Golden Corral is a very smart company. While Old Country Buffet/Buffets, Inc. struggles, Golden Corral has a national television advertising campaign to get out the word that they have a new "limited time" feature menu - "The Great American Seafood Tour". Smart folks at Golden Corral are doing something to bring in business during this economic period when restaurants across the country are reporting a drop in business.
I have not yet been to a Golden Corral for the Seafood Tour, but hope to before this feature is over. The feature includes what they are calling "all of your seafood favorites". These are Crunchy Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp, Hand-made Maryland Style Crab Cakes, and All American Hand Battered Fried Fillets of Fish.
A similar feature was offered this past summer and I did have an opportunity to try it. As I wrote in my article in August 2008, the fish on that feature at Golden Corral was very good. At that time there were the crab cakes and two different fried fish. As I wrote at the time the only thing I questioned was whether the crab in the crab cakes was real crab or the "krab" substitute. I am not certain that a restaurant can call something crab if it is not.
As then and I am sure now, this has got to beat Old Country Buffet's "Seafood Fridays" hands down. There is nothing special about the OCB Seafood Friday's buffet offerings. And the seafood that is there is not that good. Just looking at the television commercial depiction of the Crunchy Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp is enticing. It makes me want to figure out an excuse to travel the 160 miles to the nearest Golden Corral.
If you are near a Golden Corral go in for the Seafood Tour. Come back here and leave a comment to tell us all about it.
On a side note - while writing this article I went to the Golden Corral website to check on the Golden Corral in Lebanon, PA that I wrote about in August 2008 in The Mystery of the Golden Corral. Well, the mystery deepens - the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Golden Corral is no longer on the list. It appears to have disappeared - AGAIN. As I jokingly wrote, ending that article - it has faded again into the mist.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Buffet Europa, North Brunswick, New Jersy - A Hidden Treasure
I am always looking for unique buffets and buffets that feature international cuisines that are not primarily Asian. I recently did an internet search for buffets in a particular area of New Jersey that I would be visiting. Usually when I do these searches I find little to nothing. On this one occasion a name caught my attention - Buffet Europa. I went to the website to find the description of a buffet featuring European cuisine. I poked around the website and the more that I saw and read the more intrigued I became. I even found a coupon good from Monday to Friday. There was no hesitation to decide that this buffet was getting a visit.
Finding Buffet Europa, located in the town of North Brunswick, New Jersey, was not difficult but it is hidden from the main road that it is nearest to - US Route One. The restaurant is located in a very small shopping area of just a few stores. The shopping center is called Aaron Plaza and it is located just off Route 1 on Aaron Road. You cannot see this shopping center from US 1 and if you ride this road everyday it is likely that you have past this restaurant many times and never know it is there. Cross streets are well labeled on US 1 so when you get to Aaron Road - coming from the north it is just a few miles south of where Route 18 crosses US 1 - you turn right and then immediately left into the shopping center. The best landmark - as if it will help - is an Exxon Station on the corner. If you have a GPS in your car put in the address and it will take you right to the door - which is how I found it.
In the parking lot and driving up to the restaurant what you will see is a single storefront with a large sign above - Buffet Europa. From the outside this is nothing that you might expect if you are a frequent buffet goer. Once inside the restaurant is not much bigger. But let me say right now, that big things come in small packages. We were greeted enthusiastically as we walked in by a young woman who welcomed us as if we were coming to a party at her home and told us that we may sit at any table we wished. The restaurant is small - there are just 16 tables total. Five of those tables are booths and the rest are tables and chairs with two of the tables able to seat large groups and all of the tables for four able to be moved together to accommodate any number. The room is very nicely decorated with crystal lighting fixtures on the walls, a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the dining room and very simple but elegant European decor. It is also nicely carpeted. Each table has a white table cloth covered by a clear plastic cover. On each table is a very nice flower arrangement in a vase. There is soft background music playing in the dining room. Its opera instrumentals and it fits so perfectly with the atmosphere. At the end of the room is one double buffet server - half hot and half cold, with a counter behind that with soup, a soda dispenser, a dessert area, a single carving station, and plates and extra utensils. Each table is set with silverware and plenty of paper napkins nicely arranged in a holder. (It is evident that at one time in the past this was a Chinese restaurant - perhaps even a Chinese buffet - as there is an oriental, etched glass window set into the front wall.)
We visited on a Friday night at about 6:30. There were five tables full at the time. Through the night other tables filled as diners came and went. I think this restaurant is not well known, because if it was it should certainly have had many more diners. The price is a bit high compared to the "chain" buffets but there really is no comparison. The food that is served here is - how should I put it? - real restaurant food, and not the mass cooked buffet fare that is often encountered. The price of the buffet dinner is $15.99 per person, six nights per week. There is a children's price but I do not know what it is. Families with children are welcome. Dress is casual. The restaurant is open from 11 am to 9 pm, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sundays for private parties and catering. There is also a menu to order from and if you would like to take the buffet out, it costs $5.99 per pound (which is a very good price for a takeout buffet). The price of the buffet is all inclusive and there is no additional charge for beverages which include Pepsi products and real ice tea.
When I see one buffet server, I have apprehension. Here this one double server held more than enough variety to please anyone. The cuisine as the name implies is European and all of the dishes are from different countries in Europe with an emphasis on Polish and Italian. According to the website, Friday is Polish Night and Saturday is Italian Night. On this Friday night there were several Polish dishes and there was Italian there as well, along with other European dishes.
As we usually do, we started with the soup. There were two soups offered. One was a chicken rice soup and the other was seafood bisque. My wife tried the chicken rice and I tried the bisque. I tasted her soup before I tasted mine. This is chicken rice soup with a the taste of chicken rice soup in a fine restaurant. This was nicely flavored soup and not just chicken broth with rice tossed in. I am going to use this word a lot in this review - excellent! The fish bisque was wonderful as well. It was a thin bisque but it was loaded with large chunks of fish. The taste again was excellent. Right from the start of this meal we were both very impressed.
About a third of the buffet server is a salad bar. There was a variety of greens to choose from or mix together and very fine toppings to create a salad including several types of hot peppers, pickled vegetables, Greek olives, black olives, grape tomatoes and more. There were a variety of dressings. There were also prepared salads including coleslaw, cucumbers in cream (I have had this in German restaurants), and tuna salad. There was a tray of dinner rolls here as well. There was enough to make a wonderful salad. There was also a cut up melon assortment.
When I visit a new restaurant (new to me) I have a small salad selection so that I can try more of the entrees. I am glad that I left room. There were a number of entrees and side dishes. Each tray that was out was a half tray so there was plenty of room for a variety to be put out - and it was. Each item is clearly labeled. I will go through what was there and then tell you about what we tried. There was potato and cheese perogies (with sour cream on the side), chicken francaise, cheese blintzes,rice with vegetables, grilled vegetables, fried whiting fish, poached whole fish (perhaps blue fish or sea bass), vodka penne, mashed potatoes, BBQ small spareribs, stuffed cabbage with beef and rice, Swedish meatballs, and kielbasi. At the carving station was a roast pork loin.
I tried everything except the fried whiting fish and the only reason that I did not try that was that the portions were so large that taking one would have prevented me from be able to have room in my stomach to eat other things that I wanted to try. Each piece of fish was a fried triangle that would fill half a plate. I was very tempted though because it looked real good. Again, each item served was fine dining quality. Every tray of food was properly kept at the correct temperature and nothing was allowed to dry out. When trays came just close to needing to be refilled more came out. In fact, there was one whole poached fish and soon two more were in the tray. I liked everything that I tasted. The chicken francaise was better than we both have had at any restaurant in a long time. This is chicken that is coated and fried in an egg batter and then sauteed in wine and butter. Wonderful! The perogies were moist and light with a great taste. The cheese blintzes were not the rolls that are found in the supermarket freezer but light little, light pancakes folded flat around a layer of cottage-like cheese and covered with powder sugar - in the tray with a light butter sauce that was just enough to keep these little sweet treats moist. The grilled vegetables, which were different types of squash, onion, and zucchini, were nicely grilled, charred yet moist and in a light sauce that seemed to have a soy sauce base. The taste was very, very good. The rice was equally good with a mixture of chopped vegetables mixed in and nicely seasoned. The poached fish was very nice. I am not much of a whole fish eater and I there are a limited number of types of fish that I personally enjoy. This fish was not one that I have tried before. Someone who is a more enthusiastic fish eater than I will love this fish. The vodka penne was in a thick cream vodka sauce. There was not an overpowering taste of the vodka which is just right for this dish. The mashed potatoes were freshly mashed potatoes with a good flavor. The BBQ ribs were small chunks of ribs in a rich, tomato barbecue sauce. The meat was tender and came easily off the bones. The stuffed cabbage were small rolls of cabbage leaves filled with chopped beef and rice. They were good. I have not had kielbasi in many years - I once had a Polish girlfriend many years ago. The kielbasi here was just as I remember her mother serving.
You may have noticed that I did not tell you about the Swedish meatballs. They deserve their own paragraph. Swedish meatballs are small meatballs that are cooked in a brown cream sauce. Swedish meatballs at Buffet Europa were excellent! The sauce is what makes them special. It is a piquant sauce that enticed you to eat more of it. After the meatballs were gone from my plate I was scooping up the sauce. We more than enjoyed everything that we ate - we both commented to each other about the Swedish meatballs - and the sauce (and remember, my picky eater wife does not generally eat things covered in sauces).
As I said earlier, the carving this night was roast pork. It was a large roasted piece of meat. It is out with a carving knife and serving fork for you to carve yourself. The meat was tender and moist. There was not much fat, but enough to give flavor. There was a thin au jus gravy in an gravy server next to the meat. Again, this was roast pork that you would expect to be served in a fine restaurant.
I tried not to overeat, but everything was just too tempting and the flavor of each dish tried was such that I wanted to have more. I managed to save a little room for dessert.
The dessert area is small but there is a nice assortment of very fine baked goods. There was what I believe was tiramisu - large pieces, pre-cut on dessert plates. (This is one of their specialties so I am pretty certain that is what this cake was.) My wife tried a chocolate and yellow, marbled pound cake and brownies with chocolate frosting. I tried a square of crumb cake that was thick with crumbs over a nice yellow cake. I also tried the rice pudding with cinnamon sprinkled on top which was very good. There was also cheese cake. Scattered around the counter were Hershey's chocolate kisses. I had a long drive ahead of me to get home so I was not going to over do dessert. Dessert was not disappointing.
As we were eating it became apparent that there are just two people working at this restaurant - both I believe are the owners. The young lady who greeted us at the door was also the person clearing our dishes from our table, tending the buffet server, and interacting with the tables around the room. A gentleman came out from the back who looked equally in charge and he, and the young lady, are doing the cooking. According to a review of this restaurant, they cook all day to get ready for dinner. And they are cooking continually to make sure everything that is put out is fresh. Everything is homemade. There was no drawback to there being just the two of them. The food was continually put out. Our empty dishes were whisked away from our table each time we went back up to the buffet server for more. On top of everything this restaurant is spotless - everywhere.
The restaurant opened 15 months ago. It should be better known. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is excellent, and this buffet is truly unique in a buffet world of Asian cuisine and American country cooking. They seem to be trying to get the word out with increased advertising and they do offer coupons to bring the meal price down. We saved 20% off the check with the internet coupon from their website. When this hidden treasure gets noticed, it may be hard to get in the next time - and for me, there will definitely be a next time (though I am almost two hours from where this restaurant is located with two large bridge tolls to pay).
I highly recommend Buffet Europa. You will not be sorry. If you live in New Jersey or are traveling through the Brunswick area of New Jersey (not far from Manhattan) this unique buffet is a must. This is a buffet of European home-style cooking at its finest! In fact, this little buffet may become our Best Buffet of 2009. I was that impressed.
Buffet Europa is located at 1000 Arron Road, North Brunswick, New Jersey 08902. Their telephone number is 732-940-1122. They do have a website and the link is listed at the side of this page. Remember that they close at 9:00 pm and they are not opened on Sundays (unless you want to book the whole restaurant for a party).
Finding Buffet Europa, located in the town of North Brunswick, New Jersey, was not difficult but it is hidden from the main road that it is nearest to - US Route One. The restaurant is located in a very small shopping area of just a few stores. The shopping center is called Aaron Plaza and it is located just off Route 1 on Aaron Road. You cannot see this shopping center from US 1 and if you ride this road everyday it is likely that you have past this restaurant many times and never know it is there. Cross streets are well labeled on US 1 so when you get to Aaron Road - coming from the north it is just a few miles south of where Route 18 crosses US 1 - you turn right and then immediately left into the shopping center. The best landmark - as if it will help - is an Exxon Station on the corner. If you have a GPS in your car put in the address and it will take you right to the door - which is how I found it.
In the parking lot and driving up to the restaurant what you will see is a single storefront with a large sign above - Buffet Europa. From the outside this is nothing that you might expect if you are a frequent buffet goer. Once inside the restaurant is not much bigger. But let me say right now, that big things come in small packages. We were greeted enthusiastically as we walked in by a young woman who welcomed us as if we were coming to a party at her home and told us that we may sit at any table we wished. The restaurant is small - there are just 16 tables total. Five of those tables are booths and the rest are tables and chairs with two of the tables able to seat large groups and all of the tables for four able to be moved together to accommodate any number. The room is very nicely decorated with crystal lighting fixtures on the walls, a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the dining room and very simple but elegant European decor. It is also nicely carpeted. Each table has a white table cloth covered by a clear plastic cover. On each table is a very nice flower arrangement in a vase. There is soft background music playing in the dining room. Its opera instrumentals and it fits so perfectly with the atmosphere. At the end of the room is one double buffet server - half hot and half cold, with a counter behind that with soup, a soda dispenser, a dessert area, a single carving station, and plates and extra utensils. Each table is set with silverware and plenty of paper napkins nicely arranged in a holder. (It is evident that at one time in the past this was a Chinese restaurant - perhaps even a Chinese buffet - as there is an oriental, etched glass window set into the front wall.)
We visited on a Friday night at about 6:30. There were five tables full at the time. Through the night other tables filled as diners came and went. I think this restaurant is not well known, because if it was it should certainly have had many more diners. The price is a bit high compared to the "chain" buffets but there really is no comparison. The food that is served here is - how should I put it? - real restaurant food, and not the mass cooked buffet fare that is often encountered. The price of the buffet dinner is $15.99 per person, six nights per week. There is a children's price but I do not know what it is. Families with children are welcome. Dress is casual. The restaurant is open from 11 am to 9 pm, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sundays for private parties and catering. There is also a menu to order from and if you would like to take the buffet out, it costs $5.99 per pound (which is a very good price for a takeout buffet). The price of the buffet is all inclusive and there is no additional charge for beverages which include Pepsi products and real ice tea.
When I see one buffet server, I have apprehension. Here this one double server held more than enough variety to please anyone. The cuisine as the name implies is European and all of the dishes are from different countries in Europe with an emphasis on Polish and Italian. According to the website, Friday is Polish Night and Saturday is Italian Night. On this Friday night there were several Polish dishes and there was Italian there as well, along with other European dishes.
As we usually do, we started with the soup. There were two soups offered. One was a chicken rice soup and the other was seafood bisque. My wife tried the chicken rice and I tried the bisque. I tasted her soup before I tasted mine. This is chicken rice soup with a the taste of chicken rice soup in a fine restaurant. This was nicely flavored soup and not just chicken broth with rice tossed in. I am going to use this word a lot in this review - excellent! The fish bisque was wonderful as well. It was a thin bisque but it was loaded with large chunks of fish. The taste again was excellent. Right from the start of this meal we were both very impressed.
About a third of the buffet server is a salad bar. There was a variety of greens to choose from or mix together and very fine toppings to create a salad including several types of hot peppers, pickled vegetables, Greek olives, black olives, grape tomatoes and more. There were a variety of dressings. There were also prepared salads including coleslaw, cucumbers in cream (I have had this in German restaurants), and tuna salad. There was a tray of dinner rolls here as well. There was enough to make a wonderful salad. There was also a cut up melon assortment.
When I visit a new restaurant (new to me) I have a small salad selection so that I can try more of the entrees. I am glad that I left room. There were a number of entrees and side dishes. Each tray that was out was a half tray so there was plenty of room for a variety to be put out - and it was. Each item is clearly labeled. I will go through what was there and then tell you about what we tried. There was potato and cheese perogies (with sour cream on the side), chicken francaise, cheese blintzes,rice with vegetables, grilled vegetables, fried whiting fish, poached whole fish (perhaps blue fish or sea bass), vodka penne, mashed potatoes, BBQ small spareribs, stuffed cabbage with beef and rice, Swedish meatballs, and kielbasi. At the carving station was a roast pork loin.
I tried everything except the fried whiting fish and the only reason that I did not try that was that the portions were so large that taking one would have prevented me from be able to have room in my stomach to eat other things that I wanted to try. Each piece of fish was a fried triangle that would fill half a plate. I was very tempted though because it looked real good. Again, each item served was fine dining quality. Every tray of food was properly kept at the correct temperature and nothing was allowed to dry out. When trays came just close to needing to be refilled more came out. In fact, there was one whole poached fish and soon two more were in the tray. I liked everything that I tasted. The chicken francaise was better than we both have had at any restaurant in a long time. This is chicken that is coated and fried in an egg batter and then sauteed in wine and butter. Wonderful! The perogies were moist and light with a great taste. The cheese blintzes were not the rolls that are found in the supermarket freezer but light little, light pancakes folded flat around a layer of cottage-like cheese and covered with powder sugar - in the tray with a light butter sauce that was just enough to keep these little sweet treats moist. The grilled vegetables, which were different types of squash, onion, and zucchini, were nicely grilled, charred yet moist and in a light sauce that seemed to have a soy sauce base. The taste was very, very good. The rice was equally good with a mixture of chopped vegetables mixed in and nicely seasoned. The poached fish was very nice. I am not much of a whole fish eater and I there are a limited number of types of fish that I personally enjoy. This fish was not one that I have tried before. Someone who is a more enthusiastic fish eater than I will love this fish. The vodka penne was in a thick cream vodka sauce. There was not an overpowering taste of the vodka which is just right for this dish. The mashed potatoes were freshly mashed potatoes with a good flavor. The BBQ ribs were small chunks of ribs in a rich, tomato barbecue sauce. The meat was tender and came easily off the bones. The stuffed cabbage were small rolls of cabbage leaves filled with chopped beef and rice. They were good. I have not had kielbasi in many years - I once had a Polish girlfriend many years ago. The kielbasi here was just as I remember her mother serving.
You may have noticed that I did not tell you about the Swedish meatballs. They deserve their own paragraph. Swedish meatballs are small meatballs that are cooked in a brown cream sauce. Swedish meatballs at Buffet Europa were excellent! The sauce is what makes them special. It is a piquant sauce that enticed you to eat more of it. After the meatballs were gone from my plate I was scooping up the sauce. We more than enjoyed everything that we ate - we both commented to each other about the Swedish meatballs - and the sauce (and remember, my picky eater wife does not generally eat things covered in sauces).
As I said earlier, the carving this night was roast pork. It was a large roasted piece of meat. It is out with a carving knife and serving fork for you to carve yourself. The meat was tender and moist. There was not much fat, but enough to give flavor. There was a thin au jus gravy in an gravy server next to the meat. Again, this was roast pork that you would expect to be served in a fine restaurant.
I tried not to overeat, but everything was just too tempting and the flavor of each dish tried was such that I wanted to have more. I managed to save a little room for dessert.
The dessert area is small but there is a nice assortment of very fine baked goods. There was what I believe was tiramisu - large pieces, pre-cut on dessert plates. (This is one of their specialties so I am pretty certain that is what this cake was.) My wife tried a chocolate and yellow, marbled pound cake and brownies with chocolate frosting. I tried a square of crumb cake that was thick with crumbs over a nice yellow cake. I also tried the rice pudding with cinnamon sprinkled on top which was very good. There was also cheese cake. Scattered around the counter were Hershey's chocolate kisses. I had a long drive ahead of me to get home so I was not going to over do dessert. Dessert was not disappointing.
As we were eating it became apparent that there are just two people working at this restaurant - both I believe are the owners. The young lady who greeted us at the door was also the person clearing our dishes from our table, tending the buffet server, and interacting with the tables around the room. A gentleman came out from the back who looked equally in charge and he, and the young lady, are doing the cooking. According to a review of this restaurant, they cook all day to get ready for dinner. And they are cooking continually to make sure everything that is put out is fresh. Everything is homemade. There was no drawback to there being just the two of them. The food was continually put out. Our empty dishes were whisked away from our table each time we went back up to the buffet server for more. On top of everything this restaurant is spotless - everywhere.
The restaurant opened 15 months ago. It should be better known. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is excellent, and this buffet is truly unique in a buffet world of Asian cuisine and American country cooking. They seem to be trying to get the word out with increased advertising and they do offer coupons to bring the meal price down. We saved 20% off the check with the internet coupon from their website. When this hidden treasure gets noticed, it may be hard to get in the next time - and for me, there will definitely be a next time (though I am almost two hours from where this restaurant is located with two large bridge tolls to pay).
I highly recommend Buffet Europa. You will not be sorry. If you live in New Jersey or are traveling through the Brunswick area of New Jersey (not far from Manhattan) this unique buffet is a must. This is a buffet of European home-style cooking at its finest! In fact, this little buffet may become our Best Buffet of 2009. I was that impressed.
Buffet Europa is located at 1000 Arron Road, North Brunswick, New Jersey 08902. Their telephone number is 732-940-1122. They do have a website and the link is listed at the side of this page. Remember that they close at 9:00 pm and they are not opened on Sundays (unless you want to book the whole restaurant for a party).
Friday, March 13, 2009
Return to Makkoli Japanese Seafood Buffet - East Brunswick, New Jersey
It is a year later and we returned to the area of New Jersey where the Garden State Expo Center is for our annual visit to a trade show. My first thought of where to eat after the show was to return to Makkoli. I also found out about another new buffet in the area with a unique theme. I printed out information to find both before we left home. When it was time for dinner on this Saturday night, I decided that Makkoli was calling to me to come back for a second visit. (There is another trade show coming up in the same center and I will save this new buffet for that trip.)
If you read my first article (2/22/08) about Makkoli Japanese Seafood Buffet, located in East Brunswick, New Jersey, you will see that we had quite a hard time finding it. It is located in a small shopping center on a very busy main highway route. The restaurant is located in the back of the shopping center and not visible from the road. I was all prepared this time with a new dashboard GPS, but when I entered the exact address the device told me it did not exist. I checked the listed restaurants in East Brunswick it was not listed. With a last attempt I searched the name of the restaurant and it appeared! So Makkoli is well known enough to be included on, at least this, gps device. The directions guided us directly to the parking lot. When we arrived we did see that there is a sign now for the restaurant on the block of signs for the shopping center - it is the second from the top, but once you see the sign you will have passed the restauant and need to turn around - and on this road that is not an easy thing to do as you must go on to the next left turn circle and then travel back, passing the restaurant, to another left turn circle so that you may get back in the right direction to get to there again.
Happily, we were there and we entered to find that this restaurant was very busy at 6:30 pm on a Saturday night. There was a short wait in the small lobby area for a table. The restaurant was crowded with diners. Most of the people eatting were Asian, most likely Japanese, and there were many tables filled with large groups. These large groups of families and/or friends continued to come in throughout the time that we were there.
As I reviewed this restaurant very throughly a year ago, I will not repeat the description or the basics - they are still the same, with the exception of the price. Like every other restaurant and buffet the price has gone up. Here it is just one dollar more with weekend dinner priced now at $20.99.
When I dined at Makkoli a year ago I had never been to a Japanese Seafood/Sushi buffet before. Since I have been to Minado with several locations including one or more in New Jersey. Coming into Makkoli now, I had something to compare it to. And if you read my article on Minado, you know just how impressed I was with that restaurant. I can't not make comparisons now. Right up front understand, none of this is to say that Makkoli is not good. That is not so - it is very good. But there are differences, pro and con in choosing between the two - and since there is a Minado also in New Jersey, it is possible that one might make a choice between the two. Makkoli is the less expensive of the two - almost $10 less per person on the weekend. What you are getting at Makkoli is less than what you are getting at Minado. The number of varieties of sushi, Japanese salads, hot selections, and desserts are fewer at Makkoli. There is plenty of what there is. I must say that I feel that the freshness in taste of the sushi at Minado (and maybe it was just the one time that I was there) was greater. The taste of the sushi at Makkoli is very good - but it did not stand out to me as what I tried at the other restaurant. My picky wife was happy at both, but did comment to me that what she could select from at Minado was more than what was out at Makkoli. While everything is labeled at Makkoli as to what it is, at Minado the signs not only labeled the items but each also listed what was in the item. Perhaps it is not fair to compare the two. They are not next door to each other. It is not a choice of turn right and go here or turn left and go there. The two are 45 miles apart. Also, Minado is a chain of restaurants and Makkoli is just this location.
Putting the comparison aside, this Makkoli is a very, very popular restaurant. You would not know that there is an economic downturn or crisis in the economy seeing how many people were packing this restaurant at $21 plus beverages per person. And as I have said, the crowd continued through the night. And as I have said in other articles, when a culture-based restaurant is filled with people from that culture, you know that the food is authentic and good.
One of my favorites on my last visit and something that I enjoyed again (twice) on this visit is the Udon Noodle Soup. Thick white noodles are boiled and mixed in a bowl with a variety of spices, seaweed, and crisp batter fried onions. Clear, dark broth is poured over the top to fill the bowl. There was a chef at this serving station preparing each bowl as you stepped up. It has a wonderful flavor! There were other soups as well including wonton, egg drop, and miso soup.
On my last visit I passed on the raw oysters on the half shell because they seemed dry. The oysters on this visit were fresh - and small (which I find better than the larger ones). They were moist and had a nice, fresh taste. There was no sand and they were easy to remove from the shell - even with chopsticks.
At the sushi bar I did not notice the signs that were so obvious last year that if you do not eat the rice and just eat the fish that comes on the rice you will be charged extra. In fact, if I did not just re-read my article I would not have remembered that at all - as I don't think they are there anymore. (I may be wrong and just did not pay attention - but as I am recalling now they were very noticable last year.) Anyway, I often leave over much of the rice and I did this Saturday night - and no one said a word to me or charged me any more. There is a large variety of fish still offered and as trays emptied they were refilled. Fish such as red snapper, white tuna, makeral, and more were offered along with salmon and tuna. There was a tempura sushi roll with slices of fried shrimp tempura rolled in rice and seaweed. Over on the hot buffet there was sushi roll tempura - battered sushi rolls that were fried. This was interesting but for me, well, I like raw salmon and smoked salmon, but I do not care for cooked salmon - so what roll did I get in my sushi tempura but salmon sushi - and inside was cooked salmon. If you are a cooked salmon fan you will love it.
Entrees on the hot buffet varied this time from the last visit which is good. It is good to have something different offered when you return to a buffet. Some were the same, others varied. There were equally as many. If you do not care for fish you will have no problem here. My wife does not eat seafood except for shrimp and she found plenty of dishes to make her happy including chicken, beef, and pork. There were very tempting spare ribs. They were not heavy on the sweet sauce that is done by so many Asian buffets with ribs. They were not without sauce though - I prefer no sauce, cooked under a high heat brioler which is how ribs used to be cooked in Chinese restaurants. For those who love crab legs there were very nice crab legs on the hot buffet. They were individual legs and not clusters but they did look good. In addition to all of the hot entrees there is the hibachi station which cooks chicken, steak, or shrimp with mixed vegetables on the grill. If you have been to a Japanese hibachi restaurant where a chef comes and cooks on the grill on your table this is very much the same, but without the show. The resulting food is the same and very good. Last time I tried the shrimp and that was excellent. This time I went for the steak and that was just as excellent. My wife enjoyed the chicken.
One of my problems when I go to a buffet that I do not get to go to often is that I take a little of everything and wind up eatting too much. This was one of those meals. I wanted to go back for more, but I knew that there was just not enough room left for it. But I was enjoying it so much that I still wanted more - and this was before dessert. I comprised and went back for a second bowl of the excellent udon noodle soup.
Dessert is the standard Asian buffet dessert selection. The little pieces of sheet cake and pastries that I have so often compared to the Little Debbie cakes. There was also fresh fruit pieces and jello. They do have a serve yourself freezer full of tubs of hard ice cream with chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry, and pistachio.
Service was excellent. Dishes were removed from the table immediately. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.
Makkoli Seafood Buffet is located in the Village Green Shopping Center at 415 Route 18 South in East Brunswick, NJ. The phone number in case you get lost is (732) 967 - 8900 or for free - 877 - 625 - 5654. There is a website which is linked at the side of this page. It is just off exit 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike and it is not far from US 1.
Makkoli well stood the test of time and a return visit. It did not disappoint in any way. I will go back again. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes sushi or Japanese food who is in or traveling through mid-New Jersey.
If you read my first article (2/22/08) about Makkoli Japanese Seafood Buffet, located in East Brunswick, New Jersey, you will see that we had quite a hard time finding it. It is located in a small shopping center on a very busy main highway route. The restaurant is located in the back of the shopping center and not visible from the road. I was all prepared this time with a new dashboard GPS, but when I entered the exact address the device told me it did not exist. I checked the listed restaurants in East Brunswick it was not listed. With a last attempt I searched the name of the restaurant and it appeared! So Makkoli is well known enough to be included on, at least this, gps device. The directions guided us directly to the parking lot. When we arrived we did see that there is a sign now for the restaurant on the block of signs for the shopping center - it is the second from the top, but once you see the sign you will have passed the restauant and need to turn around - and on this road that is not an easy thing to do as you must go on to the next left turn circle and then travel back, passing the restaurant, to another left turn circle so that you may get back in the right direction to get to there again.
Happily, we were there and we entered to find that this restaurant was very busy at 6:30 pm on a Saturday night. There was a short wait in the small lobby area for a table. The restaurant was crowded with diners. Most of the people eatting were Asian, most likely Japanese, and there were many tables filled with large groups. These large groups of families and/or friends continued to come in throughout the time that we were there.
As I reviewed this restaurant very throughly a year ago, I will not repeat the description or the basics - they are still the same, with the exception of the price. Like every other restaurant and buffet the price has gone up. Here it is just one dollar more with weekend dinner priced now at $20.99.
When I dined at Makkoli a year ago I had never been to a Japanese Seafood/Sushi buffet before. Since I have been to Minado with several locations including one or more in New Jersey. Coming into Makkoli now, I had something to compare it to. And if you read my article on Minado, you know just how impressed I was with that restaurant. I can't not make comparisons now. Right up front understand, none of this is to say that Makkoli is not good. That is not so - it is very good. But there are differences, pro and con in choosing between the two - and since there is a Minado also in New Jersey, it is possible that one might make a choice between the two. Makkoli is the less expensive of the two - almost $10 less per person on the weekend. What you are getting at Makkoli is less than what you are getting at Minado. The number of varieties of sushi, Japanese salads, hot selections, and desserts are fewer at Makkoli. There is plenty of what there is. I must say that I feel that the freshness in taste of the sushi at Minado (and maybe it was just the one time that I was there) was greater. The taste of the sushi at Makkoli is very good - but it did not stand out to me as what I tried at the other restaurant. My picky wife was happy at both, but did comment to me that what she could select from at Minado was more than what was out at Makkoli. While everything is labeled at Makkoli as to what it is, at Minado the signs not only labeled the items but each also listed what was in the item. Perhaps it is not fair to compare the two. They are not next door to each other. It is not a choice of turn right and go here or turn left and go there. The two are 45 miles apart. Also, Minado is a chain of restaurants and Makkoli is just this location.
Putting the comparison aside, this Makkoli is a very, very popular restaurant. You would not know that there is an economic downturn or crisis in the economy seeing how many people were packing this restaurant at $21 plus beverages per person. And as I have said, the crowd continued through the night. And as I have said in other articles, when a culture-based restaurant is filled with people from that culture, you know that the food is authentic and good.
One of my favorites on my last visit and something that I enjoyed again (twice) on this visit is the Udon Noodle Soup. Thick white noodles are boiled and mixed in a bowl with a variety of spices, seaweed, and crisp batter fried onions. Clear, dark broth is poured over the top to fill the bowl. There was a chef at this serving station preparing each bowl as you stepped up. It has a wonderful flavor! There were other soups as well including wonton, egg drop, and miso soup.
On my last visit I passed on the raw oysters on the half shell because they seemed dry. The oysters on this visit were fresh - and small (which I find better than the larger ones). They were moist and had a nice, fresh taste. There was no sand and they were easy to remove from the shell - even with chopsticks.
At the sushi bar I did not notice the signs that were so obvious last year that if you do not eat the rice and just eat the fish that comes on the rice you will be charged extra. In fact, if I did not just re-read my article I would not have remembered that at all - as I don't think they are there anymore. (I may be wrong and just did not pay attention - but as I am recalling now they were very noticable last year.) Anyway, I often leave over much of the rice and I did this Saturday night - and no one said a word to me or charged me any more. There is a large variety of fish still offered and as trays emptied they were refilled. Fish such as red snapper, white tuna, makeral, and more were offered along with salmon and tuna. There was a tempura sushi roll with slices of fried shrimp tempura rolled in rice and seaweed. Over on the hot buffet there was sushi roll tempura - battered sushi rolls that were fried. This was interesting but for me, well, I like raw salmon and smoked salmon, but I do not care for cooked salmon - so what roll did I get in my sushi tempura but salmon sushi - and inside was cooked salmon. If you are a cooked salmon fan you will love it.
Entrees on the hot buffet varied this time from the last visit which is good. It is good to have something different offered when you return to a buffet. Some were the same, others varied. There were equally as many. If you do not care for fish you will have no problem here. My wife does not eat seafood except for shrimp and she found plenty of dishes to make her happy including chicken, beef, and pork. There were very tempting spare ribs. They were not heavy on the sweet sauce that is done by so many Asian buffets with ribs. They were not without sauce though - I prefer no sauce, cooked under a high heat brioler which is how ribs used to be cooked in Chinese restaurants. For those who love crab legs there were very nice crab legs on the hot buffet. They were individual legs and not clusters but they did look good. In addition to all of the hot entrees there is the hibachi station which cooks chicken, steak, or shrimp with mixed vegetables on the grill. If you have been to a Japanese hibachi restaurant where a chef comes and cooks on the grill on your table this is very much the same, but without the show. The resulting food is the same and very good. Last time I tried the shrimp and that was excellent. This time I went for the steak and that was just as excellent. My wife enjoyed the chicken.
One of my problems when I go to a buffet that I do not get to go to often is that I take a little of everything and wind up eatting too much. This was one of those meals. I wanted to go back for more, but I knew that there was just not enough room left for it. But I was enjoying it so much that I still wanted more - and this was before dessert. I comprised and went back for a second bowl of the excellent udon noodle soup.
Dessert is the standard Asian buffet dessert selection. The little pieces of sheet cake and pastries that I have so often compared to the Little Debbie cakes. There was also fresh fruit pieces and jello. They do have a serve yourself freezer full of tubs of hard ice cream with chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry, and pistachio.
Service was excellent. Dishes were removed from the table immediately. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.
Makkoli Seafood Buffet is located in the Village Green Shopping Center at 415 Route 18 South in East Brunswick, NJ. The phone number in case you get lost is (732) 967 - 8900 or for free - 877 - 625 - 5654. There is a website which is linked at the side of this page. It is just off exit 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike and it is not far from US 1.
Makkoli well stood the test of time and a return visit. It did not disappoint in any way. I will go back again. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes sushi or Japanese food who is in or traveling through mid-New Jersey.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Two More Nights at Old Country Buffet
Two weeks ago I wrote about the new featured "theme" nights at Old Country Buffet. Now, I am sure someone is going to leave a comment to this article saying, "Don't you ever learn!" Well, no - I went back for two more nights. I tried TexMex Wednesday and Seafood Friday.
Since I tried the Friday night feature before the Wednesday night feature I will tell you about that first. Friday night is Seafood Friday. Basically, Friday nights at Old Country Buffet have always been Seafood Friday - but now it is "official". On a Friday night that we did not want to drive out to the Chinese buffet, we decided to to head on over to OCB, which is a lot closer. After Italian Tuesday and BBQ Thursday, I was not expecting anything special for Seafood Friday. It was a good thing, too, because with no expectations I was not disappointed. I was surprised, however, as there was less seafood than there usually is on the Friday night buffet. As a matter of fact, other than the usual Friday salmon at the carving station, regular broiled fish, the usual fried fish, and the weekend featured shrimp that goes along with "Shrimp and St. Louis Ribs", there was no other seafood at all. Even the seafood pancakes that seem to show up almost every night were missing for Seafood Friday.
There have been some nice seafood dishes that have appeared in the past. One might imagine that when creating a menu for Seafood Friday, a restaurant chain might bring back some of those dishes. Apparently, not at Old Country Buffet.
On this night, what was in demand was steak - which was being served in one inch cut strips, I suppose so that it would not run out, St Louis ribs that made an appearance once when we first came in and then were gone until almost the time that we were leaving, and pizza that was missing for almost forty-five minutes. As for the seafood, the same trays stayed out pretty much the whole time that we were there. So much for Seafood Friday.
As we left the floor to ceiling display sign announcing the features caught my eye and I was drawn to TexMex Wednesday. My wife commented that maybe we should have come on Wednesday night. I told her that I had thought about it, but figured that it would be as much of a let down as the other nights had been. Yet, in the back of my mind I recalled the several good dishes that were featured during a quick summer feature several years ago that was never brought back by OCB. Way back then I had tried that in two OCBs - one in North Carolina and the other in New Jersey. Now, looking at the sign there was a picture of chicken fajitas and tacos - nothing unusual, but just maybe...
So the next week I announced that we were going to OCB for TexMex Wednesday! I knew that I should not hope for much. And again, not expecting anything, I was not disappointed.
OCB, at least the one that I frequent, always has a taco bar. On that bar is chopped taco meat soaking in thin red oil, four different types of taco shells and tortillas, Spanish rice, and beans. Along side is a cold area with sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes, sliced green chile pepers, lettuce, and shredded cheese. This was the extent of TexMex Wednesday - with the addition of... Chicken Fajitas.
Chicken Fajitas is a dish that OCB once had on the buffet frequently. Those of you who read my articles regularly know about my pickey eater wife. She always liked the Chicken Fajitas at Old Country Buffet. Unfortunately, for her, they have now been changed. Prior the chicken meat was cut into large chunks and served alone with the sauteed pepers and onions in another serving tray to add yourself. The Chicken Fajitas that appeared on TexMex Wednesday was chicken cut into smaller chunks and served already mixed into the green pepers and onions. She was not happy. I must tell you that I did enjoy them. The meat was flavorful and not spicy hot. The onions and pepers were cut a bit too large, but were fine.
I looked around the hot servers for more "TexMex". There was none. Everything else was the usual Wednesday night offerings - meatloaf, baked chicken, steak, turkey. There were some new dishes for a Wednesday night - Chicken Florentine - which belongs on Italian Tuesday and butter crusted baked pollack (at least according to the sign - what was out was just plain broiled fish) which should have been out on Seafood Friday. Also making an appearance were seafood pancakes - which were missing from Seafood Friday. (I have spoken about this in the past, but it needs repeating - the seafood pancakes are covered in a yellow/white gravy. You might think that this is some type of seafood gravy, but it is NOT. It is the chicken gravy that is served for the mashed potatoes. This likely contains meat, so if you do not eat meat for whatever reason but you do eat fish - don't eat the seafood pancakes.) So I guess, if you add Chicken Fajitas to the Taco Bar you get TexMex.
I was determined to eat TexMex so I helped myself to the Fajitas, made a taco, and added steak to my plate (just for the Tex part). The Fajitas, as I said, are good. One thing always missing from the OCB Taco Bar is taco sauce, and it is still missing. There is hot sauce over at the condiments bar, but that is not taco sauce.
So - I have been to four of the seven new "theme" nights - each with barely a resemblance to the theme. I had my foolish hopes. If you are going to OCB any night of the week you are walking in on one of the theme nights. There is no avoiding it other than not going. If you like the usual menu at OCB you will be satisfied finding what you always find. I am curious if at other OCB's - as the one I go to is notorious - if the menus actually match the themes and other than the ordinary night's dishes are served. I doubt it. From what I have been told by Buffet, Inc. employees, the chain sends out the food. It is not ordered by the location. Other than what might run out and be, HOPEFULLY, replaced by something else, the menus should be fairly consistent.
If I had to pick two nights to go JUST for what is on the feature, I would go to Italian Tuesday and TexMex Wednesday just for the Fajitas. Many of you, when you feel like buffet, have a choice of chains. Here there is just OCB and a few Chinese/Asian buffets. So sometimes it is OCB or nothing - and OCB is generally (but not always) better than nothing.
If you try a night - leave a comment. Let's here about what other OCB's are doing with theme nights!
Since I tried the Friday night feature before the Wednesday night feature I will tell you about that first. Friday night is Seafood Friday. Basically, Friday nights at Old Country Buffet have always been Seafood Friday - but now it is "official". On a Friday night that we did not want to drive out to the Chinese buffet, we decided to to head on over to OCB, which is a lot closer. After Italian Tuesday and BBQ Thursday, I was not expecting anything special for Seafood Friday. It was a good thing, too, because with no expectations I was not disappointed. I was surprised, however, as there was less seafood than there usually is on the Friday night buffet. As a matter of fact, other than the usual Friday salmon at the carving station, regular broiled fish, the usual fried fish, and the weekend featured shrimp that goes along with "Shrimp and St. Louis Ribs", there was no other seafood at all. Even the seafood pancakes that seem to show up almost every night were missing for Seafood Friday.
There have been some nice seafood dishes that have appeared in the past. One might imagine that when creating a menu for Seafood Friday, a restaurant chain might bring back some of those dishes. Apparently, not at Old Country Buffet.
On this night, what was in demand was steak - which was being served in one inch cut strips, I suppose so that it would not run out, St Louis ribs that made an appearance once when we first came in and then were gone until almost the time that we were leaving, and pizza that was missing for almost forty-five minutes. As for the seafood, the same trays stayed out pretty much the whole time that we were there. So much for Seafood Friday.
As we left the floor to ceiling display sign announcing the features caught my eye and I was drawn to TexMex Wednesday. My wife commented that maybe we should have come on Wednesday night. I told her that I had thought about it, but figured that it would be as much of a let down as the other nights had been. Yet, in the back of my mind I recalled the several good dishes that were featured during a quick summer feature several years ago that was never brought back by OCB. Way back then I had tried that in two OCBs - one in North Carolina and the other in New Jersey. Now, looking at the sign there was a picture of chicken fajitas and tacos - nothing unusual, but just maybe...
So the next week I announced that we were going to OCB for TexMex Wednesday! I knew that I should not hope for much. And again, not expecting anything, I was not disappointed.
OCB, at least the one that I frequent, always has a taco bar. On that bar is chopped taco meat soaking in thin red oil, four different types of taco shells and tortillas, Spanish rice, and beans. Along side is a cold area with sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes, sliced green chile pepers, lettuce, and shredded cheese. This was the extent of TexMex Wednesday - with the addition of... Chicken Fajitas.
Chicken Fajitas is a dish that OCB once had on the buffet frequently. Those of you who read my articles regularly know about my pickey eater wife. She always liked the Chicken Fajitas at Old Country Buffet. Unfortunately, for her, they have now been changed. Prior the chicken meat was cut into large chunks and served alone with the sauteed pepers and onions in another serving tray to add yourself. The Chicken Fajitas that appeared on TexMex Wednesday was chicken cut into smaller chunks and served already mixed into the green pepers and onions. She was not happy. I must tell you that I did enjoy them. The meat was flavorful and not spicy hot. The onions and pepers were cut a bit too large, but were fine.
I looked around the hot servers for more "TexMex". There was none. Everything else was the usual Wednesday night offerings - meatloaf, baked chicken, steak, turkey. There were some new dishes for a Wednesday night - Chicken Florentine - which belongs on Italian Tuesday and butter crusted baked pollack (at least according to the sign - what was out was just plain broiled fish) which should have been out on Seafood Friday. Also making an appearance were seafood pancakes - which were missing from Seafood Friday. (I have spoken about this in the past, but it needs repeating - the seafood pancakes are covered in a yellow/white gravy. You might think that this is some type of seafood gravy, but it is NOT. It is the chicken gravy that is served for the mashed potatoes. This likely contains meat, so if you do not eat meat for whatever reason but you do eat fish - don't eat the seafood pancakes.) So I guess, if you add Chicken Fajitas to the Taco Bar you get TexMex.
I was determined to eat TexMex so I helped myself to the Fajitas, made a taco, and added steak to my plate (just for the Tex part). The Fajitas, as I said, are good. One thing always missing from the OCB Taco Bar is taco sauce, and it is still missing. There is hot sauce over at the condiments bar, but that is not taco sauce.
So - I have been to four of the seven new "theme" nights - each with barely a resemblance to the theme. I had my foolish hopes. If you are going to OCB any night of the week you are walking in on one of the theme nights. There is no avoiding it other than not going. If you like the usual menu at OCB you will be satisfied finding what you always find. I am curious if at other OCB's - as the one I go to is notorious - if the menus actually match the themes and other than the ordinary night's dishes are served. I doubt it. From what I have been told by Buffet, Inc. employees, the chain sends out the food. It is not ordered by the location. Other than what might run out and be, HOPEFULLY, replaced by something else, the menus should be fairly consistent.
If I had to pick two nights to go JUST for what is on the feature, I would go to Italian Tuesday and TexMex Wednesday just for the Fajitas. Many of you, when you feel like buffet, have a choice of chains. Here there is just OCB and a few Chinese/Asian buffets. So sometimes it is OCB or nothing - and OCB is generally (but not always) better than nothing.
If you try a night - leave a comment. Let's here about what other OCB's are doing with theme nights!
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