This is a tale of two managers of two different Old Country Buffets. Each OCB is located about twenty miles from the other. The manager I see most at one of these OCB's I have been calling - to myself - Mr. Grumpy. The other at this other OCB I have been calling - again to myself - Mr. Jolly. These two managers are as different as night and day and so are the two restaurants. Guess which one is the better of the two Old Country Buffets.
Each time that I go into the OCB that Mr. Grumpy works at, I see Mr. Grumpy frowning. It is clear that he does not like his job and his attitude and his face show it. This is also reflected in his employees who do not seem to like (or understand) their jobs. Mr. Grumpy stays by the cashier most of the time. He does not smile to customers and the only time that I have observed a smile was with one of the employees - and that is rare. And that time that I saw him smiling it was during a conversation with an employee in which they were both complaining about their jobs (in front of the customers). He has, on more than one occasion, said the absolutely wrong things to customers when they have sought him out for help. I witnessed and overheard a customer inform him on a Friday night when steak is supposed to be served that steak had not been brought out in over thirty minutes. The customer made the comment that steak cooks on a grill in less than ten minutes - and with no apology from Mr. Grumpy to the customer about no steak (and most other meats not being available that should have been out) that no, steak takes much longer to cook and when it comes out, it comes out. Often the trays here are empty or are taken away and replaced with a totally unlike item - rolls for vegetables, a second tray of potatoes for meat. I have seen Mr. Grumpy say to customers "What do you want that there is no turkey, roast beef, or ham - we have brought this out instead - to the cry of a customer that "this" is not what they came for or paid for - they came for the meats that are featured that night. Mr. Grumpy just shrugged - again, no apology. Well, that is not a way to treat any customer - if you want that customer to return. And perhaps if the customer's went away, Mr. Grumpy would get his desire to not have to work there any longer.
Now, there is Mr. Jolly. Again, at an Old Country Buffet just twenty miles from the other. Mr. Jolly is a large man who when seen always has a smile on his face. He is generally in the dining room walking around the tables and talking with the patrons. He seems to always be laughing with them and happy to see them. He greets return customers as if they are old friends and greets new customers as well. He looks like he really enjoys his job. Perhaps he hates it just as much as Mr. Grumpy but he never shows it - but I think he really likes what he is doing. Mr. Jolly also keeps an eye on his employees and the buffet tables. Whenever something is running low it is replaced - and if something runs out - and that understandably can happen - it is replaced with a similar item. Another type of meat for a meat and another type of vegetable for a vegetable. I have seen whole roast beefs, hams, and turkeys brought out to carve just before closing. Something that would just not happen at that other OCB.
Mr. Jolly's employees seem happy to work for him as well. They are prompt to clear dirty dishes off of diner's tables, they make sure there is ice at the beverage station, and that plates, glasses, and cups are always available. Mr. Jolly's floors are always clean - and the daily traffic at both OCB's are equal. In fact, Mr. Jolly's OCB is located at a large shopping mall and there is a stream of customers who come while and after shopping during the day. When asked if more ice tea will be made when the dispenser was empty, one of Mr. Jolly's employees said, of course, and immediately started making it. Now, that you are paying for beverages at OCB, Mr. Jolly makes sure that you are getting what you are now paying for. (At Mr. Grumpy's OCB once the ice tea dispenser is empty it stays empty.)
I have written before that the management can make or break a buffet. A Mr. Jolly will have happy customers and his restaurant will be a credit to the chain. A Mr. Grumpy will have customers who have negative things to say about his restaurant and do the company a world of damage - and these customers have been commenting such on this site about this particular OCB for years - and interestingly, it has not always been the same Mr. Grumpy managing this location. But for some reason this OCB seems to get an excess of managers who come and go who are also Mr. Grumpys. Now. does OCB corporate - which is Buffets Inc. care? They seem not to because if you use the comment section on their website or send them a letter it just gets passed along to Mr. Grumpy at the restaurant who does not care, does not change, and it is no surprise as this is Mr. Grumpy to form. Certainly there is never a sign on the door that says dinner is half price tonight because we are out of just about everything - no people are let in, to pay the full price, and then scoffed at when they expect to get what they paid for. Do I expect to pay less because they are not putting food out - of course not - but I do expect to get everything that I am paying for. Even at $10.99 with $1.99 for beverages (yes, that beverage price has now been increased - an easy way to gradually push the price back up without much notice), money these days is hard earned and this, for some of us, is a significant outlay.
I now drive the twenty extra miles to eat at Mr. Jolly's OCB. I am sure that if Mr. Grumpy is reading this he is saying, "Good riddance!" - as his employees and perhaps he has posted as comment on this site in the past. With the price of gas going up, this is not something that I should have to do when there is an OCB less than three miles from me. But if I want OCB - and I do like OCB (depending on the location), if I want a buffet meal without aggravation and Mr. Grumpy, I have to go the distance. There are and will be occasions when I can't do that and I go to visit Mr. Grumpy's restaurant and hope.
Now, I must add that we went on a night that Mr. Jolly was not working, and while the restaurant was still a great deal better - it was noticeably not the same as when Mr. Jolly is around. Service was not entirely the same and there were a few items that did not get replaced when emptied. So this just illustrates even more the importance of a manager in a buffet!
I hope that at your OCB the manager is a Mr. Jolly too!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
China Grand Buffet - Farmingdale, NY - Once More
Wow! I did not realize that it has been five years since I wrote about this buffet. China Grand Buffet is located in Farmingdale, New York. For a long time I was a weekly regular at this buffet. We would go just about every Friday night. We stopped going about two years ago when the prices went up higher than what this buffet was offering. It was hitting almost $16 an adult on the weekend for dinner and this was out of line with other local Chinese buffets. In addition, the selection of food on the buffet never changed, and frankly, I became very tired of the same things each time that we went. So we stopped going.
On a recent Saturday night we decided that we would go back and see if anything has changed. It was nice to find the price lower - now $14.99 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Weeknights are $12.99. Unfortunately, the food selection was pretty much as it had been. We could have just been there last week rather than almost two years ago. Compared to some other buffets that I have been to recently, this buffet was crowded and the dining room was full throughout the time that we were there.
The food is fine. There is nothing wrong with what is being served. But if you want to go several times to find a variety, you will not find anything different each time that you go (with the exception of some dishes missing on weeknights or at lunch). Not only is everything the same but it is in the same places on the buffet.
Service on this particular night was OK once it got started, but we were seated and it took at least ten minutes to be noticed for one of the servers to come over and take our drink orders. Drinks are unlimited but are not included in the price. Once we started eating, our plates were cleared and once one of the young ladies came over to ask if we wanted refills of our drinks. When we were done and ready to leave - just as when we came in -no one came by to give us our check. We had to flag down one of the ladies to get it. At times it seemed like our table was invisible to the table staff.
So what did we have. Soup selection is basic with one additional soup that is out of the ordinary - and on this visit that was chicken corn soup. Obviously, Chinese Chicken Corn Soup and not Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Soup. (So - OK - this additional soup does change - well, at least it was not there two years ago.) The other soups are hot and sour, egg drop, and won ton. The hot and sour soup was not too hot and spicy and in my opinion that is a good thing. Some Chinese buffets put so much red pepper flakes in the hot and sour soup that it is inedible.
There is peel and eat shrimp, a small selection of sushi on rice and rolls, clams on the half shell and a variety of salads on the cold bar.
In hot foods there are a LOT of fried foods. Just about everywhere you look there is something that is fried . Fried shrimp, fried fish, fried crab claw, fried chicken, fried calamari, fried crab Rangoon, and on. They do a lot of frying. There are the usual egg rolls and summer rolls. There are three dumplings to choose from in steamers and also fried dumplings.
If you read my other articles about this buffet you are going to see mention of lobster. There is no more lobster on the buffet. This happened about three years ago when we were still going semi-regularly and just about when the price went up - price increase, lobster gone. There are still crab legs and they did refill the server several times with legs while we were there. These are small, separate legs and not full clusters. There is hot butter sauce near by the tray of crab legs.
The hot dishes are mostly the standards for Chinese buffets - chicken with broccoli, beef with peppers, General Tsao Chicken. There is also hot and spicy chicken, spicy tofu and vegetables, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed baked clams, a tray of baked salmon, crab (but not real crab) baked with cheese, sauteed string beans, bok choy, french fries, chicken on a stick, stuffed peppers, lo mein, mei fun, fried rice, white rice (no brown rice), sweet chicken meatballs, and other dishes.
Before and again this time, I take from different dishes and create my own - some chicken from the chicken and broccoli, some beef from the beef and peppers, both combined with string beans and bok choy. This buffet also still offers a grill station - like a Mongolian grill - in a window into a small cooking area, right to the side of the buffet tables. Then and now - this is open but no one ever seems to go and have anything cooked there. One problem perhaps is there is no one there to cook. There is a refrigerator case that has vegetables and meat, but the glass on the case is so fogged over that it is hard to tell what is in there - and everyone seems to ignore it. This actually would make this buffet more interesting as you could create anything that you desire. There is a counter bell to ring to get someone to cook. On this night someone asked one of the servers about it. The server brought her over to the window and showed her and then hit the bell - DING - and no one came out. I kept looking to see what would happen. When we left that night there was still nothing cooked on that grill. Despite large signs over the window - BUFFET INCLUDES GRILL - if you have to stand on your head to get someone to come out and cook, what good is it?
Dessert is the basic Chinese buffet Little Debbie cake assortment. There is also soft serve ice cream, fruit, pudding, and jello.
Now, this is very important. I eat at A LOT of Chinese and Asian buffets. Very rarely do I react to what we are going to guess is MSG in the food. Most use it, I am sure. It can give one sensitive to it a headache. I am mildly sensitive to it. But as I said, almost never have I had a headache at a Oriental buffet. Before I left this restaurant I had a walloping headache. Something - or everything - had to have had a heck of a lot of MSG in it.
Would I go back? Probably, but not right away. Would I recommend this buffet? Hmm. I want to say yes, but with note of everything that I have written in this article.
The China Grand Buffet is located in a strip mall shopping center next the Republic Airport in the Airport Plaza shopping center at 201 Airport Plaza Boulevard in Farmingdale, NY. It is just off of Route 110. There is a website and this is listed at the side of this page.
On a recent Saturday night we decided that we would go back and see if anything has changed. It was nice to find the price lower - now $14.99 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Weeknights are $12.99. Unfortunately, the food selection was pretty much as it had been. We could have just been there last week rather than almost two years ago. Compared to some other buffets that I have been to recently, this buffet was crowded and the dining room was full throughout the time that we were there.
The food is fine. There is nothing wrong with what is being served. But if you want to go several times to find a variety, you will not find anything different each time that you go (with the exception of some dishes missing on weeknights or at lunch). Not only is everything the same but it is in the same places on the buffet.
Service on this particular night was OK once it got started, but we were seated and it took at least ten minutes to be noticed for one of the servers to come over and take our drink orders. Drinks are unlimited but are not included in the price. Once we started eating, our plates were cleared and once one of the young ladies came over to ask if we wanted refills of our drinks. When we were done and ready to leave - just as when we came in -no one came by to give us our check. We had to flag down one of the ladies to get it. At times it seemed like our table was invisible to the table staff.
So what did we have. Soup selection is basic with one additional soup that is out of the ordinary - and on this visit that was chicken corn soup. Obviously, Chinese Chicken Corn Soup and not Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Soup. (So - OK - this additional soup does change - well, at least it was not there two years ago.) The other soups are hot and sour, egg drop, and won ton. The hot and sour soup was not too hot and spicy and in my opinion that is a good thing. Some Chinese buffets put so much red pepper flakes in the hot and sour soup that it is inedible.
There is peel and eat shrimp, a small selection of sushi on rice and rolls, clams on the half shell and a variety of salads on the cold bar.
In hot foods there are a LOT of fried foods. Just about everywhere you look there is something that is fried . Fried shrimp, fried fish, fried crab claw, fried chicken, fried calamari, fried crab Rangoon, and on. They do a lot of frying. There are the usual egg rolls and summer rolls. There are three dumplings to choose from in steamers and also fried dumplings.
If you read my other articles about this buffet you are going to see mention of lobster. There is no more lobster on the buffet. This happened about three years ago when we were still going semi-regularly and just about when the price went up - price increase, lobster gone. There are still crab legs and they did refill the server several times with legs while we were there. These are small, separate legs and not full clusters. There is hot butter sauce near by the tray of crab legs.
The hot dishes are mostly the standards for Chinese buffets - chicken with broccoli, beef with peppers, General Tsao Chicken. There is also hot and spicy chicken, spicy tofu and vegetables, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed baked clams, a tray of baked salmon, crab (but not real crab) baked with cheese, sauteed string beans, bok choy, french fries, chicken on a stick, stuffed peppers, lo mein, mei fun, fried rice, white rice (no brown rice), sweet chicken meatballs, and other dishes.
Before and again this time, I take from different dishes and create my own - some chicken from the chicken and broccoli, some beef from the beef and peppers, both combined with string beans and bok choy. This buffet also still offers a grill station - like a Mongolian grill - in a window into a small cooking area, right to the side of the buffet tables. Then and now - this is open but no one ever seems to go and have anything cooked there. One problem perhaps is there is no one there to cook. There is a refrigerator case that has vegetables and meat, but the glass on the case is so fogged over that it is hard to tell what is in there - and everyone seems to ignore it. This actually would make this buffet more interesting as you could create anything that you desire. There is a counter bell to ring to get someone to cook. On this night someone asked one of the servers about it. The server brought her over to the window and showed her and then hit the bell - DING - and no one came out. I kept looking to see what would happen. When we left that night there was still nothing cooked on that grill. Despite large signs over the window - BUFFET INCLUDES GRILL - if you have to stand on your head to get someone to come out and cook, what good is it?
Dessert is the basic Chinese buffet Little Debbie cake assortment. There is also soft serve ice cream, fruit, pudding, and jello.
Now, this is very important. I eat at A LOT of Chinese and Asian buffets. Very rarely do I react to what we are going to guess is MSG in the food. Most use it, I am sure. It can give one sensitive to it a headache. I am mildly sensitive to it. But as I said, almost never have I had a headache at a Oriental buffet. Before I left this restaurant I had a walloping headache. Something - or everything - had to have had a heck of a lot of MSG in it.
Would I go back? Probably, but not right away. Would I recommend this buffet? Hmm. I want to say yes, but with note of everything that I have written in this article.
The China Grand Buffet is located in a strip mall shopping center next the Republic Airport in the Airport Plaza shopping center at 201 Airport Plaza Boulevard in Farmingdale, NY. It is just off of Route 110. There is a website and this is listed at the side of this page.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Someone Please Explain Why...
There is one thing that I consistently have seen at buffets since I started going to them many years ago. It seems to be universal and makes no real sense at all. Someone please explain why people have a need at a buffet to take one plate and pile an entire meal on it. Each food spooned on in quantity, one on top of the other.
I have seen the oddest things piled high on top of each other on plates at buffets. The all time oddest was the lady who took her plate with a steak fresh from the grill on it and go over to the ice cream soft serve machine and place serving of vanilla ice cream on top of the steak - followed by a variety of other foods from the serving bar. I have seen the cup of soup put on the plate with salad all around it and the rest of the meal including dessert piled on top. I want to go over and ask, "Hey, don't you know that you can go back as many times as you want?". Will this be a major revelation?
There are buffets where you can take all you want in one trip to the server and there I could understand taking a variety and quantity all on the same plate within reason. The same would be the case with take out buffet meals. But, come on people, when you come into a regular buffet, all you care to eat, restaurant, you are allowed to go back to the serving area as many times as you like. You may take as many plates as you like and fill those plates as many times as you like (each time a clean plate, please).
It gets to be ridiculous, sometimes disgusting. One food on top of the other goes on the plate. Each food mixing into whatever came before it. No room to even cut what is on the plate with a knife to eat it. And certainly, not a "normal" way to eat.
In most buffets one does not need to be concerned that on the next trip back up to the serving area, what you saw before won't be there. (True at some buffets, but I will not go into that right now.) Interrupting the meal to go up and get more is no different than waiting for courses to be served by a waiter.
Is there any rational explanation for it? I can't come up with one.
This is one reason why buffets have such a bad reputation in the food world and can be completely blamed on those who dine at buffets rather than the buffets themselves. It is certainly clear going in if you can go up as many times as you like or if you are limited to one trip - and frankly if you are limited to one trip and you like buffets why are you dining there? Buffets get a bad rap. Is it any wonder with people eating like this? I have come across a very nasty definition of the word "buffet" using the letters of the word to describe the people eating there. I will not reveal this now - maybe someday, but it really is nasty. I have also heard buffet dining described as "hogs at a trough". All of this sadly is how many think of us and buffet dining.
So comment back on this article. Please explain a rational and reasonable reason why you or any one eats this way. Maybe I am missing some key element here. Though I doubt it.
I have seen the oddest things piled high on top of each other on plates at buffets. The all time oddest was the lady who took her plate with a steak fresh from the grill on it and go over to the ice cream soft serve machine and place serving of vanilla ice cream on top of the steak - followed by a variety of other foods from the serving bar. I have seen the cup of soup put on the plate with salad all around it and the rest of the meal including dessert piled on top. I want to go over and ask, "Hey, don't you know that you can go back as many times as you want?". Will this be a major revelation?
There are buffets where you can take all you want in one trip to the server and there I could understand taking a variety and quantity all on the same plate within reason. The same would be the case with take out buffet meals. But, come on people, when you come into a regular buffet, all you care to eat, restaurant, you are allowed to go back to the serving area as many times as you like. You may take as many plates as you like and fill those plates as many times as you like (each time a clean plate, please).
It gets to be ridiculous, sometimes disgusting. One food on top of the other goes on the plate. Each food mixing into whatever came before it. No room to even cut what is on the plate with a knife to eat it. And certainly, not a "normal" way to eat.
In most buffets one does not need to be concerned that on the next trip back up to the serving area, what you saw before won't be there. (True at some buffets, but I will not go into that right now.) Interrupting the meal to go up and get more is no different than waiting for courses to be served by a waiter.
Is there any rational explanation for it? I can't come up with one.
This is one reason why buffets have such a bad reputation in the food world and can be completely blamed on those who dine at buffets rather than the buffets themselves. It is certainly clear going in if you can go up as many times as you like or if you are limited to one trip - and frankly if you are limited to one trip and you like buffets why are you dining there? Buffets get a bad rap. Is it any wonder with people eating like this? I have come across a very nasty definition of the word "buffet" using the letters of the word to describe the people eating there. I will not reveal this now - maybe someday, but it really is nasty. I have also heard buffet dining described as "hogs at a trough". All of this sadly is how many think of us and buffet dining.
So comment back on this article. Please explain a rational and reasonable reason why you or any one eats this way. Maybe I am missing some key element here. Though I doubt it.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Something New At Shady Maple
It is not often that something changes at Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, Lancaster County, PA. There are specials from time to time but recently there is a new, and seemingly permanent addition to the offerings at this great buffet. Shady Maple has added an Asian Food Station.
On a recent trip I had the opportunity to check this out. This new grill station takes up the "rear" grill area. On the night that we were there (a Thursday night in September). This may be only found on Thursday nights as it is listed on the website as one of the Thursday night features. The grill was manned by an Asian man and an Asian woman who were doing the cooking. They were cooking made to order teriaki dishes - chicken, beef, or shrimp and vegetables in teriaki sauce. This was served with your choice of Fried Rice, white rice, or lo mein noodles. On the sign boards over the grill there were also two other dishes offered. One was an oriental chicken dish with a spicy sauce and vegetables. The other was a bit odd - it was a mixture of shrimp and smoked beef sausage (the sausage was being featured on one of the other grills) in an oriental sauce with vegetables. I say odd because one does not generally see smoked beef sausage in an Oriental entree.
The teriaki looked very good. A great smell was coming from the grill as the chicken sizzled. I must say that I did not try the Oriental food - there was so much else offered on the buffet that I wanted to have that I just could not eat this much.
During this meal I had some very good "other" items that I have not had a Shady Maple before though they may have been served before. I mentioned the smoked beef sausage above and I did have that plain off the grill. It was nicely flavored - not overpowering and the sausage had a snap to it. There was also turkey sausage being cooked on the grill and I very much enjoyed that. I eat a lot of turkey sausage at home. It is lower in fat than pork sausage, a little milder in flavor, and seasons just like pork. I have had Italian turkey sausage but here at Shady Maple the sausage that I had was seasoned like German sausage. Very good! It was, for me, different and I very much enjoyed it.
Also that night I had barbecue ribs which were very meaty. They were served in sections of about four ribs each serving and were covered in a red, mild barbecue sauce. The ribs, while I am sure, were not smoked. They were fall off the bone ribs. The meat just pulled away leaving a clean bone. These were very good and I went back for more.
There was also something different on the buffet this night - open pit chicken bbq. In Lancaster County a lot of groups as a fund raiser have Chicken BBQ's for people to come to and buy and take barbecued chickens. Now, when I say barbecue in this context I am talking about chicken cooked on a charcoal grill and not smoked or covered in sauce. This is plain, char-broiled chicken over coals. And this is exactly what Shady Maple was serving - charcoal grilled chicken. There were drumsticks and thighs. The chicken had a hickory charcoal grill flavor and made me think of bbq chicken made in the backyard. This too was very good and I also went back for more.
There were a couple of other things that I had that I have not had at Shady Maple before. Starting with the soup, there was butternut squash soup in with a variety of other soups (including the Maryland Crab Soup that I have written about in a past article and is one of my favorites). The butternut squash soup was thick and creamy. It had a slightly sweet taste but not really sugary sweet and was very velvet-like in texture. I took a small portion to try (along with a larger portion of the crab soup) and I was very glad that I did. It was very good.
The last "new" thing {new to me at least) was a grill station devoted to wings. There were hot wings, mild wings, and barbecue wings. I tried the barbecue wings. I asked for just a couple and was given half a plate full. They were meaty and had a great taste. I am not a frequent "wing-eater" but these were good. For those who like the traditional hot wings I am certain that those were just as good.
I do have to report two not so good things that I have never observed at Shady Maple before - and if management is reading this please take note because, frankly, I was shocked. As we were eating our soiled plates started to stack up on the table and no one was coming to take them away. This has NEVER happened at Shady Maple to me for the very long time that I have been going there regularly. There seemed to be only one woman clearing plates and cleaning tables - short-staffed for the Fall or just this night? - but she was clearing the tables on teh center aisle and never came near the middle or end of the rows. We went through soup, salad, and two entree plates before a woman came over who is one of the supervisors who usually is at one of the cash registers. We said nothing but she saw what was happening at all of the tables on that end and she started clearing the dishes away. We thanked her when she got to us. She stayed around for a while longer and continued to clear dishes from tables. Eventually, and this was almost when we were ready for desert did the young woman who had been working only in the middle come over and start clearing the tables in the area that we were in. She just came and acted as if she had been doing the correct thing all along. When our plates started stacking up I was about to take a photo to make sure that someone in charge saw what had happened. Knowing Shady Maple's management they would take notice.
One other not good surprise was the young man who was manning the special feature hard ice cream station and chocolate dipping station. He was properly wearing gloves to keep his hands out of what he was serving (per health code) BUT every so often he would raise his gloved hand up to his nose and - WIPE HIS NOSE on the glove! Oh boy! Again, never before seen by me at Shady Maple by anyone serving.
Overlooking these two negative surprises, the rest of the surprises that I have just told you about were great and I very much enjoyed - as always - my meal at Shady Maple. Now those two negatives - let's just hope that they were one night occurrences and we will never see such there again.
Still the best - Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East or Route 322 South to get to the restaurant. The phone numbers are 1-800-238-7363 and 717-354-8222. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.
On a recent trip I had the opportunity to check this out. This new grill station takes up the "rear" grill area. On the night that we were there (a Thursday night in September). This may be only found on Thursday nights as it is listed on the website as one of the Thursday night features. The grill was manned by an Asian man and an Asian woman who were doing the cooking. They were cooking made to order teriaki dishes - chicken, beef, or shrimp and vegetables in teriaki sauce. This was served with your choice of Fried Rice, white rice, or lo mein noodles. On the sign boards over the grill there were also two other dishes offered. One was an oriental chicken dish with a spicy sauce and vegetables. The other was a bit odd - it was a mixture of shrimp and smoked beef sausage (the sausage was being featured on one of the other grills) in an oriental sauce with vegetables. I say odd because one does not generally see smoked beef sausage in an Oriental entree.
The teriaki looked very good. A great smell was coming from the grill as the chicken sizzled. I must say that I did not try the Oriental food - there was so much else offered on the buffet that I wanted to have that I just could not eat this much.
During this meal I had some very good "other" items that I have not had a Shady Maple before though they may have been served before. I mentioned the smoked beef sausage above and I did have that plain off the grill. It was nicely flavored - not overpowering and the sausage had a snap to it. There was also turkey sausage being cooked on the grill and I very much enjoyed that. I eat a lot of turkey sausage at home. It is lower in fat than pork sausage, a little milder in flavor, and seasons just like pork. I have had Italian turkey sausage but here at Shady Maple the sausage that I had was seasoned like German sausage. Very good! It was, for me, different and I very much enjoyed it.
Also that night I had barbecue ribs which were very meaty. They were served in sections of about four ribs each serving and were covered in a red, mild barbecue sauce. The ribs, while I am sure, were not smoked. They were fall off the bone ribs. The meat just pulled away leaving a clean bone. These were very good and I went back for more.
There was also something different on the buffet this night - open pit chicken bbq. In Lancaster County a lot of groups as a fund raiser have Chicken BBQ's for people to come to and buy and take barbecued chickens. Now, when I say barbecue in this context I am talking about chicken cooked on a charcoal grill and not smoked or covered in sauce. This is plain, char-broiled chicken over coals. And this is exactly what Shady Maple was serving - charcoal grilled chicken. There were drumsticks and thighs. The chicken had a hickory charcoal grill flavor and made me think of bbq chicken made in the backyard. This too was very good and I also went back for more.
There were a couple of other things that I had that I have not had at Shady Maple before. Starting with the soup, there was butternut squash soup in with a variety of other soups (including the Maryland Crab Soup that I have written about in a past article and is one of my favorites). The butternut squash soup was thick and creamy. It had a slightly sweet taste but not really sugary sweet and was very velvet-like in texture. I took a small portion to try (along with a larger portion of the crab soup) and I was very glad that I did. It was very good.
The last "new" thing {new to me at least) was a grill station devoted to wings. There were hot wings, mild wings, and barbecue wings. I tried the barbecue wings. I asked for just a couple and was given half a plate full. They were meaty and had a great taste. I am not a frequent "wing-eater" but these were good. For those who like the traditional hot wings I am certain that those were just as good.
I do have to report two not so good things that I have never observed at Shady Maple before - and if management is reading this please take note because, frankly, I was shocked. As we were eating our soiled plates started to stack up on the table and no one was coming to take them away. This has NEVER happened at Shady Maple to me for the very long time that I have been going there regularly. There seemed to be only one woman clearing plates and cleaning tables - short-staffed for the Fall or just this night? - but she was clearing the tables on teh center aisle and never came near the middle or end of the rows. We went through soup, salad, and two entree plates before a woman came over who is one of the supervisors who usually is at one of the cash registers. We said nothing but she saw what was happening at all of the tables on that end and she started clearing the dishes away. We thanked her when she got to us. She stayed around for a while longer and continued to clear dishes from tables. Eventually, and this was almost when we were ready for desert did the young woman who had been working only in the middle come over and start clearing the tables in the area that we were in. She just came and acted as if she had been doing the correct thing all along. When our plates started stacking up I was about to take a photo to make sure that someone in charge saw what had happened. Knowing Shady Maple's management they would take notice.
One other not good surprise was the young man who was manning the special feature hard ice cream station and chocolate dipping station. He was properly wearing gloves to keep his hands out of what he was serving (per health code) BUT every so often he would raise his gloved hand up to his nose and - WIPE HIS NOSE on the glove! Oh boy! Again, never before seen by me at Shady Maple by anyone serving.
Overlooking these two negative surprises, the rest of the surprises that I have just told you about were great and I very much enjoyed - as always - my meal at Shady Maple. Now those two negatives - let's just hope that they were one night occurrences and we will never see such there again.
Still the best - Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East or Route 322 South to get to the restaurant. The phone numbers are 1-800-238-7363 and 717-354-8222. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.
Friday, October 01, 2010
FESTIVAL BUFFET at FOXWOODS CASINO, Connecticut - PART 2
PART 2 (SEE LAST WEEK FOR PART 1)
Ready for entrees I decided to walk around the entire buffet counter to see what was being offered and since there was so much out, to choose wisely. The buffet is divided into sections - dessert, seafood, International, Italian, Chinese, and Barbecue. The Barbecue section is easy to miss though there is a large sign over the entrance way to one of the patio dining areas and the barbecue counter is inside that area - still along the same and continuing wall. There was a lot to tempt me and the largest crowd was at the crab legs which are the Friday night feature. What was calling me was the Barbecue and that is where I went first. Here there were pulled pork, BBQ riblets, chicken, steaks, beans, taco meat and the fixings for tacos. I took some of the pulled pork and the riblets. On the way back to the table I went over to the seafood counter and took some peel and eat shrimp too. Odd combination but it just seemed right - spicy and smokey barbecue and cold shrimp. The pulled pork was nice. The riblets were small pieces of bone and meat in a thick and sweet red barbecue sauce. The rib tray could have used some attention and needed to be stirred. It was not dried out but was moving in that direction. I stirred it myself when I took my riblets. The ribs were tasty and good. The sauce could have been less sweet but perhaps that is just my palate. I enjoyed the first serving of them that I took. I later went back for more and struggled a bit to finish them as the sweetness of the sauce had gotten to me after a while. I am sure that many of you will love these - and when I go back, if they are there, I will have more.
I went back up to see what else I would take. There was a lot. On the Seafood area there were the peel and eat shrimp, a cod cooked with vegetables in an Asian sauce (the fish were whole sections of cod), fried shrimp, fried cod, and french fries. On the International section there was Chicken Tarragon with Asparagus and Shrimp, stuffing, potatoes, sliced beef in brown gravy, a carving station in the middle where they were carving ham and Prime Rib, mixed vegetables, and a section filled with crab leg clusters - whole, hot clusters. Along the line, next came the Italian area with vegetable lasagna, beef lasagna, tortellini in a creamy cheese sauce, sausage and peppers, meatballs in tomato sauce, and ziti with a tomato sauce to put on or a spicy marinara sauce to put on top. There were also cold marinated olives and marinated mushrooms. The Chinese area had General Tso Chicken, shrimp chow mien, fried rice, lo mien noodles, cold noodles with sesame sauce, fried dumplings , egg rolls, and a few other dishes. I have already described what I found at the Barbecue area.
The choices all looked good. I decided that this plate would be a sampling plate and I took a little of several items. I took some of the tortellini, a chunk of sausage, a meat ball, a piece of the Asian cod, a fried dumpling, and some marinated olives. The only thing that I would pass on was the fried dumpling as it was dry and the dough was chewy. The rest was very good. The sausage had a fresh made taste. The tortellini drew me back for a few more (though I should not be eating pasta in quantity).
My next plate was a mistake but only for the amount of food that it contained and it limited what more I would be able to fit in me afterward. I went to look at the steak. I always like steak. The steak here is grilled and put out in quantity in a serving tray. They are called club steaks - small, rounds of steak. In the tray they looked a bit dry and it was likely that they were well done. When steak is cooked and then allowed to sit it continues to cook so unless the steaks are constantly being replenished, if they are sitting they are likely to be well done. I decided to pass on the steak and go over to the middle of the counters to the carving station to see the Prime Rib. The Prime Rib that was being carved was not with bones but the meat was nicely red and medium rare. I went up for a slice and was given a thick, full cut of Prime Rib. This piece was as large as served as a full portion in a menu restaurant. It filled the plate. I added some au jus gravy to the meat. I also picked up some French Fries back at the seafood area, and added some of the shrimp chow mein just for a vegetable side. The Prime Rib was tender and very tasty. I very much enjoyed it and was glad that I chose that over the unknown steaks. But it was a lot of meat - if one was planning on eating more. It is probably best to direct the carver to cut a thin slice. For those who prefer a more well done beef, there was sliced beef in brown gravy on the buffet as well and this was much more well done.
Of course, after my Prime Rib I still had intentions of eating more (silly me) and it is usually at this point of my buffet meal in a buffet that I have not visited before to go back for some of the items that I really enjoyed. So back I went for bbq riblets, two more meatballs, and more tortellini. When I sat down with my plate I realized that I really had wanted to try the fried cod, but figured I would do so on the next plate. There was no next plate for me because with this all, I was full. No more room. (When at a buffet, heed that feeling and don't go one plate beyond, because afterward you will regret it.) I reached my limit and stopped wisely. Not even room for dessert.
I did, however, go to look at the dessert selections and there were many, many good ones. There were many types of pies and cakes - nice layer cakes. There was cheesecake. There were pastries. And there were hot waffles waiting for soft serve ice cream to be added on top with a variety of sundae sauces and toppings to join it. There was fruit, puddings, a few nice looking, hot bread puddings, and also a large selection of sugar free desserts (if you are so inclined). Had I taken dessert I would have regretted it, and I very reluctantly passed.
The food was very, very good. The quality of the food was very good. The cooking and maintenance of the food (with the few exceptions noted) was very good.
Was there anything that I did not like? One minor thing and that was the way the different buffet counter areas were roped off to create a line. When there was no one at an area, it was not problem to just walk up to the tray that you wanted and take some. BUT when there were others at that area, they were lining up - directed to by the ropes along the side - and it meant that you were walking behind others, cafeteria style along the entire line before you got to the tray that you wanted. If you had intention of going to all of the trays along the line 0r even some of them, this is not a problem, but if that one item that you want is at the end of the line, you were waiting until you got up to it behind what at some counters were long lines. I said, earlier, that I took some French Fries. They were in the last serving tray on the seafood line. There was a long line of people at that area. I slipped over to the end (where by the way no one was standing) and took some fries from the tray - without waiting on the line. A woman jokingly told me that I was "cutting" and then laughed. I made a joke back saying that all I wanted was a few fries and that I thought I would just slip in a grab a few. She laughed and made a point to say that she had been only joking. Good matured lady. Someone else might have made an unnecessary fuss. I had also said earlier that they had nice looking crab legs and you will note that I did not talk about eating any. Well, the line at the crab legs was consistent throughout the night, and I felt (with the many other good things to get) that it was just not worth the wait.
Service was also good and plates were taken off the table promptly and drink refills were offered without our asking.
Would I go back? Oh yes! In fact that is all I have been thinking about since leaving. This was a great meal and one that I look forward to repeating. The crazy thing is that if you drew a line from this buffet to my home it is about thirty miles away. The problem is that there is the Long Island Sound - part of the Atlantic Ocean - in the middle of that line. So to get to this great buffet I have to take the long way around, through NYC and into Connecticut and back in the direction of my home, but further north which is about a 300 mile round trip. A long time ago someone said let's build a bridge, but many people said "Not in my backyard!" ("NIMBY" is a popular expression in my area) and so there is no bridge.
Foxwoods is located pretty much in the woods. It is accessed by Route 2 in Connecticut which is a mix of highway and country road. Once you get to the complex of buildings it does get a bit confusing as there are three entrances and little explanation on the signs on the road. It is actually very simple if you know that all buildings are interconnected so if you go into any of the entrance drives and park - in one of the three self-park free parking lots or have your car valet parked - you will enter a building that will connect to all of the other buildings and areas. The buffet is in the "Rainmaker" area. A walk through the complex is very nice and the halls are made to look like a New England street with shops along the way, as well as casinos. So just pull into any of the entrances and park. Make note of which parking lot and level you are in. And the MGM Grand is part of the same complex and connected as well through a series of hallways and escalators.
The Festival Buffet is at Foxwoods Resort Casino. The address is 350 Trolley Line Boulevard,
Mashantucket, CT 06338-3777. The phone number is 1-800-369-9663. There is a website with directions, etc. and that is listed at the side of this page. A note about the address. My GPS did not recognize the town or the street. The casino did come up in a search of the list of points of interest and that is how we routed to it.
The Festival Buffet at Foxwoods is a must try!
Ready for entrees I decided to walk around the entire buffet counter to see what was being offered and since there was so much out, to choose wisely. The buffet is divided into sections - dessert, seafood, International, Italian, Chinese, and Barbecue. The Barbecue section is easy to miss though there is a large sign over the entrance way to one of the patio dining areas and the barbecue counter is inside that area - still along the same and continuing wall. There was a lot to tempt me and the largest crowd was at the crab legs which are the Friday night feature. What was calling me was the Barbecue and that is where I went first. Here there were pulled pork, BBQ riblets, chicken, steaks, beans, taco meat and the fixings for tacos. I took some of the pulled pork and the riblets. On the way back to the table I went over to the seafood counter and took some peel and eat shrimp too. Odd combination but it just seemed right - spicy and smokey barbecue and cold shrimp. The pulled pork was nice. The riblets were small pieces of bone and meat in a thick and sweet red barbecue sauce. The rib tray could have used some attention and needed to be stirred. It was not dried out but was moving in that direction. I stirred it myself when I took my riblets. The ribs were tasty and good. The sauce could have been less sweet but perhaps that is just my palate. I enjoyed the first serving of them that I took. I later went back for more and struggled a bit to finish them as the sweetness of the sauce had gotten to me after a while. I am sure that many of you will love these - and when I go back, if they are there, I will have more.
I went back up to see what else I would take. There was a lot. On the Seafood area there were the peel and eat shrimp, a cod cooked with vegetables in an Asian sauce (the fish were whole sections of cod), fried shrimp, fried cod, and french fries. On the International section there was Chicken Tarragon with Asparagus and Shrimp, stuffing, potatoes, sliced beef in brown gravy, a carving station in the middle where they were carving ham and Prime Rib, mixed vegetables, and a section filled with crab leg clusters - whole, hot clusters. Along the line, next came the Italian area with vegetable lasagna, beef lasagna, tortellini in a creamy cheese sauce, sausage and peppers, meatballs in tomato sauce, and ziti with a tomato sauce to put on or a spicy marinara sauce to put on top. There were also cold marinated olives and marinated mushrooms. The Chinese area had General Tso Chicken, shrimp chow mien, fried rice, lo mien noodles, cold noodles with sesame sauce, fried dumplings , egg rolls, and a few other dishes. I have already described what I found at the Barbecue area.
The choices all looked good. I decided that this plate would be a sampling plate and I took a little of several items. I took some of the tortellini, a chunk of sausage, a meat ball, a piece of the Asian cod, a fried dumpling, and some marinated olives. The only thing that I would pass on was the fried dumpling as it was dry and the dough was chewy. The rest was very good. The sausage had a fresh made taste. The tortellini drew me back for a few more (though I should not be eating pasta in quantity).
My next plate was a mistake but only for the amount of food that it contained and it limited what more I would be able to fit in me afterward. I went to look at the steak. I always like steak. The steak here is grilled and put out in quantity in a serving tray. They are called club steaks - small, rounds of steak. In the tray they looked a bit dry and it was likely that they were well done. When steak is cooked and then allowed to sit it continues to cook so unless the steaks are constantly being replenished, if they are sitting they are likely to be well done. I decided to pass on the steak and go over to the middle of the counters to the carving station to see the Prime Rib. The Prime Rib that was being carved was not with bones but the meat was nicely red and medium rare. I went up for a slice and was given a thick, full cut of Prime Rib. This piece was as large as served as a full portion in a menu restaurant. It filled the plate. I added some au jus gravy to the meat. I also picked up some French Fries back at the seafood area, and added some of the shrimp chow mein just for a vegetable side. The Prime Rib was tender and very tasty. I very much enjoyed it and was glad that I chose that over the unknown steaks. But it was a lot of meat - if one was planning on eating more. It is probably best to direct the carver to cut a thin slice. For those who prefer a more well done beef, there was sliced beef in brown gravy on the buffet as well and this was much more well done.
Of course, after my Prime Rib I still had intentions of eating more (silly me) and it is usually at this point of my buffet meal in a buffet that I have not visited before to go back for some of the items that I really enjoyed. So back I went for bbq riblets, two more meatballs, and more tortellini. When I sat down with my plate I realized that I really had wanted to try the fried cod, but figured I would do so on the next plate. There was no next plate for me because with this all, I was full. No more room. (When at a buffet, heed that feeling and don't go one plate beyond, because afterward you will regret it.) I reached my limit and stopped wisely. Not even room for dessert.
I did, however, go to look at the dessert selections and there were many, many good ones. There were many types of pies and cakes - nice layer cakes. There was cheesecake. There were pastries. And there were hot waffles waiting for soft serve ice cream to be added on top with a variety of sundae sauces and toppings to join it. There was fruit, puddings, a few nice looking, hot bread puddings, and also a large selection of sugar free desserts (if you are so inclined). Had I taken dessert I would have regretted it, and I very reluctantly passed.
The food was very, very good. The quality of the food was very good. The cooking and maintenance of the food (with the few exceptions noted) was very good.
Was there anything that I did not like? One minor thing and that was the way the different buffet counter areas were roped off to create a line. When there was no one at an area, it was not problem to just walk up to the tray that you wanted and take some. BUT when there were others at that area, they were lining up - directed to by the ropes along the side - and it meant that you were walking behind others, cafeteria style along the entire line before you got to the tray that you wanted. If you had intention of going to all of the trays along the line 0r even some of them, this is not a problem, but if that one item that you want is at the end of the line, you were waiting until you got up to it behind what at some counters were long lines. I said, earlier, that I took some French Fries. They were in the last serving tray on the seafood line. There was a long line of people at that area. I slipped over to the end (where by the way no one was standing) and took some fries from the tray - without waiting on the line. A woman jokingly told me that I was "cutting" and then laughed. I made a joke back saying that all I wanted was a few fries and that I thought I would just slip in a grab a few. She laughed and made a point to say that she had been only joking. Good matured lady. Someone else might have made an unnecessary fuss. I had also said earlier that they had nice looking crab legs and you will note that I did not talk about eating any. Well, the line at the crab legs was consistent throughout the night, and I felt (with the many other good things to get) that it was just not worth the wait.
Service was also good and plates were taken off the table promptly and drink refills were offered without our asking.
Would I go back? Oh yes! In fact that is all I have been thinking about since leaving. This was a great meal and one that I look forward to repeating. The crazy thing is that if you drew a line from this buffet to my home it is about thirty miles away. The problem is that there is the Long Island Sound - part of the Atlantic Ocean - in the middle of that line. So to get to this great buffet I have to take the long way around, through NYC and into Connecticut and back in the direction of my home, but further north which is about a 300 mile round trip. A long time ago someone said let's build a bridge, but many people said "Not in my backyard!" ("NIMBY" is a popular expression in my area) and so there is no bridge.
Foxwoods is located pretty much in the woods. It is accessed by Route 2 in Connecticut which is a mix of highway and country road. Once you get to the complex of buildings it does get a bit confusing as there are three entrances and little explanation on the signs on the road. It is actually very simple if you know that all buildings are interconnected so if you go into any of the entrance drives and park - in one of the three self-park free parking lots or have your car valet parked - you will enter a building that will connect to all of the other buildings and areas. The buffet is in the "Rainmaker" area. A walk through the complex is very nice and the halls are made to look like a New England street with shops along the way, as well as casinos. So just pull into any of the entrances and park. Make note of which parking lot and level you are in. And the MGM Grand is part of the same complex and connected as well through a series of hallways and escalators.
The Festival Buffet is at Foxwoods Resort Casino. The address is 350 Trolley Line Boulevard,
Mashantucket, CT 06338-3777. The phone number is 1-800-369-9663. There is a website with directions, etc. and that is listed at the side of this page. A note about the address. My GPS did not recognize the town or the street. The casino did come up in a search of the list of points of interest and that is how we routed to it.
The Festival Buffet at Foxwoods is a must try!
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