Premium Weekends at Golden Corral

Early in 2016 Golden Corral instituted a new "promotional feature" - an increase in price to $13.99 on dinner from Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday all day. This promo actually ended and prices went back to usual but then recently it was brought back.  For the additional cost you get "Prime Rib", teriyaki steak, and fried butterfly shrimp. If you happen to unfortunately be in a Golden Corral that already has a $13.99 dinner price all of the time, your special promotional price is $14.99. On top of these prices you pay for your soft drink at well over $2.00. So your "affordable" buffet dinner with soft drink becomes over $16.50 or $17.50 each.  Add sales tax and tip and you are paying a lot for a dinner for two or more. Does this seem like a feature to promote? It does not to me.

I have been to Golden Corral's twice on a weekend night for this promo and just my luck both were the already $13.99 priced Golden Corrals. I wish that I could say that the addition of Prime Rib makes this "premium" price worth while, but I have to report that what they are presenting as "Prime Rib" is far from it. My first premium meal was at a Golden Corral that has been marginal in my past experiences there and I thought that perhaps it was just at that particular Golden Corral. The Prime Rib there was 90% fat with barely any edible meat on the slice and in between the fat was grizzle. This is not Prime Rib - a poor cut of roast beef perhaps, but not Prime Rib. 

The second Golden Corral that I went to on a weekend night was in a different state. I was hopeful that this experience with the Premium weekend price dinner would be better - it was a better Golden Corral in general and one I had dined in before. I cringed when I paid over $35 at the register for two. I looked at the Prime Rib at the counter and was uncertain if I was even going to try it again. I started with a steak - and steak at many Golden Corrals is done well (depending on who is cooking at the grill). The steak was good. I was going back for another when I decided that I would try the Prime Rib at this Golden Corral. The carver sliced off a thin slice - not much thicker than a slice of roast beef - and put it on my plate. No fat- good sign. When I sat down and went to cut off a piece to eat, it was hard cutting with the steak knife that had no problem shortly before with the thick cut of steak that I just had. I put it in my mouth and I could not chew it. Tough is too mild a term for this meat. I made an attempt but again, it could not be chewed. I tried cutting into another part of the slice - no better. I was able to get a few bits of meat that could be chewed and go down. IT was not tasty and overall again, this was not Prime Rib.

At this Golden Corral I get to try the teriyaki steak.  It was pretty much the regular Golden Corral steak pre-grilled and put out on the buffet server. This particular piece was red rare - just like I like my steak - but others passed it by as not cooked enough. The teriyaki sauce was not overly sweet and the steak was good. Did the teriyaki sauce and not being cooked to order as the regular steaks are justify an additional dollar for the meal?  Of course not.

My wife did have the fried butterfly shrimp - as she was going to try to get our money's worth out of her dinner - and she said that they were OK but no better or different from the fried shrimp served frequently at Old Country Buffet - at the regular dinner price. She was annoyed that several of the usual dishes that she often eats when we are at a Golden Corral were not being served as their place on the buffet now had the Prime Rib, the teriyaki steak, and the fried shrimp.

Overall - Premium Weekends at Golden Corral - big FAIL! As my readers should know by now that I very much like Golden Corral. I look forward to dining at a Golden Corral when I am somewhere near one. They have had some odd promotional features in the past - this one is one of the worst - and that is accentuated by the increase in price for something that is not what it is presented to be. So - Golden Corral, go back to regular price weekends - forget the not quite Prime Rib - move on to a real promotional feature at regular price or just stick with your regular menu as it is really good on its own.

Drinks Now Back to Being Included at Old Country Buffet

This article is timely and I am putting it in right now in the middle of the two week span of articles. We received an email yesterday that soft drinks were back to being included in the meal price at OCB. The claim is that We listened to you and you want this! in so many words. We went tonight to see if my suspicions were correct about this. We walked in and yes, there is a sign that drinks are now included - and then I looked at the dinner price on the board at the register and the price was increased by more than two dollars and the senior price was increased even more as it is less of a discount now that it was two weeks ago when we were there last. Dinner at OCB for the two of us - with DRINKS INCLUDED - was $30! That does not include the tip I left for the server. She is good and there is no reason to take this out on her. It does include sales tax. Price here now for dinner at OCB is $13.99! Senior price is $13.49. And if you don't want the beverage - many did not spend the two plus dollars on the soda before because it made the price too high - too bad! There is no option any longer.

Right before the soda stopped being included in the price at OCB they raised the dinner price. Then they dropped the soda out - and, of course, did not lower the price. Now, the soda is back in the price and the price went up a little more than the price of the soda that one paid a week ago. It was not surprising that on a summer Sunday evening when this OCB is usually packed with a line to the door, there was no line and the dining room was noticeably empty. For many, $13.99 is just too much to pay at OCB - especially for a family with kids (the kid's price went up too). This increase is going to hurt this OCB location even more as there are three big chain restaurants about to open in the parking lot of this shopping mall - and compared to OCB for the same money people will be going to those restaurants instead.

I recently got an email survey from OCB that was focused on OCB seeing their competition as chain restaurants such as Applebees, Olive Garden, Fridays, etc. It surprised me to see that OCB was focusing on these and not Golden Corral and other buffet chains. And then in this survey they wanted to know if OCB would be more attractive to coming to IF they offered some special pay extra additions to the buffet! I could not believe this - and even more so now with this price increase! The survey went on to say that a new promotion WILL BE coming soon that offers a "Special Premium Steak" for an extra charge - one steak - not unlimited "special premium steak"! "Would you be more likely to go to OCB for this feature?" they asked - NO! I answered. They have got to be kidding! First they are all but admitting that the current steak is inedible which in the way it is cooked and allowed to sit in a steam pan until served more than well done it is, and then in expecting us to believe that this special premium steak is going to be prepared properly - which here in the two local OCBs and most of the others that I have been to - it won't be. So is the new over priced dinner at OCB another step toward self-belief by Ovation Brands that they are just like Applebees, Olive Garden, etc.?

I also have to comment about another change at the OCB that we go to that we discovered tonight. Part of the carving buffet server has been tiled over where food serving trays once went. On this tile under heat lamps were small tin pans. One was "Steak Tips over Loaded Mashed Potatoes" and the other was "Pulled Pork BBQ over Cowboy Potatoes". You don't take what you want of what you want like the rest of the food at OCB, you take the pan. I had heard about this on discussions - negative discussions - on the OCB Facebook page. Our OCB has never served Pulled Pork BBQ before in any way, nor has it served steak tips. It seems that other OCBs in other parts of the country had served the pork - and served it like everything else. Now you get the potatoes and less than a spoonful of pork with too much spiced BBQ sauce covering it. I tried both pans. The steak was crunchy and charred, the loaded mashed potatoes had some bacon bits and shredded orange cheese sprinkled on top along with scallions- both pans were covered with scallions. I did not want the potatoes in either pan - I tasted them. They were OK but I did not want these potatoes. The potatoes in both pans had one taste and were taken away by the server to the trash. Really a terrible waste. I wanted Pork BBQ - not potatoes. Any other buffet, I would have taken the pork and decided on my own what potatoes to have - if any.  The only acceptable thing about all of this was that the items that should have been where these are now were put in half trays and scattered around the buffet, resulting in some usual foods going missing. What is even more ridiculous is that the man who is carving is responsible - at least here - for going into the kitchen (leaving the carving to no one) to make more pans which were being taken and were gone no more than ten minutes after being put out.

Ovation Brands, someone in your offices is very miss-directed in what OCB - and I am sure Ryans, Hometown, and Fire Mountain - needs and you need to get people out into the restaurants and see (unknown to those working) what goes on day to day and how your "ideas" make things worse than better. Right here - three strikes for OCB!  And no, I am not down on OCB. If you follow all of my articles you know that we go to OCB more than any other buffet - though at this change in price that may be changing. I am hoping for more coupons to start being emailed now to all to make up for this. We shall see...


And now back our every other week schedule and the next article will be this coming Friday...

Not So Hot New Deal at Old Country Buffet

We had not been to the local OCB in a few weeks and when we went in there were signs at the entrance - one about lunch and one about dinner. These large bold signs said "New Price $10.99 for Dinner" and then at the bottom in much smaller writing it said "Beverage Bar NOT included". There was a similar sign for lunch at $7.99. As we went in and a long the line we came to another sign - order the "unlimited beverage bar - unlimited choices". There was NO price on that sign. Hmm. I was a bit annoyed. The lower price sounded good as the price here had come close to $13 on weeknights and over $13 on Friday and weekend nights. I immediately thought of the prices and the ads at Golden Corral - but those ads are for dinner under $10 so this was not quite as good. Of course, Golden Corral and Ryans have always priced the beverages separate from the meal and what set Old Country Buffet off was the inclusion of the beverages. Of course, my experience at OCB has been some nights all of the soda flavors are working on the machine, some nights the ice tea container has tea, and some nights there is no ice in the machine the entire night. So having the drinks included tended to be a bit better psychologically when you were not getting the drink you went up to get.

We were still on the line and real curious as to how this would work. How could they not charge everyone for the beverages automatically? Who was going to "police" this in the dining room? Certainly not the table cleaners who barely are around to take the dirty plates off the table. And still no sign with the price for the drinks.
We got up to the cashier and started looking for the price for the drinks. On the side wall in small print there it was - "Beverage Bar - $1.69". So, the illusion of a wonderful deal for dinner at $10.99 plus the $1.69 for the beverage brought the new price within ten cents of the old price. Weekends would be a savings of about 70 cents. But still how was this going to work?

We paid and instead of the familiar strip of color paper with the number of guests written on in crayon to put on your table to show that you both paid and the table is occupied we got a very large, full color printed half page stapled to our receipt that showed - still written in crayon - 2 dinners 2 beverages. And in two languages.
An interesting idea, but still who " is minding the mint" so to speak - who is watching that I paid and I am not taking beverages without paying. As we discovered, NO ONE.

This was something that was tried at OCB and failed with the just order the salad bar idea. No one was watching. We observed many order the salad bar and help themselves to the whole meal. I have even seen people order the take out container at the lower price for take out and then sit down at a table - with the container - and eat dinner and return back to the buffet servers for more - in the container! No, at least in this location, no one is minding the store.

Then, again, I have written about the Levittown, NY OCB before as the "worst OCB in the country" and despite a change in mangers who were actually pretty good for a while and then disappeared and now new managers who are as bad as the usual management that they get at this location this remains the "Worse OCB in the country". A bunch went on that night in addition to this new "deal". Here the meat carver (there is no grill here) is located at the end of a buffet server and from the start people would line up on both sides of the server to go up to the carver which correctly made for shorter lines. On this night the woman who was carving was only serving one side - and ignoring the other side. Since she did not speak or understand English the comments to her went acknowledged. When you got to the side she was serving the portions of meat that she was carving were hardly wait the wait. The pieces of steak were no larger than two inches square. In addition, no one explains to the people who refill the buffet trays with food that the Board of Health requires that you take the old food in the tray and transfer it to the top of the new tray of food - so that the bottom of the tray does not always remain with food that is not taken and increasingly getting older with each refill. NO here they just dump the new on top of the old.

Now, for those of you who are going to say - and I hear from many of you - why are you dumping on this particular restaurant? Well, I am not the only one who encounters what goes on here and I get more email and comments from readers who agree with everything I say about this particular OCB. And with this site - I am the one to speak out. And for those who say why do you go back there. It is the only game for many many miles and you can't eat Chinese Buffet all of the time - so I go back and keep hoping. Some nights I am pleasantly surprised and then there are nights like this one.

So don't be surprised if you go now to OCB and see the NEW LOW PRICE - but you know now that it really is not "low" at all!

Cozy Restaurant, Thurmont, Maryland

Sometimes the going and the returning is as much of an adventure as the restaurant. My trip to and from the Cozy Restaurant is no reflection on the restaurant – in fact as you will soon read, I loved the restaurant. The trip to get to the restaurant and to get back to where I was staying was quite something. If you are going to go to the Cozy Restaurant and you are near Thurmont it is quite easy to get to, however, I went there from Hagerstown, Maryland.

I will talk about the trip first and then get on to the important focus of this article which is the restaurant. There is an expression – “as the crow flies” – well, our trip to the Cozy would have been simple if we were crows. We had no indication of what was in store for us when we consulted the computer map and set the route into our laptop computer GPS. The roads appeared twisty on the map – had we looked at a topographical map we would have seen the mountains that we were going to ride up, around, and down. The directions were simple. We did not get lost (as we have at times before), What we found as we got deep into country roads was the water falls and mountain state park that we had to get through. We climbed up roads that turned quickly right, and then left, and then right again. There were large warning signs at the side of the road about the hazardous turns that stretched for four miles. One turn made a complete right angle. All of this on one lane each way roads with a line of cars behind me that thought that the speed limit signs were just suggestions. It was uncomfortable driving but it was in daylight with clear visibility of what was ahead. I kept thinking that coming back, this would be much more of a nightmare in the dark. I told my good wife to check the laptop’s map software and find an alternative way back – if there was one.

The return trip could be made on two highways, but would make a trip of about 25 miles into a trip of about 45 or 50 miles. Fine – worth it, but when we left the Cozy it was heavily pouring rain. We still would be driving over and through mountains, but on a high speed interstate with blinding rain and at one point patches of clouds – yes, clouds – not fog – that had settled in spots on the road, just visible ahead in the vehicle’s headlights. If you have not figured it out yet, I do not like driving at night in heavy rain. I want to be able to drive at a good, but safe speed that other drivers do not necessarily agree with. Sure, they drive these roads all of the time – they know that it will turn this way and that. I, to quote a probably forgotten science fiction novel, am a stranger in a strange land. Well, white knuckled and a little shaky, I made it back to write all of this for you.

So, now that I have gotten all of that out of my system, I can now concentrate on this restaurant. The Cozy Restaurant is very famous – but probably none of you will have ever heard of it, unless you are or have been a President of the United States, or one of his cabinet or advisors, or if you are support staff to leaders of countries since World War II. The Cozy Restaurant is also an Inn (hotel) and has been in business since 1929. It is located in the town of Thurmont at the foot of the mountains - specifically those mountains that I had to drive over. Thurmont is also the location of Camp David. The country retreat of all American presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to now, In fact it is at the Cozy that the President’s advisors and support staff have stayed – and dined. It is at the Cozy that the delegations and support staff of foreign dignitaries and world leaders have stayed during Peace Summits. And the Cozy has a BUFFET!

I learned about the Cozy from one of my readers, Brian – who also told me about the Lighthouse Restaurant (see last week). I love hearing from my readers and I especially love getting buffer suggestions and recommendations. I thank him for telling me about these two – but especially about this one. My good wife said to say thank you from her too!

From what I could see of Thurmont it appears to be a quite and quaint town. Almost next door to the Cozy is the second location of the Mountain Gate Restaurant and Buffet. I have written several times about that restaurant’s other location in Pennsylvania. The Cozy is actually a complex of buildings with the restaurant and another building with the Inn (which may actually be connected somewhere. As you see the restaurant from the road there is a bright red neon sign beckoning you into the parking lot. At one end of the building a railroad caboose is sticking out. When you enter the restaurant building you are entering a labyrinth of hallways – styled as streets with store false store fronts along the way – with signs directing you to the restaurant. As you make a turn you come to the Camp David Museum, which is free to enter. It is a room with memorabilia, pictures, and news stories about Camp David – and its connection to the Cozy. We saved the museum tour for the end of dinner. We also passed the Camp David Souvenir shop which we should have gone into first because it was closed when we finished dinner. This is the closest that the average person will come to Camp David- as it is strictly off limits to all. All of the décor is quaint and out of the ordinary. Rustic and fun. Window cases along the way show pictures and memorabilia of famous guests of the hotel and those who have dined there. Names like Babe Ruth jumped out. The same family has owned this restaurant and inn since it opened in 1929 and now is under the guidance of the third generation. We came to a podium and told the gentleman that we were a party of two and we were escorted into the dining room where the buffet servers were located. The size of this restaurant is deceptive as there was at least one other large dining room adjacent to where we were seated – and there were several banquet rooms near the entrance that we came in.

The dining room is rustic with wood plank ceilings, rough hewn beams across those planks, pleasantly quaint decorations strung around. I was immediately reminded of restaurants in small mountain towns that I dined in with my family when we vacationed when I was a little boy – and I am talking about quite some time ago. I loved it. The buffet servers were off to one end of the dining room that we were in. We were there on a Saturday night. The restaurant was not crowded but there were people there – and there was a second room with diners there as well.

The restaurant has the buffet and a menu to choose from. We, of course, had the buffet. The buffet prices were at the back of the menu and we only had the menus for a few moments before the waitress came over, took our soft drink orders, and then pleasantly collected the menus when we said that we were having the buffet. I got a brief look at the prices and not long enough to accurately tell you what they are because what I immediately saw is that they change every two nights. Monday and Tuesday is Pasta Night. I am pretty sure that the menu said $10.99. Wednesday and Thursday are Steak and Shrimp Night and I think that the menu said $11.99. Friday and Saturday are the Land and Sea buffet and the price (definitely) is $15.99. There is a Sunday buffet with ten entrees – I do not know the price. With the exception of Friday and Saturday I may be wrong about the prices. Soft drinks are $1.98 each and they are refilled by the waitress. They serve Coca Cola products. The ice tea was fresh brewed and excellent.

I started with the soup and there were two choices – Land and Sea. One was vegetable beef and the other was creamy white clam chowder. I tried the chowder and it is very good. Next to the two soup tureens, which are located in a small alcove at the side of the room, were several choices of fresh breads and rolls. The cinnamon bread was calling to me and I had to cut myself a slice from the loaf. It was sweet, soft and had a great aroma. Next to the bread on the third wall of the alcove were fresh cut up fruits and the fixings for Caesar salad.

There were three double buffet servers (two of them hot) in the center of the room, a counter on the side opposite the alcove, and a carving station on the end wall. The salad bar had a large bowl of lettuce and many toppings and dressing. There was also a full section of prepared salads. On this night this included a shrimp salad that was great with large pieces of shrimp blended into shell pasta and dressing. There was excellent chicken salad. I tried sweet pickle slices that tasted freshly made – very probably at the restaurant.

At the carving station there was a tray of cold steamed shrimp cooked in Old Bay Seasoning. Next to that there was a tray of cold sliced deli-style ham. The shrimp was good. My wife tried the ham and she say that it was tasty and not like ham that you would buy at the deli counter for sandwiches.

The selections of entrees both land and sea are plentiful. There was a lot for those who love seafood and for those who do not. There were baby steamed clams, there were mussels, there were fried oysters, fried butterfly shrimp, clams casino, two seafood in pasta dishes, steamed crayfish (which were smaller than I have ever seen – the nickname in the South for these is bugs and these really looked like bugs), a dish they called Mediterranean Tilapia which was very different and good, lobster orzo, crab Norfolk, baked salmon, catfish, crab au gratin, and much more. I must say that though the crab dishes were tasty they did not use real crab but it was definitely the crabmeat substitute, It was not labeled as such and was labeled as crab. On the “land” side of the choices there was carved turkey breast, carved beef that was a small round of rare beef that was nicely charred on the outside and pink red on the inside - it was very good, fried chicken that was excellent, barbecued pork ribs, and more.

There were equally many side dishes and vegetables including kernel corn, string beans, carrots, mixed vegetables, broccoli, mashed potatoes with bits of red potato skin, kale, baked potatoes, rice, macaroni and cheese, and more. The carrots and the mixed vegetables had some type of sweetener on them. The carrots were sweeter than the mixed vegetables. They were nice but if you want plain, pick some of the other vegetable choices.

Deserts were along the side wall and there were several fancy cakes, pies including pecan, chocolate, coconut cream, and a selection of sugar free pies, there were puddings, jello, fresh fruit, and there was a soft serve machine in the middle of the wall, but it was labeled as a cholesterol-free, non-dairy vanilla soft serve. There was a nice selection of desserts. Some of the cakes were labeled as “special” including one that was a Mexican wedding cake with nuts.

All of the food was good. There was nothing that I tried that I did not like and I took a small sampling of a large variety of items. My picky wife was happy too! We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere of this real “country” restaurant.

All of the staff were very friendly and accommodating. Empty dishes were picked up regularly. Drinks were constantly refilled when needed. The entire restaurant was very clean and the waitress was cleaning the carpeted floor when she was not waiting on tables. There is an effort being made here to make sure that you are having a good experience. There was a paper on the table saying to tell them immediately if you want anything or are not satisfied, claiming that they will make you happy. When the check was brought to the table – after we completed desert – there was a satisfaction survey printed on the bottom for you to complete, if you wish. They go all out to make sure that everything is good.

I only wish that it was not raining when we left and the ride home was a pleasant as the meal. I strongly recommend the Cozy. Do go there. Avoid driving through the mountain park. The Cozy is located at 103 Frederick Road in Thurmont Maryland. This is about 20 miles from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on street Route 15, as opposed to Interstate 15, and 50 miles from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The hours of the restaurant are 11:00 am to 9:00 pm and weekend from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. The phone number is 301-271-7373. There is a website and it is linked at the side of this page.

FAMILY TRADITIONS LIGHTHOUSE RESTAURANT, NORTH CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

This restaurant was referred to me by one of my readers, Brian. If you have been reading this site for some time I have mentioned that I travel to Hagerstown, Maryland once each year and when I come I am always looking for buffets to try. This restaurant is just across the Maryland border into Pennsylvania about 30 miles from Hagerstown – and is right along the route that I take traveling south. I was so happy when Brian emailed and told me not only about this buffet but also another that I hope to also try this trip.

The Family Traditions Lighthouse is a large restaurant in a rural area. The restaurant has both menu and buffet dining and the building also accommodates a banquet facility separate from the restaurant. The restaurant was easy to find and the outside is unmistakable because there is a large lighthouse on the entrance end of the building. We arrived on a Thursday night at the end of April and the parking lot was almost empty. We wondered for a moment if the restaurant was open. Another car parked and went inside. We followed. The building and the entrance way are very plain outside and the lobby followed suit. A sign next to the cashier station said “Seat Yourself” and we did. There is a large dining room and another dining room off to the side that is down a few steps. There were people dining inside and while we were there business was steady with people coming in.

There is a blackboard in the lobby with the buffet prices. Monday to Thursday and Saturdays this is a very reasonably priced restaurant. Fridays are another story. The dinner price Monday to Thursday is $9.95. Saturday dinner is $10.95. Sundays the restaurant closes at 3:00 pm and dinner is served for $10.95. Friday is seafood night and the price is $18.95! If you would like to add unlimited crab legs to the Friday night buffet the price is $29.95! Wow! I am sure that you will be getting a lot of fish but this is more than the best seafood buffets that I have been to in large metro areas. And basically, here we are inland and a distance from the sea. Soft drinks with refills are $1.59. Lunch on Monday to Thursday is $7.95. Saturday breakfast buffet is $5.95. There are children’s prices – under three is free but the sign was erased where it listed ages four to ten.

When we sat a very nice waitress came over and asked what we liked to drink. She did not offer menus – though a sign mentioned menu dining – and she told us to go up and help ourselves. There are signs scattered around the buffet servers that say to take a clean plate each time and to help all children at the buffet.

The buffet servers were situated at the front end of the dining room. There were two sets of half sized servers – one set hot and one set cold. There was a dessert counter along one wall and at the opposite side was a large, double, hot buffet server. As usual I started with the soup choices – there were two – one was cheeseburger soup and the other vegetable beef. I did not try the cheeseburger – a thick cheese soup with chopped meat (a cardiologist’s nightmare). I did try the vegetable beef. The soup was full of vegetables and well cooked beef. The soup was VERY spicy – not the usual vegetable beef soup that I expected. It was not bad, but if you do not like hot and spicy it is not for you. (Many of the meat items in sauces were spicy.) The soup shares a server with the two hot dessert items.

There is a salad bar with a nice assortment of salad toppings and dressings. There were also several prepared salads – the basics – cole slaw, potato salad, and macaroni salad. There was a bean salad and several fresh and canned fruits. There was also apple sauce and apple butter. Dessert puddings were here too.

There was a good assortment of entrees and side dishes on the hot entrée server. Next to the soup and hot desserts there is another half server with more hot entrees. There were meat dishes and fish. Entree dishes included grilled chicken medallions in a sauce, medallions of beef, sausage and peppers in tomato sauce, a large ham on the bone that was being carved, broiled scrod, good and crunchy fried chicken, stuffed chicken breasts, fried shrimp, and white meat turkey that was shredded. There were two types of potatoes – mashed and boiled potatoes. There was kernel corn, string beans, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti in tomato sauce, deep fried onion pieces, corn fritters, stuffing, and both beef and turkey gravy among other selections. There was plenty to choose from. The fried chicken was better than most. The sausage was good and I wished they had more of it to bring out when it was gone – obviously others thought it was good as well. The ham was very good. The mashed potatoes were fresh and creamy. The macaroni and cheese was nicely thick. They claim that their selections change daily and that they introduce new items to the buffet every week. On their website they say to give them suggestions for dishes to add to the buffet.

Trays were checked by staff, stirred, refilled, replaced, and checked for temperature continually. This is probably the best tended buffet that I have been to. The staff took well care of that buffet! When the sausage and peppers were empty they took the tray away and replaced it with fried clams. When anything else emptied or was low it was replaced with the same item. Remember that I said that there were no many dining here this evening – but they kept replacing trays of food. Even twenty minutes before closing they were still stirring and tending the hot server.

Desserts were not extensive but there it was not hard to find something. There was a hot berry cobbler and hot French toast sticks – deep fried sticks of French toast. There was an assortment of pies, cookies, and very large chocolate brownies. There is no ice cream (not necessary, but their website claims “soft ice cream”). There is also the fruit and puddings at the salad bar.

The décor of the restaurant is pleasant – a nautical theme on all of the walls. The lighting fixtures hanging throughout the dining room all had bulbs out – not missing, but out. At first we thought this might be to conserve electricity or for mood, but they were too erratically out. The room was lit enough. The tables and chairs are plain and adequate – nothing fancy. This is a family restaurant and not a fancy restaurant (which is why the Friday prices surprise me so much). The entire restaurant was clean.

The Family Tradition Lighthouse restaurant was good. It was not spectacular but sometimes you do no need spectacular as long as you get a nice meal and we certainly had a nice meal. Would I drive out of my way to come back – maybe not, but I certainly would come back if I were in the area. I can recommend that you try this buffet, but unless you want to spend a lot of money do not come on a Friday night. Every other night the value is excellent and the quality of the food is as well.

A history of the restaurant says that the Lighthouse restaurant has been opened for thirty years but has been taken over by a husband and wife who have reopened it as the Family Traditions Lighthouse. No date is given as to when this happened. They state that they are making many changes for the better. As I do not know what it was like before I cannot comment. What they are doingm from my experience, is working.

The Family Traditions Lighthouse Restaurant is located at 4301 Philadelphia Avenue, Route 11 North, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The phone number is 717-263-4878. There is a website and there is a link at the side of this page. If you look on the website you will also see that Gospel concerts are given by locally known groups in the banquet hall on scheduled nights. This should not interfere with the restaurant as that area is well separated.

Cici's Pizza Buffets Moves NorthEast

I have written several articles about Cici's Pizza Buffet. I had my first and up until now only opportunity to eat in this famous chain a year ago in Maryland. At the time the Hagerstown, Maryland location was the furthest north east that Cici's had opened. Now to my very pleasant surprise Cici's has opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There are now 11 locations in PA - all but this one in the western portion of the state.

I had heard several months ago that a Cici's was about to open in the Allentown/Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania - an area near the New Jersey border. This was causing some exuberance from those that I heard about it from but at the moment there is no mention of it on the Cici's website. On my recent arrival in Lancaster, however, we passed a familiar shopping center to see that since we were there in December, there is now a Cici's! Of course, we had to work a meal in there during the course of this trip.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Cici's and don't want to look back to last April and May to see what I wrote about it - and about what the corporate offices wrote back to me - I will give you a fresh look at Cici's. Cici's is a buffet chain located across the US that offers Salad, Pasta, Pizza, and Dessert - all you care to eat for one SMALL price. Now, I have to give an aside here from my "fresh" description to say that one year ago the price at Cici's was $4.49 per person. Now the price - at least at this new location is $5.49 per person. This is still a bargain - but a one dollar jump is quite a lot. I do not know if this "new, higher" price applies to all locations or this one. I was quite to surprised to see the jump. On the Cici's website it says "All you can eat for under $5*". Note the * - at the bottom of the page it says prices vary by location - so I guess I found one of the above $5 locations. How many others are there? The most recent Cici's television ads no longer mention a price. They just say "at an incredibly low price." Has Cici's now hooked us and will start raising the prices? I hope not. Unlimited soda still remains at $1.59 and the children's price remains at $2.99. These are the prices and they are the same all day and every day.

The Lancaster Cici's was exactly like the Hagerstown Cici's inside. You enter the same way, the counter and dining rooms are identical. When I was at Hagerstown they did not take charge cards - here they did. I was told by corporate after my Hagerstown visit that that had just been a temporary situation in Hagerstown. For Cici's newbies, you pay as you enter and you are given a plastic cup for your soft drink. No hot drinks here so be ready for soda or ice tea. You pick up a tray if you want one and move along a long counter to pick up your selections. You seat yourself and serve your drinks yourself from the soda fountain.

The first area is a salad bar with lettuce, toppings, cold vegetables, and a few prepared salads like pasta salad. You next come to a server with chicken pasta soup and then a tray of pasta follows with two sauces - tomato sauce and alfredo sauce. You next encounter a long row of pizzas. The pizza's are quite different from what you will usually find. Their signature pizza is Mac and Cheese Pizza. They also have the likes of Taco pizza, Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Barbecue Pizza, spinach pizza, white pizza, jalapeños pepper pizza, and many others. As was true of my first Cici's experience, the pizza's are not labeled as to what they are. I am told that this is because new and different pizzas are constantly brought out and take the place of something else. They could not keep up with labeling. I was also told not to be shy and ask one of the many people setting out pizzas what anyone is. And, indeed, on this visit I asked and was promptly told with a smile. One thing that was happening in Lancaster - perhaps because they are so knew and still doing things the way things are supposed to be done was when a pizza was put out it was loudly announced by name. Some pizzas - the taco pizza for one had a little song that several employees performed- "Ole!" Each pizza is about 12 inches in diameter and is cut into ten or so small slices - these are not large NY style pies that you fold and eat. Each piece is big enough so that you can enjoy a number of slices and take as many of the many selections that you would like to try. Each pizza is fresh and kept hot. There is cheesy garlic toast as well.

Once you have had your fill of pizza there are three desserts - an apple crumb pizza, hot cinnamon buns, and chocolate brownies. Wash it all down with Coke products, "sweet tea" and unsweet iced tea.

So how was the new Lancaster location? Good. The staff were extremely friendly, greeting everyone as they entered and left. The bus staff were very polite. The counters and the tables were kept very clean. The staff kept stirring the pasta and the sauces, mixing the salads to stay fresh, and continually put out pizzas.

My wife had some criticisms - which I will share - but these are with the chain in general and not specific to this location. I have been told several things about Cici's by readers which I will share here. If you do not see a pizza out that you would like, ask for it and it will be made and you will be brought slices. I witnessed this at Lancaster. I was also told that if you would like something special you should ask for it and if they have the ingredients they will make it just for you. My wife's feelings about this are these - and she kept commenting this to me through out the meal. "How does anyone know this and how do they know what the pizzas are to ask for one?" She feels that somewhere on the counter or on the wall there should be a list of all of the pizzas. In this way if you see a pizza on the list that you would like to try you can ask for it. She says that it all should not be a secret. She, of course, is right. I could understand that there could be chaos with everyone reading the list and asking for something different - but if it is truly the case that you can ask for something that you do not see, then everyone should know what to ask for - and that they may ask.

Now, she wanted something special - a vegetable pizza without cheese, but she would not ask for it and did not want me to ask for it. They do have "zesty" vegetable cheese pizza, so all the ingredients are right there - and pizzas are made in a matter of minutes. But there is nothing indicating that you can just up and ask for your own combination - and her concern was that she only want a slice or two, so what would happen if they brought her an entire pizza. If, indeed, all of this request stuff is true, then it should not be a secret and there should be some sign about it. When we entered the cashier asked if I had ever been to Cici's before and would I like to know all about it. Interested in hearing what a new person is told, I told her to give me the pitch - all she told me (very friendly) was the prices and that you get all the salad, pasta, pizza, and dessert that you want - and that soda was extra. No mention about special requests.

I have had more positive comments about Cicis to my articles than any other buffet. Everyone loves these buffets. They are great for kids - there is a game room in the back, pleasant classic rock music playing, and two large screen television sets at the ceiling. Adults love them. Kids love them.

If you are on a diet and can resist the pizza and be happy with the small salad bar and pasta then you too will enjoy this buffet - but it is really hard to resist. If you do not eat cheese for any reason you are in the same dilemma, and perhaps should seek out someplace else. But if you do not care about carbs or your cholesterol this is heaven. (I ate many and too much of things that I should not eat - but love.)

I come to this area of Pennsylvania a number of times a year and I am very happy that Cici's has come to Lancaster -and is moving north east. (BUT I am not sure that I want one in NY because most chains are changed for the worse when they come to NY.) I could also never maintain my health with a Cici's too close by.

Cici's Lancaster is located at 2405 Covered Bridge Road in Lancaster.Pennsylvania which is on Route 30 in the shopping center with Target. Cici's has a website for all of its chain and that link is at the side of this page. There is a location finder on the website with links to maps. The Lancaster phone number is 717-392-2740.

Enjoy pizza? Enjoy a filling and good meal for little money? Enjoy Cici's Pizza Buffet!

New Grand Buffet, Islandia, New York

I must begin by saying that I ate at this buffet restaurant twice before I published this article. I had some concerns after my first meal there. I discovered, shortly thereafter, that I had a cold coming in and my taste buds were being affected. I had come to certain conclusions about this restaurant after that first meal that I could not trust if I was not tasting things correctly. About six weeks later we went back. This article is a combination of my experience during those two visits. I am glad that I went back because my original article would have been unfair to this restaurant.

I first learned about this Chinese buffet from an email from a reader who kindly shared a few buffets for me to try. This buffet is a distance from me, but close to my sister-in-law. I mentioned the name to my brother-in-law and he told me that they have been to this restaurant numerous times. I asked him how it was and his answer was "Just OK", but he added that it is my 17 year old nephew's favorite restaurant. With that I was somewhat encouraged - somewhat.

I had to head out east on Long Island so I got directions to this restaurant and made plans to end my day there (twice). The New China Grand Buffet is in Islandia, New York. It is located in mid-Suffolk County on Long Island. The restaurant is situated at the end of a very large, strip mall shopping center that includes a Wal-Mart at the opposite end. The restaurant exterior is very stylized architecturally.

We went on a Thursday night, coincidently, and arrived about 6:30 pm both times - which is usual dinner time for a mid-week evening. We were seated right away and noticed that the restaurant was quite busy for a mid-weeknight on both occassions. The interior of the restaurant consists of several dining rooms that angle off the center of the restaurant which holds the buffet servers. Each of the dining rooms has a different and pleasing decor - though not exactly what you might expect in a Chinese or Oriental restaurant. As we were dining, my wife suggested that the restaurant may have been another type of restaurant once before, because the decor of the dining room that we were in was cabin, wood - rustic including a canoe sitting upside down on rafters along one wall. I know that this restaurant has been the New Grand Buffet since at least 2003, but it is very possible that it once was a barbecue or steak house. The various dining rooms had tables and booths. Some rooms had tables for four. The smallest table in the first room that we ate in was for eight. On the second time around we were seated in another dining room and this had tables for four. The second room that we were in was bright and airy. The first room was, according to my wife, more elegant.

On the first visit, this was the first buffet that I have gone to where it was obvious that children pay by height - as per the recent article that I wrote here about a controversy over this same idea. Since then we have encountered others - all Chinese buffets. Adult prices every day are $12.99 for dinner and $7.50 for lunch. Children's prices are $6.99 for dinner for children between two and a half feet tall and four and a half feet tall. Over four and a half feet (seems to be the magic height - see my other article) pay adult price. Children under two and a half feet eat free. Children pay $3.99 for lunch - same height rules. Two signs in the lobby were very clear about children's pricing - though I did not see any ruler on a wall to measure. As with most Chinese buffets you pay when you leave. Soda is unlimited and you pay $1.25 per person extra for soda. Soda are Coke products. They also have a wine and beer license (in NY this is separate from a liquor license) and they serve bottles of wine and beer. There is a wine list on every table along with a beer selection. There were signs on the wall for Sangria. Prices here are high compared to other local buffets for weeknights, but as this is the price seven nights per week, the price is good for weekends.

There were two long, double-sided buffet tables, a long, single-sided cold buffet table, a single-sided dessert buffet table, a single-sided hot server with barbecued items, and a long single-sided server in front of a round Mongolian barbecue griddle. As usual, I started with soup. There were four soups to choose from - the usual three Chinese standards - wonton soup, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup. There was also French onion soup. I tried the wonton. The wontons sit next to the hot broth in a serving tray in hot water. You select your wontons and put them into the broth - standard, really, but I mention this because it has a bearing on what I must tell you next. The wontons tasted like water. Now, you may say, "Water has no taste." Exactly - the wontons had no taste and they were waterlogged. On my first visit this was an indication of the lack of taste that things seemed to have - and what lead me to the second visit. On the second visit the wontons were still the same. The broth ,however, was flavorful (on my second visit). The wontons were big and doughy. They looked great, but they were bland. On our first visit I asked my wife, "do the wontons have no taste or is it me?" She agreed and without my saying so, she told me that they tasted like water. I decided to taste the Hot and Sour Soup. It was good but it was not very spicy. I prefer it mild and it was the better soup choice.

Ok, so maybe they can't make a good wonton. Eat on.

From here on I will base my opinion on my second visit because things got better. I next went for the sushi. There were a few choices, all either salmon, vegetable, or California Rolls. I took salmon on rice, a salmon roll with a squirt of pink sauce on top, and what I thought was a spicy salmon role but turned out not to be (not sure what it was!). The salmon on rice was standard, the salmon roll was a basic salmon roll but the sauce on top was the sauce usually put on spicy salmon or tuna rolls and was spicy. The other roll was just a shmear (NY term for minor spread) of some chopped up fish on rice and rolled in seaweed. It had the taste of seafood salad - but I am not certain as to what it was. It was not bad. I also took some cold peal and eat shrimp with cocktail sauce. The shrimp were nice and large.

Next came the dumplings - there were fried dumplings, steamed shrimp dumplings, and dim sum. The dim sum was very dark. The meat was very deep brown in what seemed to be soy sauce. On our first visit, I was not sure that I would take it, but my wife tried it first and said that it ok - and certainly did not taste like how it looked. I tried some and it was ok - just ok. The shrimp dumplings on our first visit were dry in the steamer and stuck to the bottom. They were tough and dried out - and the inside had no appearance resemblance to shrimp, but rather, perhaps, chopped shrimp paste. A new tray of shrimp dumplings were brought out later in the evening and to be fair, I took another one to try again. The new ones were moist and not dried out. They were still tough and bland. On our second visit these same shrimp dumplings were labeled "Vegetable Dumplings" but they were the same shrimp dumplings - this time with larger pieces of shrimp to be found. Now, the incorrect labeling of these dumplings as vegetable and not shrimp could be quite dangerous to anyone who has a shell fish allegy. The fried dumplings were the best of the selection and were standard in taste and consistency.

I moved next to the small barbecue selection that was coming off a grill in the back - this consisted of sliced chicken meat grilled on a stick and sliced beef grilled the same way. Each was nicely charred and looked promising. The chicken was fine and the beef was a bit chewy - but it was sliced thin and well-cooked and that is to be expected.

I like to look for dishes that I have not seen before and here there was a tray of something that they called Coconut Chicken. I have had Coconut Shrimp so I assumed that this would be something similar. There were small rectangles of chicken wrapped in a very thin dough membrane. Inside, when I took a bite, there was no coconut to be found or tasted, but rather tiny bits of broccoli and a sliver of chicken in s moist cream like substance. Perhaps it should have been called Chicken and Broccoli Pie rather than Coconut Chicken. It was not bad.

There was Chicken and Broccoli and my wife tried it reluctantly, because in the server it was very dark and sitting in a thick black soy sauce based sauce. She need not have been concerned though because it was bland. She observed that many entrees were over-sauced (perhaps to give them flavor) but nothing tasted as flavorful as it looked. Many dishes were heavy on soy sauce though they did not taste of it - but it did put a lot of salt into the dish. I tried a stuffed mushroom that was sitting in a red oil in the tray. It dripped this red oil as I cut into it and I figured that this must be spicy chili based oil. I looked right but there was no chili taste. It was fine, but not spicy as it looked. There were pieces of cut up broiled chicken in the skin. I did not try this on either visit. It looked good.

Another different entree was Basil Beef. This was slices of beef with tiny corn on the cob and mushrooms in a brown sauce with a bit of basil added. This all looked good and it did have flavor.

I tried some of the standard Chinese buffet items. The egg roll was oily and had too much wrapping and little filling. There were large Chinese spareribs - covered in the sticky, red sweet sauce that Chinese Buffets find a need to add. The spare rib that I took was meaty. We both tried a shrimp ball - a small ball of fried shrimp and filler. It looked right. It had little flavor and had the consistency of a solid rubber ball (during both visits). We also both tried the lo mein noodles and the fried rice and they were standard. There were several of the usual dishes that generally are very spicy. They were tasty but they were not very spicy. For me that was fine. If you like your General Tso's Chicken extra hot you will be disappointed.

If you like seafood there were several dishes to be found. There were hot mussels, there was salt and pepper shrimp, there was broiled salmon, there was stuffed flounder, and there was fried fish pieces that had bones. They also had a broiled stone crab claw in ginger sauce. There was one nut cracker on every table. I did try the stuffed flounder and the fried fish. The stuffed flounder was a very thin slice of flounder rolled around a stuffing mixture. It was good. The fried fish was ok, but as warned on the sign above the tray, it was fried fish with bones and the bones were small and plentiful. It was not worth the effort to pick out all of the bones or retrieve them from my mouth before I swallowed them. The best dish dish that I had - and one that should be tried, if you come here, is Pepper Shrimp. On our first visit this was called salt and pepper shrimp. On our second visit it was just Pepper Shrimp. It still had some salt but not crusted as salt and pepper shrimp is. These shrimp were very good and very flavorful. These shrimp are cooked and seasoned in the shell - as salt and pepper shrimp are also. They are not easy to eat - unless you pick up each one in its seasonings and peel them. I have heard that these are to be eaten shell and all. I don't know - I can't bring myself to eat shrimp shells. I cut into them and peel them with my fork and knife. The taste was worth the effort. If anyone out there knows, tell me if you are supposed to eat them shell, tiny legs, and all.

Many people at this restaurant seem to be here for the crab legs - and this restaurant was busy the whole time that we were there. I must say that the crab legs were probably the best of any of the local Chinese buffets at this price range. They were individual legs or small clusters - not whole clusters. They were large legs. They were cooked just right and not over steamed so that they drip with water. These were moist but properly dry on the shell. The shells were not water logged and snapped open easily. Most legs had the cluster tops still attached and these were full of crab meat. Most of the tables had dishes full of crab legs. It was no wonder. For $12.99 for the full buffet, you can enjoy a meal of crab legs if you like nothing else.

This restaurant also has a Mongolian Barbecue. You select your meat, vegetables, and noodles, cover them with sauce and give them to a chef to cook in front of you on a large, round griddle. With this I was more hopeful. There were three meats - beef, chicken, and pork. Usually at Mongolian grills these meats are frozen and kept frozen so that they stay fresh as they sit out on the server. Here the meats were not frozen and I was a little uncertain about taking the chicken or pork for that reason. The beef was still slightly frozen and I took that. There was also shrimp and these, happily, were sitting on ice. There was a nice assortment of vegetables to choose from and to my delight there was something that I had not seen on a Mongolian BBQ server before - dry, rice noodles that you took up in a large dry clump and placed on top of your meat and vegetables. They also had lo mein noodles to add. The sauces are labeled on th side of the counter and not as you look at them when you come to them at the end of the server. At first I thought that you had to guess, and then I saw the signs. I choose brown sauce and Oriental wine. The chef stepped up to the counter and greeted me with a polite, "How are you?" I relied, "Fine, thank you!" (This was my first visit - I did not get the greeting on my second visit.) I handed the dish to the chef and he put it on the grill moving it around the circular grill with a large stick. Then he took a tea pot and poured water on top. He moved the food some more and then he poured more water - and again, and again... and again! He let the food sit and cook for awhile and then scooped it into a plate and handed it to me. I returned to the table and waited for my wife to join me. As I left the grill, I heard the chef greet her with the same "How are you?" - even on our second trip. The seasoning at the Mongolian Grill is up to you and you can make yours as spicy as you would like. This grill could be the central focus of your meal here and will satisfy most tastes.

Dessert is the usual Chinese buffet selection of "Little Debbie-style" cakes. The cold server did have an assortment of puddings and fruit including fresh orange wedges. There was a soft serve ice cream machine.

The service was fine. On our first visit there was one person in our dining room and she got around to cleaning away plates on a fairly regular basis. On our second visit there were several servers in our dining room and dishes were cleared away as soon as you left the table to get more. The staff were pleasant but quite. On our first visit, barely three words were spoken to us by the staff from the time that we entered until we left. Oh -that is not counting the "How are you?" from the BBQ chef. The staff were very pleasant and when you could got their attention they brought you whatever you needed. On both visits, no one came to offer us refills on the soda, but the soda fountain was out on the side of the buffet servers and we took our glasses up to the machine and refilled them with no comment from any of the staff.

Trays on the buffet were filled regularly. I did witness one employee who took some chicken in sauce that had earlier fallen onto the counter, pick it up with the serving spoon, and return it to the serving tray. This is probably a lot more common in many buffets than one might like - but perhaps that piece should not have been returned to the tray.

The buffet area was clean. Some of the dishes were coming from the dishwasher with some food spots and some were chipped on the bottoms or slightly on the sides. The tables and the floors were clean. The walls - well, here is an oddity. In that first dining room that we were in - the elegant one - the walls were covered in a beige, close pile carpet. Many of the walls - mid-height and toward top were stained with broad grey/black marks. I am not certain how this would be, and it was not an intentional design. It looked like this was a stained floor carpet that was put up on the walls. It was subtle - we tried to see if it was just shadows from the lighting - but no these definately were not shadows. Each booth in that room had a lamp connected to the wall with a small lamp shade. The shades were dingy and the lamps under the shades were dusty. My wife checked out the Ladies Room and she reports that it was ok but the floors were not cleaned well at the edges. The second dining room that we ate in was much better in its condition and had I only been in this room I would never have known about the condition of the other room.

To conclude my first meal I opened my fortune cookie. It said "You may be hungry soon: order a takeout now." Not exactly what you should read after eating at a buffet. Ha. Ha.

After my second visit - and I am very happy that I went back - I can say that this buffet is good. It is not great - though the crab legs were very good - as was that Pepper Shrimp. I would have no problem taking friends here. And my nephew does recommend it. The location is 704 Veteran's Highway in Islandia, New York. It is just south of US 495 at exit 57 in the Islandia Shopping Center. The phone number is (631) 582-3888. There is no website. The hours are from 11 am to 10 pm, Monday through Thursday, 11 am to 11 pm, Friday and Saturday, and 12 Noon to 10 pm on Sundays.

Give it a try!

KAM CHINA BUFFET, Somerset, New Jersey

I was back in New Jersey and had to make the decision to return for a second trip to Makkoli (see two weeks ago) or go to a buffet that I have never been to. I opted for the latter, just so that I could tell you about someplace new. As I had mentioned in my article about Makkoli I go to New Jersey on business for the day every so often and have looked - I guess not too well - for buffet restaurants to try and had little luck in finding them. A few readers helped out with suggestions and the one who also suggested Makkoli (Hi Al!) also told me about this restaurant, Kam China Buffet. He did say that he had never tried it, but it was just three miles from where I spent the day so I was hoping that it was going to be a good find - and it is!

Kam China Buffet is located in Somerset, New Jersey. It is in a outdoor strip mall shopping center - The Somerset Village Shopping Center. The restaurant is large taking up about four store fronts. It is odd though because on the Saturday night that I went there I thought at first that the restaurant was half the size than it actually is. How can that be? Half of the restaurant was dark - and from the outside it did not look like there was anything but an empty store next door to Kam China Buffet. Once inside, about halfway through the meal, I realized that next to one of the buffet servers in the front of the restaurant there was an entire other dining room - empty of customers and dark. Entering the restaurant there is a dining room partioned with low partitions from the buffet serving area. This dining room is about one third the size of the room with the remainder of the room as serving area. This dining room is primarily booths with a few tables at the rear. The second dining room, which was closed, doubled the size of the entire restaurant. We came on a Saturday night at about 7:00 pm which on a Saturday should be prime dinner time. The restaurant was not crowded but the open dining room was busy. While we were dining there was a continual turn over of tables so they were doing business - just not enough to fill the two dining rooms of the restaurant - which after dining there seems strange to me because this was quite a find.

Price is very reasonable. Dinner all nights is $10.99 for adults. Children at dinner are charged by height (since that news story and my article I am finding this more and more). Children under 4' 6" are charged $5.95 at dinner. Children between 4' 6" and 5' are $8.95. There is also a senior citizens discount (age 65) pay $9.95. (My wife is 5' 1", if she was one foot taller I could have said she was my kid and saved a few bucks - not really.) Lunch prices are lower with adults paying $6.95. Children's prices are $4.50 and $5.50 respectively. Seniors at lunch pay $6.50. Unlimited sodas are $1.00 at all times. Coke products are served. As I say, prices are great. The restaurant is open for lunch from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm and dinner from 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday, and to 10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday.

The buffet servers fill the two thirds of the restaurant half. There were two long double sided buffet servers - one hot and one cold. There was a single length double sided hot server and there were two more long single sided servers along walls. Lots of food will be found here.

As always, we start with soup and there were four soups offered - the three standard Chinese restaurant soups - wonton, egg drop, and hot and sour - and also chicken noodle soup which was chicken broth with elbow macaroni and vegetables. The soup was good. The wontons were served from a steamer next to the broth and were large and full of meat. They were tasty. Also on this buffet server was a steamer of dim sum.

One section of the cold server was a salad bar and this was greens with a variety of salad toppings. There were also several prepared salads as well. If you like ice cold shellfish raw on the half shell you will be very happy here. There were very nice looking raw oysters and raw clams - all looking very fresh and moist sitting high on ice just as they should be. There were also large cocktail shrimp in the shell. They were nicely iced and the cocktail sauce that was served on the side had a nice spiced zing. There were two types of sushi rolls - the usual California Rolls and Shrimp Tempura Rolls (which I had never seen before until two weeks ago when I went to Makkoli in New Jersey (maybe they are a NJ thing?)). Both were good, but the tempura rolls were very good. Some are a section of fried shrimp tempura wrapped in seaweed and then rolled in rice and some were the section with the tail sticking up out of the roll like a little handle. I really enjoyed the tempura rolls and went back for more.

On the hot bars there were two types of dumplings - the steamed dim sum and lightly fried pork dumplings. The pork pork dumplings were good. The dim sum was a little darker than it should be on the top and looked a bit strange, but "picky" wife tried it anyway and says that it tasted very good.

They also had the usual assortment of Chinese appetizers. Egg rolls, spring rolls. cheese fried wontons, spare ribs, boneless spareribs, large fried butterfly shrimp, and many others were there to be found. The spare ribs were much better than the average Chinese buffet spare ribs - as were the boneless spare ribs. Both were not drowning in the overly sweet red sugar sauce that most Chinese buffets server their spare ribs in. These were very much like the spare ribs that I remember having in Chinese restaurants when I was a kid - nicely broiled and red on the edges from the cooking with charmarks on the top. They were meaty and tasted good. I must say that these are not the best Chinese buffet spare ribs that I have ever had (one day I may write an article just about those), but they were up there. The egg rolls were a cut above the usual Chinese buffet egg rolls as well. They were on the small side, but they were full of vegetables and not doughy as many Chinese buffet egg rolls are.

If you are out for King Crab Legs you will find them here. Yes, for the $10.99 dinner price with no extra charge! They are served hot and as individual legs, not clusters. The trays were refilled as needed. Nut crackers were brought to your table if you needed them. Of course, the required melted butter was there and kept hot.

There were a number of good Chinese meat dishes and vegetable dishes served on the hot servers. There was a very good fish in a lemon butter sauce - probably flounder with no bones. There were a number of shrimp dishes including more fried shrimp, unbreaded stirfried shrimp in the shell, a seafood combination - which had excellent shrimp in it along with other seafood and vegetables, beef with peppers, chicken with broccoli, a Mandarin chicken which was large pieces of stir fried chicken with scallions, pieces of broiled chicken cut up on the bone, egg foo young (minus the sauce for some reason), salt and pepper squid, nice stuffed shrimp, stir fried sting beans, mushrooms in oyster sauce (no oysters are in oyster sauce), fried rice, vegetable lo mien, and a number of other dishes. If you kids do not like Chinese food there was chicken nuggets, French fries, and macaroni and cheese.

So, after all of this you still expect dessert for $10.99? Of course you do! There was a nice selection for dessert - not overwhelming but fine. There was just one type of "Little Debbie" style cake. There were two types of sugar, light, crisp pasteries, macarons, several types of puddings, several types of fresh fruit including cut up apples that were bright red on the skin side and nicely white on the inside, two kinds of melon, and orange wedges, jello, a few dessert mixtures of cream and fruit, and soft serve ice cream. Plenty to keep everyone happy.

Service was very good. Plates were cleared regularly from the table. We were asked if we would like soda refills several times. The buffet serving trays were well tended and were refilled even before they were empty with the remainder of the tray before taken way. The restaurant was clean. The carpeted floor in the dining room showed the wear of the day, but was not dirty. Both the men's and ladies' rooms were clean, but both needed repair maintenance to really look nice. There was nothing not functioning properly and, as I say, they were clean.

About an hour into the meal - we do not rush through a meal and as you know, we do not fill plates to the brim but finish normal servings on our plates and go back for more (why do so many not know this and fill plates until they are an overflowing mixture from salad to dessert? - yes, I have seen this so many times). So, anyway, about half way through the meal and maybe our fourth plate (but not dessert) the server came and put the check and two fortune cookies on our table. She smiled and I smiled back. We were clearly still eating. This has happened a few times before - always in Chinese buffets - and we have wondered if this is a signal that we are supposed to be done. Perhaps we have overstayed our welcome? I have just learned to ignore this and keep on getting up to get more and continue eating. The server came by several times and looked to see if there was any money or credit card down with the check and when she saw there wasn't said nothing and kept on going about her business. She came and cleared our plates when we got up and even came over and asked if we would like another refill of soda. So perhaps this wasn't a signal but just a way to not forget to leave the check for us. I don't know but they were not unpleasant about it and in the end it meant nothing to my enjoyment of the meal. I have seen dinners in other buffets get vocally upset about this and get offensive with the staff. There really is no reason for the reaction - unless someone actually came over to say that it was time to be finished. I have never seen that happen. Here all of the staff smiled and did their jobs very pleasantly. I even tipped a little more than I would have for a buffet meal.

The restaurant is just three miles away from the Garden State Expo Center - a large exhibition center for trade shows, conventions, hobby shows, etc. This is where business takes me a few times each year. If you are there for any reason and are looking for a nice restaurant very nearby this is the one to try.

I recommend Kam China Buffet. If you are traveling through, live in the area, or at the Expo Center try it. You cannot beat it for the money and you are getting a good meal of a lot more than you might expect.

Kam China Buffet is located at 900 Easton Avenue, Somerset, New Jersey. This is south of US Route 287 at exit 10. It is in the Somerset Village Shopping Center - if you miss the entrance traveling south make the immediately next right down a street and there is a side entrance just a short way down. Exit from this side entrance also so that you can turn at the traffic light back onto the road.

Enjoy - now I have two great restaurants to go to when I am in the area of New Jersey. Oh yes, and the restaurant that I wrote about one year ago in New Jersey - another Chinese buffet that was not good at all - has since closed. I wonder if I had anything to do with that after I wrote about it.

Makkoli Seafood Buffet, East Brunswick, New Jersey

I am always looking for buffet restaurants in New Jersey. On occasion business takes us to the Garden State and we usually drive around looking for a buffet for dinner, find nothing, and head back home. The one buffet that I had found in the area that we usually are in I wrote about a year ago - and it was not good. (Take a look in the archives and I am sure that you will find it.)

One of my readers contacted me and told me about a buffet near his home in New Jersey called Makkoli. He told me that he likes to go there for the sushi. I have not gone to buffets that are primarily sushi because, as some of you know, I have a wife who is a very picky eater - and she does not like seafood beyond shrimp. She especially will not eat raw fish. I enjoy sushi but I will not subject her to a dinner of food that she hates. And the sushi buffets that I am aware of charge a great deal of money for their meals - both at lunch and dinner, weekdays and weekends. So my first reaction to my reader - Art - was just what I have told you. He emailed me back to say that there is more at Makkoli than sushi and seafood. He also shared that the weekend price is $19.95 for dinner, which while high, is not as high as other sushi buffets that I know of. I went to look at their website - most of which is under construction - and saw a picture of a Japanese Hibachi chef cooking at an Hibachi grill. We were all set. My wife could eat Hibachi and whatever else there might be and I could try a sushi buffet. We just had to wait for another trip to New Jersey, which just so happened to come quickly.

Let me say that finding Makkoli was a bit of an adventure. One that included some yelling and swearing. I am sure that anyone who lives in this area of New Jersey would have no problem finding it right off, but for this traveler from another State, well, it was... let's just say an adventure. We wound up passing this restaurant twice without seeing it and we had GPS to assist us. One thing that you need to know about New Jersey is that there are no left turns in New Jersey and every large road is a divided highway with no way to cross to the other side. Every few miles there are right turn arounds that will head you across or get you in the opposite direction - but not knowing the roads and driving at night these are noted by signs that are not lit and usually hidden behind a tree. Each time the GPS said that we were there (we routed ourselves to the address), we would look to where the restaurant was supposed to be and all we could see was a dark field - actually somewhat of a pit. Back and forth we drove and then finally pulled into a shopping center and telephoned the restaurant. We were just a mile or so from the location and with their directions of what to look for and what to turn at we finally arrived. That dark pit that we had been seeing was actually the parking lot a bit lower than the road.

Makkoli Seafood Buffet is a Japanese buffet. The restaurant is located in small shopping center strip mall and takes up the length of about four store fronts. On entering the restaurant it is very bright and modern. There is a dining room along the front wall and then another dining room filling the rest of the space with tables all around the buffet area. The price of dinner at Makkoli is $18.99 from Monday to Thursday and $19.99 from Friday to Sunday. Lunch prices are $11.99 and $13.99. Children under three and one half feet tall eat free. Children from that height to four and one half feet are half price. Soda for all is $1.50 and is refillable. They serve Coke products. Hours on Monday to Thursdays and Sunday are to 9:00 pm and Friday and Saturday until 10:00 pm. You must be seated one half hour before closing.

We went for dinner on a Friday night. The restaurant was busy but we did not have to wait to get a table. We were seated and asked for our soft drink order. We then proceeded to the buffet server. There is a four-sided, large serving buffet in the middle of the dining room. Next to that on one wall is a single sided buffet server. Along the longest wall there is a counter that includes the Hibachi grill, soups, entrees, and appetizers.

We started with soup - as we always do. There were three Japanese soups - seafood soup, miso soup, and udon noodle soup. Below the label for the noodle soup were a list of the ingredients - tofu skins, noodles, seaweed, and scallions. We had picked up empty bowls and looked over the soup choices and headed for the udon noodle soup. Behind the soup tureen there were a few bowls with ingredients in them - but no broth. The broth was in the tureen. We figured out that we were supposed to take one of those bowls and fill it with broth creating the soup. Next to all of this there was a station where noodles would be boiled and the ingredients mixed for this soup. No one was there at the time - there was a chef there later creating these bowls for the soup. Slight confusion but we quickly had our soup (two advanced college degrees should be able to figure a simple thing like this out). The udon noodle soup was excellent. I enjoyed just about everything at this restaurant but I really enjoyed this soup. I almost went back for another bowl at the end of the meal but I was so full - and I had two hours to drive home - that I did not dare.

I moved on to the salad and sushi next and my wife headed for the hot appetizers. There are four sushi chefs working inside the rectangular serving area. On one long side are Japanese salads including salmon skin salad, tofu salad, mushroom salad, chopped lettuce, raw edame beans, and others. There were also plates of sashimi - lumps of raw fish with no rice. There was salmon, tuna, and red snapper. Along a short side were raw oysters and clams on the half shell and cocktail shrimp. A tub of red cocktail sauce was on the side along with fresh lemon wedges. I looked at the oysters - sitting on ice, but they looked dry looking so I skipped those. The clams looked fresher and moister. The shrimp looked great. I was looking for the out of the ordinary so I skipped the shell fish and tried some of the salads and took some sashimi. The mushroom salad was very good - I even made my wife try some. It was large black mushroom slices in a mildly sweet sauce. The tofu salad was squares of tofu with a white dressing on top. Also good. The sashimi - I took salmon and tuna and this was very fresh.

There is silverware available all over the restaurant near the clean plates including forks, knives, and soup spoons. At every table there are chopsticks placed on your napkin, Many here eat with chopsticks. I do - but soon tire of the effort and switch back and forth with utensils.

I went next for sushi. I am not an adventurous sushi eater. I tend to the basics of tuna and salmon. Here there is sushi for everyone - the adventurous and the timid. There was every kind of raw fish - white tuna, red tuna, salmon, red snapper, eel, ocotpus, squid, yellowtail, and more. I tried a few fish that I have never had an opportunity to try before - I still avoided the octopus, squid, and eel. All of these were on rice. Then there were the rolls and those were plentiful and different (at least to me). There was a lobster sushi roll. There was a tempura sushi roll - pieces of fried tempura wrapped in rice and seaweed. All of the fish was fresh. All was kept over ice on plates. The chefs keep an eye on each serving plate and refilled them with freshly made sushi continually as they emptied. Everything was well labeled - as was all of the food at this restaurant. All that I tried were good. If you like sushi beyond what you find in the usual Asian buffet, you will love this. And if you are a timid sushi eater you will be happy too. Be alert to the two signs on the glass above the sushi. Each says that you are not to "waste" the rice with the sushi and if you do you will be charged extra. Meaning - take sushi, eat all of the rice. Do not just eat the fish. If you do, you will be paying extra. I have heard from readers that some Asian buffets have had managers or serving staff come over to them when the left the rice aside and told them that they could not do that or that they would be charged extra for doing that. I have never encountered this - and I am one who usually leaves some of the rice aside so that I will not fill up on it. At least here there are clear signs that are unavoidably seen. No denying and no reason for issue- which is ok. I ate all of my rice.

All along my wife was happy with the hot entrees, appetizers, and side dishes. I tried these next. On one wall is a counter with space behind for serving staff and hot serving trays in the front. The hot foods are found here. Next to the soup are steamed crab shumai (dumplings). These were good. There are two tubs of liquid dipping sauce near by. One was a hot pepper sauce. The other was a sharp vinegar. Neither was dumpling sauce, but perhaps that is Chinese and not Japanese. Watch out for that hot pepper sauce! Along the counter there was Japanese fried rice - made on a grill and not the brown style Chinese fried rice, there were noodles that looked like Chinese lo mein noodles, but are much lighter, there were pan fried Japanese dumplings - verylight, and on and on. There was vegetable tempura. There was shrimp tempura - long shrimp in a light but thick fried batter - excellent. There was grilled shrimp on a stick - with the heads on. There were baked scallops - a real scallop shell (think the Shell Oil sign) filled with chopped scallop with a mayonaise based sauce baked together on the shell. There was a baked mussel that looked similar, if not the same. There was steamed flounder in ginger. There was chicken terriaki and beef terriaki. There were half crabs. There was broiled duck, several other chicken dishes, and other beef dishes. They had excellent spare ribs - Chinese sytle without that terrible red sweet sauce. These were charbroiled with just enough crisp. They were cut into small pieces, each a few inches long. There were also Spring rolls. Oh yes, everyone's favorite, there were king crab legs - individual legs, not clusters. The crab legs were refilled as soon as the tray went low. Everything was continually kept fresh and refilled. There was plenty here for the seafood lover and the meat eater.

If you had not had enough already, there was another big part of the meal to come. A section of the counter was an hibachi grill. This is not a Mongolian BBQ - you do not mix your own vegetables and meat. This is a real hibachi grill just like in the hibachi Japanese restaurants - you know the ones that you see in the movies where the chef throws the knife around to cut the food on the grill. You get it all here -except the show - there is no knife throwing, but there is a chef cooking each hibachi dish to your order. You have your choice of shrimp, chicken, and steak with mixed vegetables. The portion that the chef cooks for you fills a plate. My wife had the chicken. I intended to have the steak but I saw the shrimp being cooked for the person before me and I could not resist. The grilled shrimp were great. The vegetables mixed in were nicely seasoned. My wife's chicken was good. The steak looked really good too!

At this point I was full and satisfied - but I had this urge to go back and try some more great things. I resisted the temptation. But wait - dessert. Along the other short side of the rectangle was cold fresh fruit, jello, and canned oriental fruits. Opposite this was a another buffet server against the wall with - oriental buffet "Little Debbie" type cakes and an ice cream freezer chest along side with barrels of hard ice cream for you to scoop yourself. Good ice cream The usual oriental buffet cakes. Dessert was not spectacular, but with all the rest it did not really need to be.

Service was good. Plates were taken away as soon as you empty them. You are served your soda in a very large plastic glass and it took most of the meal to drink it - but when it was near the bottom the server came over and offered to bring more. The entire restaurant was very clean including the rest rooms.

I have said before that you can often tell that a restaurant serving the cuisine of a particular country - Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Greek , etc. is good when you see people of that nationality dining there. This Japanese restaurant had a good number of Japanese and Asian people eating at it. They all seemed to be enjoying it and this tells me that there is some authenticity to the cooking.

My wife noticed that this was a restaurant where people lingered and did not just eat and leave - and the restaurant did not seem to have any problem with this. Many of the people who were well into their meals when we first sat down were still sitting and talking after we had finished. Another thing observed at the table behind us of a large group of friends is that the restaurant does not have a problem if you bring your own bottle of liquor. That table not only had wine on the table but they also had scotch. The restaurant provided the glasses. The restaurant does not serve liquor so it was clear that the people brought it in with them.

Putting it all together - Excellent! It was worth the effort to find this gem. For what I had I did not so much mind that the bill for the two of us with soda and sales tax with $50. If you are local to this restaurant it may not be an every week restaurant - unless you are better off than I, but it certainly is a special occasion dinner or a splurge! I will be back in the area in a few weeks and I have a tough decision to find a new buffet to tell you about or head back for more at this one!

Makkoli Seafood Buffet is located in the Village Green Shopping Center at 415 Route 18 South in East Brunswick, NJ. To avoid riding in circles as I did - when coming south on Route 18 after you pass US 1, look for the Circuit City on the right and then continue two more traffic lights. You will see a U Haul lot (large sign) and you then make the immediate next turn into the shopping center. Travel though that strip of stores and around into the back where you will come upon another strip of stores and parking lot. Straight ahead is Makkoli. The phone number in case you get lost is (732) 967 - 8900 or for free - 877 - 625 - 5654. There is a website which is linked at the side of this page.

If you are in New Jersey, this is a definite go to!

Fairmont Buffet and Bakery, Savannah, Georgia

I am always on the look out for buffets to tell you about and sometimes I will find a buffet that I will not be able to get to, but want to share with those of you who are in these areas or will get to these areas. The buffet that I have discovered is a family run, single location buffet called Fairmont Buffet and Bakery, named for the street that it is located on, Fairmont Avenue in Savannah, Georgia.

I have never been to Savannah and I will tell you about this buffet by first making clear that I have not eaten there or experienced it. I have found out quite a lot about it and will share that with you.

Fairmont Buffet and Bakery is owned and operated by a husband and wife who have brought Southern home cooking to their buffet. They are "known" for their southern fried chicken which is claimed to be the "best in town" and every meal that they serve has fried chicken. Prices at the buffet are very reasonable and include beverages. Weekday dinners are $8.25 and Saturdays and Sundays are just one dollar more. There are lunch buffets during weekdays until 3:00 pm (from 11:00 am) and these are just 7.50. There are discounted senior prices and children under ten are $5.50 and under four are just sixty cents. These prices - which include soft drinks - are great! None of the chains are this inexpensive for a similar meal. The restaurant closes each night at 8:30 pm.

The buffet is described as having six buffet stations and serves over 70 items at each meal.The menu varies from night to night, but fried chicken and baked chicken are always served - except for Sundays when another chicken dish replaces the baked chicken. The restaurant prepares and cooks all food on premises from fresh ingredients and no preservatives which means that this should be real home cooking. Homemade yeast rolls are made and baked every day.

There are two soups every day - which change each day. There is also a salad and fruit bar. Entrees and fresh vegetables are varied each day and change from lunch to dinner. Remember that with each dinner is fried chicken and every day but Sunday thre is baked chicken. At dinner on Mondays you will find smothered liver, pot roast, and low country creole. On Tuesdays at dinner you get baked fish, country fried steak (a favorite of mine, but not of my doctor's), and hot wings. On Wednesday's dinner there is Brown Rice with Beef, Veal Parmesan, and Salisbury Steak. Thursday - Beef Stroganoff, Pork Chops, and Pot Roast. Fridays bring barbecued ribs, fried shrimp and hushpuppies, and clam strips. The Saturday dinner brings back the fried shrimp and hushpuppies, and clam ctrips, the country fried steak, and adds barbecued pork. Sunday all day is a more elaborate menu with Meat Loaf, Fried Chicken, Roast Beef, Lemon Pepper Chicken, Dressing, and Crab Meat Au Gratin. Everything on these menus are classic southern dishes and it sounds like here they are made right!

Of course, there are many vegetable choices, real whipped potatoes, rice, gravy, macaroni and cheese, and more. No southern meal would be complete with out a variety of wonderful desserts and at the Fairmont Buffet and BAKERY there is an 18 foot long serving counter full of freshly baked and prepared desserts.

When the Beaupre's opened the Fairmont Buffet and Bakery they wanted to feature a scatter buffet service that was not featured at that time at other buffet restaurants in the area. When they opened two buffet chains in the town remodeled to compete with the Fairmont Buffet! They were a leader in this design at the time - many buffets now follow this system. (I must note here and I am not contradicting any claim by the Fairmont but Buffet, Inc - OCB - claims to have invented the scatter buffet.) The Fairmont has been in business for thirteen years! (Miller's Smorgasbord in Lancaster, Pa has had a scatter buffet setup for at least 25 years.)

The restaurant is very community minded and features a community day each month during which they donate ten percent of their sales to a chosen charity of the month. The Fairmont has won several awards including one in 2005 from the National Restaurant Association.

The restaurant has a website which is listed on the side of this page. There are nice photos of the buffet and the dining room. The address is 65 West Fairmont Avenue in Savannah, Georgia. Their phone number is 912-920-4020.

If you have ever been to the Fairmont Buffet and Bakery please place a comment with this article and tell us about it! It really sounds good - and perhaps on one of my trips south I will eventually get to Savannah. If I do I am definately going to the Fairmont Buffet and Bakery!

Know of a buffet that I have not talked about yet - use the email address on the side of this page and let me know about it.

Yoders - A Buffet In a Supermarket, New Holland, PA

I have known about Yoders Restaurant and Buffet in New Holland, Pennsylvania for many years. I have never been there before. Several years ago we looked inside and it appeared that the main entree on the buffet was fried chicken and did not go in to eat. Yoders is a rather unusual buffet restaurant as it is located inside a supermarket. A buffet in a supermarket - think of the possibilities! The entrance to the supermarket leads into a hallway - to the right leads to the supermarket and to the left leads to the restaurant.

This is a restaurant that offers both buffet and menu dining. The buffet is quite extensive and as we learned the Friday evening that we dined there the buffet is very good! When you enter through the door to the restaurant from the entrance hallway you walk past the cashier and are seated by a hostess. There are only booths in this restaurant. The room is large, but not enormous. The front three quarters of the room is the dining room and the rear of the room are where the buffet servers are located. There are five double-sided buffet servers, two single servers along the two side walls and the back wall is filled with a grill area. Every buffet server has a large, clear sign on top indicating what you will find there. At the very rear of the room was a door to a private dining room for parties. There are also banquet facilities available here.

The adult price of the dinner buffet is $11.99. Soft drinks are $1.49 and are refillable. There is a children's price. There is a higher price on Saturdays and two additional entrees are served on Saturdays. There are also lunch buffets and breakfast buffets. Each night's dinner is themed. Friday is Land and Sea (seafood and London Broil) and Saturday's the theme is Dutch Grill which offers baked sausage and other local Pennsylvania Dutch dishes.

There is a buffet server with two soups and bread. A buffet server with a salad bar is next to that. There are two buffet servers with hot food. There are two buffet servers with desserts. The soups offered this night were clam chowder (Friday) and vegetable pasta. We both tried the vegetable pasta soup and it was good. It was thick with vegetables and small shell macaroni. There was a nice assortment of bread and rolls on this server also.

The salad bar had three different greens and a large variety of salad toppings and dressings. There were a number of prepared salads - many prepared as the local Pennsylvania Dutch prepare them. One prepared salad popular here is called Pepper Cabbage. It is a finely chopped mixture of cabbage and green peppers with a sweet vinegar dressing. In some areas of the country this is called Chow Chow. In the PA Dutch area Chow Chow is a mixed vegetables in a sweet pickled dressing. This was on the salad bar also. Another local delicacy is apple butter on top of cottage cheese. These were on the salad bar also. Apple butter is a deep brown cooked down apple sauce - more tart than apple sauce but also nicely sweet. This area is known for mixing sweet and sour. At one time Seven Sweets and Seven Sours were spoken of in restaurants in this area - no one mentions this much any more but you surely can enjoy them from the salad bar at Yoders.

Entrees and vegetables have grown over the years to far more than the fried chicken that I saw when I looked in years back. The fried - rather "broasted" chicken was there, but there was so much more, They are known in this restaurant for their chicken, so I will speak about that first. Broasting is a combination of broiling and roasting in a special oven but the result is fried chicken (though supposedly healthier). The chicken was crispy and good. Large meaty pieces were in the server - mostly white meat. Some pieces were stuck together and I wound up with two pieces when I thought that I was taking one. It was ok because it was good. There were several local entrees on this buffet server along with the chicken. It is common in this area at buffets to serve roast beef sliced into thick slices and put into brown gravy on the server. This was on the server. There was ham loaf - meat loaf made with chopped ham and served with a pineapple sweet sauce on top. Later during the meal the ham loaf was gone and was replaced with ham balls - the same thing but made into meat balls rather than a loaf. We liked the ham balls better than the ham loaf but we are not certain why. There was also baked chicken.

The next buffet server was filled with seafood. There was fried fish, large fried shrimp, fried clams, baked fish, mussels, hot shrimp in a spicy red sauce, scalloped oysters, and more. There was seafood au gratin.

On the grill they were cooking and slicing London broil steak. There was also grilled salmon, stir fry shrimp, and corn fritters made on a griddle. The London broil was cooked on a flame grill. The London Broil was just fair - it had little taste and was tough. The first piece I had was well done and the next was rare - it did not make any difference. Actually, the well done piece because of the charred outside was better than the rare piece. This was the only disappointment. In front of the grill was a small server with cold shrimp and all of the usual seafood condiments.

There was a great assortment of vegetables and side dishes including some local specialties and some not usually found. One of the most unusual was baked oatmeal. This was terrific. It was mildly sweet. They also had potato filling. Filling is what they call "stuffing" in this area. This was made with riced potatoes and was excellent. There was also dried corn - a corn dish made like fresh corn with dried corn kernels. It is sweet and toasty in taste. There was fresh stewed tomatoes that was not made sweet as it is usually served - very good. There were hush puppies - fried corn meal balls. There was a sweet cooked apple dish. There was macaroni and cheese, noodles in butter sauce, and the corn fritters. The corn fritters were made like pancakes and were sized like pancakes as well. They had a soft inside that was full of corn. Of course, there were mashed potatoes, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, rice, carrots, and many standard vegetables.

If you still have room there were quite a few desserts. There was chocolate cake with white icing and there was chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. There were fruit pies and fruit crumb desserts. There was shoo fly pie - the locally originated pie with molasses and crumbs on top. There were sugar free pies. There was a full buffet server of puddings and fruit desserts. There was two types of tapioca pudding. There was a local pudding called cracker pudding - a pudding like rice pudding that uses saltine crackers - very good! And if you want more this is a soft serve machine and a sundae topping bar.

I think that you can tell that I enjoyed this meal. The server brings you your drink refills and clears the plates away and ours was great (as were the others that I could see). All of the staff were friendly. The restaurant was extremely clean. Restrooms were located outside the restaurant a little further down the hallway and were well maintained and clean.

At the grill you are given generous portions - more than you may want. This is a great restaurant and I am sorry that it took me so long to finally give it a try. I am looking forward to the next time that I eat there.

The restaurant is open from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. There is a small website that is linked at the side of this page, though the website gives a much more limited description of the buffets than they actually are. The restaurant is located at Yoders Supermarket, Route 23, New Holland, Pennsylvania. The phone number is (717) 354-4748. I have never seen discount coupons for Yoders as there are for some of the buffet restaurants in this area as found in the free tourist papers. There are pamphlets for the restaurant with a much better description than the website offers.

If you would like the experience of eating in a buffet that is located in a supermarket - or you would like to eat in a really great buffet - please do go to Yoders Restaurant and Buffet. (Do not confuse this with Yoders Restaurant in Sarasota, Florida - I do not believe there is any connection, though that is also an Amish food buffet.) This restaurant is in Pennsylvania in Lancaster County where the Amish and Mennonites live.

Since eating at Yoders, I keep thinking about going back - so it really must have been good!