content: Best variety for the money! Quality is top notch....its nice that there is chef supervision over the buffet at regular intervals along the stations. They observe how the food is moving out and frequently will tidy or beautify a steam table to keep things attractive.\nThe duck is the best I have had since my late night Peking duck runs to Chinatown while at college thirty-odd years ago.\nThe crab was very good, not as \""saline\"" and watery as many buffets provide. The hot butter was clarified, and yes, it WAS butter, not margarine or some other edible oil gloop....\nGreat mashed squash, like Great Aunt Edna would make at Thanksgiving dinners.\nThe turkey was excellent with a subtle spicing in the rub and the gravy. \nThe fried clams were meaty and not at all greasy or heavily battered.\nThe spicy shrimp were alittle bland for me, but buffets are not for the spice lover in any case.\nThe braised pork chops had quite a few fans at our table as well as the prime rib. I quite loved the Lo Mein and the Black Pepper Chicken.\nNice stir fry station.\nThe gelato selection is nice and very tasty...no freezer burned ice cream here!\nI had the most delicious cherries jubilee with big plump black cherries and caramelly bananas foster and a heavenly Mexican flan (creme caramel, same difference). The rice pudding with coconut and dried fruit was interesting and flavourful but put a couple of people off who were looking for diner-style rice pudding...boring.\nThe non alcoholic drink service is quick and refills come without asking. The alcohol service is odd...you have to go to the bar and pay first before they will deliver it to your table. I guess they have had too many people \""drink and dash\"" in the past.\nThere are some foods that you should stay away from at a buffet: pizza, burgers, steak, as they foods are not great to have just sitting under the heat lamp/steamer table...ick...\nThe Rio has a distinct odor of strong, nasty cigarette smoke EVERYWHERE that was not there three years ago...they really need a new air-filtration system and an overall cleaning/repainting to get rid of the stench. While it is less oppressive in the Buffet area, it is still apparent, as people are allowed to smoke in the seating sections so you can't really get away from it. Vegas should seriously think of having no smoking restrictions in restaurants and designated areas for non smoking gamblers to enjoy while throwing away more money. I left right after dinner because of the smell and the heat. Pity, I went elsewhere to enjoy after dinner drinks and a quick little gamble. How many others do the same and the Rio loses out on additional income?