Golden Corral, Whitehall, Pennsylvania

The Golden Corral restaurant in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, just east of Allentown, is just a couple of years old. We were there about a year ago for the first time and in that article I had mixed feelings. We went back again recently and we were quite pleased.

The restaurant in is located in the back of the parking lot for a large shopping mall - Lehigh Valley Mall. We went on a Wednesday night and while the restaurant was busy, there were only a few people on line ahead of us and we got in quickly.  As you come up to the cash register (pay as you enter) you take your own first soft drink from the machines at the counter. Once you get to your table your server brings your refills. As we went in, I looked at both sides of the dining room and chose a table off to the right. As our meal progressed several large groups came in and were seated around us which was fine. The restaurant for a weeknight was busier than I would have expected.

This Golden Corral has the newer setup of continuous long serving counters that stretch across the entire length of one side of the building. These counters start with the salad bar, continuing but moving more to the rear to the soup area, then start the entrees and side dishes with the Asian section first, continue along  and come back forward to the grill, back around toward the rear for more entrees and side dishes, break for a door into the kitchen, take up again with the bread section which moves the counter right into the dessert area which includes now three chocolate fountains - chocolate, caramel, and white chocolate - and ends with the soft serve ice cream machine and sundae bar. For the crowd that was there, the restaurant was clean and the buffet trays were kept well stocked. There were a lot of children always at the dessert section going to the chocolate fountains unescorted. I see this as the parents' lack of supervision rather than a fault of the restaurant. This visit was during the summer and the feature was steak (which they always have), hot wings, and bone in fried catfish. The Golden Corral features seem to change regularly.

I was in the mood for a nicely cooked chargrilled steak and after soup and salad, that is what I went for. There were a number of people standing around the grill waiting for their steaks to be cooked well enough for them. I knew that if I did not just speak up to the grill chef that I wanted a rare steak, what was on the grill would have gone past rare. I got his attention and asked for one and he reached down and picked one up knowing that it was rare. And it was! This steak was just right. It was charred on the outside and red inside. I was very happy.

I saw that there was turkey to be carved and I let my wife know it was there. We got the person behind the counter's attention and he carved a piece of turkey for her. Also at the grill in a tray near the turkey was pulled pork barbecue. I took some of that when I went up later and it was fine - not great but fine. Golden Corral usually has hush puppies - fried balls of corn meal dough - and the ones here were very good. At some other Golden Corrals they have been hard. These were just right.

 Overall the meal was very good. The second steak that I went up for was a disappointment. The chef who was cooking before was there but he was being assisted by another older gentleman who was the one serving while the chef was cooking. I knew that I was in for a disappointment when I asked for a rare steak and the chef had to tell this man how to tell it was rare by feeling it with the tongs. The steak was put on my plate and back at the table when I cut into it, it was beyond medium. Well one great steak in a night is better than the not so good and poorly cooked steak that I get at another chain buffet. There was one other disappointment and that was a teriyaki steak that you served yourself from a tray in the grill section. I did not expect this to be rare - I expected it to be well and charred and that is how it looked. It was tasty but almost impossible to bite and chew. It was full of grizzle and after an attempt at eating it, I gave up on it. Despite these two items, I had a good meal and was very satisfied when we were finished.

Service was very good - I point this out because during our first trip here a year back service started out poor and while it got better during that night, on this night it was good from start to finish. The young lady who had our table whisked the finished plates away and made sure to ask if we wanted refills on our drinks - and brought them promptly.

I know that one of our readers recently commented on this particular Golden Corral not being good and not being clean. He was referring to a breakfast visit and I can not speak to what goes on at breakfast. All I know is that at dinner, the food was good, the service was good, and the restaurant was clean - both in the dining room and at the serving counters. I confirmed my impression of this Golden Corral with my picky wife and she agreed that this is one of the better Golden Corrals that we have been to.

I will definitely go back when I am in this area. Based on this visit, I think you will find it good. Now. if you don't like Golden Corral, this one is not going to be different when it comes to the foods served, the variety, and what is offered.

This Golden Corral is located at 900 Lehigh Valley Mall Drive in Whitehall, PA 18052. The phone number is (610) 443-0866. The chain's website is linked on the side of this page. This restaurant is just northeast of Allentown, PA. If coming west on I78 it is easiest to go to past to where I22 and I78 join and come back a short distance to the exit for the mall and this restaurant rather than drive north through the streets of the City of Allentown.