IKEA Summer Smorgasbord - All IKEA stores

We regularly go to the four time a year IKEA Smorgasbord special dinners. These take place four times a year. There is a pre-Christmas dinner, a pre-Easter dinner, a Mid-Summer dinner (in June) and a dinner in September that features Crayfish. These are all all you care to eat dinners laid out on Smorgasbord tables and they have seatings twice on a Friday - one 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm and one 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and they take place in the restaurant in IKEA stores. We go to all but the crayfish dinner. We have written about these dinners before.

I am writing this right after attending and enjoying the Mid-Summer Smorgasbord. Usually the menu is pretty much the same from one dinner to the next with some seasonal changes. This year the Mid-Summer dinner had different entrees than any of the dinners have had in the past. The menu from IKEA store to store is generally the same at all locations for these dinners - so the changes here should have been the same at the dinners at the other IKEAs as the advertising for these dinners goes out from all IKEA stores.

The many of the usual were included - and consider the price of these items if you were to go to a restaurant and order them - and for some - if you went to a store to buy them and bring them home to eat. There was three kinds of pickled hearing, Gravlax (in the US - Lox, outside the US - smoked salmon), poached salmon, and hot smoked salmon. There was shrimp salad - small shrimp in a mayonnaise based dressing. There were shrimp stuffed hard boiled eggs.  There was the usual Swedish Meatballs. There was tossed salad. There was redskin potato salad. Other than the potato salad this all has been at IKEA smorgasbord dinners before. The usual meat entree at these dinners is ham, but at this dinner there was no ham. There were St Louis Ribs and Bratwurst. Never before has there been St. Louis Ribs and Bratwurst! Both absolutely seasonal - not very much Swedish - but a nice change!

The ribs were fall off the bone. We were told during the dinner that the Food Service Manager cooked the ribs - and he was very proud of it. There were sections of three and sections of four ribs - take as much as you want, of course. They were dry seasoned - no barbecue sauce. I would have preferred  barbecue sauce on them but they were meaty and good even without the sauce. Several years past IKEA would serve in their restaurant half racks of baby back ribs in a thick barbecue sauce that were pretty good - but they no longer offer that. These ribs were different - much more meat but no sauce. I enjoyed them!

The bratwurst was also a new entree and these were cooked with onions and cut in half to serve. Large serving platters of brats were put on the two serving tables. The brats has a slight beer taste underlying and they were either cooked in beer - as brats often are - or these were beer brats as sold in some meat markets. They were good! Even my picky eater wife tried them and liked them - I did not tell her there was most likely beer in them or they were cooked in beer until we were leaving. She knew there was a different taste than she expected.

The deserts included fruit salad, fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, red velvet cake, and a strawberry filled cream cake. There were two types of IKEAs excellent sandwich cookies - one jelly filled and the other chocolate filled. The deserts do change from Smorgasbord to Smorgasbord and are usually seasonal.

Of course, there is unlimited soft drinks, a non-alcoholic seasonal cider drink and now this IKEA has a computerized coffee dispenser that makes lattes, cappuccino, espresso, and Americano coffee. Put your cup under the spout and push on the screen for your choice and it is made in the machine and dispensed into the cup complete with a head of milk foam.

As I have reported in the past this IKEA store goes all out to make these dinners a party and here there is music from a live band that plays both Swedish Music and Country/Cajun music - interesting combination and they are excellent. During the dinner they stream live on Facebook. We were speaking to the manager during dinner and he said that there are very few IKEA stores that have live music at the Smorgasbord dinners and he has booked this specific band for several years into the future to be sure they are available. The band was talking about jobs they play all over the country - not for IKEA.

There is always a seasonal presentation at the dinners. These dinners coincide with traditional smorgasbord celebrations in Sweden. Mid-Summer does take place in Sweden and the people eat all night on the Summer Solstice celebrating the midnight sun. At this dinner tonight at IKEA there was a circle dance done around a tree as done in Sweden for this holiday - and they get children and adults to come up and join in the dance - which is always a simple dance and easy to do. All night they also had a craft table going on for children - and adults - to make a traditional Swedish head wreath with flowers - which is worn at these celebrations in Sweden - no real flowers but some nice paper flowers adorned many heads on this night.

And then there is the price - and I save the best for last. This dinner - with an IKEA Family Club Card is $12.99 each for adults and $2.99 each for children!  What you don't have an IKEA Family Club Card? They are free and you get one immediately at kiosks all over the store. Get the card. Buy your tickets in ADVANCE at the cashier in the IKEA restaurant (not the snack bar). These dinners often sell out - this one was sold out. People came to see if they could get in, not having bought tickets in advance, and were turned away.  Tickets go on sale during the dinner before the next dinner - and if the next dinner was not the Crayfish dinner we could have bought tickets for that to be held in the Fall tonight. Signs for the dinners go up in the store and in the restaurant about two months or so before the dinner. Depending on the dinner they can sell out quickly. 

I had said above about what you are getting here for the money you are paying compared to getting the same off a menu at non-buffet restaurants. Well, around here two slices of lox (smoked salmon) on a bagel with a little cream cheese in a dinner can cost you upwards of $15.99 and more. I had at least six slices of lox tonight along with everything else.

We very much look forward to each of these dinners. We have a lot of fun. We get there to be on line to be one of the first in - you pick your own table - and then we stay to the very end and the music plays all night!  One thing we always take note of is how friendly and nice the IKEA employees are in the restaurant and at these dinners. They actually seem to enjoy their work.

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. 

Finally a Buffet Dinner Not in an Asian Buffet!

Locally there are now only Asian buffets where we are. I have been craving a meal at what I will call an "American" buffet for about three months. I want meatloaf. I want steak. I want fried chicken! I have thought a few times of just taking the trip across two expensive toll bridges and driving the hour and a half to have dinner in the nearest Golden Corral (the nearest American buffet) several times in the past several weeks. Despite the cold and the snow storms, it seemed almost worth it - but to pay those tolls and then pay for dinner, we could have gone to a non-buffet and ordered meatloaf. Well, it is late February and we have annual business in New Jersey - weather permitting - and we went to Golden Corral!

I really was looking forward to this - even though this particular Golden Corral has not been one of our favorites and it is one of the Golden Corrals that charge more than most others - but I did not care. I needed to eat at a Golden Corral!

It is a Saturday night. Surprisingly warm weather all day. The line - as we have found before at this Golden Corral - was out the door and the length of the building outside. As we got inside on the line a large group that apparently had only a few of their party on the line ahead of us suddenly all arrived and went to join the rest of their party of perhaps twenty five or more at the front of the line. They were polite and apologized so it was fine. We finally got to the cashier. Premium weekend prices were in effect - $14.99 per person and $2.29 each drink. OK! I wanted steak, meatloaf, and fried chicken! My picky eater wife on the other hand was anticipating a hard time finding what she eats as she often does not find at any Golden Corral and with the current weekend feature of seafood, this was not helping as these features often remove some of the basic items on the buffet.

We were seated at an uncomfortable table for two that was stuck out in the aisle with another table for two - and the table had an uneven leg that rocked. One thing we both enjoy at Golden Corral is their chicken soup with thick, doughy noodles! That was first! A full heaping bowl of those noodles and broth with carrots and celery mixed in along with chunks of chicken! It is always good and now it was not wonton soup!

We skipped the salad and went right to the hot buffet. I went directly to the grill for steak. The chef at the grill understood what rare is and when I said "rare!", he picked up a steak, cut into it and saw it was red inside but not raw and cut me off a good chunk! It was charred and crispy outside and red inside - to me an almost perfect steak - only not perfect as there was a good amount of fat inside which is good in moderation. I went next with my plate with the steak looking for the meatloaf. The tray was empty! I eyed the fried chicken and took a breast (I should have taken something smaller). I added an onion ring to the plate, and then some mashed potatoes and gravy and fried okra! I passed my wife walking around with an almost empty plate. OK - there were things for her to eat and it was up to her to decide what she was  going to take. I headed back to the table as did she.

I cut into the steak, red juices ran out! It really was crispy outside and red inside! I took a forkful in my mouth and made a Galloping Gourmet face! (Galloping Gourmet - one of my favorite daytime shows as a kid in the late 60's. He was (is) an international chef from Canada who had his own syndicated show that played here in the US during the late afternoon. I learned to cook watching the Galloping Gourmet - still have two of his cookbooks - and when he bit into something wonderful his face lit up and a smile came across his lips!) I had the steak that I was craving. Thick and juicy and cooked just right. I cut around the excess fat - ate some, left some - but I ate every bit of meat. The chicken was OK. Not great - too big a piece and that was my fault for taking it - and the crust could have been more crispy. I ate most of it. The mashed potatoes were good. The gravy was good. The onion ring complimented the steak nicely!

Next plate. I went straight to the meatloaf. It had been put out again. I put a hunk on my plate. The special feature (that makes the weekend prices cost more) is scallops with garlic on a skewer, two types of fish, two types of shrimp, a honey teriyaki chicken breast, and carved sirloin steak with lemon and rosemary. Another steak to try! I went to the carving counter and the man behind the counter looked at the little piece of steak on the carving board, looked at me, and discarded it. Good! He went to the grill and took a large sirloin steak that looked too under cooked, even to me. He put it on the carving board, looked at it, picked it up and took it back to the grill. He came back with another - this one better done. He reached into a crock with a ladle and filled it with lemon rosemary sauce. He poured that over the top (less you think this steak is marinated in lemon and rosemary - it is not) and moved it around the steak with the ladle. He then cut it into pieces. He took one of the pieces and cut a section off and put it on my plate - it was red inside but now raw - good! I added some large cut fries and a hush puppy to the plate along with a big spoonful of mac and cheese and returned to our table. My wife was there with meatloaf also on her plate. The meatloaf was very good. I go back and forth between meatloaf with brown gravy and meatloaf with tomato gravy or catsup on top. My wife does not like meatloaf with tomato sauce or catsup and likes it with brown gravy. Golden Corral varies how they serve it - on this night it was with brown gravy. That was fine with me and that made my wife happy too. The meatloaf was good! It satisfied that craving well! The lemon rosemary steak was fine but not spectacular. It was rare and good in that respect. I feel that the lemon took away from the taste of the meat that would have been better just left alone - which means just as the steak is ordinarily served here charred on the grill.  The mac and cheese was thick and gooey and wonderful!

Just an aside about the weekend feature. The big feature of the added weekend pricing was that it would include Prime Rib carved at dinner. This is not so any longer - at least not with this feature. They seem to feel that scallops on a skewer brushed with garlic are equivalent to Prime Rib - and even though I have generally liked the Prime Rib that Golden Corral has served - the scallops are not the equivalent. I have read that scallops are expensive recently due to a shortage of them due to the temperatures of the ocean water, and perhaps that is why they replace the Prime Rib with this feature. I don't know. I did not try them. I do not like garlic all over what I eat so I passed. I saw them. There were maybe six or so small scallops on a skewer cooked on a flat griddle. They may have been very good.

Next plate. I did what I generally do at buffets. The third plate is a combination of the things I like best. I went back to the steak grill - "Rare, please!" - and got another piece of steak. I then went back to the meatloaf tray. I saw the pieces were cut very large, so I cut one in half with the serving spatula and took that. An onion ring when on the plate and then I realized that all I had eaten were meat and carbs so I took some string beans - and a small spoon of baked beans (more carbs). This steak was almost as good as the first. The meatloaf just as good. And during this plate the feeling of I have eaten too much meat hit me. I finished it all but knew that this was my last plate of meat for the evening. I can no longer eat as much as I once could. I find that I hit that wall a lot sooner. That is OK - as this site is called - it is not a challenge - and we will be doing more business in New Jersey in a couple of weeks so we will be back for more!

I finished the meal with a bowl of bread pudding. I love Golden Corral's bread pudding. This is something else you don't get in an Asian buffet!

The service was good, but the poor guy was way over worked. Two servers who also buss tables is not enough for a large section of tables. This man was running back and forth and doing his best. When you could get his attention - and that was not his fault - he dropped what he was doing and ran over. And I did not see other tables leaving a tip - a problem at buffets. I always leave the server a tip - unless the service is horrendous. He got a tip!

For the time being craving satisfied. You know OCB is gone - at least from here and none anywhere possible to get to just for dinner - and you don't know what you've got until its gone - to borrow from an old song!

We'll be back!

Holiday Dinner at Flaming Grill Supreme Buffet, Baldwin, New York

We have been dining fairly regularly at the Flaming Grill Supreme Buffet in Baldwin, New York (Long Island). We have written about this buffet when we first went there when it had recently opened in 2014. It is one of the few decent affordable Asian buffets in this area. We have learned - seeing another of this restaurant in Pennsylvania, that they are part of a chain.

This year they had a "special" dinner for both Christmas Day and also New Year's Day - no reservations necessary and a price only $3 more than their regular Saturday/Sunday dinner price of $12.99 (less one of their regular $1.50 off coupons). For the holidays there were no coupons accepted but they did offer their Senior price. At $15.99 (plus $1.69 for unlimited soft drinks) is the best that can be found in this area on a holiday where holiday buffets offered in non-buffet restaurants start at $50 and go up from there. We went and were happy with what we found.

This buffet included several items not offered at other times - lobster with shell in ginger sauce, cold snow crab legs (small clusters), whole flounder in ginger sauce, and a full roast turkey that you carve yourself. All of their usual buffet items were also there along with the large sushi bar, hibachi grill, the raw oysters and clams, dessert bar and chocolate fountain.

This buffet has changed a little in the past four years on regular nights. Weeknight prices have gone up only a dollar to $11.99. The several dumplings once offered are now down to just fried meat dumplings. There are no longer egg rolls but only spring rolls. Small things that do not really matter as there is still so much.

We had a great meal. The usual problem that takes place at Asian buffets with lobster took place here as well - they bring out a full tray of lobster to a crowd of people waiting like vultures for it to appear and then descend on it and strip it clean in a few minutes. The thing though was that once the dinner time crowd has diminished, the tray of lobster would come out and no one ran for it. I was able to fill my plate several times with good lobster pieces. The roast turkey was very good. As I say it was a whole turkey and it clearly was not the first one that went out that evening. There was a carving knife and fork in the tray with the turkey and it carved off easily. It was very good - no turkey gravy, but, after all, this is an Asian buffet. The crab legs were on ice which means they are hard to get the meat out of the shell, but they were tasty and there was hot butter sauce in a tray on the counter next to them. The flounder in ginger sauce went at first almost as quickly as the lobster, but they kept bringing it out and it was possible to get servings of it with patience.

While we had been there a few nights before for a regular dinner, we found enough different added to the things we generally like to eat here, that we were happy. Service here is good and for a very busy buffet they keep up well with replacing empty trays - with the same item - and keeping everything fresh and at the correct serving temperatures.

We had a nice all you care to eat, holiday meal for little money compared to what this could have cost. I am not sure which other holidays they do this for but if you are in this area and don't want to stay home for Christmas or New Year's Day dinner this is a buffet to consider.

 The Flaming Grill and Supreme Buffet is located at 1773 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, New York 11510. The phone number is 516-544-2222. There is a website and it is listed on the right side column of this page.

Minado Japanese Seafood Buffet, Carle Place, New York

It has been two years since I have written about Minado. Minado is part of a small chain of Japanese seafood buffets located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. We have only been to the New York location which is in Carle Place on Long Island in New York. This article is based on our very recent visit for dinner on a weeknight.

This is the most expensive buffet that we go to on even a semi-regular basis - and semi-regular in this case means MAYBE once a year.  Dinner Monday to Thursday costs $31.99 and this does not include any beverage. Friday and Saturday dinner and Sunday and Holidays all day the price is $33.95. For two, on a limited budget, this is a buffet for special occasions and we had such an occasion and just went for dinner on a Wednesday night.

The restaurant was crowded - a lot more crowded than we have seen it before except perhaps the first time we went in 2010 when there were several parties going on in the separate party rooms of the restaurant. It is the holiday season, schools are closed and the restaurant was busy with tables of families, couples, and groups of friends. We walked right in and were seated. There was no wait for a table. A waiter came over and when we did not order beverages - either hard or soft - he seemed disappointed - which he should not have been so obvious about. That set me off at the start with concern about him but in the end he was OK.

We started with soup and there are now three chef prepared soups in addition to a few soups out for self-serve. Each of the soups featured different noodles. We like Udon soup and that is what we ordered from the gentleman behind the soup counter. There was also a ramen soup that was made with pork bone broth and another noodle soup. The Udon noodles are taken and put into a basket when you order and dropped into a vat of boiling water to heat and then put in a cup with broth. You then let the chef know what you would like added to the soup from a selection of ingredients including tempura shrimp, seaweed, scallions and more that typically go into Udon soup. I have had this soup in a few Asian buffets and I like the one they make for you here the best.

There is a large selection of sushi of every type. The fish is fresher than any I have had at any other Asian buffet that serves sushi. The tuna is a dark almost red-brown color and tastes better than other tuna sushi that I have had. There is also small dishes of just raw fish put out each with a thick chunk of tuna or salmon and a slice of a white fish with a silver shiny skin. Some with all three. None with all the same fish. I would much prefer having it served on a platter to take the fish that I would like best - salmon and/or tuna but they do not do that. The fish in the little plates was plain with no sauce of any type or marinade - as they once had in the past. And they also once had those platters of fish out to take - but as I say - no more.

There is a long row of Japanese salads all on ice that comes around the buffet and heads back as long as the sushi area which is the length of this large buffet area. Each is well labeled with what it is called and what the ingredients are. You can easily tell if there is something you wish to avoid when you read the signs. There are salads here with raw fish as well as other ingredients. Ever want to try raw beef - there are thin, small slices of raw beef in a marinade here to try.

This all for me is very much a tasting meal. I do not take more than a small quantity of anything that I take here because there is just so much - and I am very tempted by everything. I know from past visits here that I can very easily overeat here and then I am not happy afterwards. I pace myself and make sure not to overload on any one thing.

After the salads, I went for dumplings. There were four. A meat gyoza dumpling, a vegetable gyoza dumping, a shrimp siu mai, and a crab and meat siu mai. All were steamed after pan frying. They were all good! You see what I mean about pacing one's self here in how much you take? We have not yet gotten to the entrees.

There are also cold snow crab leg clusters - large clusters without claws. The problem that I find with cold crab legs is that when you break them open the meat stays stuck in the shell. There are nut crackers on every table to crack shells but even with that, getting the crab meat out of the shell is a struggle. Hot crab legs do not have this problem - until they sit on your plate and get cold - but when eaten hot, the meat will just pull right out of the shell with only needing to break the leg section in half and sliding all of the crab out at once. There are no hot crab legs here. The cold crab legs if you can get out the meat offer a lot of meat that depending on your liking of snow crab may be well worth while.

There are also hot appetizer meats on skewers - charbroiled sliced short ribs, broiled chicken, charbroiled mushrooms with peppers, and more. All good of what I tried.

Now we come to the entrees. There was a large platter of beef with two really large beef bones running through each side. The meat was just falling off the bones and you pulled off what you wanted into your plate. This was good but very fatty. There were many platters of many entrees. I took some of the beef teriyaki that was nicely prepared and had a good steak flavor. I took a split and stuffed, whole, broiled prawn with the head on. This was very good. Often when these are served in Asian buffets you have to fight to open them and get the meat out. Because these were split and stuffed (with imitation crab which was openly identified on the label over the hot tray) the meat came right out. It was good. I took a little of other entrees as well and also some Japanese fried rice and Soba noodles made like Lo Mein. 

With all of this there is an hibachi grill and while hibachi grills are common in Asian buffets, this one cooks one order at a time and does it right as it would be done in a Japanese steak house. It is done with flare and fast knife work and spatula mixing. You can choose steak, chicken, shrimp, scallops, or just vegetables. There is no sweet sauce added. The sauce they mix in is a light brown sauce of the consistency of soy sauce but it was more than soy sauce. Zucchini squash and onions are cooked on the grill along with the meat. Two good size pieces of steak go on the grill. I asked for the steak to be cooked rare and it was. I must remember next time we come here - and that will be in a year - maybe - to ask for a small portion from the hibachi. What comes off the griddle filled the dinner plate - and this was the last thing that I took. It was way too much given what I had already eaten before. It was way too much. 

This brings us to dessert. While the desserts are not lavish, they are different. There are small squares of out cakes - green tea cake, chocolate butter cake, fruit mouse cakes, small cups of Tiramisu, other cakes, jellies (jello like desserts), and cookies. There is also a crepe station - now moved to the end of the dessert counter. The woman behind the crepe griddle makes each to order and fills it to order as you watch. The problem with this now is the location, as the line to the crepe station lines up in front of the dessert bar and it was difficult to get to the cakes unless you were also on line waiting for crepes. We just made our way in to the cakes we wanted to take as crepes after this meal would have been just way over the top - for us. Many were getting them. There is also a cold buffet server of ice with platters of raw fruits - melon, pineapple, oranges, mango, grapes, and more. There was one disappointment for us on this particular night - the soft-serve ice cream machine was not working. A sign apologizing was on the machine. This meant no green tea ice cream which we both look forward to when we come here.

There is plenty here - as you can see - and plenty that is not fish along with a great deal that is. Other than shrimp my picky eater wife does not eat fish or seafood. She has no problem eating as much of a large variety of non-seafood as she cares to eat at this buffet.

The food is good and the food is quality and prepared and served properly. It is worth the money that they charge if you have the money to spend on a single meal. Lunch prices are cheaper. There are some signs that indicate that some selections are not included on the lunch buffet. I do recommend this buffet. As I say we go here for special occasions.

Minado Japanese Seafood Buffet is located at 219 Glen Cove Rd, Carle Place, New York. Their telephone number is 516-294-9541. There is a website and the link is at the side of this page. Hours may always vary from location to location so check on the website before you go. On the website you will find details for all of the locations. The website in the past detailed the menu. It no longer does.

The Remaining OCBs, Ryan's, and Hometown Buffets

As of today these are the remaining Old Country Buffets, Ryan's and Hometown Buffets. The information comes from the OCB website. The locations map is now hidden in a click on drop down named "MENU". I have to say that like everything else Corporate has done to sabotage their restaurants from succeeding, what a stupid name for a drop down for a restaurant website. Look at this on the page and it appears to be what you click on to see the menu, and if you are not looking to see the serving menu, you would not click here. Surprise! This is where they have hidden the locations link.

There currently are 97 restaurants across the United States. Some states have none, some state have several. California has the most. According to one of the articles sent to us and posted as a common one of our related articles, the original Ryan's location was closed.

Some locations have been scouted by Golden Corral and Golden Corral will be opening in some of those locations, but not all.  Some vacant OCB locations still have their large signs out front on the buildings and these are still lit at night. The OCB location that was once in Levittown, New York has a sign on the door that says, "New Buffet Coming Soon" and under that "Under Construction". There is no clue as to what type of buffet. It would be wonderful if it was an American/Country cuisine buffet similar to OCB and not another Asian Buffet as there is a large, popular Asian buffet directly across the road. We have a number of Asian buffets and various price points, we no longer have any other type of buffet. No Golden Corral, no CiCis, etc.

For me OCB is no more. I would have to travel many, many miles in my state to the remaining two OCBs, or go out of state, again for many miles, to go to one. And then the trip either way would require paying tolls that would more than quadruple the cost of the meal, plus gas.  I have to admit that I miss it. The OCBs here - and then when there was only one - were a regular weekly meal for us. As the song says, "You don't know what you've got 'till its gone!"

If you know of any of these that close, please send us an email or comment and we will remove them from the list. 



Arizona

Glendale O
Mesa O
Phoenix O

California

Anaheim H
Bakersfield H
Bell H
Burbank H
Canoga Park H
Chula Vista H
Concord H
Corona H
*Covina H
Downey H
Fairfield H
Fresno H
Fresno #2 H
Garden Grove H
Hayward H
Hemet H
Lakewood H
Loma Linda H
Modesto H
Montebello H
Moreno Valley H
National City H
Newark H
Oxnard H
Palmdale H
Palm Desert H
Rancho Cucamonga H
Redding H
Rialto H
Salinas H
San Diego H

**San Jose  H
Santa Ana H
Santa Clara H
Santa Maria H
Stockton H
Torrance H
Turlock H
Van Nuys H
Visalia H
Westchester H

Colorado

Colorado Springs C
Denver C

Connecticut

Manchester H

Delaware

Newark O

Florida

Crestview R
Pace R

Georgia

Athaus R
Commerce R
Rome R
Waycross R

Illinois

Chicago O
Effingham R
Mount Vernon R

Indiana

Highland O

Iowa

Cedar Rapids R

Kansas

Shawnee R

Kentucky

Bowling Green R

Louisiana

Lake Charles R
Ruston R

Maine

South Portland H

Michigan

Burton O
Kalamazoo O
Saginaw O


Minnesota

Burnsville O


Mississippi

Columbus R
Corinth R
Picayune R

New Jersey

Edison H

New York

Buffalo O
Elmira O

North Carolina

Asheville R
Sylva R

Ohio


Niles H
Sandusky H
Toledo H

Oregon

Beaverton H
Medford H
Portland H
Salem H
Springfield H

Pennsylvania

Hanover R
Harrisburg O
Philadelphia O
Whitehall O
York O

South Carolina

North Myrtle Beach R
Summerville R

Tennessee

Greenville R
Lebanon R
Madison R
Union City R

Texas

Conroe R
Waxahachie R

Virginia

Woodbridge O

Washington (State)

Bellevue O
Kennewick O
Kennewick #2 O
*Lynward O
Puyallup O
Tacoma O
Union Gap O
Vancouver H

West Virginia

Charleston R
Clarksburg R
Princeton R

Wisconsin

Eau Claire O
Greenfield O
Jamesville H



* These two restaurants were not on our original list of existing restaurants - and while it seems highly unlikely that two new restaurants have been opened since the closings started - they were not included on the OCB website locations months ago.

** This location was closed for health department concerns but it appears to be still open or coming back as it is still listed as open. 

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.

Top Asian Buffet 2015 - Yummy Asian Buffet, East Meadow, New York

OUT OF BUSINESS IN 2016


Yummy Buffet is our choice for Top Asian Buffet for 2015. We have, of course, written about Yummy before.

Yummy is a small, local Asian buffet on Long Island in the town of East Meadow. This has been the location of a Chinese restaurant for many years and a few years ago it was bought and re-done by a family who have brought excellent Asian cooking to this restaurant. It does not compete in this area in size. It is smaller than the rest in physical size and the amount of food that can be out at any one time on the buffet. It more than make up for this in the quality of the food that is cooked and the "menu restaurant" taste of what is served - which is something that generally cannot be said about usual Chinese/Asian buffet food.

This buffet, in addition, to the foods on the buffet tables, also has a small hibachi grill and a sushi chef that will make you whatever sushi rolls or sashimi that is on an extensive menu posted at the sushi station - to order. Both the hibachi grill - you choose the meats and vegetables and noodles - and give them to the chef (who is also the Sushi chef) who will cook them for you to order. I like what I have grilled a certain way and I have never been disappointed - and the sushi bar are included in the price of the buffet.

This restaurant more than meets our top buffet requirements of quality and taste. It also has excellent service. If the young women who come to your table are not family they work as if they are - I suspect that they are. They are there to take away your used plates and refill your beverage - always.

The other criteria that we look at is value and this meal has been $13.99* - 7 days a week for dinner. Less at lunch. This is equivalent to the formerly local chain "country" buffet (formerly as the nearby OCB is now closed) - and far exceeds what you got there. There are also discount coupons in local advertising publications and also on their website. This makes the value of this buffet even better. (Unfortunately, I have to make note that the price on Saturdays and Sundays plus holidays changed to $15.99 in 2016. As this award is given for 2015 that does not effect our decision on the exceptional value that you get here. If this price remains for 2016 for weekend dinners we will re-evaluate when looking at our 2016 awards. The value on weeknights including Fridays is still very much there. When it gets even two dollars higher without any changes on the menu, when we look at a buffet for a Top Award we have to take that into consideration. The restaurant will tell you that for the higher price there is lobster and crab legs on the buffet on the weekends. From past visits on weekends when it was $13.99 there has been lobster and crab legs on the weekend dinner buffet. On a 2016 Friday visit there was lobster on the $13.99 Friday dinner buffet. Lobster on an Asian buffet on Long Island means lobster pieces in the shell in ginger sauce - and generally the result is whoever can get there first will empty the tray.  Every restaurant does what it needs to do for business reasons, and this has been their decision for 2016.)

This buffet never seems to be crowded - despite the good food and everything else good. It can be almost empty when other buffets have lines to get in. We have never been able to understand this and when those who we have recommended this buffet to have gone, they have been pleased. If you go and it looks empty - go in anyway. The food is always fresh and if there are few people dining they just put less in the trays to keep the food from drying out and refill as needed. They "tend" this buffet very well - making sure that everything is being served as it should be. Ordinarily, if I go to a buffet for the first time and there is no one inside dining, I will walk out. While our visits here now are not a first time visit, we do not hesitate to go in and dine.

So - this is our choice for 2015 for Top Asian Buffet. Try it on a weeknight including Friday or if you don't mind the extra two dollars try it on a Saturday or Sunday for dinner. Lunch is less but do not expect the same foods that might be found at dinner on the lunch buffet - taste and quality will still be there but some of the foods found at dinner will not be on the lunch buffet.

TOP BUFFET - DUTCH-WAY RESTAURANT, GAP, PA

Dutch-Way Restaurant in Gap, PA has been an absolutely go to on every trip that we are in this area. We have been there on various nights of the week and have never been disappointed. This is one of the buffets that are unique to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania that are located in supermarket buildings. The buffet is not in the supermarket but is owned by the supermarket and is in the same building. The decor is very much like most of the family restaurants in Lancaster - pleasantly decorated with tables and booths scattered through two areas of the restaurant. The buffet is offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mondays to Saturday.

So what makes Dutch-Way Gap a Top Buffet?

The food is very, very good and the dishes vary from night to night and from visit to visit. There is a featured theme every night that focuses around what is served from the grill/carving station and this carries over to the entrees on the buffet tables. Each time that we have gone, in addition to specific features on the grill and carvings, there has been at least one dish that we have never had before and each has been something good. Food is a mixture of PA Dutch/Amish dishes and continental entrees and side dishes.

The food is consistent in proper preparation, kept at the correct temperatures on the buffet, and in taste when the same dish is served. There are some things that I look to find each time we go on the salad bar and they are there. They make an exceptional chicken salad and it is one of the prepared salads found on their salad bar. It is so good that I have thought to just order the Soup and Salad Bar as I could easily make a meal of their chicken salad. (I have not done that yet, because they I would miss out on the rest of the buffet.) The foods on the buffet are properly maintained and not allowed to dry out and are replenished before the tray is empty. The buffet tables, the buffet area, the dining rooms are consistently clean and well maintained. So are the restrooms - which are located in the lobby of the restaurant.

There is great value here. The price of the buffet is comparable and perhaps even less than the chain buffets. There are children's and senior prices as well. The price is a little higher on the Friday and Saturday as there is Prime Rib at the carving station. Thursday nights are higher as this is the Seafood Buffet. This is a very affordable family restaurant at family prices - and if you have some at your table who do not wish to have the buffet that is no problem at all. There is a full menu here along with the buffet and some at the table may have the buffet and some may order from the menu - please don't give anything from the buffet to someone ordering from the menu (that is this site saying that).

There is quality in what is served here. The meats and vegetables are coming fresh from the food market on site. The baked goods are bakes on premises. Items on the grill are cooked to order.

Service is very good and the best - I mean the BEST - waitress in any restaurant works here. I have written about her before and there is no better. Whenever we are there, we look for her and ask for a table in her section.

Sadly, the last time that we were going to have dinner at Dutch-Way, it was closed for the employee Christmas party. I looked forward to this for a week. We were in the area for business during the day and in the evening we went to the restaurant and got right up to the door to see the sign that said that they were closed for their party. Well, they deserve a party for a job consistently well done! I do wish that they had been open, as we could both taste that dinner as we walked up to that door. Just writing about this buffet I can taste my favorites there! Soon, soon...

This buffet is not in the main tourist area of Lancaster. It is off to the edge of the county and not far from Delaware. You will not find tourists dining here. You will find local families here - Amish, Mennonite, and the English (as the Amish refer to the rest of us). These are the people who shop in the supermarket or just come here for dinner. There is a shed for horse and carriages to be tied up outside in the parking lot.

The Dutch-Way Restaurant is located at the Dutch-Way Farm Market Supermarket at 365 Gap Newport Pike (Route 41), Gap, Pennsylvania 17527. The dinner 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.

Golden Corral, Freehold, NJ - Revisited

In December 2014, I wrote about the new Golden Corral located in Freehold, New Jersey. This is the closest Golden Corral location to the Metro NY area. Our experience there was not the greatest and if this was a first time to any Golden Corral I likely not go back. We found ourselves in that area in April and other than Asian buffets, there are no other buffets in this area. I thought that despite that first visit, we would go back again and see if things were the same or if they have improved.

We were there again on a Saturday night and when we arrived at 6:45 pm for dinner there was - again - a line out the door. We waited about fifteen minutes to get in and up to the cashier. We were seated about five minutes later. The restaurant was crowded but the crowd did not seem as maddening as it had the first time that we were there. In December I talked about the price at this Golden Corral being more expensive than other Golden Corrals that we have been to and they have raised that price. The weekend dinner price is now $13.99 with another $2.29 added to that if you want a beverage. The weekend dinner is called "Premium" but like the first time there it is "premium" only in price. What is on the buffet is exactly the same as is there at any other Golden Corral on any night. There was a sign advertising Mother's Day dinner for $14.99 - plus the price of the beverage which would make this buffet dinner for Mom $17.28 plus tax and tip. That is a lot for a meal at Golden Corral. (As an aside, OCB's local price of $13.99 includes the beverage and their Mother's Day meal is also $14.99 but includes the beverage - and OCB has a current coupon for $2.00 of Mom's dinner on Mother's Day.) This Golden Corral remains the most expensive Golden Corral that we are aware of. 

The current feature was (perhaps still is if you are reading this currently) baby back ribs made with a variety of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauces. One sauce is daily after 4 and after 11 am on Sundays. I tried the ribs with the basic sauce. The other ribs that were out had chipotle sauce. These were the only two being served that night. I found the ribs to be dry and not as good as I had hoped that they would be. I have had Golden Corral baby back ribs before and they have never really been very special. Since this was a big feature with a promotion for the BBQ sauce, I had hoped that they would be better. The ribs, however, were popular and they were carving ribs all night. These ribs were served at the carving station, about three ribs at a time.

I have not had a decent steak in a long time and I like Golden Corral steak. I decided pretty much going in that it was the steak that I was there for and this is what I mainly would have - and I did. All together I went up three times for steak - now if you wonder how or why anyone would eat three steaks in one meal, understand these are not full steaks but are about three or so inches around in size and about an inch or less thick. The three steaks together were the equivalent of one full steak. The first two that I had were very good. The gentleman cooking and serving steaks at that time new exactly what he was doing and knew what a rare steak looks like before he serves it. I like steak that is rare in the middle and charged on the outside and those steaks were just this way (with the first one perfect and the second close to perfect. This was what led me back for the third and perhaps I should have stopped at those two. When I went up, the same chef was there and I asked for a steak rare and he told me that all of the steaks had to go just a little longer and he then walked away. He did not come back. A while later another chef came up and started asking those standing there all over again. I asked him for a steak rare and what I got was a steak medium well - which he did not recognize even after he cut into it before serving it to make sure it was rare. Well, he made sure it was medium well and that is what I got. The steak was still tasty. The Golden Corral steaks are seasoned and they do tend to be slightly on the salty side - which some would not like but I don't mind as long as it is not overly salty.

My picky eater wife found more choices here than she did the last time we were here and she did not wind up eating the cold salad chicken from the salad bar for the entire meal. She had meatload which she said - this time - was good. She also had a piece of the rotisserie chicken which she usually does not take but this time was not dripping with grease and was not seasoned, as it had been before. I was actually surprised at the variety she found for herself.

As trays emptied they were being replaced - though not always with the same thing. The dessert section was fairly well stocked and the bread pudding is still the best dessert there - which I indulged in though I am not supposed to.

Our server was a "serving trainer" and she was good. She was attentive to our table despite the crowd and she made sure our used plates were taken away and our drinks were refilled. She was one of the better servers that we have had at a Golden Corral.

The buffet was crowded but getting around the buffet and to the serving counters was manageable. The continuing problem that occurs in many Golden Corrals - especially ones where people have never been to a buffet before - is that people think that they are at a cafeteria and insist on starting a line at one end of the long winding counter and moving along. We heard one woman at a table nearby ask the server for a tray so that she could get on the line. A buffet is not a cafeteria and you go up to whatever tray you want, wait politely for the person there to take what they want, and then you take some. This cafeteria mentality is what results in plates piled so high that one cannot recognize what is at the bottom with the entire meal layered over it! I just go up and go to what I want. I am not walking the entire buffet to get what I want that is at the other end of the room.

We had anticipated another disappointing experience but had quite the opposite. We were both complimentary of the meal and the restaurant when we were finished. The wait outside to get in seems like it will never go away. I am curious if this also happens on weeknights.

So, other than the price, if you are in or near Freehold, New Jersey this Golden Corral is worth a try. This Golden Corral is located at 3520 US Highway 9 in Freehold, New Jersey 07728. The phone number is 732-400-8600.

TOP BUFFET 2014 - SHADY MAPLE SMORGASBORD, East Earl, PA

Our pick for Top Buffet of 2014 goes to Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earle, Pennsylvania. Shady Maple has been on our picks for Top and Best Buffets since our annual awards began. Allow us to explain why Shady Maple is the Top Buffet this year. We get many requests from readers and those who just stumble upon this website asking what buffet would we recommend in various locations. When it comes to Lancaster County - where there are more buffets than anywhere else - and I am talking privately owned, local buffets and not casino buffets - the first recommendation that we always make is Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Shady Maple is at the top of our "recommend list". When people ask for such a recommendation, they want to be "wowed" and Shady Maple is going to wow them. And when we do send someone there we always hear back about how wonderful it was and that they could not believe it -and there is always the comment - "We will be going back!".

Going to Shady Maple is an experience and one that any visitor to Lancaster should not miss. This is a buffet that one would take a long trip just to (and only to) dine here. This is a large buffet with dining rooms and a buffet serving area that is overwhelming when one first sees it. I am not sure what restaurant is considered the largest in the world but this one has to be a contender. There are two huge dining rooms - three if you separate the first dining room's very large booth section from the very large table section, with more dining rooms along the side. Then there are the catering rooms and an entire menu restaurant in addition on the lower level.

The food is just as grand with a building long serving area of buffet servers and four - grill areas - and two of those grill areas are double-sided making this actually SIX grills working on most nights. There are often not duplicates from one grill to the next and the foods on the grill range, depending on the night, from steaks to real Prime Rib to Asian dishes to sausage to ham to brisket to fish to burgers to smoked sausage to their special "Smorgy Cheese Steaks" - and more. On the buffet, there are two huge salad bars - with some but not all duplication, eight different soups, and entrees and side dishes that include many Pennsylvania Dutch favorites along with American dishes and more. There is a rotation of dishes that may appear on the smorgasbord that go through the seasons. There are some items that seem to always be there, but there are others that you may not see for months and then they are there again. The food is well prepared, quality food that is properly maintained in the serving trays and replaced quickly when needed. If there is a substitution that substitution is of an equal dish - in other words, no one is replacing meat with rolls here. Food is constantly being brought out from the kitchen by a number of people working at the buffet servers. Now, I know that many of my readers want to hear about desserts and there are plenty of those to choose from - real cakes, pies, prepared desserts, hot desserts, sundaes - soft serve and on special occasions hand dipped, and sugar free desserts that actually taste good and you don't have to be concerned about what they have been sweetened with.

While this looks like the type of restaurant that is owned and operated by a big corporate conglomeration, it is in reality owned by the founding family (this started as a farm stand, grew to a market and grew to a buffet restaurant and grew to this much, much bigger buffet restaurant) and the owner is, at times, present in the restaurant and if he is not there, competent managers are visible. There is a large staff of employees to run this huge restaurant.

Even with the size of this restaurant it is often crowded - on season and off season. There is rarely a night when there is not a wait. And off season, they run special dinner menus on some weekends including a Hawaiian Luau with a whole roast pig. Tourist season, and that can be May to November, the restaurant is the busiest. You are going to encounter people from all over dining here but you may also find an Amish family sitting at the table next to you. By the way, if you come by buggy there is parking for your horse and buggy on the lower side of the building. This buffet is well known far and wide. We have met people hundreds of miles from Pennsylvania who are talking about Shady Maple. Recently sitting at lunch in a fast food restaurant 200 miles away from Lancaster there was a group of men having lunch together and we overheard one say to the rest how he just returned from Lancaster and then he told his friends all about Shady Maple - and some of them said they already knew about it as they have been there as well. We have been in local Pennsylvania farmers markets and have heard one PA Dutch farmer say to another - "Going down to Shady Maple tonight!"  See, this is what sets this buffet restaurant apart from all of the rest.

So if you want to know what restaurant to go to when you go to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to see the Pennsylvania Dutch - or you just want to experience a restaurant this large and this good - the top choice is Shady Maple Smorgasbord. They are closed Sundays and several holidays through the year. They serve buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food and selections are different at each of those meals. Each night there are themed offerings so look at their website for what night features what. The prices include a gratuity and sales tax. The meal price is complete including beverage. There are children's prices, a senior price, and you get a free meal on the day of your birthday with proof.

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.

BEST ASIAN BUFFET 2014 - YUMMY CHINA BUFFET, East Meadow, New York

It has been awhile since we have given a Best Asian Buffet award. We dine at many Asian buffets. It takes a very special one to really stand out and Yummy China Buffet in East Meadow, New York stands out. It is not a large restaurant and in fact, it is one of the smaller Asian buffets. It does not have rows and rows of buffet servers. It has one long server, a wall next to that with cold items, and a combination hibachi grill and sushi bar. What it has is outstanding food, prepared, and maintained better than any other Asian/Chinese buffet that we have been to.

We have been watching this buffet since it opened about two years ago. During its first year it was expensive for buffets in this area and, frankly, because of the price we did not go in. About a year ago, the owner decided to lower the price and to do this he removed the nightly lobster feature from the menu. That was fine as he brought the price down to where it could better compete with other local Asian buffets. During this past year, the price was lowered again - to $13.99 where it is priced just right, especially for the excellent food that he is serving. As our readers are aware, our criteria for a best or top buffet requires value and quality and with the lower price those two criteria were more than met. But we also look at consistency over time and that criteria was easily met as well. The criteria of good service has been very well met - both by the women who care for you at your table but also by the chef who is at the sushi bar and hibachi grill. The Asian gentleman at the grill who also doubles as the sushi chef does an excellent job and prepares your order perfectly to your request. We were realizing that we were in a "best" buffet about mid-year. We dined here several more times to be sure and we are very sure. We have written about this buffet during this past year and you can go back and read the reviews.Our most recent review was at the beginning of December.

One thing that is special about this buffet is that while they are serving the standard dishes that appear on many Asian buffets, they also are serving their special dishes. Every review we come back to one dish that is exceptional and that is their Yummy Pork. This is a slow cooked pork roast - with the skin in a thin sauce that compliments the meat well. You carve a piece off for yourself from the hot serving tray. Sometimes it just falls apart which is good. The meat is tender and moist. We have tried other similar pork dishes at other Asian buffets and there has been nothing like this one. The sign says "Ancient Recipe" and I am sure that it is - and no one else seems to have that recipe that tries to serve a similar dish.

There are many other excellent dishes that you will find here on the buffet. There is a very broad selection of seafood, beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegetable dishes. If the name says "Yummy" try it, as these are their specialties.

The hibachi grill is small but has everything that you would want to have prepared hibachi style - an assortment of vegetables, noodles, chicken, beef, shrimp, and raw eggs in the shell. The chef will prepare it to your liking. What is different about this from other Asian buffets? This chef knows what he is doing. I really can't say that about many other Asian buffets. When this chef is not there, the owner takes over - and does just as excellent a job at cooking.

One very important thing about this buffet is that the owner is out in the dining room and around the buffet servers the whole time. He keeps an eye that everything is running just as it should be and we have seen him bring special things over to a table on request. As we have said so many times before, when the manager is hands on and involved - and in this case the owner - that is what is going to make a major difference in how good a buffet is. This combined with excellent workers and the difference is going to show and it certainly does.

We have found hidden gems in the past and Yummy China Buffet is certainly one of them. This is a must try. Try it for dinner. We have not been there for lunch and while I am sure that lunch is as excellent as dinner, you are going to get the experience that we have had so many times at dinner - and we have been to dinner here both weekends and mid-week.

This is a must try. And we are very happy to name Yummy China Buffet as BEST ASIAN BUFFET OF 2014!

The Yummy China Buffet and Sushi Restaurant is located at 398 Merrick Avenue, East Meadow, New York 11554. The telephone number is 516-486-2525. There is now a website that is linked at the side of this page.  (By the way that website right now  has a coupon for $5 off dinner on Mondays to Thursdays.) The restaurant is NOW open seven days a week from 11:30 am to 10:00 pm.

Another Golden Corral

I am pushing this article ahead of some important other articles to follow the Golden Corral article which has been running here over the past two weeks. Since our visit to the Freehold, New Jersey Golden Corral we went to another Golden Corral - one that we have been to before. We took a day trip to Bethlehem, PA for the Christmas events that take place there in the weeks before Christmas and for dinner we decided to drive up to Whitehall, PA to the Golden Corral - one that I have written about here before. We went on a Saturday night two weekends before Christmas. This Golden Corral is in the back of a shopping center and the shopping center was very, very crowded. We arrived at the Golden Corral at about 6:30 pm.

We went in to find barely a line. There was a larger line later after we had gone in. The restaurant inside was busy but not hectic. One thing that is most important to note is that the price of the buffet on Saturday night - UNLIKE the Golden Corral in Freehold, NJ - was the new, as advertised price of $11.99 ($11.49 for seniors). A sign showed all of the supposed features as it had in Freehold.

On the buffet there were more items than at Freehold and a broader selection of things I expect to find at Golden Corral. There were several types of potatoes including French fries, homemade potato chips, mashed potatoes and baked potatoes. One different item was Italian Sausage and Peppers which, while greasy, was good. The riblets were more like baby back ribs than riblets but there was not as much meat on each rib as baby backs usually have. They were not bad. Similar to Freehold there was someone carving the larger ribs and they were carving one at a time though putting more than one on your plate if you asked. There was pulled pork and that was very good. The meatloaf was of a much better consistency than at Freehold and it held together rather than crumble. It was slightly spicy.The steak was good. The first one that I had was more well than anything close to rare, but the second one was close to perfect. It was crispy charred on the outside and reddish pink inside. It was a nicely seasoned steak. Again, as in New Jersey, the sign said that this was the new "Founder's Cut" of steak. It was done much better than what i had in Freehold, and I really enjoyed the this steak!  The pot roast here was large thick slices of beef - perhaps almost a half inch thick with vegetables on the side. The only thing disappointing on the main buffet was the corn pudding which looked very good but turned out to be no more than cornbread with whole kernels of corn throughout.

The night was not without a minor problem and that had to do with the dishes and utensils. I have not had this problem at this Golden Corral before and perhaps it was crowds during the day from the shoppers coming in and the dishwasher could not keep up. There were two many plates and silverware that was not totally clean - as in coming out of the dishwasher too soon. It took some picking through the silverware (more than the dishes) to find ones clean. The dining room and the buffet were clean - as were the rest rooms.

One thing that can be a problem at buffets are the employees who are in charge of getting food out. There was no problem here until we got to dessert. This is a tale to be told - and I will tell it. I will say from the start that I let this go as long as it did because I was curious as to what the outcome would be and because we were not in any hurry and not eager to get back on the road and head home. OK - we went up to the dessert counter for dessert. Again, there was a sign about the "Vegas Desserts" and I still have to wonder what makes them think that a slice of apple pie or a small slice of chocolate cake is a "Vegas dessert". My wife wondered if it was their putting the chocolate pudding in cups with whipped cream on top. I really don't know but that is aside from our story. So, we went up to see what to have and there really was nothing very enticing. There were little individual pumpkin pies and I was tempted to take that but then I remembered the good bread pudding that I had had. The tray of bread pudding had a spoonful or two of crumbs and needed to be replaced. If I was going to have it, I would wait for a new tray to come out and have a worthwhile dessert. There were two people behind the counter and they were actively working to get desserts out to the counter. We went back to the table and waited. About three minutes later another diner went up and scraped out the pan that I passed up and now the bread pudding was completely gone. As I say, I was in no hurry and I waited. After about fifteen minutes I went up to see if I missed the woman putting out a new tray. No she had not. I caught her attention and I asked her if more bread pudding was coming out. "Yes, it is on its way." Fine. I went back to the table and kept my eye on what was taking place behind the dessert counter. Time passed and we were just sitting there. Our server came over and asked if there was anything wrong - or if she could bring us tea, coffee, o more soda. I told her exactly what was happening. She was very apologetic and she told me she would go find out what happened to the bread pudding. She was very nice. We watched her behind the counter talking to the woman that I had spoken to. There was a lot of discussion and she then came back to our table. She said, "I have good news and I have bad news", trying to smile. OK - tell me it all was my response. Well, it turned out that yes, there was more bread pudding coming out, but it was in the oven and it takes over an hour and ten minutes to cook. There was still six minutes left for it to complete baking. This was now almost forty minutes and at least thirty minutes since I spoke with the woman at the dessert counter. She never said that it would be coming out in any lengthy amount of time. Our server apologized again and assured me that if I still wanted it, it would be out very soon now. All together I waited forty five minutes for the bread pudding to come out. Again - I had decided to wait this out from the start. When it did come out it took another five minutes for it to cool to be placed out on the counter. I went right up and took a bowl. Our server saw that it came out and came right over to be sure I had it and commented that she hoped it was worth the wait. It was. Now, what does this tell me is wrong? What is wrong here is if it is early in the evening dinner service and something that takes over an hour goes out on the buffet another needs at that same time to go into cook - if not earlier. When one tray empties there should always be another ready to come out - whether this is the dessert station or the hot foods or the salad bar. And there should be a manager supervising to make sure that this takes place. During the course of this time a manager had been behind the dessert counter talking to the two people working there but it was obvious from the outcome that it did not make any difference. Management and the employees are the heart and lifeblood of a buffet restaurant. Usually Golden Corral is better than many others. Anyway - if you want bread pudding take it when you see it.

I have to make a special note about our server. Her name is Erin and she was excellent. She is the best servers we have ever had at a Golden Corral. She went above and beyond with us and all of the tables she was taking care of that night. I commend her and I hope that someone at Golden Corral corporate is reading this as this young woman deserves a raise! You can really tell when someone looks upon their job as something to get done and away from or really cares about doing a good job. Erin really cared about doing her job well.

Overall - good dinner. It was a good meal despite the dishwasher problem (as I say it has not been that way here before in OUR experience) and the wait for bread pudding (definitely a problem with the people behind the dessert counter not anticipating need). We are in this area infrequently and it will be many months before we will be back but we will be going back to the Whitehall, PA Golden Corral. 

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

Yummy China Buffet, East Meadow, New York

I have written about Yummy China buffet a couple of times in the past year. They have changed their price again - for the better. The dinner price is now $13.99. They started this restaurant a little over a year ago at $19.99, then went to $15.99 (including soda), and now it has dropped to $13.99 with unlimited soda additional.

This little Asian buffet seems to always be struggling and I am not really sure why. I could understand when they first opened that $19.99 was not going to go well here where very few Asian buffets are at that price level and they are much larger restaurants. The change in price to $15.99 was a step in the right direction - especially that they included the soft drinks. Now, at $13.99 they are at the same price as the local Old Country Buffet (though plus the drink at $1.50), but when we walked in on a Friday night at about 7 pm there were only four tables of people dining aside from us. Other local Asian buffets are jammed for the most part at that time.

I always feel sad for the owner who has been trying very hard to get this restaurant/buffet off the ground since purchasing what had been a bad Asian buffet in this location that had been there for many years and finally went out of business. The new owner is very friendly and has been there every night that we have gone. He greets us like we are there every week when in reality it is months between our visits. We wondered if he just greets people this way but observing while we are there it seems to actually be sincere and he recognizes us. This is not to say that he does not greet everyone well- he goes out of his way to greet and make people feel welcome.

Here is the thing about Yummy China Buffet. The food is EXCELLENT. This is probably the best Chinese buffet food we have ever had - and we have been to some pretty good Chinese/Asian buffets. Everything tastes fresh and the cooking surpasses menu Chinese restaurants. For a small buffet - one long double sided, hot buffet server with a cold server along side, a sushi bar with a sushi chef who is making sushi to your order (in addition to some rolls prepared and out) and when he makes your sushi order he is serving you full rolls of whatever you order, a small hibachi grill with chicken and beef and assorted vegetables and noodles, and entrees that are not all the usual Chinese buffet finds. Let me say something here about the sushi and the buffet - when we in the restaurant the sign says Sushi included on the buffet and the chef was making sushi for people who were asking for specific rolls, etc. The website and the recent ad seems to say that any sushi that is out in the "sushi serving boat" - a boat like serving tray - is what is included and not made to order requests - but that was not happening. This may be something that will happen at some point - I don't know. I did not have the sushi on this night - so I did not ask. As to the entrees on the buffet, some things are the usual - over-sweet sauced spareribs, chicken and broccoli (though extremely light and fresh tasting), egg rolls, fried dumplings, etc. Then they go into specialty items.

I have mentioned the "Yummy Pork" in the past. This is an entire section of pork cooked whole with an interesting sauce - the sign says "ancient recipe" and I am sure it is. I have never had anything like this pork and it is the first thing that I go for when I start on entrees here. As you take it from the serving pan - off the whole - it breaks away in sections and pulls away. It is very tender. There is also the skin and the fat that comes away with the meat - eat it or not - it is very good if you are so inclined.

There are small Chinese meatballs - yes, Chinese meatballs show up at other buffets - but none like these. The beef is so finely ground that the texture of the meatball inside is creamy. There is egg foo young - again standard - but the sauce that they have on the side for you to put on yourself is unlike any sauce I have had on egg foo young. This is not the thick, light in color brown sauce usually served (which I do enjoy when I have it). This is a delicate almost sweet sauce that is very good.

There was a very good dish that combined chicken, beef, and shrimp in a light brown sauce with red peppers - not spicy or "hot" peppers. If you like spicy there are spicy dishes - and two bottles of different types of hot sauce on the tables. There were more dishes to please just about anyone including hot snow crab legs (small individual legs) and then there is the hibachi grill to make whatever you like if you decide you want something that you don't see.

Everything is also replaced promptly when it runs out and everything is kept at the proper temperatures and nothing is left to dry out. On this night there were sauteed mushrooms and when those ran out they were replaced with sauteed string beans - both good. The owner is watching over everything and the people working for him - which I believe are family - are making sure that everything is right.

The service was excellent also. We did not order soft drinks - just water. We have found that at some Asian buffets that if you just order water, no one ever comes to ask if you would like the glass refilled and freshened with more ice. Not here. The young lady kept an eye on our glasses and made sure to ask as they got past half full if we would like more water. All dishes were promptly removed from the table as well.

 So what is going on here? Where are the customers? While we were dining on this night at one point we were the only ones in the restaurant -but then in a short while people started coming in and several tables filled.  Perhaps this is just a restaurant that gets people in spurts. I suspect that people don't know about the change in price - perhaps even from the $19.99 price when they opened. AND unless someone has come in and tried the food, they don't know how good the food is. The owner has been trying. He has run newspaper ads with coupons. The $2 off coupon is what motivated us to come in and see what the change to $13.99 would change on the buffet - and the answer to that was nothing was missing - and perhaps more different things were out to try. We ate for $11.99 each. You cannot beat that easily around here for food this good. (Yes, there are Chinese/Asian buffets within easy driving distance that are actually $10.99 and they are good - but don't equal the cooking here.

This little buffet reminds me of another exceptional little buffet - the European buffet in New Jersey that struggled and never seemed to have many people eating there when we would go. That was an exceptional buffet! It too was excellent! It could not survive and went out of business in a few years. I am very much hoping that this great little buffet will keep going! Selfishly, I would hate to see a line going out the front door but it that keeps him open that would be great for him and I will wait.

If you are on Long Island, New York and come to East Meadow which is about mid-Nassau County, please try the Yummy China Buffet. I believe you will be pleased that you did. Don't go in expecting a lavishly large buffet. Do go in expecting great cooking and food.

The Yummy China Buffet and Sushi Restaurant is located at 398 Merrick Avenue, East Meadow, New York 11554. The telephone number is 516-486-2525. There is now a website that is linked at the side of this page.  (By the way that website right now  has a coupon for $5 off dinner on Mondays to Thursdays.) The restaurant is NOW open seven days a week from 11:30 am to 10:00 pm. The lunch price is less.

Rules of the Buffet

Once again, for the new buffet goers - and for the old timers -

RULES OF THE BUFFET

1. All you can eat is not a challenge. It is an offer!

2. There is no limit to the number of times that you can go up and get food.

3. Take your food in courses - as you would be served if ordering from a menu.

4. Everyone must pay!

5. No food is permitted to be taken out of the restaurant.

6. Take only what you will eat - do not waste food.

7. For a more social meal, it is polite to wait for the others at the table to finish their plates and then go up together to get more.

8. Take a clean plate every time that you go up to the buffet tables.

9. If you put it on your plate, leave it there. Never return food to the serving tray.

10. Never eat at the buffet tables!

11. Children under 12 should not be going up to the buffet tables alone.

12. The buffet table is not a cafeteria line.

13. Tip the server.

14. Never take a serving piece from one item and use it for another item.

15. Never place your dirty plates on someone else's table.

16. Never use your silverware to serve yourself from the buffet trays.

17. Once you have gotten what you want, don't stand around the buffet tables. Move on back to your table.

18. Children should remain seated through the meal.

19. Do not fill community plates for the "table". Each should take their own plate of what they wish to eat.

20. If you cough or sneeze into your hand, please do not use that hand to pick up the serving utensils.

21. In the buffet, as in any restaurant, children (and adults) should use their inside voices.

22. Don't talk on your cell phone while you are getting your food at the buffet tables.

23. Never bring an animal into the buffet. (this is not referring to medical guide dogs)

24. Never put your hands into a serving tray.

25. Tell your children not to put their hands into a serving tray - and make sure that they do not!

26. Do not carry on a conversation throughout dinner with the people at the tables around you.

27. Do not put anything back into a serving tray that has dropped onto the serving counter - and never put anything back into a serving tray (whether from the counter or your dish) with your fingers.

28. Never put the serving utensil, whether it a spoon, fork, or tongs, up to your nose to smell the food that you have taken out of the serving tray.

29. Do not eat while walking with your plate back to your table.

30. If you take a plate, bowl, cup, or piece of silverware and you decide you don't want it, do not put it back on the stack of clean dishes or back with the clean silverware. Take it back to your table or put it on the side of the stack where it will not be taken as clean.

HOW TO BUFFET

Recently we have been encountering people in buffets who seem to have never been to a buffet before. It is entirely possible that they haven't. They seem so lost and confused. We hear them asking each other what to do and neither seems to have any idea. I started thinking then about this article, an article on how to buffet. If you are new to buffet dining then this is for you. If you have been around buffets for years and years, read anyway for fun.

Let's start at the beginning - walking through the door. There are two basic types of buffets. One type is where you are seated, have your meal, and at the end are given a check, just like in a menu restaurant. You then take the check up to the cash register - or your server will bring your check with a cash "tray" under it or in a cash folder and you put your money on the tray, the server takes it up to the register for you and returns with your change or charge receipt. The other type is where you will walk into a cashier's desk where you are going to pay before going in and eating. You may or may not, depending on the buffet, be asked to select your beverage at this time also.

What is included in the price of a buffet varies by the individual buffet or the buffet chain. At some the price is just for the food and drinks are a separate charge. At most, the soft drinks are unlimited meaning you can have all that you care to drink. At others though, you may be paying per drink. At some buffets the tip is included in the price. At other buffets the tip is not included and it is up to you to leave a tip of an amount that you decide. Yes, you are expected to leave a tip at a buffet even though your are primarily serving yourself. The server that is taking care of your table is often actually working harder than some servers in menu restaurants. He or she will be at your table to take away your finished plates (promptly, hopefully) and at many buffets bring you your drinks and refill your drinks when you desire. Tip accordingly based on the level of service you are receiving, but tip.

Now you have either been seated after having paid or just seated at your table. Your server will usually come up to your table shortly and introduce him/herself. Some will ask if you have ever dined at this buffet before and if not, will explain where everything is. If your drinks will be brought to our by the server - and the buffet did not ask you to name the drink you will be having - the server will ask what you wish to drink (seeing on your receipt which will be placed on your table that you have paid for drinks - if drinks are not included) or if this is a pay when you leave buffet will ask you if you would like to have a drink which will be placed on your bill when you are finished with your meal. Some get to their table and are in such a hurry that they don't sit down but go right to the buffet server. It is better - in my opinion - to sit down, let the server see that you are there, and come over to go through what you just read above. A buffet is no a fast food restaurant unless you make it one. Sit down, get settled, meet your server, and then go up to the buffet.

OK! Now you go up to the buffet to start your meal. No one has to invite you to do this. You are on your own. In fact, during the course of your meal you can go up as many times as you like to take what you like. Remember that this is a meal and not a marathon or a food eating contest. Take your time to enjoy your food and the company that you are with. So, yes, now you go up. I am amazed at how many times I have heard people get to their table and ask each other, "Do we just go up?" Yes, you just go up. No one is going to bring your food to you. You are going to select your entire meal and bring it back to your table yourself (including drinks if this is a self-serve drink buffet such as Old Country Buffets and their affiliates do).

So now you are up at the buffet servers. One suggestion that I have is to walk around the entire buffet serving section and look at everything that there is to eat BEFORE you take anything. Discover what they have. Find out for yourself where things are. In this way you will not miss anything and you will not have any regrets when you have eaten yourself full that you missed your favorite whatever that you did not know was there - until it was too late. Once have have seen it all it is time to start taking what you would like to start with. I say "start with" because you do not have to take everything that you want for the entire meal at one time. This is NOT a cafeteria. Again, you may go back as many times are you wish. Take a plate or a bowl and make a plate of food for yourself. Each person in your party will do the same. If you have children under 12, make their plate for them - asking them what they would like - guiding them is this is what you do.

If you went to a menu restaurant meals are served in courses. A meal at a buffet should be no different. If you start other meals with soup first, take soup. If you start meals with salad first, take salad. If you never eat soup or salad then go right to the entrees and side dishes. If you like it all, take soup, then salad (or the two reversed) and then take your entree and sides, and finally dessert. All with separate plates.

As you go around the buffet, understand again that this is not a cafeteria. There are two styles of buffet. One is called a scatter buffet meaning buffet serving tables are scattered around the area. The other is considered a counter buffet with a long counter to go along and take what you like from the many trays along the counter. Some buffets are a combination of the two. Even at a counter buffet, it is acceptable and not rude to walk up to any point in the counter and take what you would like to take without getting on the end of a line at the start of the counter and walking all around the counter until you get to the one thing that you are up there for. People see a counter and decide it means there is a line - and in some buffets form a ridiculous line. Sometimes you will encounter this and no matter what, you get sucked into this line. There was a commercial several years back for a popular pizza buffet chain in which they made fun of this and made it clear that you can walk up to any point of the counter and take what you want - there is no line! It is not rude. It is not impolite.

Please don't fill the plate piled high with one thing on top of the other. There is no reason for that. Make a normal plate. It will be there for you take on the next plate. I never understand how anyone can taste anything sitting under a pile of four, five, more other foods mounded up like a pet bowl. There is no need to pile layer over layer of different foods one on top of each other and then douse the whole thing with gravy. You are not making a casserole, you are serving yourself a plate of food. Each item should be visible and recognizable when the plate is ready to take back to the table. You might consider buffet eating as I do - take a very small portion of a variety of things that appeal to you. And I mean small portions. This gives you an opportunity to taste a lot and if you desire go back for more of what you liked best or for another sampler plate.

So you have taken your first plate and have gone back to your table. I always recommend waiting for the rest of your dining party to return before you start eating. This is a meal to be eaten together. You can not be so hungry that you must devour your plate before your spouse, kids, or whoever is with you comes back to the table. I have seen this many times. In my opinion it is rude and lacking of manners. When you have finished your first plate, you may go back up for more of what you had or whatever else you want. I know that some of my readers disagree with what I am about to say, but I feel that it is only polite to wait for your spouse and, usually, your kids to be ready before you get up from the table to go back for more. I understand that this is not practical when with a large group, and certainly in those situations, go up, perhaps as a couple, without waiting for the rest. When you go back up to the buffet, LEAVE your soiled, finished plate on your table. The server will come to pick it up. NEVER take a used plate back to the buffet tables to be used again!

You are now back at the buffet tables to take more food. Continue your courses - salad after soup, if that is your preference, soup after salad, if that is your preference, or entrees and side dishes. This can be the first of many return trips - if you desire. Again, don't load your plate. Take normal portions of a selection that just fills the surface of the plate or less. YOU CAN GO BACK! So many don't seem to believe that! Every time that you go back, take a clean plate!

There is a dessert section to keep in mind while you are eating. Again, a buffet is all you CARE to eat, and not all that you CAN eat. The idea is not to feel like you need to puke when you leave the buffet because you stuffed yourself so full that you can barely move. Save room for dessert. I know that it is hard sometimes walking away from somethings that you really wish you had taken sooner but it is not the end of the world if you don't get it - and if you can come back to the buffet another time you can always get it then. Again, a reason to walk around at the beginning and see what there is - you will see that favorite then and know to take it before you have eaten too much. Save room for dessert. If you are a dessert fanatic save a lot of room for dessert. And if you are really a dessert fanatic there is nothing saying that you can't just eat a meal of desserts and nothing else.

So now we have gotten you through the entire meal. You still are able to walk and not feel like you never want to look at another bite of food again. If you have paid in advance, put a tip on the table and you then leave the restaurant. There is nothing more necessary - unless you are making a stop at the restroom on the way out. And if you have a long drive home, that is advisable! If this is a pay when you leave buffet your server should be aware that you had just finished with dessert and will bring the check over to you. It may be necessary to beckon to an inattentive or very busy server to indicate that you are ready for your check. Do not be alarmed if when you start dessert your server brings you the check and puts it on your table. This is USUALLY not a way to tell you that you have had enough and you should leave. It is often just a way to give you an opportunity to have the check without waiting when you are through. (I hesitate to say that there are some buffets where the check shows up mid-meal and this is often taken as a way of saying, you had enough already. Sometimes this is true and sometimes this is not. We have had this happen and the server very politely will say that they are bringing the check because their shift is ending or they are going on a break but please eat as much as you care to and stay as long as you like. We have had it happen the other way too - and I get just as annoyed as you would - and when it happens at a particular buffet that I have been to I will let you know about it in my review!) Pay your check, leave your tip - if you are paying by credit card you can leave a tip on the card when you pay at the end. If you pay at the beginning you are going to need cash in your pocket to leave a tip. Do not hesitate to go up to the cashier to break a bill for smaller bills for a tip. They know that this is why you are asking and would rather that you get the bills to give to the server rather than walk out without leaving a tip.

There you have "How To Buffet"! It does not end there and next week we will post a return of our "Rules of the Buffet". What you have just read are the basics. What you will read in the Rules are the finer points and, sadly to say that they must be stated, the manners of buffet dining.

If you have any questions, leave a comment or send me an email using the contact link at the side of this page. Happy buffeting!