Friday, November 11, 2011

Chocolate Wonderfall at Golden Corral

Just when I thought that the made to order sauteed seafood at Golden Corral was one of the worst ideas that they could come up with, they follow this with a new dessert feature - Chocolate Wonderfall.

The Chocolate Wonderfall is a chocolate dipping area complete with a tiered fountain that pours down melted chocolate. With this you dip fresh fruit wedges, cookies, pretzels, macaroons, ricekrispy treats and more. The items are out for you on a wooden skewer and you hold the skewer at the end and dip into the chocolate. Sounds great, right? Yes, it sound great but I can imagine what will happen with this when left unsupervised.

I must be fair and say that I have not been to a Golden Corral yet to see this for myself. I have seen the commercials on television showing this. There is a YouTube video here. But I know buffets and I know what can happen if there is not a diligent employee supervising something like this.

So what could be wrong with this -

1. Sticking ones fingers in for a lick.
2. Double dipping.
3. Standing in front and eating one after the other piece dipped in.
4. Dropping things into the chocolate.
5. Children putting their hands in.
6. I could go on and on...

Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Pennsylvania has had a chocolate fountain like this on special occasions. There is always an employee at the table keeping a close eye on those dipping. And more than once I have observed the employee stopping someone from doing just what I have listed above. I cannot see Golden Corral assigning an employee to supervise this chocolate fountain constantly. They often do not have the staff to properly supervise the buffet.

I like Golden Corral. It is up at the top in my opinion in many ways - BUT they have had some dumb ideas this year. I have to wonder if there has been a change in management in the home office who is coming up with these poor ideas. My message to Golden Corral is stick to what you do best - a good, serve yourself buffet with simple and easy to take items.

If anyone has been to the Chocolate Wonderfall, please leave a comment about how it was and how well supervised it is. As soon as I can get to a Golden Corral, I will let you know what I see.

13 comments:

Art said...

I've been on a cruise, and they had one of those chocolate fountains, BUT, a kitchen crew member dipped your choice of items, then handed them to you. The fountain was visible to the public, but surrounded by a tall plexiglass enclosure, so it couldn't actually be touched or tampered with. Much better idea.

Anonymous said...

I went to a Golden Corral yesterday (this one was located in Egg Harbor Township, NJ). Although they had signage everywhere advertising the Wonderfall, it was nowhere to be found. We arrived slightly before 5 p.m. and were there until around 6:30, but it wasn't brought out. The meal was delicious, but I was just a tad disappointed that I didn't get to try this feature. They still had the cook to order seafood, but the line for that was too long for me to tackle.

Anonymous said...

I, too, was at the Egg Harbor location on Sunday, November 13. The chocolate waterfall was most definitely present and we were seated at 4:30 PM. There were VERY few desserts present-which was upsetting to me-thereby allowing more room for those using the waterfall. There was never a line for the pasta station. They have cut back severely on the initial portion of steak served. The operation is well run and empty items are refilled quickly. Refills of beverages and clearing of dishes was fantastic and we tipped accordingly.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they decided not to bring out the wonderfall on a Saturday night, seeing how Saturday is usually a busy time for any restaurant. Maybe I should try it during the week to see if it's present. I agree that they definitely cut down on the portion of steak that is served at the grill. Other than that and the lack of the wonderfall, I definitely will return.

Anonymous said...

I visited one in North Carolina with the Chocolate Waterfall. :)
I am lactose-intolerant, so I did not get to enjoy it, but it was prominently displayed at the dessert bar, surrounded by aforementioned fruits and treats, along with wooden skewers, with a sign next to it warning parents that children were not allowed to use it unsupervised.
My dining companion tried it and loved it!
I enjoyed the food at this buffet and ate like it was running away from me.
:)
thanks for the great website, been visiting for years, and looking forward to more delicious entries.

Anonymous said...

We love the Golen Corral in Brunswick, GA. We particularly go there every year for Veteran's Day as it is free for Vets. Certainly the line is long and dining area can get pretty crowded but the staff are always prepared for this and so they have a great system in moving this along as quickly and smoothly as possible. We are hoping to go there for Thanksgiving as it's just so much easier to enjoy a traditional dinner. We have little ones and they won't eat half of what I'd like to set on the table. This way we can all enjoy a little bit of everything and there is always something on their buffet we can find for our children to eat (even if it's just Thanksgiving Pizza!)

Anonymous said...

Everytime I see the commercial for the "Wonderfall" I name off all of the those things to my family as to why I refuse to even try it at GC [or really anywhere else except Art's cruise.] It is set up as a big fail and a center for abuse by the customers and their children who, most decidedly, will NOT be supervised [nor will GC management ever say anything about it.]

I'll pass.

mark p said...

i went to the one in kenosha wisconsin and they have it set back so most kids cant reach it ..but one father picked up his kid so he could reach it. so in went the stick along with the kids hand . it was so gross !! and i dont even whant to talk about the ice cream area. i used to love buffets but now that they are not supervised im done with them just to gross!!

ROCK STEPHENS said...

well. i just got back from the Golden Corral located on arlington rd in akron Ohio. (they were extremly busy) i really enjoyed the chocolate wonderfall i was watching for awhile and they were very observant of the customers useing it, after about 30 mins i went up and well lets just say i had my share!!! lol everything was very good and they refilled empty food containers very quickly , i didnt have to wait for anything. the staff was very pleasant and on top of things. all in all my dinning experience was wonderfull. i would give the golden corral in akron on arlington rd 10 stars.

Anonymous said...

We just got back from Golden Corral in Lakeland, FL.
We sat close to the chocolate fountain and watched the activities. First we saw an 8 year old girl touch every rice krispie treat on the platter, then after her careful selection, she stuck it in the fountain with her fingers too. Then not 5 minutes later, we saw a woman in her early 20's come up to the fountain, stuck her fingers right in it and so politely licked her fingers!!!
This a serious cross contamination issue to people with food allergies. So many different foods going into the fountain, someone could have a life threatening allergic reaction.
Big YUCK!!!

Writer said...

We have been going to a buffet fairly regularly that has a chocolate fountain. We watch as everyone picks up a marshmallow, piece of pineapple, strawberry with the tongs - puts it on their plate, and then takes some sticks and with their fingers puts each item on a stick. Essentially everyone's fingers are going into the chocolate fountain. And there is really no other way to get the items on the stick without using your fingers. I tried- can't be done. So you are licking everyone's fingers when you eat from the chocolate fountain. It is beyond me how this gets past the Board of Health.

Anonymous said...

I don't have a Golden Corral location where I live, (southeastern Massachusetts, almost to Cape Cod) so when my mom's friend invited me to eat lunch at a Golden Corral for the first time, I accepted.

I had two plates of food, (fried chicken, fish, slider burgers, french fries, and pizza) before trotting on over to take a gander at the "Chocolate Wonderfall" I'd see so much in commercials. After taking out my phone and snapping a quick picture, I headed straight for a big pile of freshly sliced strawberries, which are my favorite. I loaded them on the plate, stuck the skewers in, dipped in the chocolate, and...YUM!

I hope they open a Golden Corral near me soon so I can do it all again. Yes, I've heard the horror stories of chocolate fountains, but you only live once. If you don't die from food poisoing, you'll get hit my a truck crossing the road! LOL

All in all, a decent meal, and I'd do it all again if I could.

Wichita Mom said...

I've been to the one in wichita falls TX. I kept a close eye on the chocolate wonderfall and decided against it after i witnessed and unsupervised 8 year old pick his nose and then stick his finger in the wonderfall. i brought this to the attention of the manager and they didnt do a damn thing about it. i will never go to a GC again