The Wicked Spoon Buffet at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas doesn't go for a full reinvention but offers a tweak that is, at the very least, worth noting.

They are focusing on the "small plates" concept that is all the rage at restaurants these days. What that means in a buffet setting is that, for some dishes, instead of ladling things out of a tray onto your plate, they come in their own individual serving containers - small dishes, miniature pans or crockery, and the like. It's interesting from a presentation level but can be a bit of a pain from a transportation perspective. If you just have piles of food on a plate, you can place your mashed potatoes on top of your ham and create a fortress of pot stickers around it to keep it in place. Trying to arrange a bunch of pots and pans on your plate is challenging.

Not everything is served this way - there are still plenty of trays, a carving station, and live-action food stations (made to order omelets at brunch for instance).

Food selection is typically diverse. On a recent brunch visit there were lots of breakfast items from the mundane (eggs of various types, pancakes, etc.) to the slightly more adventurous (the French toast was a gooey delight) and the welcome traditions (bacon!). There was a carving station offering half a dozen different types of meat, a seafood and sushi station, Asian specialties, a pizza oven, a big salad bar, and a full dessert station.

Although everything was satisfying and well-prepared, there was nothing that really stood out to make this a memorable buffet experience, small plate servings not withstanding.

Prices are typical for a Strip buffet, which is to say expensive ($15-27). That's a lot of money to pay for food that is just satisfying, no matter how fancy the presentation.