowtail, snapper, halibut and tiger shrimp with citrus sauce.

Looking for something to drink along with your sushi? Sushi Sake offers a wide variety of sake. You can order it hot or cold, depending on your mood.

Sushi Sake is a fun place. And a restaurant that takes food preparation seriously. It's the right combination for a memorable dining experience.

Sushi Sake

Where: Pala Casino Spa & Resort, 11154 Hwy 76, Pala

Hours: Monday - Thursday 5 p.m.-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Entrees: $3.50-$18.00

Beverages: Extensive sake selection, fountain sodas

Phone: 877-946-7252, www.palacasino.com/dining/sushi-sake/