We recently were back at the Southern Smokehouse in Linden, New Jersey and this was one of our best visits there yet. The Southern Smokehouse is a buffet that is a combination of Chinese buffet and Southern Barbecue. This is an odd combination but here it seems to work.
About a year ago Southern Smokehouse added a smoker and while they always served barbecue ribs, now those ribs are being made in a smoker on the premises. The Southern Smokehouse has been a go back to buffet for us since we first were tipped off about it a few years ago. We only get to go when we have a reason to be in New Jersey. The buffet is not far from the Goethels Bridge from New Jersey into Staten Island, New York but for us this is an expensive trip in tolls crossing two bridges. Tolls and gas can cost us more than dinner. So we don't get to Southern Smokehouse as much as we would like to.
My reviews of this buffet restaurant have been mixed in the past and the biggest problem that we have encountered here has been the service. I have been contacted by others who have come to this buffet who have said the same thing. I am happy to say that on this last trip the service was much, much better and we had two servers who seemed to share the tables on one side of the dining and were making sure that dishes were cleared regularly from the tables and that drinks were refilled. This visit was a great improvement over past visits in this regard. The food has always been good and remains so.
We went this time on a Friday night. We have been here on Friday nights before. The buffet was busy but not crowded. We were told to find out own table. We selected a table in the dining area to the right side of the door. The restaurant is set up with a dining room on each side of the buffet servers which are in the center. For some reason, this side seems to get the better service.
There are not many buffets that regularly serve real barbecue ribs and here, as I say, you are getting ribs from a smoker. The ribs are served at the carving counter and grill and are served to your plate by one of the cooks behind the counter. You will be offered one rib or two ribs - ask for more if you want more each trip up. The ribs are meaty and moist. The rib meat falls off the bone as you eat it and you can see the red smoke ring on the rib meat. These are full size ribs and not baby backs. They are cooked with barbecue sauce but you may want to add more when you get your ribs from the small serving tray of sauce that has a large brush in it along with barbecue sauce. The sauce is neither overly sweet or spicy. It really adds a nice flavor to the already good ribs. While I make most of my meal here ribs, there are many other good things here as well.
The flame grill is cooking steaks. The steaks that they are cooking are called in some areas Romanian steaks. These are also called diaphragm steaks. This cut of steak tends to be a little fatty but very tasty. They cook two small steaks joined together and you get both when you go up to the grill. It would be nicer if these steaks were cooked to order. They are not. Mostly you will get a well done steak. In spite of that, the steak is tasty.
They are also carving a large whole roast turkey at the grill. This is so much nicer than the turkey breast that so many buffets (and menu restaurants) serve. The turkey is good. We enjoy "real" turkey and this is a treat.
Also at the side of the grill is pizza - which looks a lot better than most buffet pizzas. The slices are larger than most found at buffets. I did not try the pizza though I was tempted, but I was too full from the rest of everything good.
Along the buffet there is fried chicken, barbecue chicken, meatloaf, fried fish, various Chinese meat dishes, and many side dishes including one of the best home-style Southern macaroni and cheese at any buffet. The mac and cheese is thick with cheese and gooey when you spoon it from the tray onto your plate. The taste is as good as it looks. There are also french fries, sweet potato tots, mashed potatoes, home skillet fried potatoes with onions, and baked potatoes. There was corn on the cob and kernel corn, string beans, carrots, collards, and other vegetables. One thing that we both noted on this trip was that there was an excess of garlic used in all of the side dishes (except the mac and cheese). This put us both off a bit - while tasty, it was too much.
I tried the fried chicken and while it was good, it was too similar to OCB. It looked better than that. My wife told me to try the meatloaf. She said it was one of the best buffet meatloaf that she has had. She does not like meatloaf that is cooked covered in catsup. This meatloaf is cooked in a vegetable tomato sauce. It is a very light, reddish sauce. It is not sweet and it makes the meatloaf very moist. It was good. (I prefer the catsup type but this was different and good.)
There are two soups on the buffet. This night there was turkey soup which has been on the buffet each time that we have been there. There was also cream of mushroom soup that was excellent. I was surprised that this usually bland soup could be so good. There was a hint of cheese mixed into the soup.
There is a large salad bar that also has cold desserts on one side. When we went up for salad, the green lettuce tray was empty and the mixed greens tray was almost empty. A gentleman who had taken the last of it and seemed to be waiting for more told us that it was on its way out. We waited a short while and when it did not arrive we both made salads from the vegetable toppings and tomatoes that were on the salad bar. I also took some of their pasta salad - which looked to be a cross between the usual macaroni salad and pasta salad. About two minutes after we returned to our table the salad trays came out and they were full again. One consistent thing about Southern Smokehouse has been that trays are filled as quickly as possible. Other than on the salad bar for a short period, I have yet to see an empty tray here that was not quickly refilled - and with the same item. I do have to comment about the pasta salad. It did not taste very good and the pasta was dry and hard. I ate no more than the first bite.
Desserts are few but good. They bake on the premises. There were three sheet cakes - two chocolate (one with sprinkles on a hard frosting and one with a lighter frosting0 and one cherry topped cake. There are cookies and there is hard - scoop yourself - ice cream and toppings for a sundae. Over at the salad bar there are fresh and canned fruits, puddings, and jello. On the hot buffet there was a tray of hot bread pudding. Over where the Chinese foods were there were fried Chinese buffet-style donuts with sugar.
It was a very satisfying and great tasting meal. The restaurant is clean and well taken care of. If they remain consistent now in quality of service this already good buffet will become a great buffet. It seems to be well known in the area. If you are going through or are near Linden, New Jersey try it.
Southern Smokehouse is located at Aviation Plaza Shopping Center which
is at 611 West Edgar Road (Route 1 and 9) in Linden, New Jersey
07036. This restaurant is in the very far corner of the shopping center,
off in a parking lot cut off from the main part of the shopping plaza.
With Home Depot on one end of the plaza and Target on the other end, go
past Target to where it looks like you are exiting the shopping center
and you will see another parking lot to the side and this restaurant
brightly lit on the far end. This shopping plaza is adjacent to an
airport. The phone number is 908-862-1883. The hours on Friday and
Saturday are until 10 pm. Weeknights and Sunday nights they are open
until 9 pm. They open each day at 11 am for lunch. There is also a
breakfast buffet. There was a
website and it is still listed at the side of this page but when you go there the URL has been "parked" with a message that the site will return. In the interim, there is a Facebook page for this buffet.
Showing posts with label southern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label southern. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2014
Friday, October 12, 2012
Return to Wood Grill Buffet, Charlottesville, Virginia
It has been six years since I have been to the Wood Grill Buffet in Charlottesville, Virginia. The only reason for this long absence is my schedule when I travel. This is one of my favorite buffets and has been since we first found it many years ago when it was in a different location. Wood Grill Buffet is still part of the Western Sizzln' chain but appears to be run as a separate entity with only four locations - all in Virginia. There are locations in Harrisonburg, Norwalk, Hesperia, and this one in Charlottesville.
The layout is just as it was when I described it six years ago, so I am not going to repeat that here. You can read the link above to get an impression what the buffet looks like. The decor is western and pleasant. We returned this August and were there on a weeknight. There was a small group at the door coming in before us but we really had no wait. The restaurant inside was crowded. We were taken to our table and our server actually took some time to come over to our table and take our drink orders. I will put that up to the crowded dining room. The price of the buffet is now $10.59 for dinner Monday to Thursday and $10.99 for dinner Friday to Sunday. There is a $1.00 discount for seniors. Soft drinks with refills are $2.09 for adults and $1.39 for children up to age 12. The children's price is based on age and they charge $0.60 per year of age from age 4 to 12. Over 12 pays adult price. Soda price is a bit high compared to most similar buffets, but only by a dime. Compared to other chain American food buffets, the value here is exception for what the buffet offers.
We started as usual with soup. There were two soups and they are located on the counter that sits directly in front of the grill. The soups this night were Chicken Gumbo and New England Clam Chowder. Both soups are soups that my picky eater wife does not care for so she went on to the extensive salad bar and I took the Chicken Gumbo. The soup was hot, good and tasty though it was slightly spicy. If you only know Chicken Gumbo from Campbell's in a can the taste is similar but there is more heat in the real thing.
The salad bar is split between two cold servers at opposite sides of the buffet area. One has a variety of lettuce and greens and a lot of toppings and dressing. There were also cold meats to add to your salad. There was also everything you would want to make a Caesar salad. On the other there was a variety of prepared salads including the usual potato salad with large pieces of potato, macaroni salad, pasta salad, and coleslaw, but there was more. There were deviled eggs, chicken salad with large chunks of chicken, tuna salad, cucumber salad, and three bean salad among others. There was also a crab salad with real crab (not the fake stuff). The chicken salad was very good and I could not resist the crab salad. There was so much more to come, but it would have been easy to stay with the salad bar.
The hot entrees and side dishes are extensive and they are served both from hot buffet servers and from the counter that is in front of the grill which takes up just about all of the back wall. There are chefs cooking on the grill and continually replenishing the serving trays on the counter. This buffet serves steak and while it is not cooked to order, it is cooked in various stages of doneness and placed out on a hot tray on the counter. There is rare, medium, and well done for the taking. In my last review six years ago I had found the steak that I took to be dry - but not this time. The steak was nicely medium rare, juicy, and tasty. At another end of the grill counter there is a taco and burrito bar with soft flour tortillas, fried corn tortillas, nacho chips, and all of the makings for tacos and burritos. Next to the steak were ribs- real, fall off the bone, barbecue ribs. These were excellent and close to what I had at a smoker pit barbecue non-buffet place several nights later in another part of Virginia. They were moist and properly sauced.
There was so much on the hot servers and at the counter I will just list what there was for you. There were in addition to what I have already told you about - meatballs, riblets, fried chicken (very good fried chicken and better and more Southern than any other chain buffet), pot roast, ham, roast beef, hot dogs, chicken teriyaki, fried shrimp, fried fish, grilled chicken pieces, grilled chicken breasts off the grill, two types of wings, chicken livers, meatloaf, cheeseburgers, crab cakes, lasagna, baked spaghetti and cheese (something local to Virginia perhaps because we encountered this in other buffets) and pizza that was at the bakery counter.
There was a multitude of side dishes as well. These included mashed potatoes, kernel corn, corn on the cob, Lima beans with ham, wild rice, white rice, sauteed green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, turnip greens with ham and onions, green beans with bacon, onion rings, fries, hot carrots, fried apples (so good!), fried green tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, cabbage, broccoli casserole, potato casserole, broccoli, and sweet potato souffle.There was also a baked and sweet potato bar with toppings.
You are in the South and a lot of what is on this buffet is southern cooking with dishes that you will rarely see anywhere but the South. Yes, fried green tomatoes is not just the name of a book and a movie made from the book. You can eat them here.
I tried little bits of things and took more of what I know that I enjoy and I was stuffed at the end of the meal. Everything that I tried was good with one exception. The pizza looked good but it had been sitting too long and the crust had dried out and I ate only a taste. The steak was good and better than many. The ribs, as I have said, were exceptional. There was no pork barbecue as there had been six years ago but that may appear on another night. Selections do change from night to night at some buffets. My wife was just as happy with her plainer selections. There was more than enough to please most.
There is a large bakery counter which is a large half circle with bakers inside replenishing desserts, bread, and pizza. There were several breads including corn muffins, large rolls, and cheese rolls. I know that many of my readers want to hear about the dessert selection and they have a very good selection of sweets. There was fresh pineapple, fresh oranges, melon, and fresh grapes, and mandarin oranges over on the cold buffet server. There was carrot cake, several types of cream pies, chocolate cake cupcakes with vanilla icing and yellow cake cupcakes with chocolate icing, a variety of cookies,coconut cake, banana pudding, strawberry shortcake, pecan pie, Oreo pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie (in August!), lemon meringue pie, and three different cobblers including blackberry. There was soft serve ice cream and a sundae bar with ice cream toppings, There was also a chocolate fountain right in the middle of the bakery counter within view of the people working behind the counter. I will not get into my feelings about chocolate fountains at buffets again, but this one was subject to the same problems as all of them are.
I am getting hungry and wanting to go back again just writing about all of this.
Service was OK - she could have paid a little more attention to our table, but it was not bad.
I want to talk about the people eating here. I have been to many buffets as you know and all types of people come to eat at buffets. It has been primarily in New York, however, that I have seen the most immensely large people eating at buffets. What surprised me here - and different from other buffets that I have been to an went to recently in Virginia - that there were a good number of immensely large people eating here. No problem - everyone is welcome everywhere and I don't care who is sitting at the table next to me, but it just struck me as interesting here seeing this. I only share it because it is interesting.
Well, I am sorry that it took me six years to get back here and I will be sure to schedule more time in this area when I return so that I am in Charlottesville at dinner time. They are open on weekends to 11:30 pm. I recommend this buffet. Go there! There is a lot to see and do in this city including the University of Virginia and you can eat at this great buffet!
The Wood Grill Buffet in Charlottesville is located at 576 Branch Lands Boulevard, Charlottesville, VA 22901 and their phone number is (434) 975-5613. They now have a website and that is linked at the side of this page in our listing of buffet links.
The layout is just as it was when I described it six years ago, so I am not going to repeat that here. You can read the link above to get an impression what the buffet looks like. The decor is western and pleasant. We returned this August and were there on a weeknight. There was a small group at the door coming in before us but we really had no wait. The restaurant inside was crowded. We were taken to our table and our server actually took some time to come over to our table and take our drink orders. I will put that up to the crowded dining room. The price of the buffet is now $10.59 for dinner Monday to Thursday and $10.99 for dinner Friday to Sunday. There is a $1.00 discount for seniors. Soft drinks with refills are $2.09 for adults and $1.39 for children up to age 12. The children's price is based on age and they charge $0.60 per year of age from age 4 to 12. Over 12 pays adult price. Soda price is a bit high compared to most similar buffets, but only by a dime. Compared to other chain American food buffets, the value here is exception for what the buffet offers.
We started as usual with soup. There were two soups and they are located on the counter that sits directly in front of the grill. The soups this night were Chicken Gumbo and New England Clam Chowder. Both soups are soups that my picky eater wife does not care for so she went on to the extensive salad bar and I took the Chicken Gumbo. The soup was hot, good and tasty though it was slightly spicy. If you only know Chicken Gumbo from Campbell's in a can the taste is similar but there is more heat in the real thing.
The salad bar is split between two cold servers at opposite sides of the buffet area. One has a variety of lettuce and greens and a lot of toppings and dressing. There were also cold meats to add to your salad. There was also everything you would want to make a Caesar salad. On the other there was a variety of prepared salads including the usual potato salad with large pieces of potato, macaroni salad, pasta salad, and coleslaw, but there was more. There were deviled eggs, chicken salad with large chunks of chicken, tuna salad, cucumber salad, and three bean salad among others. There was also a crab salad with real crab (not the fake stuff). The chicken salad was very good and I could not resist the crab salad. There was so much more to come, but it would have been easy to stay with the salad bar.
The hot entrees and side dishes are extensive and they are served both from hot buffet servers and from the counter that is in front of the grill which takes up just about all of the back wall. There are chefs cooking on the grill and continually replenishing the serving trays on the counter. This buffet serves steak and while it is not cooked to order, it is cooked in various stages of doneness and placed out on a hot tray on the counter. There is rare, medium, and well done for the taking. In my last review six years ago I had found the steak that I took to be dry - but not this time. The steak was nicely medium rare, juicy, and tasty. At another end of the grill counter there is a taco and burrito bar with soft flour tortillas, fried corn tortillas, nacho chips, and all of the makings for tacos and burritos. Next to the steak were ribs- real, fall off the bone, barbecue ribs. These were excellent and close to what I had at a smoker pit barbecue non-buffet place several nights later in another part of Virginia. They were moist and properly sauced.
There was so much on the hot servers and at the counter I will just list what there was for you. There were in addition to what I have already told you about - meatballs, riblets, fried chicken (very good fried chicken and better and more Southern than any other chain buffet), pot roast, ham, roast beef, hot dogs, chicken teriyaki, fried shrimp, fried fish, grilled chicken pieces, grilled chicken breasts off the grill, two types of wings, chicken livers, meatloaf, cheeseburgers, crab cakes, lasagna, baked spaghetti and cheese (something local to Virginia perhaps because we encountered this in other buffets) and pizza that was at the bakery counter.
There was a multitude of side dishes as well. These included mashed potatoes, kernel corn, corn on the cob, Lima beans with ham, wild rice, white rice, sauteed green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, turnip greens with ham and onions, green beans with bacon, onion rings, fries, hot carrots, fried apples (so good!), fried green tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, cabbage, broccoli casserole, potato casserole, broccoli, and sweet potato souffle.There was also a baked and sweet potato bar with toppings.
You are in the South and a lot of what is on this buffet is southern cooking with dishes that you will rarely see anywhere but the South. Yes, fried green tomatoes is not just the name of a book and a movie made from the book. You can eat them here.
I tried little bits of things and took more of what I know that I enjoy and I was stuffed at the end of the meal. Everything that I tried was good with one exception. The pizza looked good but it had been sitting too long and the crust had dried out and I ate only a taste. The steak was good and better than many. The ribs, as I have said, were exceptional. There was no pork barbecue as there had been six years ago but that may appear on another night. Selections do change from night to night at some buffets. My wife was just as happy with her plainer selections. There was more than enough to please most.
There is a large bakery counter which is a large half circle with bakers inside replenishing desserts, bread, and pizza. There were several breads including corn muffins, large rolls, and cheese rolls. I know that many of my readers want to hear about the dessert selection and they have a very good selection of sweets. There was fresh pineapple, fresh oranges, melon, and fresh grapes, and mandarin oranges over on the cold buffet server. There was carrot cake, several types of cream pies, chocolate cake cupcakes with vanilla icing and yellow cake cupcakes with chocolate icing, a variety of cookies,coconut cake, banana pudding, strawberry shortcake, pecan pie, Oreo pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie (in August!), lemon meringue pie, and three different cobblers including blackberry. There was soft serve ice cream and a sundae bar with ice cream toppings, There was also a chocolate fountain right in the middle of the bakery counter within view of the people working behind the counter. I will not get into my feelings about chocolate fountains at buffets again, but this one was subject to the same problems as all of them are.
I am getting hungry and wanting to go back again just writing about all of this.
Service was OK - she could have paid a little more attention to our table, but it was not bad.
I want to talk about the people eating here. I have been to many buffets as you know and all types of people come to eat at buffets. It has been primarily in New York, however, that I have seen the most immensely large people eating at buffets. What surprised me here - and different from other buffets that I have been to an went to recently in Virginia - that there were a good number of immensely large people eating here. No problem - everyone is welcome everywhere and I don't care who is sitting at the table next to me, but it just struck me as interesting here seeing this. I only share it because it is interesting.
Well, I am sorry that it took me six years to get back here and I will be sure to schedule more time in this area when I return so that I am in Charlottesville at dinner time. They are open on weekends to 11:30 pm. I recommend this buffet. Go there! There is a lot to see and do in this city including the University of Virginia and you can eat at this great buffet!
The Wood Grill Buffet in Charlottesville is located at 576 Branch Lands Boulevard, Charlottesville, VA 22901 and their phone number is (434) 975-5613. They now have a website and that is linked at the side of this page in our listing of buffet links.
Friday, March 09, 2012
SOUTHERN SMOKEHOUSE, Linden, New Jersey - One Year Later
I have been thinking about this restaurant since we went back to it for a second try last April. Our first dinner there was about a year ago. We had business in New Jersey - we generally do at this time of year for a week or two - and my thought for dinner was nothing else but Southern Smokehouse in Linden, New Jersey.
We went this time on a Friday night and it was early - about 7:00 pm. The restaurant was just perhaps half full - it got more crowded later around 8 pm. The price has gone up slightly since last year (now $12.99 and 50 cents more Friday to Sunday) and for a basic description of the restaurant and the food that is served, please read the two part review in March 2011 and the follow up review in April 2011. I was all set to enjoy the food at this buffet again - and the food is still good. The price has not changed since last year and the offerings on the buffet were pretty much as they were when we were here a year ago in March - with minor changes in side dishes which is to be expected.
The problem here - as it was on both visits last year - are the employees. The server who came to our table seemed very pleasant and eager to be of service. We started out fine. He took our drink orders and in a reasonable amount of time brought the two sodas - and, happily, on this trip they were both correct.
We went up for soup and there was New England Clam Chowder and a correctly labeled Turkey Rice soup. We took bowls from the salad bar and used them for soup bowls - there are no others to take- and I suppose that this is what they intend for you to use for soup. There were no spoons - anywhere. We went all around the buffet looking for spoons. We looked at the dessert area next to the ice cream machine. No spoons. I asked the server - as others were - for spoons and the spoons had to be scouted out and found. Eventually, we were brought two spoons. OK, it happens.
Dirty dishes were taken away within a reasonable time. At the second plate, we finished our sodas, and the server saw this and offered to get us refills. Terrific! He took the glasses and said he would bring new ones. Until almost the end of the meal, that was the last we saw of drinks with our dinner. In the time that he was supposed to be getting us refills of soda, he cleaned several tables, picked up dishes around the dining room away from where we could get his attention, had several discussions with the other two servers working our the much less than crowded section of the dinning room, and checked his cell phone for messages. I could see it all from our table and from the buffet area. And then he disappeared for quite some time. The food here tends toward the salty side of flavorings. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you really do need something to drink while you are eating here - and the beverage is included in the dinner price. We started out with soda - and would have more soda if only this server did his job, reappeared, and brought us what he said he would be bringing us. When he reappeared he walked past our table and started talking to the two tables behind us. As he walked back - and started to take the stack dishes that was growing by now on our table, we reminded him about the soda. OH! So apologetic, but you know it took a bit still for the sodas to arrive.
If this was the only problem with issues related to employees I would say that we have just had bad luck in servers - but this was three out of three including the two last year. But there are some other problems too. Serving trays are not refilled until they are completely empty. There can be just the leavings on the bottom of the tray and the food is not refilled until everything in the tray is gone. This is at least how it seemed to be on this night. It started with the Romaine lettuce for the Caesar salad which is a feature on Friday and Saturday. There were a few leaves left when I went up to make my salad. I took them. By our going up for our second plate, this tray of lettuce was still empty. Eventually, it was filled. It was the same thing with the fried fish. There were two broken pieces left in the tray for quite some time before the fried fish was brought out and the tray was filled. I observed several trays of food the same way - not refilled for a much longer time than necessary. It is the responsibility of whoever is in charge of the serving tables and/or the staff who walk by and see that something needs refilling to alert the kitchen. There does not appear to be a manager evident in the dining room or buffet area. There is a need for a manager here to be visible.
So what about the food? The ribs are still good. The ribs are fairly meaty and tasty. They are not fall off the bone ribs. The fried chicken is still very good, and as I said a year ago, more like what fried chicken is supposed to be than what you get at many other buffets. I was a little disappointed in the turkey. There is a whole, on the bone, roast turkey at the grill area that is carved on your request. There was about a third of the turkey left. It was a very large turkey so there was a lot left on it. A lot of the meat that was left was exposed to the air and the heat lamp, and was a little drier than it should be. It could have used some gravy - there is no turkey gravy. The skirt steak was tasty - though the taste, as is common with skirt steak, comes from what it is sauced with as it is cooked. The macaroni and cheese is exceptionally good - and made "homemade style" and not like the ones that come from a box. There were sauteed mushrooms and onions that had not only button mushrooms but also Shitake mushrooms in the mixture. As described last year (see links above), the food here is a mixture of Southern BBQ and Asian. In addition to southern cooking you will also find Chinese dishes served on the buffet including chicken with broccoli, lo mein, egg rolls, general's chicken, fried rice, and other oriental dishes. There is actually a little something for everyone here.
Dessert is basic - as it was last year. There were three sheet cakes- one that was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (which, by the way, was only several broken chunks of cake left on the tray), a pink cake with white frosting, and a pink cake with pink frosting. There are three trays of "sugar free" cookies that no one seems to touch. There is a soft serve ice cream machine with toppings to make a sundae and cones. There are fruits and puddings on the opposite half of the salad bar buffet server.
The situations with the soda spoiled the dinner. I think that I might have looked at the overall experience of this visit a lot differently, if the service was good. At one point during that all, I said to my wife, "I am not happy." That is not a good way for anyone to feel while out for an enjoyable meal. And if I was feeling this way, then if you go and experience the same here, you will feel that way too. No matter how the food is, the service can make or break a restaurant- and believe it or not, especially in a buffet where you go and get your own food. If the server is not good, you are left with a table of dirty dishes and/or no refills of your drinks.
It happens that we will be in New Jersey again in a week. Before this dinner I had planned on going back to Southern Smokehouse two weeks in a row. Now I am not that sure.
I have to reserve my recommendation now to you. I don't really know what to say. The food is nice, the service is terrible. Do you put up with the bad service to have the good food? All and all an interesting question. If I go back again next week, I will let you know in a follow up article at some point in the near future. If you don't see an article about that in several weeks, you will know how I answered the above question.
Southern Smokehouse is located at Aviation Plaza Shopping Center which is at 611 West Edgar Road (Route 1 and 9) in Linden, New Jersey 07036. The phone number is 908-862-1883. The hours on Friday and Saturday are until 10 pm. Weeknights and Sunday nights they are open until 9 pm. They seem to open each day at 11 am for lunch. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.
We went this time on a Friday night and it was early - about 7:00 pm. The restaurant was just perhaps half full - it got more crowded later around 8 pm. The price has gone up slightly since last year (now $12.99 and 50 cents more Friday to Sunday) and for a basic description of the restaurant and the food that is served, please read the two part review in March 2011 and the follow up review in April 2011. I was all set to enjoy the food at this buffet again - and the food is still good. The price has not changed since last year and the offerings on the buffet were pretty much as they were when we were here a year ago in March - with minor changes in side dishes which is to be expected.
The problem here - as it was on both visits last year - are the employees. The server who came to our table seemed very pleasant and eager to be of service. We started out fine. He took our drink orders and in a reasonable amount of time brought the two sodas - and, happily, on this trip they were both correct.
We went up for soup and there was New England Clam Chowder and a correctly labeled Turkey Rice soup. We took bowls from the salad bar and used them for soup bowls - there are no others to take- and I suppose that this is what they intend for you to use for soup. There were no spoons - anywhere. We went all around the buffet looking for spoons. We looked at the dessert area next to the ice cream machine. No spoons. I asked the server - as others were - for spoons and the spoons had to be scouted out and found. Eventually, we were brought two spoons. OK, it happens.
Dirty dishes were taken away within a reasonable time. At the second plate, we finished our sodas, and the server saw this and offered to get us refills. Terrific! He took the glasses and said he would bring new ones. Until almost the end of the meal, that was the last we saw of drinks with our dinner. In the time that he was supposed to be getting us refills of soda, he cleaned several tables, picked up dishes around the dining room away from where we could get his attention, had several discussions with the other two servers working our the much less than crowded section of the dinning room, and checked his cell phone for messages. I could see it all from our table and from the buffet area. And then he disappeared for quite some time. The food here tends toward the salty side of flavorings. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you really do need something to drink while you are eating here - and the beverage is included in the dinner price. We started out with soda - and would have more soda if only this server did his job, reappeared, and brought us what he said he would be bringing us. When he reappeared he walked past our table and started talking to the two tables behind us. As he walked back - and started to take the stack dishes that was growing by now on our table, we reminded him about the soda. OH! So apologetic, but you know it took a bit still for the sodas to arrive.
If this was the only problem with issues related to employees I would say that we have just had bad luck in servers - but this was three out of three including the two last year. But there are some other problems too. Serving trays are not refilled until they are completely empty. There can be just the leavings on the bottom of the tray and the food is not refilled until everything in the tray is gone. This is at least how it seemed to be on this night. It started with the Romaine lettuce for the Caesar salad which is a feature on Friday and Saturday. There were a few leaves left when I went up to make my salad. I took them. By our going up for our second plate, this tray of lettuce was still empty. Eventually, it was filled. It was the same thing with the fried fish. There were two broken pieces left in the tray for quite some time before the fried fish was brought out and the tray was filled. I observed several trays of food the same way - not refilled for a much longer time than necessary. It is the responsibility of whoever is in charge of the serving tables and/or the staff who walk by and see that something needs refilling to alert the kitchen. There does not appear to be a manager evident in the dining room or buffet area. There is a need for a manager here to be visible.
So what about the food? The ribs are still good. The ribs are fairly meaty and tasty. They are not fall off the bone ribs. The fried chicken is still very good, and as I said a year ago, more like what fried chicken is supposed to be than what you get at many other buffets. I was a little disappointed in the turkey. There is a whole, on the bone, roast turkey at the grill area that is carved on your request. There was about a third of the turkey left. It was a very large turkey so there was a lot left on it. A lot of the meat that was left was exposed to the air and the heat lamp, and was a little drier than it should be. It could have used some gravy - there is no turkey gravy. The skirt steak was tasty - though the taste, as is common with skirt steak, comes from what it is sauced with as it is cooked. The macaroni and cheese is exceptionally good - and made "homemade style" and not like the ones that come from a box. There were sauteed mushrooms and onions that had not only button mushrooms but also Shitake mushrooms in the mixture. As described last year (see links above), the food here is a mixture of Southern BBQ and Asian. In addition to southern cooking you will also find Chinese dishes served on the buffet including chicken with broccoli, lo mein, egg rolls, general's chicken, fried rice, and other oriental dishes. There is actually a little something for everyone here.
Dessert is basic - as it was last year. There were three sheet cakes- one that was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (which, by the way, was only several broken chunks of cake left on the tray), a pink cake with white frosting, and a pink cake with pink frosting. There are three trays of "sugar free" cookies that no one seems to touch. There is a soft serve ice cream machine with toppings to make a sundae and cones. There are fruits and puddings on the opposite half of the salad bar buffet server.
The situations with the soda spoiled the dinner. I think that I might have looked at the overall experience of this visit a lot differently, if the service was good. At one point during that all, I said to my wife, "I am not happy." That is not a good way for anyone to feel while out for an enjoyable meal. And if I was feeling this way, then if you go and experience the same here, you will feel that way too. No matter how the food is, the service can make or break a restaurant- and believe it or not, especially in a buffet where you go and get your own food. If the server is not good, you are left with a table of dirty dishes and/or no refills of your drinks.
It happens that we will be in New Jersey again in a week. Before this dinner I had planned on going back to Southern Smokehouse two weeks in a row. Now I am not that sure.
I have to reserve my recommendation now to you. I don't really know what to say. The food is nice, the service is terrible. Do you put up with the bad service to have the good food? All and all an interesting question. If I go back again next week, I will let you know in a follow up article at some point in the near future. If you don't see an article about that in several weeks, you will know how I answered the above question.
Southern Smokehouse is located at Aviation Plaza Shopping Center which is at 611 West Edgar Road (Route 1 and 9) in Linden, New Jersey 07036. The phone number is 908-862-1883. The hours on Friday and Saturday are until 10 pm. Weeknights and Sunday nights they are open until 9 pm. They seem to open each day at 11 am for lunch. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.
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