On July 28, 2006 I reviewed a chain of buffet restaurants on the recommendation of one of our readers. The chain is called Cactus Willies Steak Buffet and there are locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I reviewed their location in Lancaster, PA and at the time I was not totally pleased. I recently commented in an article that I would try the chain again if I ever had the opportunity and give it another chance.
I just had that opportunity and I revisited the same location. This time I was very pleased, and if you read my first review, this time so was my wife. We went on a Sunday evening at about 7:00 pm. The restaurant was busy but there was no wait to get in. The layout and decor is the same as it was a year ago and I will not go into that again. I will say that the decor is pleasant and still tex-mex. Very nice.
There was a greater variety in food than the last time that we dined here. This night there were three soups - a beef minestrone, French onion, and New England Clam Chowder. We both tried the beef minestrone and it was excellent. It was also very, very hot - and that is a good thing. The soup was savory and thick. It was a bit different than minestrone that I have had in a good way. The French onion looked good too and I was tempted to go have a bowl of that too, but I decided to move ahead to the rest of the buffet.
The salad bar has all that is necessary to create your own Caesar salad (except croûtons) and there is also a nice variety of salad greens, salad toppings, and dressings (both regular and fat free). One small point at the salad bar - the mushrooms out for the salad were dark and wet (they may have been pickled mushrooms, but if they were not they had turned).
I moved on next to the steak grill. There was no line at the grill. I asked for a steak rare and the cook at the grill checked a steak, showed it to me, and asked if that was how I wanted it. It was and it was very good. This was definitely a great improvement over the last time. This steak is FAR better than Old Country Buffet, better than some that I have had at Golden Corral, not as good as Ryans, BUT it was GOOD. There is a comment card given to everyone at the end of the meal that asks if the steak was "delicious". I wrote in "Very Good". Delicious is too good. But it was good. (Ok I have said that enough now.)
There were several other good entrees on this night - and one unusual, but good one. There was something that they called "Turkey Pot Roast". It looked like American pot roast - small pieces of meat in a savory gravy with potatoes, carrots, and onions. It looked like beef, BUT it was turkey. And the turkey was brown like beef. It was good. My wife and I, both, are not sure how they got the turkey brown, but it worked and we both enjoyed this.
Barbecue ribs were good. Nicely sauced with barbecue sauce with good meat on the bone. If you have a taste for barbecue these ribs will satisfy that "need".
This restaurant is located in the "Pennsylvania Dutch Country" and a local dish is chicken pot pie, which is not the little pie shell filled with chicken, vegetables, and cream sauce. The dish in this region is pieces of chicken in a broth with dumplings, carrots, and celery. This restaurant serves its own version of this local dish - I am not sure if it is local to this particular location restaurant or if it is chain wide. The chicken pot pie at Cactus Willies is a close approximation of the local favorite. The difference is this dish has pasta squares instead of dumplings. It tasted right and it was satisfying.
There was also grilled chicken on the flame grill. My wife asked if it was marinated or spiced. She was told that it has only chicken broth on it and she said that it was good. It was not spicy and it was appropriately moist. It was not greasy as we experienced a year ago.
On the buffet tables you could also find baked ham (pre-sliced) and fried chicken. The fried chicken was nicely crispy and not greasy. There was a large assortment of potatoes, rice, vegetables, and side dishes. There were plain string beans, creamed spinach, mac and cheese, rice, baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, nice French fries, mashed potatoes, kernel corn in butter sauce (much, too much butter sauce), stewed tomatoes, and other sides. Next to the steak grill were good sauteed mushrooms and fried onions. The hot dog server is still at the grill.
There was fried shrimp and broiled salmon. There are signs that say that on Friday nights they now have unlimited steamed shrimp - as well as other shrimp dishes.
There is a taco bar with all of the fixings to make tacos and nachos. There were both moist flour tortillas and crispy corn tortillas. There was also a pasta bar - which is spaghetti, sauce, and meatballs. My wife gave her approval on the spaghetti and meatballs. Near the desserts was good looking pizza.
The dessert bar is long and has everything from puddings and fruit to cakes, cookies, pies, and good soft serve ice cream and sundae bar. The baking is good. My wife tried the bread pudding (an unusual thing for her) and she liked it.
Service is EXCEPTIONAL. The server paid A LOT of ATTENTION to us - and everyone. She cleared away plates immediately and offered drink refills before the glasses were half empty. Excellent service! This was the vocal comment from all of the tables around us - wonderful service from this young lady!
One more minor complaint - as it was getting later and coming near closing time, the men at the grill started to take down the overhead exhaust fan's cover to clean it. They were doing this over the grill's serving area that was still active and serving. It seems to me that this is not something that you want to do when there is still food AND CUSTOMERS around. Anything could have fallen down from that fan vent and into the food unnoticed! We'll just put this to poor judgment on the part of the employees. (I hope.)
So on this revisit to Cactus Willies we could not be more pleased (except for the vent). I am very glad that I decided to give it another try - and if the opportunity presents itself again we will go back. I wish they would expand their locations. It would be great to have one of these on Long Island.
If you see one, try it. Look at the website link at the side of this page and find out where they are. The particular one reviewed is at 101 Roherstown Road in Lancaster, PA (in the Regency Square Shopping Center). You may call them for information at 717-391-7060. They do close earlier than the other chains - 8:30 pm Weeknights and Sundays and 9:30 pm, Friday and Saturday. Good steaks, good meal.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
New Feature at Old Country Buffet
Steak and Ribs is the new special feature at the Old Country Buffet and their affiliated chains. This has replaced the last feature - three kinds of fish. The new feature is - you guessed it! Steak andtwo types of ribs. The feature is offered Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights only.
The steak featured is "new". They are calling it "Rancher's Cut". It is top sirloin, one inch hand cut and marinated. This steak, by the way, is being served Monday through Saturday nights replacing the usual (and usually awful) steak that was served. This steak is an improvement over the previous steak. Maybe. It still is broiled under a broiler and not chargrilled as steak is at the other chains. I have mixed reactions and I will tell you why. The first piece that I took was thick, medium rare, mostly tender, juicy, and very tasty. I was really impressed. This was the best steak that I have ever had AT OLD COUNTRY BUFFET. (Far from the best steak that I ever had - but for OCB it was good.) Later, I went back for another piece. This time, it was more done than it should be and more closely resembled the former OCB steak - but a little thicker. It was no where near as good as the first piece. Still later, I tried again- now we were just about back to typical OCB steak - tough, overdone, and not worth finishing - which I didn't.
The ribs are the other stars of this feature. There are two new types of ribs - honey barbecue rib tips and what they are calling just "barbecue spareribs". The honey ribs were small bits of ribs - more bone than meat. They were sweet, but not much else. They were not worth a second try after the first tasting portion. The barbecue spareribs had potential but the ribs are too big - large bones and the meat that has fallen off of the bones more resembles pork roast than ribs. These ribs were better tasting than the honey rib tips, but not what I had hoped for.
Last summer, OCB included Kansas City ribs in their summer barbecue feature. The year before they had baby back ribs. Those both were GOOD ribs. They had good taste and and the meat properly fell off of the bones as you ate them. I was hoping for those ribs again when I saw this new feature. Unfortunately, the new ribs are not even close.
There were other dishes featured with the steak and ribs. There was pulled pork. This needed a good sauce - which it did not have on it. A new sauce was on the condiments bar called Carolina Barbecue Sauce. I have had a variety of barbecue sauces in North Carolina - none of them were like this, so why Carolina, I am not sure. This sauce is honey mustard based. It was ok. The taste kind of grows on you. There was no regular barbecue sauce out - which would have been much better. There was also barbecue beef which, like the pulled pork, is shredded beef in a barbecue glaze. This was ok, but too chewy. There was also barbecue sausage which has always been good at Old County Buffet. I am not sure that the sausage is part of the new feature or it is part of the new Thursday night line up of entrees. I am not sure how it relates but there were also "Italian" meatballs (part of the new feature?) which, as the night went on, were gone and replaced with plain rice (typical OCB replacement - entree with a nothing side dish!). Topping off the new offerings was "honey" corn bread - which looked just like the regular corn bread served with some honey on top. Oh yes, there were also chocolate cupcakes on the dessert bar - which did look good!
So was I impressed with the new feature - not really. I was hopeful because the "summer" barbecue feature has been really good in years past. Perhaps this is not the summer feature but a Spring pre-barbecue season feature. Time will tell. (Probably not.) As I have written, the three fish feature was pretty good. This one is not as good. And despite claims that the regular entrees are still served along with the feature, there was a lack of anything that was not barbecue or beef. My wife who does not really like barbecue and does not eat much beef wound up eating only chicken fajitas from the taco bar. To be fair, they were carving roast beef and ham.
As an aside, a typical OCB occurrence - as we entered the dining room there were three tables with their chairs proped up against the tables. We figured that they were reserving these for a large group coming in. As the night went on several more adjacent tables were set the same way, but no group ever came. Apparently, the person cleaning the tables decided that since these tables were now clean, they were not going to be used again for the night - this was two hours before closing! Management was aware, because we heard staff talking critically about this - but, of course, no one did anything to put these tables back into service.
The steak featured is "new". They are calling it "Rancher's Cut". It is top sirloin, one inch hand cut and marinated. This steak, by the way, is being served Monday through Saturday nights replacing the usual (and usually awful) steak that was served. This steak is an improvement over the previous steak. Maybe. It still is broiled under a broiler and not chargrilled as steak is at the other chains. I have mixed reactions and I will tell you why. The first piece that I took was thick, medium rare, mostly tender, juicy, and very tasty. I was really impressed. This was the best steak that I have ever had AT OLD COUNTRY BUFFET. (Far from the best steak that I ever had - but for OCB it was good.) Later, I went back for another piece. This time, it was more done than it should be and more closely resembled the former OCB steak - but a little thicker. It was no where near as good as the first piece. Still later, I tried again- now we were just about back to typical OCB steak - tough, overdone, and not worth finishing - which I didn't.
The ribs are the other stars of this feature. There are two new types of ribs - honey barbecue rib tips and what they are calling just "barbecue spareribs". The honey ribs were small bits of ribs - more bone than meat. They were sweet, but not much else. They were not worth a second try after the first tasting portion. The barbecue spareribs had potential but the ribs are too big - large bones and the meat that has fallen off of the bones more resembles pork roast than ribs. These ribs were better tasting than the honey rib tips, but not what I had hoped for.
Last summer, OCB included Kansas City ribs in their summer barbecue feature. The year before they had baby back ribs. Those both were GOOD ribs. They had good taste and and the meat properly fell off of the bones as you ate them. I was hoping for those ribs again when I saw this new feature. Unfortunately, the new ribs are not even close.
There were other dishes featured with the steak and ribs. There was pulled pork. This needed a good sauce - which it did not have on it. A new sauce was on the condiments bar called Carolina Barbecue Sauce. I have had a variety of barbecue sauces in North Carolina - none of them were like this, so why Carolina, I am not sure. This sauce is honey mustard based. It was ok. The taste kind of grows on you. There was no regular barbecue sauce out - which would have been much better. There was also barbecue beef which, like the pulled pork, is shredded beef in a barbecue glaze. This was ok, but too chewy. There was also barbecue sausage which has always been good at Old County Buffet. I am not sure that the sausage is part of the new feature or it is part of the new Thursday night line up of entrees. I am not sure how it relates but there were also "Italian" meatballs (part of the new feature?) which, as the night went on, were gone and replaced with plain rice (typical OCB replacement - entree with a nothing side dish!). Topping off the new offerings was "honey" corn bread - which looked just like the regular corn bread served with some honey on top. Oh yes, there were also chocolate cupcakes on the dessert bar - which did look good!
So was I impressed with the new feature - not really. I was hopeful because the "summer" barbecue feature has been really good in years past. Perhaps this is not the summer feature but a Spring pre-barbecue season feature. Time will tell. (Probably not.) As I have written, the three fish feature was pretty good. This one is not as good. And despite claims that the regular entrees are still served along with the feature, there was a lack of anything that was not barbecue or beef. My wife who does not really like barbecue and does not eat much beef wound up eating only chicken fajitas from the taco bar. To be fair, they were carving roast beef and ham.
As an aside, a typical OCB occurrence - as we entered the dining room there were three tables with their chairs proped up against the tables. We figured that they were reserving these for a large group coming in. As the night went on several more adjacent tables were set the same way, but no group ever came. Apparently, the person cleaning the tables decided that since these tables were now clean, they were not going to be used again for the night - this was two hours before closing! Management was aware, because we heard staff talking critically about this - but, of course, no one did anything to put these tables back into service.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Cici's Advertising
Recently there have been a number of Cici's Pizza Buffet radio commercials on a metro NY radio station. There are no Cici's restaurants for at least 4oo miles - and this station does not carry that far south.
I find it interesting that this large company would spend money on local advertising in a market that they are not in. What does this mean? Could it mean that they are coming to the metro NY area some time soon and want to make the public aware of the name in advance? Could it mean that they are trolling for franchisees and are hoping that someone who wants to open a Cici's Pizza Buffet in the metro NY area? Or are they hoping for travel business - Look there is a Cici's over there - I heard about them on the radi0.
I have never been to a Cici's. I am really intrigued and wrote an article here in October 2006. I first learned about them then on a television commercial - but cable and satellite television makes sense for advertising as it covers a very broad and national market. You cover as many places with your restaurants as without. But local radio in a market that you are not in?
Cici's is the cheapest chain buffet that I know of. All the pizza, salad, pasta, soda, and dessert you care to eat for $4.49. That sounds great to me. Of course, with my cholesterol, fat, and carb restrictions I am not sure what I would eat there - other than salad - and that is not what I would want there with all of those other good things right there for the taking. There is a Cici's in Hagerstown, Maryland - where I will be in late April. My wife suggested that we find it for lunch when we are there - but I am still not sure how we would be able to do it and not get into trouble with the doctor. It may be worth it to just chuck the worry out the door and go for the whole thing.
So Cici's advertising has me hooked. If that was what they were after, they got me. But how many other crazy food nuts are there that will seek out this place 400 miles away - especially with the increasing price of gasoline (but do not get me started on gas prices).
There is a link to Cici's website at the side of the page. Check them out and see if they are in your area. They even provide a convenient and highlighted spot on the top of their homepage to put your zipcode and find one near you. With all of this local advertising I eagerly ran there and put my zipcode in - no luck.
I find it interesting that this large company would spend money on local advertising in a market that they are not in. What does this mean? Could it mean that they are coming to the metro NY area some time soon and want to make the public aware of the name in advance? Could it mean that they are trolling for franchisees and are hoping that someone who wants to open a Cici's Pizza Buffet in the metro NY area? Or are they hoping for travel business - Look there is a Cici's over there - I heard about them on the radi0.
I have never been to a Cici's. I am really intrigued and wrote an article here in October 2006. I first learned about them then on a television commercial - but cable and satellite television makes sense for advertising as it covers a very broad and national market. You cover as many places with your restaurants as without. But local radio in a market that you are not in?
Cici's is the cheapest chain buffet that I know of. All the pizza, salad, pasta, soda, and dessert you care to eat for $4.49. That sounds great to me. Of course, with my cholesterol, fat, and carb restrictions I am not sure what I would eat there - other than salad - and that is not what I would want there with all of those other good things right there for the taking. There is a Cici's in Hagerstown, Maryland - where I will be in late April. My wife suggested that we find it for lunch when we are there - but I am still not sure how we would be able to do it and not get into trouble with the doctor. It may be worth it to just chuck the worry out the door and go for the whole thing.
So Cici's advertising has me hooked. If that was what they were after, they got me. But how many other crazy food nuts are there that will seek out this place 400 miles away - especially with the increasing price of gasoline (but do not get me started on gas prices).
There is a link to Cici's website at the side of the page. Check them out and see if they are in your area. They even provide a convenient and highlighted spot on the top of their homepage to put your zipcode and find one near you. With all of this local advertising I eagerly ran there and put my zipcode in - no luck.
Friday, March 30, 2007
All Over a Turkey
I had another article ready for publication tonight and then we went out to a buffet for dinner.
We were at one of the Chinese buffets that I like. It was mid-meal and there was a lot of loud and angry talking at a table about fifteen feet away. Everyone turned to look. There was a man, alone, sitting at a table speaking loudly to the restaurant manager. At first only a few words were coming through clearly. Then the story began to unfold.
The man at the table was talking about turkey! This Chinese buffet offers carved roast turkey on the buffet. I had noticed earlier that where the sign for the turkey is, was not turkey but stuffed crab shells. We now could hear the man saying louder and more angrily that if he knew that there was no turkey he would not have paid for the buffet. Since this is a buffet that you pay for at the end of the meal and not before, he had no argument there - but this was not a guy or the moment to interfere with and point this out.
But the story unfolds further - leading those who were following this encounter ( aka yours truly) to agree that this man had a right to his annoyance - if not his anger and his actions. It seems that when he first went up to the buffet table and saw no turkey he went to one of the women (girls, as he put it) and asked for the turkey. He was told - he claims - that it would be out shortly. A while later he went back to look for the turkey - and still, no turkey! He asked the "girl" again. And he was told again that it would be out shortly. This guy must really like turkey because he went up again a while later and still no turkey. He found the "girl" and asked AGAIN for the turkey. Now he was told that there would be NO MORE TURKEY TONIGHT and that it would be out tomorrow. The kicker was that she also told him - he claims - that he should come tomorrow for turkey. He told her - he claims - that he is eating there tonight - he would not be there tomorrow and he was told that there would be TURKEY and he wanted TURKEY NOW! He expressed all of this angrily to the manager. At one point in his boisterous expression he stood up - he was significantly larger than the Chinese manager. Now, I should add (if for nothing more than the drama) that this guy looked like he should play the role of one of the characters in "The Sopranos". He had the look and the mannerisms - and he was definately a tough looking guy. The manager held his own in the discussion, never raising his voice - apologizing and denying what some of what the guy was saying. Which, of course, fed this guys anger even more.
Then the excitement grew with a little mystery. He was up on his feet and started walking away from the table. He stopped, turned around, looked the manager in the eye and told him to come with him. He was not heading out the door but toward the buffet area. But that is not where he was going either. He went to where the empty private party room entrance is. He told the manager again to "Come here!" The manager smiled (to all of us in the room) and followed him. The room was abuzz. Was he going to punch him out?!? They both disappeared inside the dark room, through the door where no one from the regular dining room could see inside. We listened for screams - crying out -but nothing. One of the chefs saw what was taking place - perhaps gotten by one of the servers- and he went inside the room too. No sounds came out - at least from what we could hear. Perhaps this guy was going to threaten the manager. Or perhaps he realized that he was making a scene and wanted to take it out of the public eye and ear.
Eventually, they came out of the private party room each in one piece, the manager, the chef, and the angry man. The man went up to the buffet tables and filled a plate full of fresh cut fruit and returned to his table. When he got there he felt it necessary to tell the people at the table behind him that he is really a "nice guy". He also told them the story that everyone knew already, and, for whatever reason, he identified his cultural background - which fit exactly with the "Sopranos" persona that I had already attributed to him. He went on for some time explaining and re-explaining to these poor bystanders. At one point the manager approached again, but rather than be drawn in again, perhaps, this time further than he wished, he smiled and walked away.
Eventually, he ate his fruit and faded into the room of diners.
You never do know what is going to happen at a buffet. That is one of the reasons we love 'em!
We were at one of the Chinese buffets that I like. It was mid-meal and there was a lot of loud and angry talking at a table about fifteen feet away. Everyone turned to look. There was a man, alone, sitting at a table speaking loudly to the restaurant manager. At first only a few words were coming through clearly. Then the story began to unfold.
The man at the table was talking about turkey! This Chinese buffet offers carved roast turkey on the buffet. I had noticed earlier that where the sign for the turkey is, was not turkey but stuffed crab shells. We now could hear the man saying louder and more angrily that if he knew that there was no turkey he would not have paid for the buffet. Since this is a buffet that you pay for at the end of the meal and not before, he had no argument there - but this was not a guy or the moment to interfere with and point this out.
But the story unfolds further - leading those who were following this encounter ( aka yours truly) to agree that this man had a right to his annoyance - if not his anger and his actions. It seems that when he first went up to the buffet table and saw no turkey he went to one of the women (girls, as he put it) and asked for the turkey. He was told - he claims - that it would be out shortly. A while later he went back to look for the turkey - and still, no turkey! He asked the "girl" again. And he was told again that it would be out shortly. This guy must really like turkey because he went up again a while later and still no turkey. He found the "girl" and asked AGAIN for the turkey. Now he was told that there would be NO MORE TURKEY TONIGHT and that it would be out tomorrow. The kicker was that she also told him - he claims - that he should come tomorrow for turkey. He told her - he claims - that he is eating there tonight - he would not be there tomorrow and he was told that there would be TURKEY and he wanted TURKEY NOW! He expressed all of this angrily to the manager. At one point in his boisterous expression he stood up - he was significantly larger than the Chinese manager. Now, I should add (if for nothing more than the drama) that this guy looked like he should play the role of one of the characters in "The Sopranos". He had the look and the mannerisms - and he was definately a tough looking guy. The manager held his own in the discussion, never raising his voice - apologizing and denying what some of what the guy was saying. Which, of course, fed this guys anger even more.
Then the excitement grew with a little mystery. He was up on his feet and started walking away from the table. He stopped, turned around, looked the manager in the eye and told him to come with him. He was not heading out the door but toward the buffet area. But that is not where he was going either. He went to where the empty private party room entrance is. He told the manager again to "Come here!" The manager smiled (to all of us in the room) and followed him. The room was abuzz. Was he going to punch him out?!? They both disappeared inside the dark room, through the door where no one from the regular dining room could see inside. We listened for screams - crying out -but nothing. One of the chefs saw what was taking place - perhaps gotten by one of the servers- and he went inside the room too. No sounds came out - at least from what we could hear. Perhaps this guy was going to threaten the manager. Or perhaps he realized that he was making a scene and wanted to take it out of the public eye and ear.
Eventually, they came out of the private party room each in one piece, the manager, the chef, and the angry man. The man went up to the buffet tables and filled a plate full of fresh cut fruit and returned to his table. When he got there he felt it necessary to tell the people at the table behind him that he is really a "nice guy". He also told them the story that everyone knew already, and, for whatever reason, he identified his cultural background - which fit exactly with the "Sopranos" persona that I had already attributed to him. He went on for some time explaining and re-explaining to these poor bystanders. At one point the manager approached again, but rather than be drawn in again, perhaps, this time further than he wished, he smiled and walked away.
Eventually, he ate his fruit and faded into the room of diners.
You never do know what is going to happen at a buffet. That is one of the reasons we love 'em!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Super Grand Buffet, Baldwin, NY - REVISITED
I first reviewed this Chinese buffet on January 5, 2007. At that time I called the restaurant "average". Tonight we went back to give this restaurant another try. Tonight I was a little more impressed.
I will not describe the restaurant again. You can read the original article in the archives here. Most, if not all, of the description remains the same.
There were some positive differences tonight. The most important of which is that tonight all of the food was good - not just average. If you ask me why, I cannot really say it is because of this or that. If I had not been there before and I was reviewing this restaurant for the first time I would say that the food here is good.
I was more impressed tonight with the sushi bar. The sushi chef was there all night and continued to make sushi that he placed out on the serving cold table to the side of him. There was a nice assortment including salmon and tuna in various forms and combinations and a spicy salmon roll. There were also several non-fish sushi rolls. There was plenty out so that one did not feel that taking any was going to empty the tray - something I found wrong on my first visit.
There is plenty out to eat - but most of it is in the form of fried Asian appetizer items. There is a lack of variety of Chinese meat entrees aside from the standard chicken and broccoli, beef and peppers, and General Taos chicken. There was a lot of shrimp and chicken, but it was pieces of fried shrimp and fried chicken with and without sauces. The cold, peel and eat shrimp are still big!
I must still say that I avoided the Mongolian grill again for the same reason that I did not have it the first time. The meats were not frozen. They were in pans in a cold table, but the meats were limp in their own raw juices - and again, this concerned me. There was activity at the grill this time and people were having plates of food cooked. There is no large grill or wok, but two fry pans on a burners behind the serving table. The Sushi chef seems to double as the cook. It might be good to try having vegetables cooked here and then add cooked meat or shrimp from the buffet.
I had a closer look at the ice cream freezer tonight and there is an excellent variety of hard ice creams that you serve yourself. There were a number of good flavors including sherbet. This is all real container ice cream and not the sometimes disappointing soft serves that are really ice milk.
The service was excellent. The server came several times without our asking - and still half full glasses of soda - to refill our drinks. This time we asked for knives and without hesitation they were brought to us. Dishes were cleared from the table immediately. The service staff clearly speak and understand English - with no offense intended, this is not always the case in a Chinese buffet. Everyone is friendly and seemed to go out of their way to make one's visit pleasant.
So - if you are in Baldwin, New York in Nassau County on Long Island give the Super Grand Buffet a try. I know that I will be going back again!
I will not describe the restaurant again. You can read the original article in the archives here. Most, if not all, of the description remains the same.
There were some positive differences tonight. The most important of which is that tonight all of the food was good - not just average. If you ask me why, I cannot really say it is because of this or that. If I had not been there before and I was reviewing this restaurant for the first time I would say that the food here is good.
I was more impressed tonight with the sushi bar. The sushi chef was there all night and continued to make sushi that he placed out on the serving cold table to the side of him. There was a nice assortment including salmon and tuna in various forms and combinations and a spicy salmon roll. There were also several non-fish sushi rolls. There was plenty out so that one did not feel that taking any was going to empty the tray - something I found wrong on my first visit.
There is plenty out to eat - but most of it is in the form of fried Asian appetizer items. There is a lack of variety of Chinese meat entrees aside from the standard chicken and broccoli, beef and peppers, and General Taos chicken. There was a lot of shrimp and chicken, but it was pieces of fried shrimp and fried chicken with and without sauces. The cold, peel and eat shrimp are still big!
I must still say that I avoided the Mongolian grill again for the same reason that I did not have it the first time. The meats were not frozen. They were in pans in a cold table, but the meats were limp in their own raw juices - and again, this concerned me. There was activity at the grill this time and people were having plates of food cooked. There is no large grill or wok, but two fry pans on a burners behind the serving table. The Sushi chef seems to double as the cook. It might be good to try having vegetables cooked here and then add cooked meat or shrimp from the buffet.
I had a closer look at the ice cream freezer tonight and there is an excellent variety of hard ice creams that you serve yourself. There were a number of good flavors including sherbet. This is all real container ice cream and not the sometimes disappointing soft serves that are really ice milk.
The service was excellent. The server came several times without our asking - and still half full glasses of soda - to refill our drinks. This time we asked for knives and without hesitation they were brought to us. Dishes were cleared from the table immediately. The service staff clearly speak and understand English - with no offense intended, this is not always the case in a Chinese buffet. Everyone is friendly and seemed to go out of their way to make one's visit pleasant.
So - if you are in Baldwin, New York in Nassau County on Long Island give the Super Grand Buffet a try. I know that I will be going back again!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Current Buffet Chain Features
The large chain buffets often have a promotional feature menu. These are special items that are added to the general buffet menu and features for a limited period of time. Currently two of the chains - Old Country Buffet (which is also Hometown Buffet and Old Town Buffet) and Golden Corral have special feature menus.
We have written about the current Old Country Buffet feature before. I have tried this one and as OCB features go, this one is not bad. The current feature is called Three from the Sea and includes Butter Crumb Alaska Pollock, Orange Shrimp and Crab Cakes. They also have included fried clam strips and fried shrimp. This feature is only available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I like the crumb pollock. It is one of the better fish dishes that OCB has served. It is moist and has a good texture and flavor. The crab cakes are tasty, but are not like other crab cakes as they are flat and more like crab pancakes. The orange shrimp was too sweet - what works for their orange chicken does not work with shrimp.
The current feature at Golden Corral is called Applewood Grill. Unlike Old Country Buffet it is offered EVERY night on the dinner menu. The Applewood Grill includes grilled bacon wrapped chicken breast, grilled bacon wrapped sirlion fillet, carved salmon, and grilled bacon wrapped pork loin. The bacon used is called "Applewood" bacon - and evidently, thus the name of the feature. Now, somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, I want to say that I have had this feature at the Golden Corral - but I cannot recall when. I have checked my articles from the past year to see if I wrote about it - I think I would have. I did not mention it at the Winchester, VA Golden Corral in June. So perhaps not. But I do remember those bacon wrapped steaks - and this would have had to be before my cholesterol encounter with my physician. Anyway, I don't see a reference to it so perhaps I dreamed it. (Do I dream about buffets? I did not think so.) Regardless, Golden Corral steaks vary- they are better than OCB steaks, can be very good, and have been not so great. I did some searching about Applewood bacon to find out what makes it so special as to name a feature around it. Applewood bacon does not seem to be a "brand name" but rather a type of bacon smoked over - you guessed it... apple wood. It is supposed to be the best tasting bacon. The Golden Corral website photos make it look very appealing - take a look at the bacon wrapped around the chicken breasts. Part of this feature is also adding the bacon to a variety of sides including escalloped apples with bacon crumbles and several potato dishes. It all sounds good - even if I am not supposed to eat the bacon.
The feature menus do not show up on either restaurant's nutritional listing. So let the eater beware if fat or calorie counts are important to you.
There is no current feature listed for Ryan's. Their website is not as extensive as the other two chains and tends to remain the same -so there may very well be a feature there - but it is not on the website.
Cactus Willies lists no current feature. Though, like the other chains there are daily features, which tend to stay consistent (unless the menu changes). (I plan to give them a try again the next time I am near one - just to give this chain a second chance.)
Saturday is St. Patrick's Day and you can get your all you care to eat Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner at OCB - it is a one day special included with the regular features.
So there you have it. The chains are all over the United States and you can find one near you by going to the web link for each chain at the side of this site.
We have written about the current Old Country Buffet feature before. I have tried this one and as OCB features go, this one is not bad. The current feature is called Three from the Sea and includes Butter Crumb Alaska Pollock, Orange Shrimp and Crab Cakes. They also have included fried clam strips and fried shrimp. This feature is only available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I like the crumb pollock. It is one of the better fish dishes that OCB has served. It is moist and has a good texture and flavor. The crab cakes are tasty, but are not like other crab cakes as they are flat and more like crab pancakes. The orange shrimp was too sweet - what works for their orange chicken does not work with shrimp.
The current feature at Golden Corral is called Applewood Grill. Unlike Old Country Buffet it is offered EVERY night on the dinner menu. The Applewood Grill includes grilled bacon wrapped chicken breast, grilled bacon wrapped sirlion fillet, carved salmon, and grilled bacon wrapped pork loin. The bacon used is called "Applewood" bacon - and evidently, thus the name of the feature. Now, somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, I want to say that I have had this feature at the Golden Corral - but I cannot recall when. I have checked my articles from the past year to see if I wrote about it - I think I would have. I did not mention it at the Winchester, VA Golden Corral in June. So perhaps not. But I do remember those bacon wrapped steaks - and this would have had to be before my cholesterol encounter with my physician. Anyway, I don't see a reference to it so perhaps I dreamed it. (Do I dream about buffets? I did not think so.) Regardless, Golden Corral steaks vary- they are better than OCB steaks, can be very good, and have been not so great. I did some searching about Applewood bacon to find out what makes it so special as to name a feature around it. Applewood bacon does not seem to be a "brand name" but rather a type of bacon smoked over - you guessed it... apple wood. It is supposed to be the best tasting bacon. The Golden Corral website photos make it look very appealing - take a look at the bacon wrapped around the chicken breasts. Part of this feature is also adding the bacon to a variety of sides including escalloped apples with bacon crumbles and several potato dishes. It all sounds good - even if I am not supposed to eat the bacon.
The feature menus do not show up on either restaurant's nutritional listing. So let the eater beware if fat or calorie counts are important to you.
There is no current feature listed for Ryan's. Their website is not as extensive as the other two chains and tends to remain the same -so there may very well be a feature there - but it is not on the website.
Cactus Willies lists no current feature. Though, like the other chains there are daily features, which tend to stay consistent (unless the menu changes). (I plan to give them a try again the next time I am near one - just to give this chain a second chance.)
Saturday is St. Patrick's Day and you can get your all you care to eat Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner at OCB - it is a one day special included with the regular features.
So there you have it. The chains are all over the United States and you can find one near you by going to the web link for each chain at the side of this site.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Grand Buffet - South Plainfield, New Jersey
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had tried to find this restaurant that evening on a trip to New Jersey. I have known about this restaurant for a few years, passing it on the road while driving through. Tonight, I was back in the area and I finally got to dine at the Grand Buffet in South Plainfield, New Jersey. Was it worth the long wait? Sadly, no.
Let me start off by saying that the restaurant and the food was not bad - it was just fair to OK. I would like to say good, but not spectacular, but I honestly can't.
This Chinese buffet is located at 101 New World Way in South Plainfield, NJ. The restaurant is connected to, but not part of a Best Western hotel and they share a parking lot. You enter the lot by way of the hotel driveway. The restaurant is in a large building. In the interior is a room for the buffet serving tables, two dining rooms, and a large ballroom (maybe once part of the hotel). The sign outside says Since 1995 and it bills itself as Chinese, Italian, and Japanese - in that order.
You pay for all meals as you enter - much like the chain buffets. The prices are both reasonable and not. You decide - dinner from Monday to Thursday nights is $11.99 per person. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday dinner is $13.75. Lunch Monday to Thursday is $8.99. From Friday to Saturday (Sunday was unclear as to a lunch price or dinner price all day) the lunch is $10.99. Now, children's prices are high - under 2 1/2 is free (ok), from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 is half price, over 4 1/2 is full price. I guess that some five year olds can eat a lot, but charging full price is a bit much. All prices include refillable soft drinks - not bad! They automatically add a tip to your bill when you pay (as you enter) of 9.5% which is fair and probably less than one might leave on their own.
As to hours - the restaurant is open from 11:30 every day and closes at 9:30 pm Sunday to Thursday, and 10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. We were there on a Saturday night and at 9:00 the restaurant was emptying out. It had been crowded earlier when we entered. You should be aware that the "Ballroom" adjacent to the dining room is used as a night club on Friday nights - and happened also to be on this particular Saturday night (though it might have been a large, private party- but I do not think so. They call it a "Ballroom Dancing Social" at $20. per person which includes dinner. Nice, but the music was very loud and very evident in the dining room. It was nothing unpleasant so it was ok, but at times the music was intrusive.
A good sign in a Chinese restaurant is when many of the guests are Oriental - and that was the case here. Perhaps things were more to their tastes than mine, but I had higher hopes when I walked in.
So to the buffet... There are five double sided buffet tables in a separate room. Along half a wall is a sushi serving area and along a full wall are two buffet serving counters. There is no particular logic to the order that the serving stations are laid out. Soup is along the full wall and also mixed into two other buffet servers. There were six soups, but without looking around the whole room first you see only four soups together. There was a variety in the soups - hot and sour, egg drop, clam chowder, a sweet Chinese soup, wonton soup on another server, and a chicken and pork special soup that was meat with large pieces of vegetables. Real Chinese dinners include sweet soups for dessert and that is why the sweet bean curd soup. The hot and sour soup was on the oily side and I was a little concerned as I was eating it as to how it was going to sit.
There was a cold buffet server with some of the most unusual things that I have ever seen in a buffet. There was cold pork tripe and cold beef tripe. For those who do not know - tripe is stomach. Not to my taste. There was also cuttle fish on the cold buffet along with two cold chicken dishes. The more standard peel and eat shrimp, COLD (on ice) crab legs, and raw shell fish of clams and oysters on the half shell. At one end was lettuce with several dressings. There were tomato salads, and other prepared salads, as well.
Appetizers were scattered all over. There were some unusual and promising appetizers. There were bean curd rolls - thin bean curd rolled around vegetables, a chicken roll - a spring roll with chicken, and fried squares of bean curd among other dishes. There were no traditional egg rolls and no spare ribs (but there were boneless spareribs in a thick, red, sweet sauce). The chicken roll was ok. The fried bean curd was good. The bean curd rolls were fair. Many things that I tried including the bean curd roll were dry when they should have been moist. Fried dumplings were dry, tough, and chewy. Steamed shrimp dumplings had little flavor. When I went up for Sushi there was little out - and all of it were vegetable rolls and California rolls. A while later the whole bar was refilled and raw salmon on rice was added.The salmon was good, but the pieces were sliced much too thick for Sushi.
There were some unusual entrees as well including cooked pigs feet. There was a dish that looked like chicken with a thick GREEN sauce over it - and no sign as to what it was. I have no idea what that might have been and have not seen any food like it before in that shade of green. There were broiled short ribs that were thinly sliced and not bad. There was a steak in a brown sauce that looked too dry and over done (skipped on that). There was Beef in Oyster Sauce that was ok. Stuffed egg plant was good (small slices of small egg plant with a breading stuffed on top and broiled. Some of the usuals like chicken and broccoli were there as well. Pieces of broiled duck looked good but there was little to no meat on the pieces served. Bourbon Chicken was ok but tasted just like terriaki chicken. There were cooked muscles and there was broiled salmon.
There were several non-Oriental dishes that were not bad - actually they were good. My wife tried the Chicken Marsalla and said it was good. I tried the Veal Cacciatore and it was good. It was small tender chunks of veal in a light tomato sauce with peppers and mushrooms. There were stuffed portobello mushrooms that were good - small portobello caps filled with a slice of roasted red pepper and covered with mozzarella cheese all backed together. There was a dish labeled Eggplant Parmesan. I love Eggplant Parmesan. I was disappointed in this one because what it was when I tried it was eggplant rolled around ricotta cheese - which is not Eggplant Parmesan. A ziti with a tomato cheese sauce looked good, but I did not try it. There also was spaghetti with tomato sauce served separately for you to take. The Italian part of this buffet was better than the rest except for the pizza that looked too dried out.
There were several American side dishes including mashed potatoes with brown gravy, corn on the cob, broiled asparagus, and french fries. On the side of the room, next to the soups was a carving station - with no one there. On it was a whole roast turkey. Part of the turkey had been carved into earlier but there were no slices to take. There was no heat lamp over it and it sat that way all night with no one ever being served any. I am sure one could ask - but I am not sure how good it would have been under those conditions. It did look good - BUT...
Overall food could have been hotter. The buffet was "well tended", meaning that dishes were stirred and replaced,but many of the dishes were just warm and not hot. Even items in steamers were not hot, as they should have been.
Desserts - believe it or not, they did not have the usual assortment of Chinese buffet "Little Debbie" cakes. They did have tiny squares of cakes very similar but they were cut into smaller pieces than the usual "Little Debbie's", as if you can get much smaller than that. There was soft serve ice cream but it was in a serving hallway that the dining room accessed, but if you did not notice it - which we didn't until it was too late - you would leave with no ice cream (as we did).
Now, all of that said - the restaurant was clean. The service was good. The staff was friendly. Dishes were removed regularly. Soft drinks were refilled.
I really wanted this one to be good. There is a convention center that hosts trade and retail shows in the area that we have been getting to more often and this would have been a great place to dine afterward. Ah well - not so. It is four hours since dinner and the meal is still repeating on me. (Burp... Arrrp...) There is a diner down the road that was much better and if I pick a diner over a buffet... well, that says something about the buffet. We will have to do some searching. There must be other buffets in this part of New Jersey.
After several hours, I was still reacting to dinner - I must say that this has never happened to me from a buffet before- and I have been to a lot of buffets - Chinese and otherwise.
Let me start off by saying that the restaurant and the food was not bad - it was just fair to OK. I would like to say good, but not spectacular, but I honestly can't.
This Chinese buffet is located at 101 New World Way in South Plainfield, NJ. The restaurant is connected to, but not part of a Best Western hotel and they share a parking lot. You enter the lot by way of the hotel driveway. The restaurant is in a large building. In the interior is a room for the buffet serving tables, two dining rooms, and a large ballroom (maybe once part of the hotel). The sign outside says Since 1995 and it bills itself as Chinese, Italian, and Japanese - in that order.
You pay for all meals as you enter - much like the chain buffets. The prices are both reasonable and not. You decide - dinner from Monday to Thursday nights is $11.99 per person. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday dinner is $13.75. Lunch Monday to Thursday is $8.99. From Friday to Saturday (Sunday was unclear as to a lunch price or dinner price all day) the lunch is $10.99. Now, children's prices are high - under 2 1/2 is free (ok), from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 is half price, over 4 1/2 is full price. I guess that some five year olds can eat a lot, but charging full price is a bit much. All prices include refillable soft drinks - not bad! They automatically add a tip to your bill when you pay (as you enter) of 9.5% which is fair and probably less than one might leave on their own.
As to hours - the restaurant is open from 11:30 every day and closes at 9:30 pm Sunday to Thursday, and 10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. We were there on a Saturday night and at 9:00 the restaurant was emptying out. It had been crowded earlier when we entered. You should be aware that the "Ballroom" adjacent to the dining room is used as a night club on Friday nights - and happened also to be on this particular Saturday night (though it might have been a large, private party- but I do not think so. They call it a "Ballroom Dancing Social" at $20. per person which includes dinner. Nice, but the music was very loud and very evident in the dining room. It was nothing unpleasant so it was ok, but at times the music was intrusive.
A good sign in a Chinese restaurant is when many of the guests are Oriental - and that was the case here. Perhaps things were more to their tastes than mine, but I had higher hopes when I walked in.
So to the buffet... There are five double sided buffet tables in a separate room. Along half a wall is a sushi serving area and along a full wall are two buffet serving counters. There is no particular logic to the order that the serving stations are laid out. Soup is along the full wall and also mixed into two other buffet servers. There were six soups, but without looking around the whole room first you see only four soups together. There was a variety in the soups - hot and sour, egg drop, clam chowder, a sweet Chinese soup, wonton soup on another server, and a chicken and pork special soup that was meat with large pieces of vegetables. Real Chinese dinners include sweet soups for dessert and that is why the sweet bean curd soup. The hot and sour soup was on the oily side and I was a little concerned as I was eating it as to how it was going to sit.
There was a cold buffet server with some of the most unusual things that I have ever seen in a buffet. There was cold pork tripe and cold beef tripe. For those who do not know - tripe is stomach. Not to my taste. There was also cuttle fish on the cold buffet along with two cold chicken dishes. The more standard peel and eat shrimp, COLD (on ice) crab legs, and raw shell fish of clams and oysters on the half shell. At one end was lettuce with several dressings. There were tomato salads, and other prepared salads, as well.
Appetizers were scattered all over. There were some unusual and promising appetizers. There were bean curd rolls - thin bean curd rolled around vegetables, a chicken roll - a spring roll with chicken, and fried squares of bean curd among other dishes. There were no traditional egg rolls and no spare ribs (but there were boneless spareribs in a thick, red, sweet sauce). The chicken roll was ok. The fried bean curd was good. The bean curd rolls were fair. Many things that I tried including the bean curd roll were dry when they should have been moist. Fried dumplings were dry, tough, and chewy. Steamed shrimp dumplings had little flavor. When I went up for Sushi there was little out - and all of it were vegetable rolls and California rolls. A while later the whole bar was refilled and raw salmon on rice was added.The salmon was good, but the pieces were sliced much too thick for Sushi.
There were some unusual entrees as well including cooked pigs feet. There was a dish that looked like chicken with a thick GREEN sauce over it - and no sign as to what it was. I have no idea what that might have been and have not seen any food like it before in that shade of green. There were broiled short ribs that were thinly sliced and not bad. There was a steak in a brown sauce that looked too dry and over done (skipped on that). There was Beef in Oyster Sauce that was ok. Stuffed egg plant was good (small slices of small egg plant with a breading stuffed on top and broiled. Some of the usuals like chicken and broccoli were there as well. Pieces of broiled duck looked good but there was little to no meat on the pieces served. Bourbon Chicken was ok but tasted just like terriaki chicken. There were cooked muscles and there was broiled salmon.
There were several non-Oriental dishes that were not bad - actually they were good. My wife tried the Chicken Marsalla and said it was good. I tried the Veal Cacciatore and it was good. It was small tender chunks of veal in a light tomato sauce with peppers and mushrooms. There were stuffed portobello mushrooms that were good - small portobello caps filled with a slice of roasted red pepper and covered with mozzarella cheese all backed together. There was a dish labeled Eggplant Parmesan. I love Eggplant Parmesan. I was disappointed in this one because what it was when I tried it was eggplant rolled around ricotta cheese - which is not Eggplant Parmesan. A ziti with a tomato cheese sauce looked good, but I did not try it. There also was spaghetti with tomato sauce served separately for you to take. The Italian part of this buffet was better than the rest except for the pizza that looked too dried out.
There were several American side dishes including mashed potatoes with brown gravy, corn on the cob, broiled asparagus, and french fries. On the side of the room, next to the soups was a carving station - with no one there. On it was a whole roast turkey. Part of the turkey had been carved into earlier but there were no slices to take. There was no heat lamp over it and it sat that way all night with no one ever being served any. I am sure one could ask - but I am not sure how good it would have been under those conditions. It did look good - BUT...
Overall food could have been hotter. The buffet was "well tended", meaning that dishes were stirred and replaced,but many of the dishes were just warm and not hot. Even items in steamers were not hot, as they should have been.
Desserts - believe it or not, they did not have the usual assortment of Chinese buffet "Little Debbie" cakes. They did have tiny squares of cakes very similar but they were cut into smaller pieces than the usual "Little Debbie's", as if you can get much smaller than that. There was soft serve ice cream but it was in a serving hallway that the dining room accessed, but if you did not notice it - which we didn't until it was too late - you would leave with no ice cream (as we did).
Now, all of that said - the restaurant was clean. The service was good. The staff was friendly. Dishes were removed regularly. Soft drinks were refilled.
I really wanted this one to be good. There is a convention center that hosts trade and retail shows in the area that we have been getting to more often and this would have been a great place to dine afterward. Ah well - not so. It is four hours since dinner and the meal is still repeating on me. (Burp... Arrrp...) There is a diner down the road that was much better and if I pick a diner over a buffet... well, that says something about the buffet. We will have to do some searching. There must be other buffets in this part of New Jersey.
After several hours, I was still reacting to dinner - I must say that this has never happened to me from a buffet before- and I have been to a lot of buffets - Chinese and otherwise.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Buffets Around the World
I have written about "International" buffets in the United States, but what about real international buffets - buffets around the world. Is buffet dining an American phenomenon? Absolutely not. With just a little searching I have found buffets all over the world. I have not been to any of them but this is what I found.
From the number of buffets that I found in Japan, I would say that buffets in that country are very popular. There are Chinese buffets, Japanese buffets, and "International" buffets. I found several buffets in Tokyo. In Utama, Japan, one of the buffets that I have come across is Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant. You see that name and expect it to be on some street in the US. Well it is in Japan at 1 Utama in a shopping complex. The buffet is very popular and often crowded. Reservations were required days in advance according to the review that I read. It is a large restaurant that can seat 300. The cuisine is Japanese but items like Seafood Fettuccine are also served. Sushi lovers can get their fill at a large sushi bar that is part of the buffet. Some items - like a special oyster dish - is served to you at your table at one per person. You can see this interesting buffet here - www.hot-screensaver.com/2006/05/16/shogun-japanese-buffet-restaurant-at-1-utama/
In the United Kingdom there are many buffets. The cuisine seems to reflect the mixture of cultures immigrating to the UK and in London I found buffets that serve Chinese, Italian, Thai, Indian all on one buffet. Take a look at Red Hot Buffet Shacks - redhotbuffetshacks.co.uk/
There is even a video to watch about this restaurant. The look is a bit different than what we see here in the US and the food seems to be prepared at "live" stations. Very interesting. This one is located in Nottingham. Also in Nottingham and in Birmingham and Lincoln are Big Wok Chinese Buffet Restaurants. This oriental chain includes Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisines on the buffet. Here is a link to their website - the music reminds me of cheesy movies in the 1960's - www.bigwok.co.uk/
Let's move east again to New Zealand. Here I found a few buffets. There is a buffet chain in New Zealand called Valentine's Licensed Buffet Restaurants. The one in Wellington got great reviews. The food is good, the people are friendly... what else could you ask for? For kids they have birthday balloons and "crazy" cocktails (?). The decor is peppermint green and pink. They serve 120 different hot and cold dishes including salads, seafood, "a carvery", cheeses, and desserts. The one is Wellington is rated 26th of all restaurants in that city. Not bad. Another buffet in Wellington called the Skyline got poor reviews for being expensive and unfriendly.
How about the Philippines? How about a buffet restaurant called Dad's that serves Turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, roast beef, baby back ribs, lamb, salmon and of course with all this American fare - sushi. The restaurant is popular and has long lines. The description says reasonable prices but one reviewer called it expensive. This is located in Mandaluyong.
The one that surprised me was in St. Petersburg, Russia. Not sure why I was surprised but I grew up during the Cold War. Any way, if you are in St. Petersburg you have to try Sadko. It is Russian cuisine and very popular. The description says that this is the place to try tasting traditional Russian cooking. Sounds good to me.
If I start writing about Sweden, the home of the Smorgasbord, and perhaps the originator of buffet dining, I could be writing for another hour and a half. So I will leave Sweden for its own article at some later date. In Sweden, smorgasbord is both part of the culture and an art. But that is for another time.
So if you are a world traveler and hankering for a buffet just look around most corners and you are likely to find one.
From the number of buffets that I found in Japan, I would say that buffets in that country are very popular. There are Chinese buffets, Japanese buffets, and "International" buffets. I found several buffets in Tokyo. In Utama, Japan, one of the buffets that I have come across is Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant. You see that name and expect it to be on some street in the US. Well it is in Japan at 1 Utama in a shopping complex. The buffet is very popular and often crowded. Reservations were required days in advance according to the review that I read. It is a large restaurant that can seat 300. The cuisine is Japanese but items like Seafood Fettuccine are also served. Sushi lovers can get their fill at a large sushi bar that is part of the buffet. Some items - like a special oyster dish - is served to you at your table at one per person. You can see this interesting buffet here - www.hot-screensaver.com/2006/05/16/shogun-japanese-buffet-restaurant-at-1-utama/
In the United Kingdom there are many buffets. The cuisine seems to reflect the mixture of cultures immigrating to the UK and in London I found buffets that serve Chinese, Italian, Thai, Indian all on one buffet. Take a look at Red Hot Buffet Shacks - redhotbuffetshacks.co.uk/
There is even a video to watch about this restaurant. The look is a bit different than what we see here in the US and the food seems to be prepared at "live" stations. Very interesting. This one is located in Nottingham. Also in Nottingham and in Birmingham and Lincoln are Big Wok Chinese Buffet Restaurants. This oriental chain includes Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisines on the buffet. Here is a link to their website - the music reminds me of cheesy movies in the 1960's - www.bigwok.co.uk/
Let's move east again to New Zealand. Here I found a few buffets. There is a buffet chain in New Zealand called Valentine's Licensed Buffet Restaurants. The one in Wellington got great reviews. The food is good, the people are friendly... what else could you ask for? For kids they have birthday balloons and "crazy" cocktails (?). The decor is peppermint green and pink. They serve 120 different hot and cold dishes including salads, seafood, "a carvery", cheeses, and desserts. The one is Wellington is rated 26th of all restaurants in that city. Not bad. Another buffet in Wellington called the Skyline got poor reviews for being expensive and unfriendly.
How about the Philippines? How about a buffet restaurant called Dad's that serves Turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, roast beef, baby back ribs, lamb, salmon and of course with all this American fare - sushi. The restaurant is popular and has long lines. The description says reasonable prices but one reviewer called it expensive. This is located in Mandaluyong.
The one that surprised me was in St. Petersburg, Russia. Not sure why I was surprised but I grew up during the Cold War. Any way, if you are in St. Petersburg you have to try Sadko. It is Russian cuisine and very popular. The description says that this is the place to try tasting traditional Russian cooking. Sounds good to me.
If I start writing about Sweden, the home of the Smorgasbord, and perhaps the originator of buffet dining, I could be writing for another hour and a half. So I will leave Sweden for its own article at some later date. In Sweden, smorgasbord is both part of the culture and an art. But that is for another time.
So if you are a world traveler and hankering for a buffet just look around most corners and you are likely to find one.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Buffets and Finances
Take a look at this blog article about buffets and finances:
http://www.pricingforprofit.com/blog/blog-view.php?blogid=76&message=1
Yours truly was interviewed, this site is referenced, and there are some interesting findings.
http://www.pricingforprofit.com/blog/blog-view.php?blogid=76&message=1
Yours truly was interviewed, this site is referenced, and there are some interesting findings.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The NOT All You Can Eat Buffet
The NOT All You Can Eat Buffet... what would that be? It is the take out buffet and there are many of them - some part of regular All You Can Eat buffets and some that stand on their own.
So how does it work? You are given a Styrofoam tray container as you enter and you go to the serving tables. You fill the container - which is usually about ten inches square and perhaps three or less inches deep with an equally deep lid. Now, if you could fill that container for one price, you would be close to All You Can Carry Out, but not always so. What happens is that in many places the container is weighed by the cashier and you pay by the pound. Usually, the pound price is less than the "all you can eat buffet" price. Sometimes it is significantly less. Sometimes, specific items are either not included, or are more.
"Hmm..." you may be saying, "I know what a pound is - what it feels like, but how much food is that actually?" Obviously, it all depends on what you take. A pound of cooked meat is pretty substantial. So if you would be happy with a pound of chicken for $7.99, that is not bad. A pound of vegetables for $7.99 is not such a deal. A pound of salad - not good at all. Put it all together and you can get a decent meal, but how much of each do you know you are taking? There are never any scales along the way (get it, way - weigh (bad pun, "what pun?)).
There are some things that people take (when they are not extra) that amount to very little by the pound. Crab legs are very popular at Chinese buffets and many of the Chinese buffets offer a Take Out buffet. Some will not include the crab legs or seafood, some do. You are taking the crab legs which are in the shell. The shell weighs a lot. You are not getting not so much to eat in a pound of crab legs. Yet you see people taking the crab legs to go. Sushi is another example, when you need to take the rice with the fish, you are paying for a lot of rice.
Steamed or cold shrimp is a good deal at the by the pound serving. Despite the thin shells, a pound of cooked shrimp is more in substance than a pound of raw shrimp and at the take out buffet price, this is pretty good. Remember this the next time you are having a party and want to serve shrimp cocktail. Go to the Chinese buffet and get a pound of shrimp on the Take Out buffet - IF they let you.
But can you do this? Often, not. Here is an example of a Chinese Take Out buffet in Maryland. The pricing reads - Buffet-To-Go (At least 3 items per pack). Clever. They figured out that a pound of any one thing is greater than the sum of a collective pound of three items. Here the per pound price is $5.95 at dinner ($3.95 for lunch). Seafood and sushi, however, is $7.95 per pound - still not bad at this particular restaurant. (In case you are wondering where this is - it is the Fortune Star Buffet in Rockville, Maryland. I have never been there and do not attest to anything about this restaurant except what is quoted here. I found it on an Internet search for this article.)
It is required that you fit everything that you are taking into the one tray. You could fill two trays, but they usually will not let you take a separate tray for each item, as stated above in our example. The containers are not sectioned. This means that you are piling everything on top of each other, pretty much mixing them together. Not a big deal for those who regularly pile their buffet plates high with everything together until there is no longer any recognition of what anything is or tastes like on its own. However, for the fussy that like to eat things as they were intended - not mixed together, you are either going to take less or give in and mix it up. You are paying by the pound, though I am not sure they are going to let you pay for less than a pound. You will pay if you take more than a pound - and one buffet in Georgia makes a point of saying that there is a three dollar charge for overfilling the container - meaning that the container will not close easily - evidently you are paying by the container there, not by the pound - or what difference would it make how the container closes. Some buffets offer container prices, but will be restrictive on how the food fits into the container, as this one is.
One of the absolutes - by the pound or by the container = is no eating as you are go along. You will be charged for the sit-down buffet price if you start eating as you are going around the buffet tables filling your container.
Not all Take Out buffets are Chinese, and not all Take Out Buffets have All You Can Eat, eat in buffets. One example is the Sbarro chain which is located in 1,000 locations all over the United States, as well as franchises world wide. This is Italian cuisine. Not all Sbarro's have buffet bars, but they do exist. I have seen them in shopping malls, a casino, and food courts at interstate rest areas all along the East Coast and I am certain they are in other parts of the country as well. Here you fill your container at the food bar with Italian specialties - with salad at the beginning, for those so inclined. At the end of the bar is a cashier and scale. You can close up your container and take it home, or you can sit down at one of the tables and eat. BUT there is no going back for more/
There are supermarkets with buffet-style salad bars that have some hot items and you fill a container and pay by the pound at the check out. There usually is a scale at the bar here for you to see how much you are taking - they want no putting back once you get to the checkout aisles to pay.
For the most part, however, - in my findings - most of the take out buffets are Chinese or "International"/Asian. I have found many Indian buffets, pizza buffets, barbecue buffets, etc. that offer take out - but the take out is on a platter/menu basis packaged for you by the restaurant to the restaurant's portions. Some restaurants talk about buffet catering, but this is something altogether very different.
So next time you want buffet, but don't want to eat at the restaurant, see if you can take the buffet out. Let us know your experiences at the Take Out buffets and comment.
So how does it work? You are given a Styrofoam tray container as you enter and you go to the serving tables. You fill the container - which is usually about ten inches square and perhaps three or less inches deep with an equally deep lid. Now, if you could fill that container for one price, you would be close to All You Can Carry Out, but not always so. What happens is that in many places the container is weighed by the cashier and you pay by the pound. Usually, the pound price is less than the "all you can eat buffet" price. Sometimes it is significantly less. Sometimes, specific items are either not included, or are more.
"Hmm..." you may be saying, "I know what a pound is - what it feels like, but how much food is that actually?" Obviously, it all depends on what you take. A pound of cooked meat is pretty substantial. So if you would be happy with a pound of chicken for $7.99, that is not bad. A pound of vegetables for $7.99 is not such a deal. A pound of salad - not good at all. Put it all together and you can get a decent meal, but how much of each do you know you are taking? There are never any scales along the way (get it, way - weigh (bad pun, "what pun?)).
There are some things that people take (when they are not extra) that amount to very little by the pound. Crab legs are very popular at Chinese buffets and many of the Chinese buffets offer a Take Out buffet. Some will not include the crab legs or seafood, some do. You are taking the crab legs which are in the shell. The shell weighs a lot. You are not getting not so much to eat in a pound of crab legs. Yet you see people taking the crab legs to go. Sushi is another example, when you need to take the rice with the fish, you are paying for a lot of rice.
Steamed or cold shrimp is a good deal at the by the pound serving. Despite the thin shells, a pound of cooked shrimp is more in substance than a pound of raw shrimp and at the take out buffet price, this is pretty good. Remember this the next time you are having a party and want to serve shrimp cocktail. Go to the Chinese buffet and get a pound of shrimp on the Take Out buffet - IF they let you.
But can you do this? Often, not. Here is an example of a Chinese Take Out buffet in Maryland. The pricing reads - Buffet-To-Go (At least 3 items per pack). Clever. They figured out that a pound of any one thing is greater than the sum of a collective pound of three items. Here the per pound price is $5.95 at dinner ($3.95 for lunch). Seafood and sushi, however, is $7.95 per pound - still not bad at this particular restaurant. (In case you are wondering where this is - it is the Fortune Star Buffet in Rockville, Maryland. I have never been there and do not attest to anything about this restaurant except what is quoted here. I found it on an Internet search for this article.)
It is required that you fit everything that you are taking into the one tray. You could fill two trays, but they usually will not let you take a separate tray for each item, as stated above in our example. The containers are not sectioned. This means that you are piling everything on top of each other, pretty much mixing them together. Not a big deal for those who regularly pile their buffet plates high with everything together until there is no longer any recognition of what anything is or tastes like on its own. However, for the fussy that like to eat things as they were intended - not mixed together, you are either going to take less or give in and mix it up. You are paying by the pound, though I am not sure they are going to let you pay for less than a pound. You will pay if you take more than a pound - and one buffet in Georgia makes a point of saying that there is a three dollar charge for overfilling the container - meaning that the container will not close easily - evidently you are paying by the container there, not by the pound - or what difference would it make how the container closes. Some buffets offer container prices, but will be restrictive on how the food fits into the container, as this one is.
One of the absolutes - by the pound or by the container = is no eating as you are go along. You will be charged for the sit-down buffet price if you start eating as you are going around the buffet tables filling your container.
Not all Take Out buffets are Chinese, and not all Take Out Buffets have All You Can Eat, eat in buffets. One example is the Sbarro chain which is located in 1,000 locations all over the United States, as well as franchises world wide. This is Italian cuisine. Not all Sbarro's have buffet bars, but they do exist. I have seen them in shopping malls, a casino, and food courts at interstate rest areas all along the East Coast and I am certain they are in other parts of the country as well. Here you fill your container at the food bar with Italian specialties - with salad at the beginning, for those so inclined. At the end of the bar is a cashier and scale. You can close up your container and take it home, or you can sit down at one of the tables and eat. BUT there is no going back for more/
There are supermarkets with buffet-style salad bars that have some hot items and you fill a container and pay by the pound at the check out. There usually is a scale at the bar here for you to see how much you are taking - they want no putting back once you get to the checkout aisles to pay.
For the most part, however, - in my findings - most of the take out buffets are Chinese or "International"/Asian. I have found many Indian buffets, pizza buffets, barbecue buffets, etc. that offer take out - but the take out is on a platter/menu basis packaged for you by the restaurant to the restaurant's portions. Some restaurants talk about buffet catering, but this is something altogether very different.
So next time you want buffet, but don't want to eat at the restaurant, see if you can take the buffet out. Let us know your experiences at the Take Out buffets and comment.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Buffet Pricing
I had hoped to be writing about a Chinese buffet in Piscataway, New Jersey, but in looking for it off the exit at I287, we missed finding it by about a half a mile. Never got to eat there - but I was right, saw it on the way back to the Interstate - there was one there. I should be back in the area in a few weeks - and now I know where it is - if I can find it again.
So, instead, I am writing about buffet pricing. How do buffets make a profit offering "all that you CAN (care) to eat"? I will start by stating that what you are about to read is opinion and not based upon interview, questionnaire, or research. But that would not be any fun, now, would it?
One would think that a buffet should go out of business quickly by offering everything for less than $12 (or less) (or more). Some do. Many don't and make a good profit in the process. How do they do it? It is my theory that they count on people not eating as much as they would if the restaurant put the food out on the plate and sent it to the table. What goes to the table at a sit down restaurant cannot come back to the kitchen. BUT in a buffet - it all comes back to the kitchen. It may be reused in some other way - left over roast beef may becomes beef stew. It may get wrapped, refrigerated (I hope), reheated, and put out for lunch the next day. It is also put out based upon the crowd at the time (if it is put out again, at all - as we have written about). For the average person, this theory holds true from my observation. Many people do not take more than they would eat (or get) at a "regular" restaurant. Many eat less. (I will talk about the exceptions later.) What people may do at a buffet is take a variety of foods but when this is all put together in quantity, it is not much more than (if more) than they would have been served to them by a waiter.
Here are some things that I noticed many times when I dined at "family style" restaurants in Pennsylvania (where you are supposed to be eating like the "Pennsylvania Dutch" farmers who have worked in the field the whole day). In these restaurants a waitress brings platters of food to the table and they are passed around by diners in groups of fifteen or more (never just you and yours at a table - but always families and people seated together in large groups). Everyone takes what they want and as much as they want. When the platter is empty, the waitress will ask if she should bring more. Now - here is the psychology. You have filled your plate. You need to ask for the dish to be passed back to you - by strangers - for you to take more. Hmm - a little social pressure now. Some are bold and ask. Others don't - especially when the comments are made that there will be six kinds of dessert coming.
Another thing that these "family-style" restaurants always do is that the first platters to come to the table are bread and some relishes. They are sure to tell you that this is home-baked bread. (Whose home?) But - "WOW!", people are heard to say, "Home baked bread!" That dish is empty before it goes halfway around the table - and the waitress (no comments - they are always waitresses in these restaurants - it's like mother is giving you dinner) will always bring more bread right away - and again the plate goes around. Everyone (except those "knowing" few of us) have filled up on the bread (one of the cheapest things that they can serve) before any of the chicken, ham, beef, sausages, vegetables, potatoes, etc. ever come to the table. And when the potatoes come out - it is the same story - "These are home made mashed potatoes - not from a box. You have to try them!" And those potatoes go around three times. Starch is filling. When you eat the bread and then the potatoes, you are not going to fill your plate with meat a second time. Especially, when you think that SIX deserts are coming (more starch and certainly less costly than meat). Do these restaurants lose money on a meal? Rarely. I am sure that they are well into their profit margin. Several of these restaurants have been around in Lancaster County, PA for more than forty years.
Chinese buffets make out well too over a served Chinese meal. What is often put out in the trays in a Chinese buffet is about what is put out in two or (maybe) three individual table serving platters. This is there for everyone in the restaurant. Count the patrons and count what is out and it is not equal to what would be out if each person ordered and a platter was brought to them. They also are counting on the attraction of diners to rice and noodles, along with popular dishes that have much less meat than vegetables (which is true of most Chinese restaurants - buffets or not). I was in one last week where a guy had to have the crispy snack noodles and was frantic to find them. (With all that was there - why eat the snack noodles?) Again, you fill up on the starch.
What the diner can do well on at an Asian buffet is the Sushi. Sushi costs a lot at non-buffet restaurants (and at Sushi-only buffets). At the Chinese buffet, Asian buffet, or "International" buffet the Sushi is put out along with all of the other variety of dishes - and the price is (seemingly) not effected by the comparative cost of the Sushi. If you make an entire meal out of Sushi you are more than getting your money's worth. An equivalent meal in a regular restaurant would cost much, much more.
What is put out at other than Chinese buffets is limited in quantity as well. This particularly is true of the carvings. When you go up for steak at a buffet, do you get a whole steak? Rarely. You get a piece of steak. You get one or two thin slices (if the slicer knows what he or she is doing) of turkey, roast beef, etc. Yes, you can go back for more. But as I have written about in the past, many people fill their plate (everything on top of everything else) because they do not want to get up again. In these instances the restaurant is making out. It is also the case at many buffet restaurants is that prices are higher on nights when there are "special" features - seafood nights especially.
Now, there are the exceptions. There are some incredibly large people who frequent buffets because, frankly, they could not get enough to keep themselves satisfied in any other restaurant. (No digs - but it is true - just look around the room at most buffet chains. (Not often the case at Chinese buffets - not sure why not.) These people take much more for their $11.49 than others. (My wife had a cousin, who it was joked about that if he went into an all you can eat restaurant, the owner would faint. - JUST A JOKE - NEVER REALLY HAPPENED!) Conceivably, if all the patrons at a buffet ate as these people do, the restaurant would not be able to get by. It does not seem to be a problem though. (Though it may be a myth, but I have heard stories of buffets telling people - "no more". I do not think that this is true because it would result in a great law suit.) We did have one of our readers comment once that he was told that he could not leave the rice over in his plate after eating the fish of the sushi - and that if he took the sushi he had to eat the rice with the fish. Again - starch fills.
Another thing about buffet dining that leads to profit is turn over of tables. In a regular restaurant the meal is paced by the kitchen and the wait staff. In a buffet, the food is there - you start eating just as soon as you have a table. The meal is usually faster (though it does not have to be, as referenced in our "Rules") at a buffet. The tables turn over more rapidly and the room is usually filled on Friday and Saturday nights - almost the whole night from the moment dinner time starts until closing. Apply this to what I have written above, and the buffets are making a profit.
So there it is. Please remember, "All that you can eat is not a challenge!" Again, these are my theories. Buffet owners are invited to comment (as is everyone else).
So, instead, I am writing about buffet pricing. How do buffets make a profit offering "all that you CAN (care) to eat"? I will start by stating that what you are about to read is opinion and not based upon interview, questionnaire, or research. But that would not be any fun, now, would it?
One would think that a buffet should go out of business quickly by offering everything for less than $12 (or less) (or more). Some do. Many don't and make a good profit in the process. How do they do it? It is my theory that they count on people not eating as much as they would if the restaurant put the food out on the plate and sent it to the table. What goes to the table at a sit down restaurant cannot come back to the kitchen. BUT in a buffet - it all comes back to the kitchen. It may be reused in some other way - left over roast beef may becomes beef stew. It may get wrapped, refrigerated (I hope), reheated, and put out for lunch the next day. It is also put out based upon the crowd at the time (if it is put out again, at all - as we have written about). For the average person, this theory holds true from my observation. Many people do not take more than they would eat (or get) at a "regular" restaurant. Many eat less. (I will talk about the exceptions later.) What people may do at a buffet is take a variety of foods but when this is all put together in quantity, it is not much more than (if more) than they would have been served to them by a waiter.
Here are some things that I noticed many times when I dined at "family style" restaurants in Pennsylvania (where you are supposed to be eating like the "Pennsylvania Dutch" farmers who have worked in the field the whole day). In these restaurants a waitress brings platters of food to the table and they are passed around by diners in groups of fifteen or more (never just you and yours at a table - but always families and people seated together in large groups). Everyone takes what they want and as much as they want. When the platter is empty, the waitress will ask if she should bring more. Now - here is the psychology. You have filled your plate. You need to ask for the dish to be passed back to you - by strangers - for you to take more. Hmm - a little social pressure now. Some are bold and ask. Others don't - especially when the comments are made that there will be six kinds of dessert coming.
Another thing that these "family-style" restaurants always do is that the first platters to come to the table are bread and some relishes. They are sure to tell you that this is home-baked bread. (Whose home?) But - "WOW!", people are heard to say, "Home baked bread!" That dish is empty before it goes halfway around the table - and the waitress (no comments - they are always waitresses in these restaurants - it's like mother is giving you dinner) will always bring more bread right away - and again the plate goes around. Everyone (except those "knowing" few of us) have filled up on the bread (one of the cheapest things that they can serve) before any of the chicken, ham, beef, sausages, vegetables, potatoes, etc. ever come to the table. And when the potatoes come out - it is the same story - "These are home made mashed potatoes - not from a box. You have to try them!" And those potatoes go around three times. Starch is filling. When you eat the bread and then the potatoes, you are not going to fill your plate with meat a second time. Especially, when you think that SIX deserts are coming (more starch and certainly less costly than meat). Do these restaurants lose money on a meal? Rarely. I am sure that they are well into their profit margin. Several of these restaurants have been around in Lancaster County, PA for more than forty years.
Chinese buffets make out well too over a served Chinese meal. What is often put out in the trays in a Chinese buffet is about what is put out in two or (maybe) three individual table serving platters. This is there for everyone in the restaurant. Count the patrons and count what is out and it is not equal to what would be out if each person ordered and a platter was brought to them. They also are counting on the attraction of diners to rice and noodles, along with popular dishes that have much less meat than vegetables (which is true of most Chinese restaurants - buffets or not). I was in one last week where a guy had to have the crispy snack noodles and was frantic to find them. (With all that was there - why eat the snack noodles?) Again, you fill up on the starch.
What the diner can do well on at an Asian buffet is the Sushi. Sushi costs a lot at non-buffet restaurants (and at Sushi-only buffets). At the Chinese buffet, Asian buffet, or "International" buffet the Sushi is put out along with all of the other variety of dishes - and the price is (seemingly) not effected by the comparative cost of the Sushi. If you make an entire meal out of Sushi you are more than getting your money's worth. An equivalent meal in a regular restaurant would cost much, much more.
What is put out at other than Chinese buffets is limited in quantity as well. This particularly is true of the carvings. When you go up for steak at a buffet, do you get a whole steak? Rarely. You get a piece of steak. You get one or two thin slices (if the slicer knows what he or she is doing) of turkey, roast beef, etc. Yes, you can go back for more. But as I have written about in the past, many people fill their plate (everything on top of everything else) because they do not want to get up again. In these instances the restaurant is making out. It is also the case at many buffet restaurants is that prices are higher on nights when there are "special" features - seafood nights especially.
Now, there are the exceptions. There are some incredibly large people who frequent buffets because, frankly, they could not get enough to keep themselves satisfied in any other restaurant. (No digs - but it is true - just look around the room at most buffet chains. (Not often the case at Chinese buffets - not sure why not.) These people take much more for their $11.49 than others. (My wife had a cousin, who it was joked about that if he went into an all you can eat restaurant, the owner would faint. - JUST A JOKE - NEVER REALLY HAPPENED!) Conceivably, if all the patrons at a buffet ate as these people do, the restaurant would not be able to get by. It does not seem to be a problem though. (Though it may be a myth, but I have heard stories of buffets telling people - "no more". I do not think that this is true because it would result in a great law suit.) We did have one of our readers comment once that he was told that he could not leave the rice over in his plate after eating the fish of the sushi - and that if he took the sushi he had to eat the rice with the fish. Again - starch fills.
Another thing about buffet dining that leads to profit is turn over of tables. In a regular restaurant the meal is paced by the kitchen and the wait staff. In a buffet, the food is there - you start eating just as soon as you have a table. The meal is usually faster (though it does not have to be, as referenced in our "Rules") at a buffet. The tables turn over more rapidly and the room is usually filled on Friday and Saturday nights - almost the whole night from the moment dinner time starts until closing. Apply this to what I have written above, and the buffets are making a profit.
So there it is. Please remember, "All that you can eat is not a challenge!" Again, these are my theories. Buffet owners are invited to comment (as is everyone else).
Friday, February 09, 2007
Has Buffet Dining Become Too Informal?
When I was growing up in the 1950's and 60's ("Oh, now we know he is old!"), dining out at a restaurant was something special. It did not matter if it was the corner family restaurant or some place fancy - it was still special. There were certain manners that were to be exhibited. There was a certain behavior that was expected. In the restaurant you spoke quietly. You were to keep your attention to the people at your own table. This was wear the "inside voice" that your Kindergarten teacher taught you was to be used.
For the most part in most restaurants this all seems to still exist - with the exception of buffet restaurants. Now, I need to state right off from the beginning here that what I am observing in buffets may (perhaps) just be observed in New York buffets. I say this because much of what I will describe as "too informal" I do not see in buffet restaurants outside of New York - and I have been to many. What the conclusion may be - before I even start - is that people in New York are too informal in buffet restaurants - and it is New York that is the common factor in the equation of the various types of people dining in the buffet restaurants. But that said, I shall continue.
How come in buffets people look upon dining as a community event? They talk between tables. Entire long, loud, and detailed conversations take place in a section of the dining room among people who are unrelated. This does not happen in other restaurants (even in New York) with the exception of a few comments or pleasantries exchanged. In buffets it is common.
Everyone laughing at a table is the sign of a good time out - wonderful! But, does that laughing need to be so loud and constant that everyone in the restaurant's attention is drawn to it. I am not looking to dine quietly, but it is often impossible to carry on a personal conversation with the people at my own table over the noise coming from a table at the other side of the room.
I wonder if it is the ability to get up and walk around to go to the buffet tables that leads to the informality. If one can leave the table and move about, then perhaps one forgets that this is a restaurant - and therefore, all the manners of being in a restaurant do not apply. I have not seen these things in fast food restaurants - and if there is any place informal, it is McDonald's and Burger King.
Two weeks ago I spoke in the update to the Rules of the Buffet that someone brought a hamster into a buffet and then set the box with the hamster down onto their table, opening the box to play with the hamster -and then moving around the room with the hamster to show it off. Could this have happened in any other type of restaurant - without this person and the animal being tossed out? I am going to hope not. It happened at a buffet.
I will go back again to my beginning speculation - about this all being a New York phenomenon. There are not many buffet restaurants in New York. There is only the Old Country Buffet chain and those are few and far between. There are Chinese buffets scattered about. Perhaps the buffet experience is too unusual for average, every day New Yorkers - and, therefore, they do not know that what applies in all other restaurants applies at the buffet as well. They come in and see it as a large eating playground - and not just the kids. They think that it is like being at home - you get up and serve yourself - so what you might do at home is ok to do in the buffet restaurant - speak and laugh as loud as you want, yell across the room, put your hands into the serving dish. No , you are not at home.
There do seem to be some people who understand that they are dining out - and they present themselves with proper and polite manners and decorum. They have paid good and hard earned money for a night out and expect restaurant behavior from those around them. And it for this minority that I speak out here.
I shall not go on, as anymore would be beating the dead horse to further death. Perhaps the informality is not a New York thing, and those of you in other States have seen this too. Maybe the many buffets that I have been to outside of New York have just been the exceptions. Buffets do get a bad reputation and are often referred to jokingly in television comedies. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why. Use the comments here to speak out and let us know what your experience and observations have been.
For the most part in most restaurants this all seems to still exist - with the exception of buffet restaurants. Now, I need to state right off from the beginning here that what I am observing in buffets may (perhaps) just be observed in New York buffets. I say this because much of what I will describe as "too informal" I do not see in buffet restaurants outside of New York - and I have been to many. What the conclusion may be - before I even start - is that people in New York are too informal in buffet restaurants - and it is New York that is the common factor in the equation of the various types of people dining in the buffet restaurants. But that said, I shall continue.
How come in buffets people look upon dining as a community event? They talk between tables. Entire long, loud, and detailed conversations take place in a section of the dining room among people who are unrelated. This does not happen in other restaurants (even in New York) with the exception of a few comments or pleasantries exchanged. In buffets it is common.
Everyone laughing at a table is the sign of a good time out - wonderful! But, does that laughing need to be so loud and constant that everyone in the restaurant's attention is drawn to it. I am not looking to dine quietly, but it is often impossible to carry on a personal conversation with the people at my own table over the noise coming from a table at the other side of the room.
I wonder if it is the ability to get up and walk around to go to the buffet tables that leads to the informality. If one can leave the table and move about, then perhaps one forgets that this is a restaurant - and therefore, all the manners of being in a restaurant do not apply. I have not seen these things in fast food restaurants - and if there is any place informal, it is McDonald's and Burger King.
Two weeks ago I spoke in the update to the Rules of the Buffet that someone brought a hamster into a buffet and then set the box with the hamster down onto their table, opening the box to play with the hamster -and then moving around the room with the hamster to show it off. Could this have happened in any other type of restaurant - without this person and the animal being tossed out? I am going to hope not. It happened at a buffet.
I will go back again to my beginning speculation - about this all being a New York phenomenon. There are not many buffet restaurants in New York. There is only the Old Country Buffet chain and those are few and far between. There are Chinese buffets scattered about. Perhaps the buffet experience is too unusual for average, every day New Yorkers - and, therefore, they do not know that what applies in all other restaurants applies at the buffet as well. They come in and see it as a large eating playground - and not just the kids. They think that it is like being at home - you get up and serve yourself - so what you might do at home is ok to do in the buffet restaurant - speak and laugh as loud as you want, yell across the room, put your hands into the serving dish. No , you are not at home.
There do seem to be some people who understand that they are dining out - and they present themselves with proper and polite manners and decorum. They have paid good and hard earned money for a night out and expect restaurant behavior from those around them. And it for this minority that I speak out here.
I shall not go on, as anymore would be beating the dead horse to further death. Perhaps the informality is not a New York thing, and those of you in other States have seen this too. Maybe the many buffets that I have been to outside of New York have just been the exceptions. Buffets do get a bad reputation and are often referred to jokingly in television comedies. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why. Use the comments here to speak out and let us know what your experience and observations have been.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Three from the Sea at OCB
I have tried the new special feature at Old Country Buffet and I do have to admit that it is better than Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp. Three from the Sea is the new feature served on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. As the name implies this is a seafood combination that includes fish, crab, and shrimp (naturally).
The fish is called Butter Crunch Alaskan Pollack. It is not bad. It is the best of the three and far surpasses the other fish dishes that Old Country Buffet has served to date. This is thin strips of pollack fillets, a light, white fish, that is coated in a very light crusting. It is broiled (or baked) in what is presumed to be butter from the name - but the butter (or whatever) was not overwhelming. It had a nice mild taste and I went back for more.
The crab is crab cakes or what should be called here "mock crab pancakes" are thin patties of fake crab meat (it did not have the texture, the color, or the taste of real crab, but more resembled "sea legs" which is what it must be). There is a lot of breading and a few pieces of green pepper chopped in. All of this is broiled and comes out as flat disks about thee inches in diameter. The taste was ok, but these were not crab cakes as anyone would expect. The Maryland shore has nothing to worry about here.
The shrimp was Orange Shrimp. It is exactly the same as OCB's Orange Chicken but made with shrimp. This is breaded shrimp that is fried and then mixed into an orange glaze with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. These were ok at first, but after a few became too sweet and I wound up peeling away the coating to get to the shrimp inside. I have had the Orange Chicken and liked it. This was sweeter. Perhaps the shrimp is not enough to carry the orange sauce.
While the name of the feature says "Three" from the sea, there was also fried clam strips. The ones that were out when I took them were burnt - and as a result were terrible. I could not finish the few that I took to taste. Later in the evening more were brought out and these did not look burnt. They may have been better tasting - but the first batch put me off them and I did not take more - even to try.
While this is feature is being served the regular items have not seemed to be discarded. On this Thursday night they were still carving beef brisket and ham and beef ribs were served. Despite the lack of signs about steak, there was still steak being served. Of course, there was regular fried shrimp as well. (Somebody at OCB corporate must love shrimp!)
So all in all, Three from the Sea, is ok. It is worth a try, if for nothing but the pollack.
The fish is called Butter Crunch Alaskan Pollack. It is not bad. It is the best of the three and far surpasses the other fish dishes that Old Country Buffet has served to date. This is thin strips of pollack fillets, a light, white fish, that is coated in a very light crusting. It is broiled (or baked) in what is presumed to be butter from the name - but the butter (or whatever) was not overwhelming. It had a nice mild taste and I went back for more.
The crab is crab cakes or what should be called here "mock crab pancakes" are thin patties of fake crab meat (it did not have the texture, the color, or the taste of real crab, but more resembled "sea legs" which is what it must be). There is a lot of breading and a few pieces of green pepper chopped in. All of this is broiled and comes out as flat disks about thee inches in diameter. The taste was ok, but these were not crab cakes as anyone would expect. The Maryland shore has nothing to worry about here.
The shrimp was Orange Shrimp. It is exactly the same as OCB's Orange Chicken but made with shrimp. This is breaded shrimp that is fried and then mixed into an orange glaze with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. These were ok at first, but after a few became too sweet and I wound up peeling away the coating to get to the shrimp inside. I have had the Orange Chicken and liked it. This was sweeter. Perhaps the shrimp is not enough to carry the orange sauce.
While the name of the feature says "Three" from the sea, there was also fried clam strips. The ones that were out when I took them were burnt - and as a result were terrible. I could not finish the few that I took to taste. Later in the evening more were brought out and these did not look burnt. They may have been better tasting - but the first batch put me off them and I did not take more - even to try.
While this is feature is being served the regular items have not seemed to be discarded. On this Thursday night they were still carving beef brisket and ham and beef ribs were served. Despite the lack of signs about steak, there was still steak being served. Of course, there was regular fried shrimp as well. (Somebody at OCB corporate must love shrimp!)
So all in all, Three from the Sea, is ok. It is worth a try, if for nothing but the pollack.
Friday, January 26, 2007
More New Rules
I find that I must add a few more new rules to the list of Rules of the Buffet. Sadly, I would never have believed that I would have to add something so obvious and disgusting as this first new rule.
RULE 23. Never bring an animal into the buffet.
Now, I am not talking about a service dog. I had the misfortune to experience someone bringing their new PET HAMSTER into the buffet. Here is how it went. A woman was sitting at a table alone. She was joined by her two daughters, one of whom was carrying a Petco box with holes in it. She put the box DOWN ON THE TABLE and shortly later opened the box to play with the hamster inside. They remained at the table with the animal for over an hour. Then she got up with the box to walk through the dining room and placed it on several more tables to show what was inside. She showed it to an employee who screamed, but the employee did nothing and said nothing to her. An animal in a restaurant (especially a rodent) is a health code violation. I have seen how these restaurants clean their tables and there was nothing that they were going to wash those tables down with that was going to disinfect whatever that animal could be carrying.
A comment was made from a table behind me when they noticed the box, but that they thought that the box was, at least, sealed. I informed them that it wasn't. Many vocal comments were made then by them loud enough for the people with the animal to hear, but these were ignored. With no manager to be found, it crossed my mind to make a call to the Board of Health. Just for the record, this was at an OCB.
I never thought that I would see an animal brought into a restaurant. A buffet restaurant with all of the food out and exposed with this animal being carried around the room is the ultimate.
RULE 24. Never put your hands into a serving tray.
Rule 25. Tell your children not to put their hands into a serving tray - and make sure that they do not!
Believe it or not, in a recent poll of buffet owners they were asked what they most would like and they all answered that they wanted parents to teach their children not put their hands into the serving trays - ignoring the serving spoons and just reaching on in.
This is true of some adults as well.
They would also appreciate it if parents had their children wash their hands before coming up to the serving tables.
RULE 26. Do not carry on a conversation throughout dinner with the people at the tables around you.
People seem to think that dining at a buffet is a community experience. Some think nothing of turning to the people at the next table or tables and starting a conversation that becomes loud enough for the room to hear and goes on for the entire meal. Friendly is one thing - a multi-table discussion?
So for now, four more rules added to the growing list. At some point in the future I am going to write an article about the informality of buffet restaurants - and how that is not such a good thing. Out of that informality some of these rules have sprung!
RULE 23. Never bring an animal into the buffet.
Now, I am not talking about a service dog. I had the misfortune to experience someone bringing their new PET HAMSTER into the buffet. Here is how it went. A woman was sitting at a table alone. She was joined by her two daughters, one of whom was carrying a Petco box with holes in it. She put the box DOWN ON THE TABLE and shortly later opened the box to play with the hamster inside. They remained at the table with the animal for over an hour. Then she got up with the box to walk through the dining room and placed it on several more tables to show what was inside. She showed it to an employee who screamed, but the employee did nothing and said nothing to her. An animal in a restaurant (especially a rodent) is a health code violation. I have seen how these restaurants clean their tables and there was nothing that they were going to wash those tables down with that was going to disinfect whatever that animal could be carrying.
A comment was made from a table behind me when they noticed the box, but that they thought that the box was, at least, sealed. I informed them that it wasn't. Many vocal comments were made then by them loud enough for the people with the animal to hear, but these were ignored. With no manager to be found, it crossed my mind to make a call to the Board of Health. Just for the record, this was at an OCB.
I never thought that I would see an animal brought into a restaurant. A buffet restaurant with all of the food out and exposed with this animal being carried around the room is the ultimate.
RULE 24. Never put your hands into a serving tray.
Rule 25. Tell your children not to put their hands into a serving tray - and make sure that they do not!
Believe it or not, in a recent poll of buffet owners they were asked what they most would like and they all answered that they wanted parents to teach their children not put their hands into the serving trays - ignoring the serving spoons and just reaching on in.
This is true of some adults as well.
They would also appreciate it if parents had their children wash their hands before coming up to the serving tables.
RULE 26. Do not carry on a conversation throughout dinner with the people at the tables around you.
People seem to think that dining at a buffet is a community experience. Some think nothing of turning to the people at the next table or tables and starting a conversation that becomes loud enough for the room to hear and goes on for the entire meal. Friendly is one thing - a multi-table discussion?
So for now, four more rules added to the growing list. At some point in the future I am going to write an article about the informality of buffet restaurants - and how that is not such a good thing. Out of that informality some of these rules have sprung!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Someone from Corporate Must be Paying Attention
A short while ago I wrote about what I consider to be the worst Old Country Buffet. The location is Levittown, New York. Well, someone from OCB must be reading and paying attention as recently there has been a dramatic change in the Levittown OCB, and it is a change for the better.
About three weeks ago we went in and saw a gentleman walking around the restaurant very attentively and dressed in a shirt that said "Buffets Inc.". Now all of the store manager shirts may say this but this was the first one shirt like this that I noticed. I immediately said to my wife that something is up. Looking around things looked better. His arrival coincided with the change in the restaurant - and I should add an increase in price of a dollar per meal. This past week we were there again and the same gentleman in the same shirt now had an ID tag on and it said "Food Bar Manager". Well, this OCB never had one of those before.
There were several points that I made in the article that have been addressed. Food is now refilled regularly and even at 9:00 pm on a Sunday night new carvings were coming out and food trays were kept full. And things were not just coming out for the employees to eat while the diners looked at empty trays for an hour before. The chicken noodle soup now has noodles in it. It had been chicken soup with carrots and celery and nothing else before (I guess a generic chicken soup). The cleanliness has improved also (not great, but better). They also seem to be able to anticipate the crowds now. As I had noted previously, nights that the restaurant should expect a larger than normal number of diners - for example, the night before a school holiday - they would run out of everything early and not replace food items. One of the nights that we just went was the night before a school holiday, and everything was out that should be.
This is good. I would like to think that someone read my article and made some noise at corporate headquarters -maybe not, but remarkably the problems that I noted are starting to be addressed and corrected. Hopefully, this will continue. Hopefully, the "Food Bar Manager" will remain and keep this restaurant on track.
I do wonder if the dollar increase is chain wide. Overhearing regular customers, they are not happy at paying $11.49 for dinner now. Many people seem to eat here regularly; some every night. They apparently budgeted these meals out for themselves and now the increase is pinching some. The better conditions should not warrant an increase in price. Though I am not sure there is any relation between the two. There is nothing on the website about price. It will be interesting to see if they lose the frequent business of the regulars.
Another observation, just from the website (as I do not recall seeing a change on the door), is that the hours of this restaurant used to be until 9:00 pm Sunday to Thursday and until 9:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. Now the hours are until 8:30 pm Sunday to Thursday and until 9:00 on Friday and Saturday. Hmm... Increased price and shorter hours. For the average family who eats between 5 and 6, it makes no difference. But for those of us night owls who eat after 7:30, sometimes 8:00 depending on how the day goes, this is not so good.
They have just started the "Three from the Sea" special feature. Let's hope this one is better than "Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp". This offers several seafoods and, of course, shrimp. I have not tried it yet. I will let you know when I do. This is offered Thursday, Friday, and Saturday only.
There was also a sign with featured carvings every night - and these seem to have changed from what they had been. Some looked for the better. There was no indication that there still is steak every night except Sundays. There was one sign still remaining in a window that mentioned steak, but no where on the website does it now mention steak. Not much of a loss considering the steak that they serve (served? - Maybe, at Corporate, it went "Robert doesn't like the steak. Let's get rid of it! - Maybe not?)
But I should not be negative in an article about the improvements that have been made - at least in Old Country Buffet, Levittown, New York. Corporate, if you are reading this, "thank you!" Also Corporate, let us know that you are out there and post a comment - let us know what you are thinking. That goes for everyone else! And if you have seen improvements at your OCB (or things that have gotten worse) let us know.
About three weeks ago we went in and saw a gentleman walking around the restaurant very attentively and dressed in a shirt that said "Buffets Inc.". Now all of the store manager shirts may say this but this was the first one shirt like this that I noticed. I immediately said to my wife that something is up. Looking around things looked better. His arrival coincided with the change in the restaurant - and I should add an increase in price of a dollar per meal. This past week we were there again and the same gentleman in the same shirt now had an ID tag on and it said "Food Bar Manager". Well, this OCB never had one of those before.
There were several points that I made in the article that have been addressed. Food is now refilled regularly and even at 9:00 pm on a Sunday night new carvings were coming out and food trays were kept full. And things were not just coming out for the employees to eat while the diners looked at empty trays for an hour before. The chicken noodle soup now has noodles in it. It had been chicken soup with carrots and celery and nothing else before (I guess a generic chicken soup). The cleanliness has improved also (not great, but better). They also seem to be able to anticipate the crowds now. As I had noted previously, nights that the restaurant should expect a larger than normal number of diners - for example, the night before a school holiday - they would run out of everything early and not replace food items. One of the nights that we just went was the night before a school holiday, and everything was out that should be.
This is good. I would like to think that someone read my article and made some noise at corporate headquarters -maybe not, but remarkably the problems that I noted are starting to be addressed and corrected. Hopefully, this will continue. Hopefully, the "Food Bar Manager" will remain and keep this restaurant on track.
I do wonder if the dollar increase is chain wide. Overhearing regular customers, they are not happy at paying $11.49 for dinner now. Many people seem to eat here regularly; some every night. They apparently budgeted these meals out for themselves and now the increase is pinching some. The better conditions should not warrant an increase in price. Though I am not sure there is any relation between the two. There is nothing on the website about price. It will be interesting to see if they lose the frequent business of the regulars.
Another observation, just from the website (as I do not recall seeing a change on the door), is that the hours of this restaurant used to be until 9:00 pm Sunday to Thursday and until 9:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. Now the hours are until 8:30 pm Sunday to Thursday and until 9:00 on Friday and Saturday. Hmm... Increased price and shorter hours. For the average family who eats between 5 and 6, it makes no difference. But for those of us night owls who eat after 7:30, sometimes 8:00 depending on how the day goes, this is not so good.
They have just started the "Three from the Sea" special feature. Let's hope this one is better than "Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp". This offers several seafoods and, of course, shrimp. I have not tried it yet. I will let you know when I do. This is offered Thursday, Friday, and Saturday only.
There was also a sign with featured carvings every night - and these seem to have changed from what they had been. Some looked for the better. There was no indication that there still is steak every night except Sundays. There was one sign still remaining in a window that mentioned steak, but no where on the website does it now mention steak. Not much of a loss considering the steak that they serve (served? - Maybe, at Corporate, it went "Robert doesn't like the steak. Let's get rid of it! - Maybe not?)
But I should not be negative in an article about the improvements that have been made - at least in Old Country Buffet, Levittown, New York. Corporate, if you are reading this, "thank you!" Also Corporate, let us know that you are out there and post a comment - let us know what you are thinking. That goes for everyone else! And if you have seen improvements at your OCB (or things that have gotten worse) let us know.
Friday, January 12, 2007
A Little Bit of Fame
Just by chance and nothing much more important to do, I was following up on sites with links to this site. I saw one that said CBS News. I clicked and there before me appeared the CBS News Website and an article in the Blogophile section from March 1, 2006. (I just found this - better late than never.) The article is about Food Blogs and reading through, what do I find? Nothing less than this humble website - and not just a one line mention, but a paragraph. According to the author, we are one of the "fun" sites! I am impressed!
With the ten billion blogs in the Internet Universe, I am often amazed that anyone ever finds this one. I know that we have readers because my counter often impresses me week after week. I also get a good number of comments and responses to articles. To find out that a national news organization found the site - and then included it in a story - WOW!
So I shall reveille in my brief moment of glory. If you would like to see the story, here is the link.
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/28/blogophile/main1352629.shtml
With the ten billion blogs in the Internet Universe, I am often amazed that anyone ever finds this one. I know that we have readers because my counter often impresses me week after week. I also get a good number of comments and responses to articles. To find out that a national news organization found the site - and then included it in a story - WOW!
So I shall reveille in my brief moment of glory. If you would like to see the story, here is the link.
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/28/blogophile/main1352629.shtml
Friday, January 05, 2007
Super Grand Buffet - Baldwin, New York
The Super Grand Buffet is located at 1874-1878 Grand Avenue in Baldwin, New York on Long Island. This Chinese buffet has been in business for a number of years. This is a large restaurant filling the space of four store fronts in a busy commercial town area. Surprisingly, for such a large restaurant there is not a large amount of seating. The restaurant has a large buffet area including four large, double-sided buffet tables and an L-shaped counter spread along two walls. There is a large, private party room seating over 150 that takes up a considerable amount of the restaurant's space. Seating consists of booths and tables in the front of the restaurant. Unlike many buffet restaurants, there is a liquor bar that takes up part of the L-shaped counter on the side wall in the buffet serving area.
We went to the restaurant on a Saturday night and the restaurant was crowded. The price of dinner on the weekends and holidays is $11.49 with children at $6.99. A good price in this region. Weekdays the price is $10.49 with children at $5.99. Children are 10 and under. There are lunch prices until 3:30 except on Sundays. Lunch is $5.99 (children $3.99) Monday through Friday and $7.59 (children $4.99) on Saturdays and holidays. Children under 2 are free. There are unlimited soft drinks for an additional $1.00 per person. Hours are 11 to 10:00 pm Monday to Thursday, 11 to 11 on Friday and Saturday, and 12 to 10 pm on Sunday. They list something called "Break Hour" from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. I am not sure what this means, so avoid the restaurant during that hour on weekdays.
Let me start out by saying that this Chinese buffet is just average. That is not a bad thing, but there was nothing really outstanding or special here, except perhaps the price. The food is average. Not bad, not great. Nothing wrong with it, but I can't find anything to say was so good you have to run over there to try it. There was plenty to find to eat. They claim that there are over 200 dishes offered every day. With that said, please keep reading, and I will tell you what they had.
On one of the large, double-sided buffet tables there were cold offerings. There was a salad bar area with basic greens, dressing, and toppings. There were cold, peel and eat shrimp. Now, I must say that these shrimp were large for a Chinese buffet and they were properly kept on ice. There were also cold muscles. This buffet table also had a variety of prepared salads. To the side of this table was part of the L-shaped counter that was a Sushi bar. There actually was a Sushi chef, but he was making one or two pieces at a time and placing them out. Perhaps the crowd that frequents this restaurant is not a Sushi-eating crowd. There was salmon and tuna, and later some spiced salmon was put out. There were vegetable rolls and California rolls. It was there, but it was hard not to take the three pieces of salmon that were there and leave any out for anyone else. With the Sushi chef there most of the evening, I guess, he keeps putting a few more pieces out. It is certainly fresher this way - but unusual.
There were four soups. They had the usual wonton, egg drop, and hot and sour soup. They also had chicken soup with large bow-tie noodles. I tried the hot and sour soup. It was on the edge of being too spicy hot, but not so much that it was not comfortable to eat. It was thinner than most hot and sour soups.
The two buffet tables in the middle had hot entrees, appetizers, and vegetables. There were non-Chinese dishes out including a carve it yourself roast beef (they call it Prime Rib - it wasn't), salmon, and beef ribs that were not very appetizing looking steamed and loose. There was a mix of seafood and meat dishes. There was a Bangkok Chicken that was stir fried chicken with green peppers. There was shrimp in garlic. There was pepper steak and there were the usual fried rice and lo mein. There was a seafood chow mei fun (thin, stringy noodles with egg, vegetables, and shreds of seafood (mostly sealegs). Appetizers included only one type of dumpling (pan fried dumplings), egg rolls that were just fair (but typical of Chinese buffet egg rolls), fried shrimp in several forms. There were crab legs on Saturday night (you may not find these other than on weekends). The crab legs were individual legs and not clusters. There were spare ribs coated in sweet red sugar sauce. The take out menu has a very nice assortment of dishes - too bad more of these were not offered on the buffet, as it would have boosted my rating from average to very good. But alas...
The last buffet table was filled with Little Debbie-type squares of cakes and pastries. There was also dried ginger in sugar and what looked like Rice Krispy squares but were made with Chinese noodles. Next to that table was a freezer chest with six or more commercial tubs of hard ice cream. This is actually a step above the usual buffet soft serve.
There was a "Mongolian Grill" area on the leg of the L-shaped counter, but no one seemed to be 1) going up to this and 2) working behind it (though the Sushi chef was adjacent). It also was not well lit. The serving trays were full of meats and vegetables (all covered in plastic wrap) and there were two regular Chinese woks behind the counter - no traditional grill. Like me, a few people walked over to it and looked, but then walked away wondering perhaps, as I did, as to whether it was open or not. I was tempted to test it out and start to fill a dish to have it cooked, but when I looked at the meat it was not frozen (as this meat usually is and should be) and looked too red to chance. Perhaps Mongolian Grills have lost popularity, but if it is there, why not make it a feature and openly available, rather than have it look closed or not maintained.
Service was good. There were plenty of napkins on the table. The servers kept coming over to clear away dishes, ask if all is fine, and ask if the soda should be refilled. The restaurant was clean. There were no knives - so I am not sure how you would eat the roast beef. A knife may have been brought to you if you asked. Items on the buffet were labeled.
There was an obnoxious couple next to us - that is NO reflection on the restaurant. He asked for regular hot tea and green tea. This totally confused the serving girl. She told him that there was only green tea. She brought it and it turned out to be regular Chinese tea. He could not stop talking about this to his wife (girlfriend?, probably wife). Then they each filled their plates and also filled serving dishes for the two of them and covered their table in them. Like most "grabbers" there were full plates still on the table when they went for dessert.
So price makes this restaurant. It is a good value, but has just average food. I would not say do not eat here. I would say not to go out of your way to eat here. If I am in that area I might go back. There is no website for this restaurant. The telephone number is 516-868-2888 or 516-868-1582. They do regular take out and also take out buffet in addition to the sit down buffet.
We went to the restaurant on a Saturday night and the restaurant was crowded. The price of dinner on the weekends and holidays is $11.49 with children at $6.99. A good price in this region. Weekdays the price is $10.49 with children at $5.99. Children are 10 and under. There are lunch prices until 3:30 except on Sundays. Lunch is $5.99 (children $3.99) Monday through Friday and $7.59 (children $4.99) on Saturdays and holidays. Children under 2 are free. There are unlimited soft drinks for an additional $1.00 per person. Hours are 11 to 10:00 pm Monday to Thursday, 11 to 11 on Friday and Saturday, and 12 to 10 pm on Sunday. They list something called "Break Hour" from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday. I am not sure what this means, so avoid the restaurant during that hour on weekdays.
Let me start out by saying that this Chinese buffet is just average. That is not a bad thing, but there was nothing really outstanding or special here, except perhaps the price. The food is average. Not bad, not great. Nothing wrong with it, but I can't find anything to say was so good you have to run over there to try it. There was plenty to find to eat. They claim that there are over 200 dishes offered every day. With that said, please keep reading, and I will tell you what they had.
On one of the large, double-sided buffet tables there were cold offerings. There was a salad bar area with basic greens, dressing, and toppings. There were cold, peel and eat shrimp. Now, I must say that these shrimp were large for a Chinese buffet and they were properly kept on ice. There were also cold muscles. This buffet table also had a variety of prepared salads. To the side of this table was part of the L-shaped counter that was a Sushi bar. There actually was a Sushi chef, but he was making one or two pieces at a time and placing them out. Perhaps the crowd that frequents this restaurant is not a Sushi-eating crowd. There was salmon and tuna, and later some spiced salmon was put out. There were vegetable rolls and California rolls. It was there, but it was hard not to take the three pieces of salmon that were there and leave any out for anyone else. With the Sushi chef there most of the evening, I guess, he keeps putting a few more pieces out. It is certainly fresher this way - but unusual.
There were four soups. They had the usual wonton, egg drop, and hot and sour soup. They also had chicken soup with large bow-tie noodles. I tried the hot and sour soup. It was on the edge of being too spicy hot, but not so much that it was not comfortable to eat. It was thinner than most hot and sour soups.
The two buffet tables in the middle had hot entrees, appetizers, and vegetables. There were non-Chinese dishes out including a carve it yourself roast beef (they call it Prime Rib - it wasn't), salmon, and beef ribs that were not very appetizing looking steamed and loose. There was a mix of seafood and meat dishes. There was a Bangkok Chicken that was stir fried chicken with green peppers. There was shrimp in garlic. There was pepper steak and there were the usual fried rice and lo mein. There was a seafood chow mei fun (thin, stringy noodles with egg, vegetables, and shreds of seafood (mostly sealegs). Appetizers included only one type of dumpling (pan fried dumplings), egg rolls that were just fair (but typical of Chinese buffet egg rolls), fried shrimp in several forms. There were crab legs on Saturday night (you may not find these other than on weekends). The crab legs were individual legs and not clusters. There were spare ribs coated in sweet red sugar sauce. The take out menu has a very nice assortment of dishes - too bad more of these were not offered on the buffet, as it would have boosted my rating from average to very good. But alas...
The last buffet table was filled with Little Debbie-type squares of cakes and pastries. There was also dried ginger in sugar and what looked like Rice Krispy squares but were made with Chinese noodles. Next to that table was a freezer chest with six or more commercial tubs of hard ice cream. This is actually a step above the usual buffet soft serve.
There was a "Mongolian Grill" area on the leg of the L-shaped counter, but no one seemed to be 1) going up to this and 2) working behind it (though the Sushi chef was adjacent). It also was not well lit. The serving trays were full of meats and vegetables (all covered in plastic wrap) and there were two regular Chinese woks behind the counter - no traditional grill. Like me, a few people walked over to it and looked, but then walked away wondering perhaps, as I did, as to whether it was open or not. I was tempted to test it out and start to fill a dish to have it cooked, but when I looked at the meat it was not frozen (as this meat usually is and should be) and looked too red to chance. Perhaps Mongolian Grills have lost popularity, but if it is there, why not make it a feature and openly available, rather than have it look closed or not maintained.
Service was good. There were plenty of napkins on the table. The servers kept coming over to clear away dishes, ask if all is fine, and ask if the soda should be refilled. The restaurant was clean. There were no knives - so I am not sure how you would eat the roast beef. A knife may have been brought to you if you asked. Items on the buffet were labeled.
There was an obnoxious couple next to us - that is NO reflection on the restaurant. He asked for regular hot tea and green tea. This totally confused the serving girl. She told him that there was only green tea. She brought it and it turned out to be regular Chinese tea. He could not stop talking about this to his wife (girlfriend?, probably wife). Then they each filled their plates and also filled serving dishes for the two of them and covered their table in them. Like most "grabbers" there were full plates still on the table when they went for dessert.
So price makes this restaurant. It is a good value, but has just average food. I would not say do not eat here. I would say not to go out of your way to eat here. If I am in that area I might go back. There is no website for this restaurant. The telephone number is 516-868-2888 or 516-868-1582. They do regular take out and also take out buffet in addition to the sit down buffet.
Friday, December 29, 2006
OCB Buys Ryans and Other Snippets
This got past us when it happened this past July but I have just learned (as printed in the St. Paul Business Journal) that Buffets, Inc., the company that operates Old Country Buffet, bought out Ryans Restaurants. The Ryans chain was seeing financial difficulties and Buffets, Inc. bought the chain through the New York-based financial group that owns Buffets, Inc. The official word is that the two chains will be operated independently. Let's hope so. Let's also hope that there are no OCB influences that make their way into Ryans. Ryans is the superior chain (despite the financial problems they were apparently having).
_________
Old Country Buffet is about to embark on another of their special featured menus. This time it is focused around fish. Of course, they could not resist in bringing back some of those awful "Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp" favorites. I am assuming this will be replacing the currently featured "Steakhouse Steak", which is as close to a steakhouse steak as a McDonald's hamburger is. Actually, that is not being fair to a McDonald's hamburger - which is better than an OCB steak. The little sign on the table only said starting soon and did not say when. As was done with "Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp" and "Steak, Steak, Steak", I am assuming that "Fish, Fish, Fish" will only be offered on certain nights. (Don't know what nights, yet.)
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In August 2006 I wrote about a restaurant in North Babylon, NY called China Buffet City. I was looking for something different tonight so we took the drive back there. As this is a Friday night we got to see what the Friday/weekend dinner offerings were. My review of August still stands with a few exceptions. We got there at about 7:00 pm and the place was crowded. (A good sign, as the restaurant was near empty on that Tuesday night in August.) We did not have to wait. The restaurant is large. The price is still the same - $13.99 for weekends - which is now equal with most of the other Chinese buffets in this area. The weekday price is still higher at $12.99.
There were weekend additions to the menu. They had crab leg clusters and there were two types of steak. One of the steaks was on the grill bar and was cut pieces of steak. The other steak was on the buffet table and this was called Mongolian Steak. It was broiled, thick slices of beef round with a lot of seasoning on the outside of each piece, including way too much salt. There was a brownish-yellow sauce on the side that I did not try. Other than this nothing else seemed different.
Some of the minor problems still persist. There were more signs identifying dishes, but several of the signs were mis-placed. The Sushi chef was there when we first came in, but half way through the meal he packed up and left, leaving what he had made for the taking, but when that was gone the Sushi was done for the night - and the restaurant was still opened for dinner for almost three more hours. Some of the fried appetizers are a bit over greasy. They are good, but they drip oil (not so good).
While we were there two men were talking about the restaurant and comparing it to East - and that this is not as good. That is true, but it is half the price of East on the weekend. I still recommend China City Buffet. I have not been so happy with the never changing (except for the worst) Grand China Buffet in Farmingdale and this was a pleasant diversion. For the same price on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, the China Buffet City is far better.
_________
Did anyone get a buffet gift certificate for the holidays?
Everyone have a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! See ya in 2007!
_________
Old Country Buffet is about to embark on another of their special featured menus. This time it is focused around fish. Of course, they could not resist in bringing back some of those awful "Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp" favorites. I am assuming this will be replacing the currently featured "Steakhouse Steak", which is as close to a steakhouse steak as a McDonald's hamburger is. Actually, that is not being fair to a McDonald's hamburger - which is better than an OCB steak. The little sign on the table only said starting soon and did not say when. As was done with "Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp" and "Steak, Steak, Steak", I am assuming that "Fish, Fish, Fish" will only be offered on certain nights. (Don't know what nights, yet.)
_______
In August 2006 I wrote about a restaurant in North Babylon, NY called China Buffet City. I was looking for something different tonight so we took the drive back there. As this is a Friday night we got to see what the Friday/weekend dinner offerings were. My review of August still stands with a few exceptions. We got there at about 7:00 pm and the place was crowded. (A good sign, as the restaurant was near empty on that Tuesday night in August.) We did not have to wait. The restaurant is large. The price is still the same - $13.99 for weekends - which is now equal with most of the other Chinese buffets in this area. The weekday price is still higher at $12.99.
There were weekend additions to the menu. They had crab leg clusters and there were two types of steak. One of the steaks was on the grill bar and was cut pieces of steak. The other steak was on the buffet table and this was called Mongolian Steak. It was broiled, thick slices of beef round with a lot of seasoning on the outside of each piece, including way too much salt. There was a brownish-yellow sauce on the side that I did not try. Other than this nothing else seemed different.
Some of the minor problems still persist. There were more signs identifying dishes, but several of the signs were mis-placed. The Sushi chef was there when we first came in, but half way through the meal he packed up and left, leaving what he had made for the taking, but when that was gone the Sushi was done for the night - and the restaurant was still opened for dinner for almost three more hours. Some of the fried appetizers are a bit over greasy. They are good, but they drip oil (not so good).
While we were there two men were talking about the restaurant and comparing it to East - and that this is not as good. That is true, but it is half the price of East on the weekend. I still recommend China City Buffet. I have not been so happy with the never changing (except for the worst) Grand China Buffet in Farmingdale and this was a pleasant diversion. For the same price on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, the China Buffet City is far better.
_________
Did anyone get a buffet gift certificate for the holidays?
Everyone have a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! See ya in 2007!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Golden Buffet, Centereach, New York
Sometimes the story of how we found a buffet is better than the restaurant itself, but in this case both are good. So here is what happened. We wanted to see a certain movie that has been playing around for a few weeks but has now left the local theaters. A search through the newspaper found the movie playing at a multiplex half way through Suffolk County toward the east end of Long Island (you know, the Hamptons, where the actors go to hide - not quite that far, though). It was a trip, but not so far from there is a shopping center and since we have not purchased one Christmas present yet, we decided to head out east. As we were finding the movie theater with the map software, I did a search for restaurants in the area. There were a few diners so we figured we had dinner covered. After leaving the mall and trying a nearby Wal-Mart to find nothing worth buying (not because it was Wal-mart as we got nothing at the mall either), we saw in the shopping center that the Wal-mart is in a Chinese buffet restaurant called Golden Buffet. It was about two and a half hours before the movie and we were still not sure where we were going to eat. We also were not exactly sure where the movie theater was, so we figured we better eat there and then and not have to go searching for both a restaurant and a movie theater. It was Saturday night, so I was not certain just how expensive this buffet could be. Sometimes weekend prices at Chinese buffets get a little out of reason. No matter, we went in.
The restaurant, as stated, is called Golden Buffet and it is located at 1973 Middle Country Road (which happens to be Route 25). It is located in a strip shopping center that has a section that is a small inside mall. Most of the stores inside have been closed, but despite the large window, (locked0 door, and sign for this restaurant facing the parking lot, the entrance is inside the mall. You enter by the mall door to the right of the restaurant's window and the door to the restaurant is just inside to the left, as you follow the restaurants window from outside and around to inside the mall. The restaurant is large with a big dining area with both tables and booths and a large buffet serving area in the rear. There also seemed to be a private party room in the back. There are six large, double-sided buffet tables and one buffet counter along a wall. The decor is modern Oriental and very nice. The tables have the name of the restaurant embedded into them.
The prices are about the going rate - weekdays dinner is $12.95 per adult with children under five feet (an interesting way of deciding - unless a very short adult shows up) are $7.99. Weekend dinner is $13.95 and the same $7.99 for children. There are lunch prices of $6.95 during the week and $7.95 on weekends. The kids lunch price is always $4.99. Unlimited soda is $1.00 per person. The restaurant always opens at 11 am and closes at 10 pm on weekdays and Sunday. It stays open until 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Seating is up to an hour before closing times. There is also take-out buffet by the pound and a regular take-out menu.
They claim that there are over 180 items on the buffet. They also claim that the food is American, Chinese, Italian, and Japanese. With no detraction from the claim, I guess so. Italian was a stretch, but if you consider pizza and grilled sausage to be Italian - then it had Italian. It has so much of a variety that anyone should be happy - even someone who does not like Chinese food.
Let's start with the appetizers, salads, and soup. There were four soups including a special beef soup. The salad buffet server had a variety of Oriental and American prepared salads - some with fish and crab. There were mixed greens and a large variety of vegetable toppings and dressings. On this server there were also large, cold peel and eat cocktail shrimp, raw clams, and raw oysters - oysters are s0mething you do not usually see from a restaurant in this price range. There was also cold rock crab - half large crabs. This all filled one double-sided buffet table. On the side of the room was a serving counter table that included a sushi bar and a large variety of sushi and rolls. The sushi was very good. There was both salmon and tuna on beds of rice, California Rolls, Spicy Salmon Rolls, and vegetable rolls. Sushi was not refilled as often as it should have been - but it was refilled while we were there. (No, I did not become a Sushi Grabber - I made sure NOT to take it all. ) On this counter there were other considerable items that we will come back to later. On a mix of other servers there were a variety of other appetizer type dishes. There were all the usual Chinese appetizers, such as egg rolls, spare ribs, etc. There were baked clams. There were three types of dumplings. And yes, there were crab legs. They were good sized clusters.
The entrees were many and varied. Back on the counter server were two hot carvings. There was a large prime rib and there was a leg of lamb. Both hot and moist under heat lamps with the carving knives and forks out for you to slice your own. Along the buffet tables were a pork roast to be sliced and long rolls of grilled Italian sausage. The pork roast was moist and nicely seasoned. There was salmon and there was an Asian steamed fish. There were many Chinese dishes including chicken with mushrooms. a special steak, Hong Kong Beef (beef chunks in a brown sauce), the usual chicken and broccoli, pepper steak, General Tso's Chicken, roast duck (labeled roast chicken, but it was definately duck, mixed seafood (labeled Shrimp with Lobster Sauce- but it wasn't, however, the shrimp were large and good flavored. They were mixed in with mock crab and squid.), crab meat in cheese, and many other dishes.
Side dishes were as many and as varied as the entrees. There was fried rice and lo mein. There were also several types of potatoes including french fries, chunked potatoes, and a potato stuffed with cheese. There were Chinese stir fry string beans, corn on the cob, and many others.
There was a large double-sided dessert table with the usual "Little Debbie" type cakes. There were a number of canned fruits. There were two jellos and two puddings. There was a variety of fresh fruit and melons. We heard a mother telling her children that they were going to have ice cream, but I looked around and saw no soft serve machine. So if it was there, it was not obvious.
So how was the food? - very, very good. There were many things that struck me as better than the usual buffet. One of them was the egg rolls. I like a good egg roll. Usually egg rolls at Chinese buffets are more wrapper than filling. The ones here were a decent size and full of vegetables and pork. They were very good. Everything that I tried was good. Nothing was such that I would say skip it (well... OK, the spare ribs looked dry and were covered in that sweet red sauce that only seems to show up on spare ribs in Chinese buffet restaurants).
Service was equally good. There were several young Chinese women who traveled around the tables making sure that dishes were picked up promptly and soda was refilled. There are knives at the buffet server. A stack of extra napkins were put down on the table. There were little dishes for sauces on the salad buffet table. Everything was well tended. Food was kept moist and refilled. There is a minor problem with labeling on the buffet, but the majority was correct. The check was brought before we were finished, but that does not really mean anything. (Some might take it as a hint - if it is, too bad.) My wife likes to add some fruit to her last plate, before dessert - and often after that at many Chinese buffets, the check is brought to the table. I think that for some reason that fruit is a signal that we are having dessert - even when we are not and I still have a plate full of entrees. No one says anything, and we go right on eating.
My only regret is that Golden Buffet is over 45 minutes away from me, and with the price of gas it cannot be a regular choice. It is far better than where I usally go. So if you are ever in mid-Suffolk County on Long Island, go over to Golden Buffet in Centereach. It is worth the stop. There is no web site, but the phone number is 631-588-5188. (The movie was good as well.)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to ALL!
The restaurant, as stated, is called Golden Buffet and it is located at 1973 Middle Country Road (which happens to be Route 25). It is located in a strip shopping center that has a section that is a small inside mall. Most of the stores inside have been closed, but despite the large window, (locked0 door, and sign for this restaurant facing the parking lot, the entrance is inside the mall. You enter by the mall door to the right of the restaurant's window and the door to the restaurant is just inside to the left, as you follow the restaurants window from outside and around to inside the mall. The restaurant is large with a big dining area with both tables and booths and a large buffet serving area in the rear. There also seemed to be a private party room in the back. There are six large, double-sided buffet tables and one buffet counter along a wall. The decor is modern Oriental and very nice. The tables have the name of the restaurant embedded into them.
The prices are about the going rate - weekdays dinner is $12.95 per adult with children under five feet (an interesting way of deciding - unless a very short adult shows up) are $7.99. Weekend dinner is $13.95 and the same $7.99 for children. There are lunch prices of $6.95 during the week and $7.95 on weekends. The kids lunch price is always $4.99. Unlimited soda is $1.00 per person. The restaurant always opens at 11 am and closes at 10 pm on weekdays and Sunday. It stays open until 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Seating is up to an hour before closing times. There is also take-out buffet by the pound and a regular take-out menu.
They claim that there are over 180 items on the buffet. They also claim that the food is American, Chinese, Italian, and Japanese. With no detraction from the claim, I guess so. Italian was a stretch, but if you consider pizza and grilled sausage to be Italian - then it had Italian. It has so much of a variety that anyone should be happy - even someone who does not like Chinese food.
Let's start with the appetizers, salads, and soup. There were four soups including a special beef soup. The salad buffet server had a variety of Oriental and American prepared salads - some with fish and crab. There were mixed greens and a large variety of vegetable toppings and dressings. On this server there were also large, cold peel and eat cocktail shrimp, raw clams, and raw oysters - oysters are s0mething you do not usually see from a restaurant in this price range. There was also cold rock crab - half large crabs. This all filled one double-sided buffet table. On the side of the room was a serving counter table that included a sushi bar and a large variety of sushi and rolls. The sushi was very good. There was both salmon and tuna on beds of rice, California Rolls, Spicy Salmon Rolls, and vegetable rolls. Sushi was not refilled as often as it should have been - but it was refilled while we were there. (No, I did not become a Sushi Grabber - I made sure NOT to take it all. ) On this counter there were other considerable items that we will come back to later. On a mix of other servers there were a variety of other appetizer type dishes. There were all the usual Chinese appetizers, such as egg rolls, spare ribs, etc. There were baked clams. There were three types of dumplings. And yes, there were crab legs. They were good sized clusters.
The entrees were many and varied. Back on the counter server were two hot carvings. There was a large prime rib and there was a leg of lamb. Both hot and moist under heat lamps with the carving knives and forks out for you to slice your own. Along the buffet tables were a pork roast to be sliced and long rolls of grilled Italian sausage. The pork roast was moist and nicely seasoned. There was salmon and there was an Asian steamed fish. There were many Chinese dishes including chicken with mushrooms. a special steak, Hong Kong Beef (beef chunks in a brown sauce), the usual chicken and broccoli, pepper steak, General Tso's Chicken, roast duck (labeled roast chicken, but it was definately duck, mixed seafood (labeled Shrimp with Lobster Sauce- but it wasn't, however, the shrimp were large and good flavored. They were mixed in with mock crab and squid.), crab meat in cheese, and many other dishes.
Side dishes were as many and as varied as the entrees. There was fried rice and lo mein. There were also several types of potatoes including french fries, chunked potatoes, and a potato stuffed with cheese. There were Chinese stir fry string beans, corn on the cob, and many others.
There was a large double-sided dessert table with the usual "Little Debbie" type cakes. There were a number of canned fruits. There were two jellos and two puddings. There was a variety of fresh fruit and melons. We heard a mother telling her children that they were going to have ice cream, but I looked around and saw no soft serve machine. So if it was there, it was not obvious.
So how was the food? - very, very good. There were many things that struck me as better than the usual buffet. One of them was the egg rolls. I like a good egg roll. Usually egg rolls at Chinese buffets are more wrapper than filling. The ones here were a decent size and full of vegetables and pork. They were very good. Everything that I tried was good. Nothing was such that I would say skip it (well... OK, the spare ribs looked dry and were covered in that sweet red sauce that only seems to show up on spare ribs in Chinese buffet restaurants).
Service was equally good. There were several young Chinese women who traveled around the tables making sure that dishes were picked up promptly and soda was refilled. There are knives at the buffet server. A stack of extra napkins were put down on the table. There were little dishes for sauces on the salad buffet table. Everything was well tended. Food was kept moist and refilled. There is a minor problem with labeling on the buffet, but the majority was correct. The check was brought before we were finished, but that does not really mean anything. (Some might take it as a hint - if it is, too bad.) My wife likes to add some fruit to her last plate, before dessert - and often after that at many Chinese buffets, the check is brought to the table. I think that for some reason that fruit is a signal that we are having dessert - even when we are not and I still have a plate full of entrees. No one says anything, and we go right on eating.
My only regret is that Golden Buffet is over 45 minutes away from me, and with the price of gas it cannot be a regular choice. It is far better than where I usally go. So if you are ever in mid-Suffolk County on Long Island, go over to Golden Buffet in Centereach. It is worth the stop. There is no web site, but the phone number is 631-588-5188. (The movie was good as well.)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to ALL!
Friday, December 15, 2006
The Lobster Grabbers Converted
We have not been to the China Grand Buffet in
The now, Sushi Grabbers like to fill entire plates as serving dishes. There are only two of them but they fill several plates and put it out in front of themselves, in addition to their own plates full of food. As I have pointed out before, this is incredibly rude, wasteful, and inconsiderate of every other diner in the restaurant. They, apparently, have no concern or thought for anyone but themselves. (I often feel this is a New York phenomenon - but perhaps you in the rest of the country will tell me that it happens every where. I generally find people outside of NY nicer.)
The Sushi Grabbers are not so unusual, unfortunately. I have seen this other times at other restaurants. People decide that they need to fill plates of one item and bring it to the table. Often the plates are almost as full when they decide to go and fill plates with dessert as when they started the meal. The plates of food are left and thrown out as the table is cleaned. For everyone else, all of the chicken is gone; all of the french fries are gone; etc. Terribly rude! It also send sends a message to the restaurant - too much is being taken too quickly and prices are need to go up.
One day I am going to make up a card to hand out to people like this at buffets. It will have the address of this site and say, "Come read the RULES". I would just say, "Take a look. You might find this interesting." And I would smile - no sense in getting punched in the nose for a piece of sushi or chicken. If anyone else would like to make such a card and use it, be my guest. I am sure that you have all seen and encountered your share of Lobster/Sushi/Chicken/Shrimp Grabbers. Let us know what you have seen by posting a comment.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Buffet Employee of the Year
I had never thought of a buffet employee of the year until the other night when we were dining at the Ryan's in Fredericksburg, Virginia. (Yes, we were on the road again.) We got into the restaurant late on Monday night - late, because this particular Ryan's changed it's hours. They close now at 8:30 on weeknights (since the end of November according to the sign on the door). We arrived at 7:30pm as we were driving north.
We got to the cashier and there was no one there. It took a short while to be noticed and then a young lady came over to the cash register. We were seated and I looked around the restaurant to see that there were not many there - which is probably why they have shortened their hours. A trip to the soup area was an indication that I should not put much hope in the evening's dining experience. They have really good chicken noodle soup with thick noodles. The soup was just about at the bottom of the server - and in the last hour was not likely to be refilled. There was enough soup for my wife and I to each have a quarter bowl. Looking around, most serving trays seemed full enough, so perhaps there was no need for concern.
I finished my soup and headed to the grill for what I still consider to be the best chain buffet steak. I asked the young gentleman at the grill for a steak medium rare. He looked at me and and said that all he had was well done, but he had a steak on the grill that would be ready in ten minutes. Great. I told him that I would be back. I filled my plate with some of the other good entrees on the buffet and returned to our table.
More customers were coming in - and by now it was near 8:00pm. The restaurant was far from full but now had a decent number of diners for a Monday night. I noticed three waiting by the grill. I finished my plate and headed back to the grill - the ten minutes were just about up. As I approached the grill, the same young man had just served a man in front of me a piece of steak. I got up to the grill and asked for a steak medium rare. He looked at me and then with recognition told me that he had just given that steak away. He apologized, but made no offer to make another one. I said, ok - what did he have? He told me that all he had was very well done. I took it.
I returned to my table a bit peeved. I was not going to make an issue because I realized that we arrived an hour before closing and we were probably lucky to be eating there at all. I told my wife what had happened. I poured steak sauce on the plate in an attempt to soften the meat and started eating the very well done steak. I thought about the comments that have been posted on this site about not going to buffets late when they are about to close.
Now, what happened next was remarkable for a buffet restaurant employee. The young man from the grill walked over to our table carrying a plate. He stopped and asked me if I still wanted a steak medium rare. He held out the plate with the steak on it. Wow! He told me that he felt badly that I had not gotten the steak that I had asked for earlier and he made this one just for me. I smiled and told him that I absolutely wanted it. He handed me the plate went back to the grill with both of us smiling. This unidentified young man is my buffet employee of the year. Any place else, anyone else would have just cleaned off the grill for the night and give no thought to a disappointed customer. Not only did this young man go out of his way to make me a happy patron of the restaurant, but a short while later he walked back to the table and asked if it was ok. I said yes, and he gave a big thumbs up. He returned to the grill area and started to clean and close down the grill for the night.
Perhaps you have encountered a buffet employee who has gone way beyond what was necessary to make a customer happy. If you have let us know!
We got to the cashier and there was no one there. It took a short while to be noticed and then a young lady came over to the cash register. We were seated and I looked around the restaurant to see that there were not many there - which is probably why they have shortened their hours. A trip to the soup area was an indication that I should not put much hope in the evening's dining experience. They have really good chicken noodle soup with thick noodles. The soup was just about at the bottom of the server - and in the last hour was not likely to be refilled. There was enough soup for my wife and I to each have a quarter bowl. Looking around, most serving trays seemed full enough, so perhaps there was no need for concern.
I finished my soup and headed to the grill for what I still consider to be the best chain buffet steak. I asked the young gentleman at the grill for a steak medium rare. He looked at me and and said that all he had was well done, but he had a steak on the grill that would be ready in ten minutes. Great. I told him that I would be back. I filled my plate with some of the other good entrees on the buffet and returned to our table.
More customers were coming in - and by now it was near 8:00pm. The restaurant was far from full but now had a decent number of diners for a Monday night. I noticed three waiting by the grill. I finished my plate and headed back to the grill - the ten minutes were just about up. As I approached the grill, the same young man had just served a man in front of me a piece of steak. I got up to the grill and asked for a steak medium rare. He looked at me and then with recognition told me that he had just given that steak away. He apologized, but made no offer to make another one. I said, ok - what did he have? He told me that all he had was very well done. I took it.
I returned to my table a bit peeved. I was not going to make an issue because I realized that we arrived an hour before closing and we were probably lucky to be eating there at all. I told my wife what had happened. I poured steak sauce on the plate in an attempt to soften the meat and started eating the very well done steak. I thought about the comments that have been posted on this site about not going to buffets late when they are about to close.
Now, what happened next was remarkable for a buffet restaurant employee. The young man from the grill walked over to our table carrying a plate. He stopped and asked me if I still wanted a steak medium rare. He held out the plate with the steak on it. Wow! He told me that he felt badly that I had not gotten the steak that I had asked for earlier and he made this one just for me. I smiled and told him that I absolutely wanted it. He handed me the plate went back to the grill with both of us smiling. This unidentified young man is my buffet employee of the year. Any place else, anyone else would have just cleaned off the grill for the night and give no thought to a disappointed customer. Not only did this young man go out of his way to make me a happy patron of the restaurant, but a short while later he walked back to the table and asked if it was ok. I said yes, and he gave a big thumbs up. He returned to the grill area and started to clean and close down the grill for the night.
Perhaps you have encountered a buffet employee who has gone way beyond what was necessary to make a customer happy. If you have let us know!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Shields Tavern, Colonial Williamsburg, VA
I am in Virginia again and I am going to tell you about an all you can eat experience that I also wrote about this past September. I am purposely not looking back at that article so that I may give this restaurant a fresh review for the second time around. If I repeat myself...- it is worth reading it again. We dined at Shields Tavern tonight and had their special groaning board feast dinner. This is one of the best kept secrets in Colonial Williamsburg. It is easy to find out about this restaurant, but almost impossible to find out about this special dinner. It is not on their website. It is not in their advertising literature. It is not on any sign. How did we find it? By chance when making reservations, the dinner was mentioned when we asked if there were any reservations available for this special holiday weekend. Now, you may ask - what holiday weekend? Go ahead, ask - Ok. In Colonial Williamsburg this is the hottest weekend of the year - not in temperature but in popularity. This is Grand Illumination. A weekend of Christmas activities that come to an explosive crescendo on Sunday night when fireworks fill the sky in three areas of the historic city.
The special dinner is served on Friday nights during the summer months and, apparently now, on Friday night of Grand Illumination Weekend. This is a reserved seating dinner and advanced reservations are required. You cannot just walk up to the door and expect to get in. Let me first explain that this restaurant is part of the museum. It is a rebuilt 18th Century building on its original foundation. It is authentically decorated as it was when it operated as a tavern in 1760 - a tavern then was a like a hotel today. You could eat, drink, and sleep there. Today, at Shields Tavern you can eat and drink. When the special dinner is not being served this is a counter service sandwich restaurant during the day and an alcohol lounge in the evening. At one time not so long ago it was a full service restaurant all of the time. Now the only full meals served here are this special dinner.
The dinner costs $29.00 per adult and $13.00 per child. It includes a beverage of coffee, tea, ice tea, or lemonade. This is an all you care to eat dining experience. The food is served to you at your table and every platter is refillable at your request.
The meal starts with salad. This was a mixed greens and tomatoes salad served in a large serving bowl and covered in a special malt vinegar dressing. The dressing was wonderful - sweet and salty at the same time. Unfortunately, it was so good that I had two bowls of salad. Why unfortunately - well, without realizing it at the moment, the salad filled me up. At our table for two, we had enough salad for four plus. With the salad, you are brought of a basket of rolls. There is home churned butter on the table when you sit down. The ever present server comes by when you look like you have had your fill of salad and politely asks if you are ready for the main servings.
You are now brought a ten inch cast iron frying pan filled with slices of roast turkey covered in a thick, rich turkey gravy, real mashed potatoes, and a savory bread stuffing. You are also brought a metal platter full of sliced Virginia ham, string beans, and stewed peaches, pears, and prunes. You are ALSO brought a kettle of stew - tonight it was braised beef in a wine sauce with vegetables. You serve yourself, or each other, from the platters on the dish that the table was set with. There is also a bowl for your salad.
All of the food is excellent. The Virginia ham is not what you might expect in Virginia. It is not the Virginia salt ham, but a mildly flavored sliced ham. The turkey slices are thick and fresh. The gravy was on the salty side, but very good. I enjoyed the stew. My picky wife does not like anything that has wine on it, so she tried a bit, but left the rest for me. I asked for a second kettle to be brought. As the platters are emptied you ask for more of whatever you would like or more of everything. The server is there so you do not have to wait so long to ask for more that you do not want it anymore (as happens at some other restaurants where you must rely upon the server to get you more). There was so much - especially after the second kettle of stew and the second fry pan of turkey, potatoes, and stuffing - that I broke the rule and ate more than I really should have. It was good - and perhaps it was the two bowls of salad, but I was more than full. I was even a bit uncomfortable - which is really not a good way to be - especially since dessert was still to come.
When you have decided that you have eaten all that you care to eat you are asked which dessert you would like. I do believe you could get both of the two choices if you really want them. The desserts are pumpkin bread pudding covered in a sweet custard and a fruit cobbler which tonight was apple with blueberries, and this, too, is covered with the same sweet custard sauce. The pumpkin bread pudding is more of a pudding than bread. It was not too sweet and very good. The cobbler was a biscuit on top of lightly cooked fruit. I tried the pumpkin and my wife tried the cobbler. I could only finish half of the large portion, as I was full before dessert arrived. (But you will note that I did manage to get down half.)
While we were dining there was a server in the corner of the room playing 18th Century tunes on a recorder. During dinner there are two visitors. One is a strolling musician who will entertain the room with a few songs. Tonight in our dining room it was a gentleman with a fiddle. Stamp your feet! Sing along! Or just enjoy the music. No matter what it is polite to stop dinner conversation and eating while the musician plays. You also will be visited by Mr. James Shields, the 18th Century proprietor of the tavern. This costumed, first=person interpreter talks to each table and the room. He will make small talk, ask where you are from, and talk in general about whatever comes to mind. This character interpreter is one of Colonial Williamsburg's longest working interpreters. He was part of the original pilot program of first person interpretation many years ago. He remains an excellent interpreter and a very amiable fellow - especially with children. It is always a delight when he enters the room.
So for $29.00 plus tax and tip you get an excellent all you care to eat SIT DOWN dinner and entertainment. No so bad for a vacation evening or special occasion.
Like Glockamora, the special meal fades into the mist and is gone until it appears again. (If you do not know the reference, look up the play (or movie), "Brigadoon") If you plan to be in this area call the Colonial Williamsburg reservation line - you can find it from 800-HISTORY - and ask if the Shields Special all you can eat dinner is being served, If it is make a reservation and enjoy!
The special dinner is served on Friday nights during the summer months and, apparently now, on Friday night of Grand Illumination Weekend. This is a reserved seating dinner and advanced reservations are required. You cannot just walk up to the door and expect to get in. Let me first explain that this restaurant is part of the museum. It is a rebuilt 18th Century building on its original foundation. It is authentically decorated as it was when it operated as a tavern in 1760 - a tavern then was a like a hotel today. You could eat, drink, and sleep there. Today, at Shields Tavern you can eat and drink. When the special dinner is not being served this is a counter service sandwich restaurant during the day and an alcohol lounge in the evening. At one time not so long ago it was a full service restaurant all of the time. Now the only full meals served here are this special dinner.
The dinner costs $29.00 per adult and $13.00 per child. It includes a beverage of coffee, tea, ice tea, or lemonade. This is an all you care to eat dining experience. The food is served to you at your table and every platter is refillable at your request.
The meal starts with salad. This was a mixed greens and tomatoes salad served in a large serving bowl and covered in a special malt vinegar dressing. The dressing was wonderful - sweet and salty at the same time. Unfortunately, it was so good that I had two bowls of salad. Why unfortunately - well, without realizing it at the moment, the salad filled me up. At our table for two, we had enough salad for four plus. With the salad, you are brought of a basket of rolls. There is home churned butter on the table when you sit down. The ever present server comes by when you look like you have had your fill of salad and politely asks if you are ready for the main servings.
You are now brought a ten inch cast iron frying pan filled with slices of roast turkey covered in a thick, rich turkey gravy, real mashed potatoes, and a savory bread stuffing. You are also brought a metal platter full of sliced Virginia ham, string beans, and stewed peaches, pears, and prunes. You are ALSO brought a kettle of stew - tonight it was braised beef in a wine sauce with vegetables. You serve yourself, or each other, from the platters on the dish that the table was set with. There is also a bowl for your salad.
All of the food is excellent. The Virginia ham is not what you might expect in Virginia. It is not the Virginia salt ham, but a mildly flavored sliced ham. The turkey slices are thick and fresh. The gravy was on the salty side, but very good. I enjoyed the stew. My picky wife does not like anything that has wine on it, so she tried a bit, but left the rest for me. I asked for a second kettle to be brought. As the platters are emptied you ask for more of whatever you would like or more of everything. The server is there so you do not have to wait so long to ask for more that you do not want it anymore (as happens at some other restaurants where you must rely upon the server to get you more). There was so much - especially after the second kettle of stew and the second fry pan of turkey, potatoes, and stuffing - that I broke the rule and ate more than I really should have. It was good - and perhaps it was the two bowls of salad, but I was more than full. I was even a bit uncomfortable - which is really not a good way to be - especially since dessert was still to come.
When you have decided that you have eaten all that you care to eat you are asked which dessert you would like. I do believe you could get both of the two choices if you really want them. The desserts are pumpkin bread pudding covered in a sweet custard and a fruit cobbler which tonight was apple with blueberries, and this, too, is covered with the same sweet custard sauce. The pumpkin bread pudding is more of a pudding than bread. It was not too sweet and very good. The cobbler was a biscuit on top of lightly cooked fruit. I tried the pumpkin and my wife tried the cobbler. I could only finish half of the large portion, as I was full before dessert arrived. (But you will note that I did manage to get down half.)
While we were dining there was a server in the corner of the room playing 18th Century tunes on a recorder. During dinner there are two visitors. One is a strolling musician who will entertain the room with a few songs. Tonight in our dining room it was a gentleman with a fiddle. Stamp your feet! Sing along! Or just enjoy the music. No matter what it is polite to stop dinner conversation and eating while the musician plays. You also will be visited by Mr. James Shields, the 18th Century proprietor of the tavern. This costumed, first=person interpreter talks to each table and the room. He will make small talk, ask where you are from, and talk in general about whatever comes to mind. This character interpreter is one of Colonial Williamsburg's longest working interpreters. He was part of the original pilot program of first person interpretation many years ago. He remains an excellent interpreter and a very amiable fellow - especially with children. It is always a delight when he enters the room.
So for $29.00 plus tax and tip you get an excellent all you care to eat SIT DOWN dinner and entertainment. No so bad for a vacation evening or special occasion.
Like Glockamora, the special meal fades into the mist and is gone until it appears again. (If you do not know the reference, look up the play (or movie), "Brigadoon") If you plan to be in this area call the Colonial Williamsburg reservation line - you can find it from 800-HISTORY - and ask if the Shields Special all you can eat dinner is being served, If it is make a reservation and enjoy!
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