LANCASTER, PA BUFFETS REOPENING

In Pennsylvania the Covid-19 reopening is coded by color and Lancaster County went Green at the end of June.  The buffet restaurants that have been written about on this site started to reopen for inside dining - but not all of them as buffets (for the time being).  I have not been to any of these for their reopening (yet) but I will share what I have learned about each one. I am not including prices as prices can change. (The masks and six feet distancing are a PA State mandate during Covid-19 and this applies to all restaurants and all businesses so I will not mention this for each restaurant unless there is something in particular to note for a specific restaurant.  Please understand - no mask and you don't get in - don't wear it as required and you will be told to leave. I am not saying this - the State of Pennsylvania is.)

I will start with the very popular Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Shady Maple closed and when take out dining was allowed they reopened for takeout dining with a limited per serving menu. With indoor dining now permitted they have once again opened as a smorgasbord buffet with a modification of its usual offerings. There are rules that must be followed if you are going to dine there during this period of time.  Your temperature will be taken as you enter. You must where a mask to enter the building and you must keep that mask on your face covering your nose and mouth - down to your chin fully. The mask may only be removed when you are sitting at your table eating. When you get up from the table for any reason the mask must be put back on. Disposable gloves will be given to your as you approach the buffet area.  You must put the gloves on before you enter the area with the buffet tables and grills and wear the gloves to take food from the buffet tables, grills, or soda and drink dispensers. As you leave this area to return to your table, there are bins to discard the gloves into. Each time you go up you will be given new gloves to wear. Before you are seated at a table the table will be fully sanitized by staff.  The buffet areas are being intensively cleaned every thirty minutes and serving utensils at the buffet are being regularly changed. Employees are being checked for temperature and health when they come to work. I had hoped that Shady Maple when it reopened like this would have followed the approach that Golden Corral has incorporated now at their restaurants that have have reopened for buffet dining and had employees serving from the buffet tables to your plate (cafeteria style) instead of allowing diners to serve themselves - even with gloved hands. But they have chosen to do it their way instead - which to me imposes more of a risk.  Occupancy of the restaurant is limited to 25% of its dining capacity. With Shady Maple there is normally a very high dining capacity with the many dining rooms it has. At 25% of that there should not be that much of a problem getting in - at least during the week. Though it could mean some long waits even so. Because of reduced capacity they ask that all diners limit their time in the buffet to two hours only - and that is fair.

The buffet menu is the same Mondays to Thursday and is the same at lunch every day. At dinner on Monday to Thursday they add additional items at the drill stations including Carved Smoked Beef Brisket, Carved Honey Ham, Kielbasa, BBQ Ribs, Grilled Chicken, Potato Cakes, Corn Fritters, Pizza, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Delmonico Steak & Baked Potato. On the buffet tables will be 32 Salad Bar items, 5 homemade breads & rolls, 4 soups, 3 cheeses, 9 meats, 14 vegetables, 9 cold desserts, 3 hot desserts, 5 pies, 6 cakes, sundae bar & many beverages. 

On Friday and Saturday what is on the buffet tables is the same but at the grill on Friday are added Salmon, Cajun Catfish, Pizza, Hamburgers, and Prime Rib and on Saturday are added
Salmon, Cajun Catfish, Fried Shrimp, Crab Cakes & NY Strip. Prices are higher on Friday and Saturday.  Over all the menu is not bad - and with what is included on the buffet tables there is certainly enough to eat, The Meals To Go menu is still available for pick up.  The smorgasbord hours are the same as always and they close at 8:00 pm.

Another restaurant that has opened its buffet tables is Dienner's. This is a small restaurant and has always had the earliest closing hours of any of the buffet/menu restaurants in Lancaster. Monday to Thursday and Saturday they still close at 6:00 PM and on Friday instead of being open until 8:00 pm as was the usual Friday closing.  Dienner's is serving the buffer cafeteria-style with diners coming up to the buffet and being served there by an employee.  They are keeping people six feet apart. Masks are required in the restaurant except at your table.  In addition to the buffet there is also menu dining. They are also still doing take out.  After 5 pm on Saturdays there is only the buffet - but the restaurant closes at 6 pm on Saturdays.  As I say, this is a small restaurant. The state mandate is no more than 25% capacity and that would mean a lot with the size of this restaurant in very much limiting how many can be inside at one time. There are always waits to get into Dienner's in the best of times - and with 75% capacity lost - this may be a difficult restaurant to get into. 

Miller's Smorgasbord has also reopened with its buffet in addition to menu dining and a meal that is served to your table. I do not often write about this restaurant as I feel that it exists for the tourists and it has very high prices. This was one of, if not the first Lancaster County PA Dutch buffet restaurants but it has changed greatly over the years. I have been checking on them through their website throughout the Covid-19 closures and there has not been a mention of the virus until recently - and this is what they say are their modifications - "

• We have established a one-way buffet route. Directional arrows and other spacing is shown on the floor.
• Enter the buffet line at the “ENTER HERE” signs and practice social distancing, maintaining six feet between you and the next guest.
• Use of the gloves or parchment paper is strongly encouraged when using utensils to take your food.
• Take food ONLY from one side of the buffet. Do not reach across the buffet."

OK, so from this we only assume that they are providing gloves -  and some type or parchment paper to take items from the buffet. But are they asking you to change gloves every time you go up - it does not indicate that - and will these gloves just be out on the counter and you HOPE everyone puts them on - or takes a clean piece of parchment paper. They are limiting each table to no more than four - so if you have more than four in your family you will need two tables. Nothing here is clear.  I would not feel comfortable here at all - but that is up to you to decide.

Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord was one of the first to open with outdoor dining - but no smorgasbord. They opened at the end of June for indoor dining with menu only. The restaurant is open Tuesdays to Saturday - CLOSED MONDAY and Sunday - and only open until 7:00 pm. On July 24, 2020, the Smorgasbord will reopen. They state the following which is very clear -  "To support distancing, we have established single-direction lanes at our buffets, and we change serving utensils regularly. We are requiring that guests wear masks and gloves when they visit the buffets, and we are providing gloves and glove-disposal containers for that purpose.". Again it would have been better if they went to cafeteria-style serving at the buffet - they are certainly set up for it with an open area behind the buffet tables for employees to serve you - but they have not. They had a survey about a month ago asking many questions about coming to dine at their restaurant and buffet if they were to reopen and I must have suggested a cafeteria style buffet served by staff - at least five times in my responses. Too bad they did not go with that idea. At least they are taking the same precautions as Shady Maple and they are giving gloves each time one goes up to the buffet.  They are open to 50% of their capacity - and they do have two large dining rooms - one very large - and this will make getting in easier with less wait.  This has always been a favorite - and one of the buffets I have thought about a lot while sitting home for the past several months. There does not seem to be any changes in the buffet menu.

Yoders Country Market Restaurant and Buffet has been open with menu dining only for over a month. I had to go searching a lot to find out that the buffet is now open also.  I only found out by looking at the supermarket's newspaper insert which came up on the website. They have decided to have cafeteria style serving at the buffet by employees. That is great! The buffet does not seem to have changed at all - but it appears that each day's buffet will be the same as it says "no featured buffets will be served at this time".  This is a favorite for both of us! They do not say how limited the capacity is - but the state guidelines are 50% so we can assume that is what it is.

Dutch-Way Family Restaurant and Buffet in Gap, PA has only recently opened again for indoor dining. Before that the only thing that was open was the food stand in the supermarket lobby and they had added some platters to their menu - and there were special events such as a chicken BBQ and a rib platter special.  With their reopening the restaurant it is menu only at this time - no buffet. And since this has happened the website says "Menu Coming Soon" - but there still is no menu. I  have been able to get to see their lunch and dinner menu that is current for this time - and it seems limited. There are several entrees that had been in on the buffet including meat loaf, fried chicken, and ham balls.  There has been always a lot here - on the buffet - and since my last visit there in January that I have missed. I am looking forward to when they are able to open the buffet again safely. I might go for the menu - as the food is always good here.

Oregon Dairy has opened its restaurant for indoor dining but it is menu only. The buffet is "temporarily" closed. This is the restaurant with the dairy on the premises made ice cream that is included on the buffet deserts. They have a pretty extensive menu with PA Dutch and other items included. The ice cream is at the ice cream stand outside.  The restaurant is only open until 7:00pm.

Lititz Family Cupboard is open but here also the buffet is temporarily closed and they are serving menu only.  They are open from Monday to Thursday to 7:00 pm and Friday and Saturday until 8:00 pm.  Their menu also is rather extensive.

I have not written about Good and Plenty Restaurant which is a family style PA Dutch all you care to eat restaurant. In normal times your family sits at a long table with other people and pass the serving platters around the table - everyone taking what they want and filling their plates. This restaurant reopened in July for both menu dining and family style dining - BUT you do not sit with strangers. Each table will be your family only - and you will be served the same way. The food was always good at Good and Plenty and you did get a lot. It has been years since I have been there as I much prefer not sitting with people I don't know and eating at the pace of the group at the table. I much rather go up and get what I want and eat at my leisure. With you and yours only being served family style that is much different and to me better. Enough for me to consider going back while this is going on.

The Hershey Farm Restaurant in Ronks, PA has also opened for indoor dining and has recently reopened its buffet. I do not write much about this restaurant as the last time we were there we experienced many problems including an infestation of flies around the buffet foods - and we decided we we would not go back. They are not having anyone go up to the buffet at all on their own - but will ask you at your table what to bring you from the buffet. This is certainly a safe way to do it - but without seeing what there is and knowing if you want it can be a problem plus you are depending on that server being available to go and get what you want - and how much of it you want when you are ready for it.

The Golden Corral in Lancaster, PA has just reopened and they are serving the buffet indoors. They are serving you cafeteria-style at the buffet counters. A server will put what you want on your plate.  With all of the really good buffets in Lancaster we tend to only go to the Golden Corral there if it is a Sunday night and all other buffets are closed or we are too late to get to one of the other buffets and Golden Corral is open later.

These are just about all of the all you care to eat restaurants in Lancaster, PA.  As you see some are not serving buffet now and some are.  Whether it is safe to go to a buffet now is up to you - and my feeling is that the ones that are serving you or are making sure that everyone has gloves on that will be changed each trip up are the safer choices. One thing that gives me hope about all of this is I saw a news story that said buffets are dead because of Covid-19 and will never be again. Well that is certainly not true!

Will I go? I am, right now, undecided. One thing I keep watching are the Covid-19 updates for Pennsylvania - which very recently have not been good and Lancaster County has the highest daily counts of the counties in the Susquehanna Valley. I would love to go to a buffet again - as soon as possible - but it is not worth dying for.  I will keep a close watch on all of this and if I do go, you will hear about it - right here on this site!

Three Times Prime Rib

We were in Lancaster, PA for a Fall trip and, of course, every night was a buffet - actually every night was at one of the top buffets for the past year. It just so happened that the nights we went to Yoder's, Shady Maple, and Dutch-Way/Gap Prime Rib was the feature for that night. Prime Rib can vary a lot at buffet restaurants and at these three there were differences. There are times that I prefer Prime Rib to steak - if the Prime Rib is good.  Given a choice between a bone in slice and a slice with no rib bone, I prefer the bone in slice but I have never come across a buffet restaurant that serves a bone in Prime Rib.

We first went to Yoder's Restaurant - Tuesday is Prime Rib night there. Yoder's Prime Rib is carved at the grill and they will try to accommodate your request for rare, medium, well done. While I was up at the grill someone before me had wanted theirs very well done and they had that piece on the grill top for extra cooking. I wanted mine rare - no surprise to our regular readers - and the carver cut into the Prime Rib at a spot where the meat was rare - red rare - and sliced me off a nice slice. The outside of the Prime Rib was a herb rub without any type of sauce added. The meat was very tender. It did need a little salt to bring out the flavor but that was fine. There was very little fat in the meat and even less grizzle. Later in the meal I went back for a second slice and this time the carver was different and she carved a very thick piece - thicker than I really wanted given the point in the meal I was at - but she cut a generous slice. This time the meat was not as rare as the first but again the meat was very tender. Both slices were very tasty - even though the first needed a little salt added.

Wednesday night is Prime Rib night at Shady Maple Smorgasbord. It surprised me how crowded Shady Maple was for mid-week Fall. Prime Rib is carved to order at two of the grill stations at Shady Maple. Here they have different Prime Ribs to carve each done to a different wellness. I saw one carver at a very rare looking Prime Rib and I went over to him for a slice. The slice was generous and this slice of Prime Rib was the most like in appearance to a slice of Prime Rib that one would get in a menu restaurant. At the side of the grill counter was Au Jus gravy to ladle on your meat yourself. There was also ground horseradish to spoon on. There was a large circle of fat at a corner of the slice. The outside of the Prime Rib was black and semi-crispy and the meat was coated with a sauce that tasted like a combination of Worcestershire Sauce and A1 Steak Sauce. This was cooked onto the outside of the Prime Rib. The outside had a distinct flavor because of this. I was given a slice per my request that was red rare. The meat of this Prime Rib was interlaced with grizzle and while eating there was a lot that had to be cut off around what was cut to eat. It was tasty but chewy. It was good enough but because of two nights of Prime Rib for dinner, I did not take a second slice and continued the meal with several of the many other good things that Shady Maple has to offer.

Friday night (and Saturday night - but this was a Friday night) is Prime Rib night at Dutch-Way restaurant in Gap, PA. The Prime Rib here is also carved at the grill. One Prime Rib is out for the carver to serve from, but from past visits I know that if you ask for a piece cooked differently from what is out, they usually have it. I asked for rare, as did the man after me. The carver told me that he had to go and get another Prime Rib that he could cut off rare slices from and he went off. When he came back he had a tray with a Prime Rib in it. He opened a hot draw inside the carving station and picked up the remaining Prime Rib on the cutting board and added that to what was in the tray in the drawer. He pulled out the tray and put it aside - to be brought back into the kitchen when he was done carving my slice and the slice for the other gentleman there. He cut into the middle of this Prime Rib and it was pinkish-red inside. Not as rare as I had hoped for but still rare. Perhaps one might say it was medium-rare, but that is better than well done and dry. This slice had some fat marbled through and just a little grizzle mixed in. The outside of the Prime Rib at Dutch-Way is crispy and also may have been a steak sauce cooked onto the outside. It was tasty, there was little to have to cut around and perhaps if this night was not a night we had to drive back for a three plus hour trip I might have eaten more of the fat than I did. The slice was a good sized slice. Did I go back for another? Well, no but only because on the buffet was Dutch-Way's meatloaf and since I have been good meatloaf craving for awhile, I forgo another slice of Prime Rib for some really good meatloaf.

Of the three buffet restaurants, I found the Prime Rib at Yoders to be the best. It was the most tender by far. It had little waste on the slice and it was tasty. There was no sauced crust on the outside to detract from the taste of the meat. It was also the most satisfying. Yoder's on a Tuesday night is the place to go for all you care to eat Prime Rib along with their other good things on the buffet.

All three buffets are linked at the side of this page.

Top Buffet of 2016 - Shady Maple Smorgasbord, East Earl, PA

CONGRATULATIONS TO SHADY MAPLE SMORGASBORD, EAST EARL, Pa. AS A TOP BUFFET FOR 2016!

The one buffet that has been consistently named as a Top Buffet or Best Buffet is Shady Maple! Whenever we are asked by someone who has never been there or who is going to Lancaster County for the first time and wants to know what buffet they should go to, this is the one that we tell them. The reason is that Shady Maple is an experience. It is likely the largest buffet - maybe one of the largest restaurants in the Country - maybe in the world. This is not like any other restaurant or buffet in this area. Located in the middle of the farm lands and surrounded by farms, the restaurant inside is not what one would expect in this area. It is lavishly decorated. It has crystal chandeliers. It is big. The buffet section runs the length of the large restaurant on one side and you enter in the middle and it spreads down each side with buffet serving tables, flanked in the front by four cooking stations serving more foods.  Some will get the impression that if you go down both sides you will just find the same things - but that is only partially true. Many of the dishes on one side are different dishes on the other. This buffet is overwhelming - in a good way. You can easily eat far too much here - and start to get the idea that it is a challenge! Well, we have covered that idea since this site has started. It is not a challenge - it is an offer and one must need to know when to stop - especially if one plans to save room for dessert.

Each night is a featured food night. Monday is steak night. Tuesday is seafood. Wednesday is Prime Rib. Thursday is BBQ night. Friday and Saturday are a combination of the best - Saturday includes New York Strip Steak, Friday includes Beef Brisket. Prices do vary by night. You are not going to pay the same every night. Prices include local tax and a small service fee for the server so there is no tipping. Your beverage is included in the price of the buffet and you serve yourself your beverages from one of the largest assortment of beverages in any buffet. There is a senior discount. There is a free buffet on your birthday with proof and the purchase of a dinner for someone else.

The food has always been and is excellent. The food is prepared properly and kept at correct temperatures. There is an assortment of soups, an extensive salad bar, more entrees and sides than any other buffet including carving stations and grills. Desserts are coming from Shady Maple's Farm Market - on another part of the property - which is known for their baking. Foods include PA Dutch favorites along with a large variety of "American food".

I have said this before - several times - you can be anywhere in Lancaster and overhear people talking about Shady Maple. I have been in other states and have heard people talking about Shady Maple. When you go you will be with locals, tourists, the Amish, and the Mennonites. Everyone goes to Shady Maple.

During the winter, they have special menu weekends - and when I read what is coming, I am so tempted to battle the weather on a winter trip to get there for these.

We went several times in 2016 (and we have been there already in 2017) just to make sure all is the same and good. Of course it is.


Go hungry. Don't go after having a "big" lunch!

There is no question that this is a top buffet!

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. There is lots of parking (free, of course). 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. Like most other local buffets and restaurants in Lancaster County, Shady Maple is closed on Sundays - and some holidays, but not all. Dinner ends at 8:00 pm.

Top Buffet of 2016 - Bird-In-Hand Restaurant and Smorgasbord, Bird-In-Hand, PA

CONGRATULATIONS TO BIRD-IN-HAND RESTAURANT AND SMORGASBORD FOR BEING A TOP BUFFET OF 2016!

Bird-In-Hand Restaurant and Smorgasbord has been a well known restaurant and buffet in Lancaster County, PA for a very long time. I have had dinner and lunch there many times over many years. We have watched this buffet grow from a small counter along a wall with hot trays to a completely renovated restaurant with a good sized, dedicated smorgasbord section. The restaurant's building continued to grow to what it is today that includes the restaurant with two full sized dining rooms and on a lower level a theater featuring entertainment and local themed plays. With the theater the restaurant/buffet became part of a dinner theater package (which has not (in our experience) interfered with diners who are there for dinner only. The restaurant is owned and operated by the same family for generations and the property across from the restaurant is the family farm.

As prices have increased in a number of the buffets in this area, the price of this buffet has now come more in line with the others. In the past this buffet has offered sporadically offered coupon savings on the price of the buffet. It now has a coupon included in the Visit Lancaster County Guide which is available free all over Lancaster County - and will be sent to you on request from the tourist board. There is a price difference on Friday and Saturday night dinners which add carvings to the buffet. This buffet definitely gives value for what you pay and what you get.

The food here is excellent. This restaurant offers not only a buffet but also menu dining. One can also just opt for the Soup, Salad, and Bread Bar alone or with a menu item. One can also go just for the Desert Buffet. All is included with the full smorgasbord and the price includes a beverage with unlimited refills which is not included at many buffets in this area. Regular readers have read my raves about my favorite items on this buffet. I love, and have always loved, the Chicken Corn Soup prepared and served here - it is the best anywhere - and different from most. There is a secret to this soup that after many years of attempting to duplicate it at home, I cannot figure out. Another of our favorite items here is there turkey - served in a tray in liquid that keeps both white and dark meat moist and full of flavor. Of course, there is a wide assortment of other foods on the buffet. On some nights there will be a local dish called Chicken Bot Bei or Chicken Pot Pie to the tourists - which is not like a chicken pot pie in other areas. This is one of the better Chicken Bot Bei's which is not served often enough at other buffets. It is regularly here on certain nights. Another Lancaster County favorite - which is served at many PA Dutch buffets - is Pork and Sauerkraut. There are other soup choices and also a salad bar and a large dessert section. Deserts are full of choices and you will find whoopie pies - a local favorite of cake rounds with cream in the middle, a variety of pies including shoofly pie, chocolate shoofly pie - and a pie that I discovered two years ago that I have only seen in this area, Lemon Sponge (wonderful!). There is soft serve ice cream and a frozen soft drink machine. There is fruit and a number of prepared deserts as well!  The baking here comes from the well known Bird-In-Hand Bake Shop which is also owned by this family. The food has been consistently good. That does not mean that you will not find something that you don't care for because you just don't like that food or seasoning, but it does mean that you will enjoy here the foods that you like. 

For the children! There is a children's buffet bar that features kid favorites - hot dogs, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, spaghetti, etc. There this is only available Fridays and Saturdays until 7:30 pm. (The restaurant closes at 8:00 pm.)

If someone at a table does not want the buffet and wants to order of the menu they are welcome here to do that. Some buffets do not allow this. Here they do.

Service is good here. The wait staff are attentive. Dishes are cleared regularly and when it is time for a refill of your beverage, it is easy to spot your table server and ask.

When we come to this area there are so many buffets to choose from. Bird-In-Hand comes to mind often as a top choice to go to. 

One of the things that we like about Bird-In-Hand Restaurant is that you are going to encounter a good number of local people including Amish and Mennonites dining here. Of course, you are going to encounters tourists also - this restaurant is located on a main route - Route 340 - that goes through the heart of Amish and Mennonite farm lands. 

If you have never been this is a must try. If you have not been in awhile go back. If you are a regular then you know what we are talking about.

Bird-In-Hand Family Restaurant is located at 2760 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, PA 17505. The phone number is 1-800-665-8780. There is a website located at the side of this page.The restaurant closes at 8:00 pm and is not open on Sundays. You will not be seated for the Smorgasbord after 7:30 pm.

TOP BUFFETS FOR 2016

It is later then usual in getting this post out and I am sorry for that. Things just seem to happen that keep one from doing what they know needs to be done.

I have seen a few articles on restaurant sites with lists of the best buffets. I am sure that many of these buffets are very nice, but the one thing that all of them seem to have in common are big price tags on their buffet meals. As my regular readers know while this site is focused on all types of buffets at all price ranges, we try to keep a focus on buffets that are affordable for a working individual's family - one that you can go out to for a nice nice dinner with a few kids and not feel a pinch in the budget that week. Just because a buffet is inexpensive does not mean it is not a quality place to eat. And when it is not serving quality, I am the one who is going to make that clear right away. In choosing our top buffets we look to those affordable buffets - and not ones that are going to set you back over a hundred dollars for dinner for two.

For a top buffet, a buffet needs to meet certain criteria. The buffet must give excellent value. The buffet must serve quality food. The food must be prepared properly and taste very good to excellent. The restaurant must be managed properly. The service must be good. And all of this must be consistent - meal to meal, visit to visit.Then it must be a buffet that comes to mind to go back to whenever possible. There must be something that sets the buffet apart (in a superior way) to all the rest.

Last year right after our Top Buffets for 2015 article came out, a local buffet named in that article as a Top Buffet raised its prices and changed the quality of the food that they were serving. That buffet has since gone out of business. They lost our business after two visits with these changes. I am sure that  others felt the same way that we did.

This year, our top buffets are all located in the Buffet Capital of the US- Lancaster County. Three of these buffets have been Top Buffets before - and continue to be. One is new to this designation of Top Buffet. The four Top Buffets of 2016 are (listed in random order)  - Yoders Restaurant at Yoder's Country Farm Market in New Holland, PA, Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap, PA, Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA, and - the newest Top Buffet - Bird-In-Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord in Bird-In-Hand, PA.

Bird-In-Hand is not a new buffet. It is one of the longest operating buffets in Lancaster County. There have been reasons in the past that has kept this buffet off the top list but after several meals there in 2016, it was a definite must include in the Top Buffets list.

Why are all the buffets in Lancaster? Non-Asian buffets are becoming few and far between. The one place that one can still eat out every night of the week at a different "American Food" or "Regional Food" buffet is Lancaster County, PA!

In the next several weeks we will update our articles about these buffets with Top Buffet of 2016 articles. We will try to keep to our usual schedule of a new article every two weeks on Friday nights posted at night. 

Bird-In-Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord, BIrd-In-Hand, Lancaster County, PA, PA

With Old Country Buffet now long gone from where I live and no other country/American buffets anywhere close to this area, the only buffets that I have gone to have been Asian buffets. While they are fine, no matter what the assortment of foods they serve, they are not the same as a good country-style buffet. I have been going through buffet withdrawal. On a recent trip to Pennsylvania I had a chance to scratch a very bad itch and dine at good Pennsylvania Dutch buffets!

One of those was Bird-In-Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord in Bird-In-Hand in the middle of the heart of the "Amish Country". We have been there many times and I have written about it before. It has always been good and the only thing that has kept this buffet as an "always go to" has been the price, which some years varies by the season, but has been at $19.99 per adult for dinner on Monday to Thursday and more on Friday and Saturday. While this is not an exorbitant price for a dinner buffet - especailly considering that this price includes unlimited soft drinks and coffee, which can add as much as almost $3 per person at some buffets - in this locale it tends to be a little higher than prices at other good PA Dutch buffets.  We discovered this past summer that all through 2016 in the Visit Lancaster County tourist guide there has been a coupon for this buffet - "Buy One Adult Smorgasbord and Get One Half Price". This brings a $40 plus tip and tax dinner for two down to $30 plus tip and tax and really that is a great price for this dinner.

I have been coming to his restaurant since before it started serving buffet meals. I remember when they first started to have a very small buffet and then some time ago, they redid the interior of the restaurant and made a very large smorgasbord within the restaurant. Over the years they also have added a theater into the lower level of the building that feature local performances of local themed musical plays and stage shows. One can see the show and have the Smorgasbord or just see the show. I have to admit that we have never seen one of their shows, but have heard very good things from local people who have. The restaurant continues to have a menu and if someone at your table wants to order from the menu while others have the buffet that is OK - as long as there is no sharing with the person ordering from the menu. They also have a special buffet for children with kid-appealing foods on it.

The one thing that I love the most at this buffet is their chicken corn soup which is like no other that I have had anywhere else and is truly the best. It is thickened with a secret that I have not been able to duplicate at home and sets this soup apart from all other chicken corn soups. They have sold a restaurant cookbook in their small gift shop for many years and the chicken corn soup recipe in the book is NOT the recipe for the soup served. That is OK - and when I come I cannot get enough of it. I could just order the soup and salad bar for dinner but, of course, I don't. I order the whole buffet and I do have more than one cup of this soup. This soup is always there on the menu and on the buffet. I had this soup last night and as I write about it my mouth is watering. The sell some of their foods packaged from a refrigerator case in the lobby and I know now, as I thought about then,  that I should have bought a quart of this soup to take home with us.

On Mondays to Thursdays the buffet does not feature any carvings. The Friday and Saturday buffet do. What is on the buffet each night varies some and at one time they would list on their website what was on the buffet each night. They do not do that any longer but there is a calendar up at the cashier that says what will be served what night - and these do change. Some things they always include and one of those is my favorite turkey - served from a buffet tray - one tray of white meat and one tray of dark meat - each kept moist and wet in their own juices. I know that I have written about this turkey here before. I love turkey and this is my favorite. Put a scoop of Amish bread filling on your plate, put this turkey on top and cover it in thick turkey gravy. Mix this together and you have created a dish referred to locally as "Amish Wedding Dinner".  On the buffet also on this night were country sausages, roast beef, fried chicken, chicken "bot bie" (local favorite), chicken in mushroom sauce, chicken and pasta Alfredo, scalloped potatoes and ham, pork and sauerkraut, baked cod, fried butterfly shrimp, and more. All that we had was very good.

There is a salad bar with a nice variety of prepared salads plus lettuce and salad fixings. There has been a meat salad on some nights - ham salad, chicken salad, tuna salad. This night there was turkey salad - good! There is a bread bar with a variety of artisan breads and rolls.

All of the baking comes from the Bird-In-Hand Bake Shop which is also owned and operated by the same family who owns the restaurant - though located further down on Route 340. They have been known for their cakes and pies for many, many years independent of the restaurant. Dessert at the buffet is made up of baked goods from this bakery and there is a very large assortment. It is possible just to order the dessert bar and have your total fill of these wonderful pies and pieces of cake. There are also prepared desserts, fruit, soft serve ice cream and sundae bar, and a frozen soda machine. All are included. You can try shoofly pie or a whoppie pie. They have added a pie that has become a favorite of mine - Lemon Sponge pie. I had never had this before this past year and it is wonderful. It is a thin layer of cake on the top with a lemon custard below in a pie shell - all baked as one. Terrific! Since it is just November, I wanted pumpkin pie and they had it - made with pumpkins grown on their farm using their own recipe. It very much satisfied my desire for pumpkin pie - and that may be the only really good pumpkin pie I get this season.

The service here is very good. The restaurant is very clean. The people who frequent this restaurant are locals, Amish families, Mennonite families, and tourists. The same family - the Smuckers (not the jelly Smuckers) - has owned and operated this restaurant from the beginning. 

We have been going to this buffet more this past year than we have in recent previous years. That coupon has been a great incentive - besides the good food and abundant meal that you get here. Do I recommend this buffet? Yes. Will I go back? Definitely.

It is November and there is no OCB to go to for Thanksgiving dinner. We have been contemplating the four to four and a half hour drive each way to this restaurant through Thanksgiving Day traffic in three states to go here for their special Thanksgiving Grand Smorgasbord. The price is only $29.99 each which for a Thanksgiving buffet of this caliber is very good. Reservations are required and you are making a commitment with payment in advance to come. Seating's are limited and often sell out early.  The problem is that if the weather is bad we would not be able to make the trip. One more reason why moving to this area sounds so good to a buffet maven. 

 Bird-In-Hand Family Restaurant is located at 2760 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, PA 17505. The phone number is 1-800-665-8780. There is a website located at the side of this page.The restaurant closes at 8:00 pm and is not open on Sundays. You will not be seated for the Smorgasbord after 7:30 pm.

Return to Epic Buffet, Hollywood Casino, Grantville, PA

In August 2015 we reported on our visit to the Epic Buffet in the Hollywood Casino which is in Grantville, PA just outside of Hershey. This is a casino and racetrack with table games, slot machines and the racetrack. The casino is off limits to children - naturally - but the buffet is inside the casino and there is no way to the buffet but walking through the casino - so if you are planning to visit with children or anyone under 21, don't make the trip. I had mixed feelings about our dinner there a year ago - this visit I was happier.

We went on a Wednesday night in August and there was racing scheduled that night - not that this impacts on the buffet, but the dining room we were seating in had a television on the wall that showed the races that were in progress on the track. Perhaps this needs repeating as I have said this with other casinos that we have gone to for the buffet - we are not gamblers - we go to dine at the buffet and don't bet. We did enjoy watching the horse races last year and we were looking forward to that again after dinner - and while we don't generally like a television on in any restaurant while we are eating, watching the races that we would have otherwise missed was nice. The price for dinner on Wednesday and Thursday nights is $14.99. The buffet is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Dinner on Friday nights now includes Crab Legs in addition to the Saturday night features of Prime Rib and Seafood. The two nights are priced accordingly with the Friday night dinner now at $32.99 and the Saturday night dinner now $26.99. The Sunday night dinner buffet is $16.99.  Hours are important to take note of - Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday the buffet closes at 8:00 pm. The Saturday and Friday night buffets close at 9:00 pm.  The Wednesday and Thursday price of $14.99 includes beverages - and this is a very good price for a buffet these days. I have paid that much on weekends - PLUS paid for soda - at two Golden Corrals on their weekend "special" at Golden Corrals that have a weekday price of $13.99.

I will not go through all of the dishes on the buffet on this Wednesday night - there was quiet a selection from seafood entrees - both broiled and fried, to Asian, to Continental, to Italian which included "gourmet" type pizzas. The carving was Roast Turkey Breast and this was very good. There was also ham. There was not a great deal of difference from the weekend buffet that we had here a year ago for a lot more money. There was no Prime Rib but I was not impressed with then. Some of the "appetizer" style dishes that were there last year were not there on this Wednesday, so I would say that those go along with the weekend diner. There was no peel and eat shrimp. The salad bar on this trip was very basic - make a salad with a limited number of toppings and not much in the way of prepared salads. The "grape" tomatoes on the salad bar were dried out and not edible. Those were the only thing on the buffet that night that I took objection to.  There are several small pizza's out cut into slices. For some reason there is a need to make pizzas with a very thin crust and this is supposed to make them "gourmet" - this is my description, they were not calling their pizzas that. They were tasty little slices and if you like a cracker like crust you will love these. I am not complaining - we had a good and satisfying dinner

Desserts are just as I had described last year. They are in small portions but that is a plus as you can try several or take more than one of the one you want. There is also fruit and two hot desserts.

It was a fluke that we were in this area on a Wednesday night. I am glad that we were because I am not sure I would have been as happy paying $32.99 had be been there on a Friday night. Will we go back again? Yes. Would I even try it on a Friday night again if that is how our itinerary takes us to this area next year - likely, but I will think twice.

The Epic Buffet at the Hollywood Casino is located at the Penn National Race Course at 777 Hollywood Blvd, Grantville, PA 17028. There is plenty of free parking. The phone number is 717-469-2211. There is a website for the casino and buffet and that is linked at the side of this page. Take note of the hours and days open as noted above. Also - your GPS may not take you to the entrance of the complex. For some reason our GPS sent us to the entrance to the stables on the opposite side of the grounds.

Shady Maple - Lancaster, PA

We don't go to Shady Maple Smorgasbord as often as we used to. Not because it is not as good as it was, but because our trips to that area have been in the middle of tourist season. I cannot fault a buffet for the people who dine there, but when the tourists descend on Shady Maple, it can be overwhelming. And the problem is so many who have not been there before who are there are overwhelmed.

We went on a Monday night in August. We arrived for dinner and found a busy parking lot, but not as much of a line as one might expect when going to Shady Maple. Once past the cashiers, there were the usual two lines to be seated. The one nearest the cash registers leads to the front area of dining booths. We prefer to sit at a table with chairs so we always head to the side. It has been awhile since I have seen the side dining rooms being used but they were busy. The center dining room was full but we were found a table near the front which is what we prefer. But even on line I was surrounded by first timers.  Once at the table we were even more surrounded and once inside the area of the buffet serving tables there was a mass of people who could not get the idea of just not standing in the middle of the aisles, but walking along the serving tables to find what they would like to eat. And these are not kids - these are adults in all age ranges.  I always tell people that Shady Maple is an experience and perhaps this is part of the experience.

There is a lot to eat at Shady Maple - they now say that they have over 200 feet of serving tables which is certainly true but it seems like more. I am not sure if they are including the space around the three grill areas. I understand that this can be overwhelming. What I realized on this visit is that some of the PA Dutch dishes that were on the buffet as standards in the past were not there and this was disappointing. I am there to eat Amish or PA Dutch. The rest is nice too but not what I come to Lancaster for.  We also found that where there had been two sections of four different soups in each of those sections, now had less soups and  their space was now trays of hot wings. I am sure that they are gearing their selections to the types of people who are coming - and in the summer perhaps they feel that this is what their customers are looking for - which I am not looking for. My picky eater wife (remember her?) has been disappointed in the past few visits because she does not like change and some of the dishes that she would go for have been changed. She notes the sliced beef is now chunks of beef in brown gravy, sliced ham that was not topped now has a thick pineapple sauce poured over it, and the slices of turkey breast she insists is now a different turkey.

And then there are the other dinners who are very obviously not locals and who just stop and stare, the ones who stand at the buffet trays and eat what they have put on their plates, and the ones who pile their plates so high that what is under the pile is no longer recognizable. There were two businessmen sitting at the table next to us - from their conversation they had never been there before. It appeared that they were up to the point of their meal for dessert and then one came back with a steak and a plate of food, along with a plate of cake covered in ice cream. I so much wanted to lean over toward their table and say to him, "You do know that you can go back and get more and you don't have to bring it all at the same time?" I just sat quietly and watched. Perhaps steak and ice cream is a good combination. This is not the first time I have seen someone eat the two together at a buffet. They also had to make a big show of handing the woman who was assigned to their table to take their dishes away a large tip. They were upset that the ticket that goes on your table to show it is occupied says "No Tipping". This is not to be unfair to their employees - the tip is included when you pay for your meal going into the buffet. It is shown on your receipt as the tip. I know that as I get older I am getting less and less tolerant of things going on around me - but this type of thing has kept me away from Shady Maple.

Now I am not saying that you should not go. Absolutely go to Shady Maple - but if you can avoid the summer months you will have a more relaxing experience. It is still a top buffet - one of our Top Buffets in 2015 and has been consistently on the Best and Top list for years. The food is very good. The service is very good. The value and quality is still there. There really is no other buffet like it - and I guess that gets around. During the summer I go more to where the locals go with fewer tourists. We went on this occasion because I was missing dining at Shady Maple - and I knew what to expect there on an August night.

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. There is lots of parking (free, of course). 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. Like most other local buffets and restaurants in Lancaster County, Shady Maple is closed on Sundays - and some holidays, but not all. Dinner ends at 8:00 pm.

Expansion at Yoders, New Holland, PA

We had an opportunity to head down to Lancaster and while we were there we went to dinner at Yoder's in New Holland, PA., one of our Top Buffets for 2015. As we pulled into the parking lot we were surprised to see that on the sign at the entrance it said "Newly Remodeled". At first we thought that this was the remodeling that took place in 2015 when the dining room was completely redone. When we went inside we were quite surprised - again - by some changes at Yoders.

The entire restaurant has been expanded. Business must be going very well - and I am not surprised by that for this buffet/restaurant. The two businesses that were next door to the restaurant inside the building complex have been taken over by Yoder's (of course, Yoder's owns the building - as it owns the supermarket and restaurant inside). There was a Christian book store and a professional office in those two store fronts. Now those businesses are no longer there and the restaurant has expanded into them to create additional dining rooms.

The original dining room with its new look remains from 2015. There are two dining rooms now to the left of that dining room as you enter with both tables and booths. The restaurant has also expanded to the rear. If you are familiar with Yoder's there was a door to the kitchen down a short hall that lead to a banquet and large table dining room in the back which had not been openly visible from the front before. This has now been opened up so that the dining room for larger parties (most tables in the main dining room can seat up to four or six) are more open to the rest of the restaurant. Not only that but the desert buffet servers have been moved to that dining room as well so that you now go into that dining room to get your desserts. The bread, the baked oatmeal, and the hot sticky buns and cinnamon buns now have their own server along the wall in that passage  that leads back there. Soups remain where they had been. The area that once held the desserts is now open.

It really was a pleasant surprise. We were there in the middle of the week for dinner during the Spring so only the main dining room was needed but this new expansion allows Yoder's to seat more tables at one time and also opens the dining room for larger parties to feel less cut off from the restaurant.

Of course, the food was as good as always - as was the service. The buffet servers remain basically the same with the exception of the move of what has been noted. There are not more buffet servers and the number of selections remain basically the same - which were never a problem. The grill is still serving from two sides with a variety of items that change by the night.

This restaurant has come a long way in a very short time with the changes that they have made in the past year and a half. We had not been there since October and as I have said here, this was a big and nice surprise!

TOP BUFFET - SHADY MAPLE SMORGASBORD, East Earl, PA

For many years, Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has been a Best and a Top Buffet. There can be no list of top buffets in the United States without including Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Shady Maple is the most impressive and largest buffet restaurant not in a Casino or lavish hotel (and it has those beat too) in the country. Once again, Shady Maple Smorgasbord is a Top Buffet - and now for 2015.

In the land of the Plain People - Lancaster, PA - Shady Maple Smorgasbord serves the food of the Plain People along with a large and wide varieties of foods in a setting outside of rolling farmlands and inside in a large restaurant complex in a building with two floors, a lobby rivaling the finest restaurants with huge crystal chandeliers and one of the largest buffets - if not the largest - that you will ever enjoy. This is an experience that grew from simple roots under a shady maple tree as a farm stand years ago. The same owner is still there at the restaurant. Some days and nights he can be seen going through the dining rooms. The buffet menu has grown over the years but in addition to what has been added the same entrees and foods served when this was still a large but smaller buffet in a building that can be seen next door to Goods Department Store on the property and at the opposite end of the parking lot from Shady Maple's supermarket complex which is also quite large.

People seem to know Shady Maple all over the US. We will be hundreds of miles away and overhear conversations of people talking about a meal at Shady Maple. I don't know any other restaurant - much less buffet - that this happens with. I can understand when going through farmers markets in Lancaster and hearing local people discussing having just been there for dinner or planning on going there that night - "Going down to the Shady Maple tonight!", but this also happens so many, many, many miles away. Perhaps, needless to say, Shady Maple is an experience - and for some a destination location, coming to the area for a day or night just to go to this restaurant.

After the impressive lobby, and the often long waits in line (during "season" which can be just about all year except January to early March)  to pay for your meal going in, and then another wait in line to be seated, you can find yourself sitting in one of two massive dining rooms or one of the several private dining rooms along the side of the large dining rooms that are opened to all on crowded nights. At tables (or booths) around you there will be tourists and local people including Amish and Mennonite families. All have come for one thing - and even with the impressive size of the restaurant and the elegant decor, that one thing is the food. The food is excellent. The variety of foods served at one time is overwhelming. The buffet serving area is as long as the restaurant's building - and this is a big building. You enter from the middle past several grill sections, and it goes down in two directions. Some people coming in assume that each direction of foods is the same as what will be found in the other direction, but his is a misconception due to some foods first seen being the same, but the two sides are not the same and what will be down one side will not be down the other and vice versa, increasing the number and variety of foods to choose from. Even the two salad and soup bars which are the first serving areas that you encounter are not the same with only some overlap.

There is a breakfast buffet, a lunch buffet, and a dinner buffet every day and none are the same each day. There are themes with specific foods featured on each weekday  - for example steak is a feature on the grills on Mondays, Seafood is a feature on the buffet and grills on Tuesdays, Prime Rib on Wednesdays, and so on. At different times of the year and on different nights some specialties are served such as Smorgy Cheesesteaks - a variation of the famous Philly Cheesesteaks made the Shady Maple way. On some nights you will find house-made, local style, country sausages. There is just so many things and so much to name, it is impossible. Local Pennsylvania Dutch foods and entrees will vary on different nights - Chicken Bot Bie - a locally famous dish of flat doughy dumpling noodle squares with chicken, carrots, potatoes, and celery in a rich broth sauce, Pork and Sauerkraut (locally a dish served on News Year's Day) and served every day at Shady Maple, Pigs stomach - surprisingly good, just so much! And then, of course, the end section of each side is the dessert area with cakes, pies, prepared desserts and puddings, shoo fly pie, apple dumplings, apple crisp, softserve Turkey Hill ice cream and sundae bar, low sugar and no sugar desserts, again - overwhelming. The only problem is that if you eat all that you see and want, dessert may just push you over the top of eating more than you can eat. But from the look on so many faces, holding their stomachs and smiling as they walk out to the parking lot - it is worth it. (As I have learned over the years - here and at other irresistibly buffets - eat what you like but know when to stop and you will be much happier and enjoy it more - particularly during that walk to the car at the end of the meal.)

So - quality - yes. Value - yes - the meals here are priced including the local tax and a gratuity (tip) of not a large percentage for the servers and staff plus the meal includes all including the beverage - so it may look like the prices are more than some other buffets but all together they are not. Consistency from visit to visit - yes. Clean and well maintained - absolutely yes. Good service staff - yes. Top Buffet - no question.

If someone asks me what buffet should I go to when visiting Lancaster, I tell them Shady Maple - and you know we know other Top Buffets in this area. I tell them Shady Maple for the overwhelming experience. And when I see or hear from them after they have been there, they always thank me. This is a must go to.

Shady Maple is not located in the main tourist area of Lancaster County. It is not on Route 30 or on Route 340. It is off almost out of the county but people still come. Try it.

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. There is lots of parking (free, of course). 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. Like most other local buffets and restaurants in Lancaster County, Shady Maple is closed on Sundays - and some holidays, but not all. Dinner ends at 8:00 pm and you will not get in past 8 and the dining room will close down at 9 so don't go there late - get there early enough to not rush through the experience.

Top Buffet 2015 - Yoder's Restaurant and Buffet, New Holland, PA.

As was stated in our last article, the Top Buffets for 2015 (there are four of them) are not listed in any particular order. There is no ranking position. All are equal Top Buffets for 2015. With that we start our Top Buffet 2015 articles with Yoder's Restaurant and Buffet in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

We have written about Yoder's many times over the years. There were some physical changes at Yoders in 2015. A new dining room was designed and installed in the restaurant. In the area that was once rows and rows of booths, the room was turned into a more formal dining room atmosphere. Gone are most of the booths (but new booths not what was there) and scattered around the floor are free standing tables. The walls have been redecorated also with large photographs of the same scene of Yoder's farm in each of the seasons. The dining room has gone from a cafeteria/fast food look to a restaurant dining room. We were very impressed when we first walked in during 2015 to find this change. There does not seem to be any loss in their ability to accommodate as many diners as they always have.

Yoder's is not a big, sprawling restaurant. The buffet is bigger than some and small than others. There is always plenty of foods and a variety. Plus the building can accommodate very large groups for meetings, programs, etc. and often these include dinner at the buffet. Large groups coming in off the street can be accommodated as well in another dining room.  This is a family restaurant and buffet.

The food at Yoder's is good. There is a different theme feature each night and the themes reflect the types of foods on the buffet. While Saturday night's feature has not changed, for some reason we "discovered" it this past year - and Yoder's became our go to buffet on Saturday nights when we are in Lancaster County. Every night is good, but compared to other buffets in Lancaster, Saturday gives the selections we are looking for at just the right price. If for no other night Saturdays makes Yoder's a Top Buffet for 2015. The theme for Saturday is Pennsylvania Dutch but this does not necessarily mean you will find the usual PA Dutch foods found at some of the other Lancaster buffets. You may find some of those but the two featured entrees - among the other entrees are Marinated Steak and BBQ Baby Back Ribs.

Let's talk a little about Saturday nights in Lancaster. There is no one time of the year that would be considered "Tourist Season" in Lancaster. It is more crowded with tourists in the summer months but it can be just as crowded with tourists in the Spring and Fall. During the winter after Christmas, things slow down until the Spring, but you can still walk into a buffet restaurant during that "off time" and find a lot of tourists. Are tourists a bad thing? No, but I would much rather be dining with local people in a local atmosphere without bus groups and the tourists. Yoder's is a local restaurant - and if you have read this site before and read one of our Yoder's articles you already know that it is located inside a supermarket building - which as I have said before - is not uncommon in this area. This is not the type of restaurant/buffet that attracts tourists. It also is not priced for tourists and the price for the buffet at Yoder's - especailly on a Saturday night is quite good.

I like steak. Saturday night, as said, features marinated steak. This steak is served to order and cooked on a char-grill. The marinating gives the steak a nice flavor and more than once I have had this steak exactly how I like it - charred crisp on the outside and still red, juicy and rare on the inside. You are getting a whole steak - not a piece of steak cut off from another. If you happen to miss being at Yoder's on Saturday night, the marinated steak shows up on Monday night too!

There are always some interesting entrees and sides on the buffet at Yoders, and we have some favorites here. It is not often that you find Baked Oatmeal at any buffet - including in this area. This is not a breakfast dish - this is a side dish or a dessert. Here there is generally two types - one plain and one with fruit such as blueberries baked in. The macaroni and cheese is thick and gooey and good with a crumb crust on the top that just makes it right. There is often a combined casserole dish of some type - one was smoked sausage with potatoes in cream sauce. Some have been unusual and tasty.

There are two soups - some unusual. Ham Vegetable soup was particularly good. There is a nice salad bar with several types of lettuce and all of the toppings, plus a good assortment of prepared salads. For bacon lovers, try hot bacon dressing which is always on the salad bar. Desserts are plentiful and are located at several spots - an entire double sided buffet of prepared desserts, a wall of cakes and hot desserts including hot shoo-fly cake, a rotating glass case of pies, a sundae bar with soft serve ice cream and if you go to the opposite side of the room along the wall where the soups are, a hot counter follows along with hot sticky buns, iced cinnamon rolls, the baked oatmeals,

Service is always good. The buffet is open until 8:00 pm but don't get there at the last minute as they do start closing down the buffet at closing time. Yoder's is open from Monday to Saturday with their regular buffets - and unlike most other buffet restaurants in Lancaster, is open on Sundays until 2:00 pm with a Breakfast Buffet Brunch. The restaurant closes on Sundays at 2:00 pm.

As said this is a must go on Saturday nights for us and we have heard from a number of others who feel exactly the same. With that and all of the rest of this buffet meeting this site's criteria for a top buffet, Yoder's is a Top Buffet for 2015!  

Yoders  is located at Yoder's Country Market, Route 23, New Holland, Pennsylvania. The phone number is (717) 354-4748. There is a website posted at the side of this page.

TOP BUFFETS OF 2015

We struggle with the notion of best buffet over top buffets every year. We go to many great buffets - all of which I write about here. We also go to some not so good buffets, and you all hear about those as well. Then it comes to the end of the year and we look at all of the buffets we have been to during that year and try to rank them - and there are some that we had gone back to during the year from years past that consistently come to the top of the list of the best. The problem is deciding which one really is the best. This is not the first time that we came to the conclusion that there are several top buffets that really need to hold a place of honor and that is true this year again. There is no BEST buffet for 2015, but there are four TOP buffets. These are the buffets that are at the top of the list and that have each met the criteria that we set for Best Buffet. And since Lancaster County, PA hosts the most buffets of anywhere, three of this year's buffets are in Lancaster County, PA and one is near home.

The TOP BUFFETS for 2015 named by "Art of the Buffet" are (and in no specific order) - Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap, PA, Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA, Yoder's Restaurant at Yoder's Country Farm Market in New Holland, PA and Yummy China Buffet which is calling itself Yummy Super Buffet now in East Meadow, NY which is named as Top Asian Buffet of 2015.

The criteria for Top Buffet - or Best Buffet - are simple but not easy to meet. The buffet must give excellent value. The buffet must serve quality food. The food must be prepared properly and taste very good to excellent. The restaurant must be managed properly. The service must be good. And all of this must be consistent - meal to meal, visit to visit.Then it must be a buffet that comes to mind to go back to whenever possible. There must be something that sets the buffet apart (in a superior way) to all the rest. We have been to many who don't even come close and then there are some very good buffets that are on their way to meeting all of this. While no one criteria is more important than the others - and they all must be met - the idea that this is a buffet that I cannot wait to get back to is very much in focus when we decide on which buffet makes the cut. And I must say that there is one small buffet in PA that is coming up to this.

Over the next two months (four buffets - four articles) we will talk about each of these buffets and what makes them stand out beyond the rest. We will feature each in its own article.

Each buffet that is a Top Buffet of 2015 will receive a certificate declaring that fact. Some buffets display their certificates proudly - and we are thrilled when we see that they do - but there is no requirement to do so. Look to the coming articles to see why these buffets hold this site's special designation for the year 2015!

The Best of the Best

Our pick for the Best Buffet for 2014 was Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap, PA. We have been there a number of times this year and find that the night that I like the best at the Best Buffet is Tuesday nights. All of the nights are good - but I particularly enjoy dinner there on Tuesdays the best.

This is the night when I find the most Pennsylvania Dutch foods mixed in with always good standards. We were the area again recently - and picked Tuesday for the night that we would go to Dutch-Way. The feature on Tuesday nights is not fancy - it is burgers made to order topped the way you like them and also hot wings, both at the Grill. On the buffet on Tuesday's there tends to always be Chicken Bot Bie (Chicken Pot Pie - stewed with large noodles, not baked in a pie shell), Dutch Loaf, Ham Balls, Pork and Kraut, and more. Simple. Plain food which this region is known for - Pennsylvania Dutch cooking of the Plain People. The burgers are an extra thrown in for a very enjoyable meal.

Now, I can't talk about the Wings from personal tasting, as I don't care for hot wings and small chicken legs and wings tossed in sauce and spice don't interest me - or my palate. But I have watched people go up to the Grill on a Tuesday night and order platefuls of these. The chef behind the counter puts the cooked and hot chicken in a bowl and tosses it in the sauce or seasoning that you request from a list - and if you want more than one "flavor", he just tosses more in other bowls - and then all goes onto your plate. Watching them eaten at other tables, I am certain that they are good from the reactions of the dinners. But for me, I don't care for them in general.

The burgers always interest me. You order your burger by filling out a paper at the Grill Counter. There is a sign listing specifically put together burgers each with a different combination of toppings, but you can just ignore that list and put together on the paper by checking off boxes of ingredients exactly what you want. Of course, there is bacon - lately a burger has to have bacon - but if you don't care for that leave it off. There is even a fried egg that can top your burger. You order it cooked the way you like it from rare to well done. You can top the toppings with sauces, lettuce, and tomatoes. It all gets cooked for you and put on a bun. I order mine without the bun. I would rather leave room for more interesting things from the buffet tables than a burger bun.  On the menu here - and in other restaurants - one of these burgers could easily cost you the price of the buffet - and here you could order as many as you like for just one price and have the entire buffet to go along with it.

Then, of course, there is the buffet. On this particular night, aside from the PA Dutch foods that I named above, there were ribs, lasagna, a pumpkin casserole, a vegetable casserole that was very good, fish, fried chicken, and more. As always there are five soups, a large salad bar, and a big dessert bar that spills over to one of the hot buffet servers where there are hot desserts.

I have my favorites on the salad bar also. They have the most wonderful chicken salad. I have sometimes considered just ordering the soup and salad bar for dinner as I could make a meal of this chicken salad. They also have chunks of Lebanon Bologna. This is a cured, dark pork meat with visible, tiny pieces of fat with a smokey, slightly sweet taste. This is a cold cut known in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country - originating in Lebanon County, PA. I have not found this on any other buffet in the area. It may be an acquired taste, but it is good. And if you go out to purchase this locally it is quite expensive for a cold cut. Here it is intended to go into a salad, but I just take the junks and eat them. The chicken salad and Lebanon Bologna are not limited to just Tuesdays.

We dined in a different buffet every night on this trip but this Tuesday night at Dutch-Way was a stand out meal. For Dutch-Way, which is the best, this is the best of the best. Other nights there are good selections also - Thursday is Seafood Night (at their highest price for the buffet) and Friday and Saturday feature Prime Rib, Ham, and Baby Back Ribs.

Service was excellent - and we knew it would be from the moment we were shown our table as our waitress/server was Marie who we have written about before as the BEST buffet server at any buffet anywhere.  This is a young woman who makes you feel welcome and appreciated as a customer and always comes across as enjoying her work.

So, Dutch-Way Family Restaurant on a Tuesday - best of the best. Try it. This is a local restaurant off and away from the main tourist areas and is there for local people including Amish and Mennonites who are seen dining here regularly. Nice decor. Very clean. It also gets excellent reviews from the usual restaurant review sites. Don't go looking for a touristy restaurant. You will not find it. To me that is a good thing and a very strong plus. Others seem to want the tourist hype.

 
The Dutch-Way Family Restaurant is located at the Dutch-Way Farm Market Supermarket at 365 Gap Newport Pike (Route 41), Gap, Pennsylvania 17527. The buffet is served from 4 pm to 8 pm Monday to Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. The restaurant is closed on some holidays. This is about two and a half miles south of Route 30. There is a web site and that is linked at the side of this page. The phone number is 610-593-6080.

Back to Lititz Family Cupboard Restaurant, Lititz, PA

Even though our last article on Lititz Family Restaurant appeared this past April, it has been about a year since we actually were there and we returned recently for dinner. We have been trying to go to some of the smaller, local PA Dutch buffets on recent visits. We were looking forward to getting back to this one.

I must start out saying that all the food was good, but I have to tell you that the assortment of foods this time was a bit disappointing. We went on a Tuesday night in August. As this restaurant is out of the main tourist area, just about everyone here is local. The restaurant was not crowded but it was busy - especially for a Tuesday night.  I have always said that this is a small buffet. There is one double sided buffet server with hot foods, a salad bar with two soups on one end and a small dessert bar.

There were x meat entrees on the buffet on this night - a featured, shepard's pie, rotisserie chicken which is a standard here, white and dark meat turkey, and beef in gravy which instead of the usual chunks of beef served in beef gravy, this was shredded beef in beef gravy. That was it and about halfway through dinner, the shepard's pie ran out and was replaced with sweet potato pudding, rather than another meat dish. This all surprised me and looking back at what I have written about what I have found here in the past, I was right to be surprised. My meal was mostly turkey with some of the beef in gravy. I don't care for shepard's pie so I did not try that. The rotisserie chicken is very good here but I did not want any on this night. The turkey was served from two trays - the white meat was thick, sliced turkey breast and the dark meat was off the bone dark meat turkey that was served - as is served in this area at some other buffets and restaurants - in its juices. I very much like turkey served this way so I was happy with what I had, but I felt while we were there and after that there should have been a couple of other meats served along with this all.

The rest of the hot buffet was loaded with various side dishes of vegetables, potatoes, stuffing, etc. There were no empty spaces on the buffet and a good meal was there for the taking - it was just, I felt, that the choices in entrees was lacking. Perhaps if there was also ham and maybe Pork with Sauerkraut, I would not be writing this article. Those would have rounded out the entrees and these are two dishes that have been included before.

The desert bar is small and there are puddings and prepared desserts, two cakes, and there is fruit on the salad bar. There is also a soft serve ice cream machine and sundae fixings.

There is continual oversight of the buffet by staff, checking on what needs to be replaced, keeping items stirred, and replacing near empty trays. Everything is kept at its proper temperature.

Service was very good and used plates were taken away and drinks were refilled. There is a very comfortable feel to this restaurant and very welcoming.

Even with what I see as limited choices, we had plenty to eat and went out satisfied that we had a good meal at good value. While prices at all restaurants are always changing, the price here is very good. Monday to Thursday, dinner is $13.25. Senior dinner is $11.60. Unlimited refill soft drinks  are $2.19 but if you are a senior, the beverage is only 60 cents. Also check their website (linked at the side of this page) for coupons - we had a coupon that took $2 off each dinner. There is also a menu and one can order from the menu while another at the table orders from the buffet, but you are asked not to share anything from the buffet with anyone not ordering it - which is a very reasonable request.

I felt that I should write this update in the event that any of you go here and based on my previous articles wonder where all of the entrees are. Maybe this was just this night. We will return again to find out.

Will we go back - absolutely! Should you go? Yes, but know that you are not going to find the row after row of buffet selections that you will find in many other PA Dutch buffets. The food is good. The quality is good. The service is good. The value is good.

Lititz Family Cupboard is located at 12 West Newport Road in Lititz, Pennsylvania 17543. The phone number is 717-626-9102. There is a website and it is linked on the side of this page. They are open until 8:00 pm. They are closed on Sundays.  To get there take Rt. 501 North to West Newport Road and turn left then make a left on Toll Gate Road and then a left into the parking lot of the restaurant.

Saturdays At Yoders

I have written about Yoders Restauant and Buffet in the Yoders Country Farm Market in New Holland, PA many times. The last time I wrote about it I said that things were inconsistent there. I have since have within one month had three very good meals at Yoders and they were all on Saturday nights.

In Lancaster I have tended to go to Shady Maple on Saturday nights - and when we are in Pennsylvania for just a day - often on a Saturday - we have gone to Shady Maple. But during the summer months when the tourists are everywhere, Shady Maple on Saturday night can be jammed with tourists. We go to Pennsylvania to relax and dealing with tourists at a buffet is just not relaxing. This occurred to me on the evening of the first of these three really good dinners at Yoders. We could not make it on time for dinner at any buffet but Yoders or Shady Maple. I thought about the crowds and who I would find at Shady Maple (no hit on Shady Maple as they can't help who comes there to give them business) and we decided to go to Yoders.

Yoders feature on Saturday nights is Pennsylvania Dutch. Now, at Yoders, this is not exactly what you might generally expect to find as Pennsylvania Dutch foods in this area at one of the other buffets. On the menu they say that there are two popular dishes of Lancaster County that are featured on the buffet on PA Dutch night - baby back ribs and marinated steak. I did not know that Lancaster is famous for baby back ribs but they served on the buffet at Yoders on Saturday nights and they are tasty. So is the marinated steak.

Let's talk about the marinated steak. I have had the best steak off a chargrill at Yoders at these three meals than I have had at any other buffet for a long time. First, there are two men cooking and serving at the grill (at the moment) who know what they are doing. Our regular readers know I like my steak rare - but that does not mean raw. It means crisped on the outside and red and juicy on the inside. And that is exactly what I got on request. The marinade that is being used is not overwhelming and the steaks are tender. They are also a decent thickness - not thin and not a thick lump of meat. I was recently there and I want to go back right now. There is only one problem - at each of these three dinners, I ate too much. I really could not resist even though I have learned over the years not to over eat at buffets.

The rest of what is served on Saturday night varies on the buffet. There have been different dishes each time. Items on the grill remain consistent on Saturday nights. In addition to the steak, there is chicken parmigiana cooked on the flat grill, corn fritters, salmon, fried zucchini, and more. On the buffet tables things have varied. Some of the better dishes have been a very tender pot roast, cut up smoked sausage cooked in a cream sauce with large peeled potatoes, the baby back ribs which are tasty and thick, ham balls, beef stroganoff (beef chunks in cream sauce with noodles), and others. There is a lot on this buffet and add that to the numerous items on the grill and there is a lot to choose from here. Side dishes like noodles in brown butter, a selection of plain in a good way vegetables, really good macaroni and cheese, good potato filling, and more are standard to this buffet on most nights. There are usually also a few fish entrees.

For PA Dutch Night the soups we have not always been very PA Dutch but there has been Ham Vegetable soup at two of these dinners and that is very good - loaded with vegetables and bits of ham in a tomato/ham base soup that is slightly sweet and good. Other soups have been Chessyburger soup, Minestrone, and others. There are always two soups served on the buffet.

There is menu serving here also but I figured out looking at prices on the menu and looking at what is on the buffet for the Saturday night price of $14.99 that one could quickly pass the buffet price ordering off the menu - and here if you order something that is on the buffet, the server goes over to those trays at the buffet and creates your platter. A slice of pie was $4 and this is the same slice of pie that is on the dessert section of the buffet - they go over and get one and bring it to you if you order it from the menu. So look carefully at the buffet if you are considering ordering from the menu and it may be worth your while to order the buffet and just don't get carried away. Though as I have been finding here lately, it is very easy to get carried away.

The change in night going here really made a difference. The restaurant can be crowded - all local people including Amish and Mennonite - and on one of the three Saturdays we waited in line for about ten minutes until we got in. It is a different crowd - not tourists. These are people who know this family restaurant and have been here before.

Service was good on each of these three nights. It had not been on the meal I reported on in the last article I wrote about this buffet. Again - a different night or just three times luck (not bad odds). Whatever it was - we were happy.

I can't wait for another Saturday night opportunity to get back here.

Yoders  is located at Yoder's Country Market, Route 23, New Holland, Pennsylvania. The phone number is (717) 354-4748. There is a website posted at the side of this page.

Epic Buffet, Hollywood Casino at Grantville, PA

The Epic Buffet is the casino buffet at the Hollywood Casino in Grantville, Pennsylvania. The casino is located at the Penn National Race Course. Grantville is located just outside of Hershey, PA where the chocolate comes from and where the Hershey amusement park is. The Hollywood Casino is a place for adults to go when the kids are asleep with a babysitter after a long day on the rides.

The buffet is located off the casino floor and no one under the age of 21 can walk through the entrance of the casino. Unlike casino buffets in many of the Atlantic City casinos and the casinos in Connecticut, you cannot get into the buffet without being inside the casino.

We went on a Friday night. Also unlike all of the other casino buffets that we have been to, this one closes early - 9:00 pm every night. THE ENTIRE BUFFET IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS.  Dinner price Wednesday to Thursday and Sunday is $14.99. Dinner price Friday and Saturday is $24.99. Ten dollars is a big jump from the weekday price to the weekend price and I am not sure how much would have been left off other than the two features of the weekend buffet - Prime Rib and Shrimp. The meal price includes soft drinks. At the table you can order beer and wine at an additional cost.

The decor of the casino is Hollywood and the buffet is decorated in an Art Deco style as would fit the "golden age" of Hollywood. The room was very nice as was the decor. For a Friday night in the middle of the summer, there was no line. We paid before we went in - as we have always done at all of the casino buffets that we have been to and were seated right away.

There was a large selection and the buffet was set up with a large oval that went around the middle of the room and the rest of the buffet filling the rear wall of the room. On the oval were salads, soups, and desserts.

As we always do, we started with soup. We picked the chicken corn soup which I expected to be similar to the chicken corn soup in nearby Lancaster County. It was chicken broth with a lot of chicken meat and no corn. The soup was fresh made. Fresh made chicken soup has a good taste different from soups made from a mix or from a can. The soup was good and would have been even better had there actually been corn in it other than a kernel here and there.

There was a salad bar to create your own salad from a variety of fresh ingredients. My wife takes not of salad bars that make sure what is out is fresh, crisp, and as it is supposed to be. Here she said it was all fresh. There were a variety of prepared salads including a few with an ingredient that one might say stands off from just the ordinary. But here that ingredient was in the minority of what was in the prepared salad. For example - there was a dish of tomatoes and mozzarella balls. There were lots of tomatoes and very few mozzarella balls and the dish looked to have been recently put out and not picked through. There was also shrimp pasta (part of the weekend shrimp feature?) and it was very good BUT there were very few shrimp to be found in the dish. At $24.99 there should not be skimping like this. The tomatoes and mozzarella was tasty. So was the shrimp pasta - but essentially I was eating tomatoes in dressing and pasta salad.

There was a lot on the buffet and I am sure things will change from night to night but I will share all together what there was and then I will critique what we took sharing what was good and the not so good. OK - here is what was on the buffet:
Crab Tomato Bisque and Chicken Corn Soup, Sushi (a small selection of rolls sections), Peel and Eat Shrimp (for weekend shrimp feature?), Rolls, Rye mixed grain bread, Cheese Puffs, Pepperoni in Crescent Rolls, Roast Turkey carving, Turkey Legs, Prime Rib carving, Fried Garlic Jasmine Yellow Rice, Pot Stickers, Egg rolls, Mandarin Orange Chicken, Spiced Shrimp, Sesame Green Beans, Honey Ginger Carrots, Summer Squash, Stewed Tomatoes, Potato Wedges, French Fries, Chicken with Vegetables, Sauteed Onions and Peppers, Garlicky Broccoli, Fried Shrimp (must have been part of the shrimp feature as there was only one other shrimp entree), Creole shrimp and Noodles, a selection of pastas and sauces, Roasted Half Tomatoes, Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Baked Cod with Lemon Sauce and Arugula Salad, Pulled Pork Sliders with Jack Cheese. Roast Potatoes, Fried Chicken, Sweet Corn, Wax Beans and Carrots, Old Bay Salmon with Lemon Capers, Tilapia with Mushrooms and Spinach, Seafood Marinara, Corn on the Cob, Sweet Pea Pods with Red Peppers, Brussels Sprouts, and three Pizzas including one topped with BBQ Chicken.

 I am very mixed about this dinner. There was a lot to choose from. I enjoyed it but there were several disappointments. Hot food was set out grouped in theme - appetizer type dishes, Asian dishes, fish, meats including carvings, Italian, and a pizza section. So, I took pot stickers that looked good but were hard and over cooked. It was tough to bite into them and chew them. The pulled pork sliders that should have been good. They were on the buffet each wrapped in tin foil - which they should not have been. The bottom of the roll had dried out and impossible to bite into while the top of the roll remained soft. The pulled pork inside was good but there was supposed to have been jack cheese in there also according to the sign and there was no cheese. This would have been something I would have gone back for more of if it had been good. I ate the pork out from the roll and that was it.

I started out with Prime Rib and the first slice of rib that I had was excellent. It was moist and juicy and on the edge of rare. The outside crust was very tasty as was the meat. The slice that was carved for me was the equivalent of what would be carved in a sit down restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed that first slice of Prime Rib and I should have stopped with that one piece and not gone back for another later in the meal. When I went up for the second slice there was a new Rib out being carved. When I took the slice back to the table and put the first piece into my mouth I found out quickly that this one was not hot - it bordered on cold to the point that the fat was congealing. What had been melting, soft,  translucent fat on the first piece was cold, hard, and white on this slice. As I say, had I stopped at that first slice I could rave about the Prime Rib here - but a solid hit and a solid miss a half hour later - not good.

There was carved turkey and next to the turkey breast on the carving board was a stack of turkey legs. My wife had the turkey breast and she says that it was very good. So the turkey was a hit. I should have taken one of the turkey legs instead of the second slice of Prime Rib.

I tried the Baked Cod with Lemon Sauce and Arugula Salad. This was pieces of cod sitting in the lemon sauce with Arugula salad next to it in the serving tray, also sitting in the lemon sauce. It took the cod and skipped the salad. I tried to spoon some of the lemon sauce up with the fish but the serving spoon was a slotted spoon so very little sauce came to my plate. A few more attempts at just the sauce added little. The fish was bland. Perhaps had it been possible to ladle the sauce up with the fish it might have been better.

There were two different shaped pastas and different sauces to put over them. I took some of the linguine pasta and put Alfredo sauce on top. This was very good. I also took a slice of the cheese pizza which were being made fresh there behind the counter. There was cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, and bbq chicken pizza. The cheese pizza was good. It had a very thin crust with fresh cheese and a good tomato sauce.

I took a piece of the chicken with vegetables. This was charbroiled chicken breast rounds cooked served with vegetables around the chicken. Each piece of chicken was charred and there were grill marks showing that it did come off a char-grill. It tasted great, but it was overdone and the chicken was hard.

The roasted half tomatoes were good with a crust of breadcrumbs on the top. The stewed tomatoes were very good and they were not overly sweet as stewed tomatoes can sometimes be. Also good was the macaroni and cheese which was very thick and gooey.

Everyone always wants to hear about the desserts and the desserts here looked terrific. There was a wide assortment of cakes, pies, pastries, and cookies out. Walking around the dessert table it was hard to decide. And the cake that I choose was OK - but it looked much better than it was. There was also fresh fruits around the salad bar and and a sundae bar with ice cream.

Service was very good. Our server was quick to take away used plates and made sure our drink glasses did not become empty. She was attentive and did not disappear.  For a casino buffet, that is refreshing.

So - the meal was hit and miss. There were some really good things and some just so things. The big disappointment was that second piece of Prime Rib - which for anyone coming in at that point this was what they were getting. Other dishes as noted should have been better. The extra ten dollars was for Prime Rib and shrimp and there hardly was enough shrimp dishes that should have constituted a high price feature. This buffet is 30 miles from Lancaster County - home of some great buffets - most of which are less than the price of this meal. But of course, if you are in Hershey or at this casino for the evening you are not going to leave and drive 30 miles for dinner.

Do I recommend this buffet? Really tough question. Had my food choices been different I might be quick to say that I would, but with the number of dishes that I found lacking in one way or another, I am going to leave the decision to try it or not up to you.

Will we go back? Maybe. We are in this area once a year - generally on a Friday night so if we do go back it will be on the same night for the same $24.99 meal. I was not put off enough not to try this buffet for a second time and in a year we shall see if things are the same or better.

Keep in mind that if you are traveling with the kids - forget this one! There is no one allowed under 21.

The Epic Buffet at the Hollywood Casino is located at the Penn National Race Course at 777 Hollywood Blvd, Grantville, PA 17028. There is plenty of free parking. The phone number is 717-469-2211. There is a website for the casino and buffet and that is linked at the side of this page. The casino is open 24/7 but the buffet closes at 9:00 pm and is only open five days a week. REMEMBER THE BUFFET IS CLOSED EVERY MONDAY AND TUESDAY. There is a lunch buffet every day and also a Champagne Brunch on Sundays ($19.99) from 11 am to 3 pm.

Breakfast for Lunch and Dinner at Golden Corral

The newest feature at Golden Corral is breakfast and lunch for dinner. We have tried this twice - at two different Golden Corrals and I have enjoyed it on both visits. We tried it at the new Lancaster, PA location and also the Whitehall, PA location.

Old Country Buffet had tried this on Thursday nights about one or two years ago and it appeared that it would be a regular thing but soon was gone. Like all special features at Golden Corral this one is time limited. It is also much better than the one time we got to try breakfast for dinner at OCB.

The first time we went was at Lancaster. To make room for the breakfast items on the buffet some of the Asian dishes that are found on the buffet were replaced with the breakfast items. There was also an omelet station with a burner to prepare egg and omelet dishes of your design with several ingredients there for you to direct a chef to make your omelet with. This omelet station was next to the breakfast items and not at the grill - good location as it did not interfere with the regular grill operation for steak, etc. The breakfast items on this first visit included squares of French Toast covered in powdered sugar, small pancakes, bacon, breakfast sausage patties, biscuits, and country sausage gravy. There were also several types of syrups to top your French Toast or pancakes with.

The second time we had Golden Corral's breakfast for dinner (it is also available on the buffet at lunch) was at the Whitehall, PA Golden Corral and here there were two new items added (the two meals were about a month apart and Golden Corral in the interim did introduce these two new items to this feature) which were Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast and Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos. At Whitehall the French Toast and Pancakes were different. Here they were serving full pieces of French Toast (not quartered squares) which was not covered in powdered sugar and large full size pancakes. The Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast was served with a scoop of cream cheese on top of each slice and covered in strawberry sauce with pieces of strawberries. The burritos were being made at the egg station which again was not at the grill station, but with the breakfast foods.

There were two things that I found at both - the bacon was over cooked and appeared to have been fried in a deep fryer rather than cooked on a grill as it was hard and difficult to bite into and the sausage patties were also overcooked and were also hard and burned. Had either the bacon or sausage patties been cooked correctly I would have had more of both, but as it was I took one piece of each - both visits - to try and did not go back for more.

What I liked about the rest was that it was tasty, well prepared, and exactly what I expected it to be - which is a good thing. You could properly taste the egg in the French Toast and it was soft and moist. The pancakes were fluffy. It was much better than the same that I had that one time at breakfast for dinner at OCB. I enjoyed it - which for me is a bad thing as I indulged during both visits in too many carbs eating French Toast, pancakes, and biscuits, but I could not resist. I like breakfast foods but do not eat breakfast. (I can't face a meal like this in the morning.) We don't go to breakfast buffets because of this as well. But at dinner, a good rare steak cooked just right, hot off the grill and a side of French Toast. Oh my! Had the bacon been moister and not burned, it would have been even better - and I took the bacon to put over the steak both times. Crisp bacon is fine. Bacon that breaks into little hard pieces if you bend it is not. I have seen other places cooked bacon in the deep fry and it comes out like this - and while this may be a quick shortcut to making bacon, it does not result in good eating bacon.

In addition to the breakfast foods most of the regular Golden Corral items were served. Just a few of the Asian items were missing. Whitehall, which we go to when we are up in that area of Pennsylvania (where there are few other buffets), was the better of the two breakfast for dinner (and lunch) meals and the price was the advertised $11.99, a dollar less than the Lancaster Golden Corral for dinner. (Of course, Golden Corral in Lancaster is the new "go to on Sunday" buffet when 98% of the other buffets in Lancaster are closed on Sundays.

I would love to see this feature become a regular offering at Golden Corral - though it will be too tempting for me - fine, I am sure for so many others. If you are fortunate enough to be near a Golden Corral go in and give it a try. As I say, both of the locations we visited served the same items slightly differently - so another Golden Corral may be different again - though it would have to be between the two that I experienced. We did not try the egg dishes. I would rather go for the dinner entrees than an omelet though I am sure the omelets were good - they looked good. I know many who wish that Golden Corral would come back to this area - but they were here years ago and the Golden Corral here was terrible and they went out of business as a result. This is an indication more of this area as it happens with other chain restaurants and national retailers. There is the rest of the country's good locations and then there is here. I won't go into that further. A transport device like on Star Trek could resolve it all - we could just beam ourselves from here to where the good locations are... ha, ha!