Royal Fork Buffet - Mount Vernon, Washington

I am always searching for buffet restaurants and I often find ones that chances are I will never get to because of their location - but not everyone who reads this site is on the East Coast of the United States and some of my readers have asked about buffets in other parts of the country. Whenever I find one I want to pass it along. Despite the historic association of the name of the location of this buffet, it is not in Virginia, but in the State of Washington, completely across the country.

Now, as always, when I have not been to a buffet myself, I let you know right up front that I have no personal experience with this restaurant. I have never been to the Royal Fork Buffet and it is probably unlikely that I will get to the State of Washington. But this is our West Coast readers and this one does look interesting.

The Royal Fork Buffet is located in Mount Vernon, Washington in the Skagit Valley. The buffet has been in business for 17 years. This restaurant appears to be a part of a chain of Roayl Fork Buffet restaurants with other locations that I have found elsewhere in Washington, North Dakota, Idaho, Alaska, and Alberta, Canada. As this restauant's web site makes no mention of other restaurants I cannot verify this, nor can I find details on these other locations - other than addresses on a variety of restaurant listings. Generally a chain, especially one with a number of locations across several states and crossing into Canada has its own web site for the chain - I cannot find anything like that for Royal Fork. Only this particular Royal Fork Buffet has its own web site.

I can not tell you about the prices but the restaurant is open seven days a week. They serve lunch from Monday to Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm. Dinner from Monday to Thursdays is to 8:00 pm and on Friday and Saturday to 8:30 pm. On Sundays dinner is served from 11:30 am to 8:00 pm - and on Sundays there is a breakfast buffet from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. There are special prices for children and seniors - and on their web site there is a coupon for money off dinner or breakfast for adults.

The restaurant has eight food lines. The menu changes daily with different offerings at lunch and dinner. There are some good things on the menu on various nights including bbq spare ribs, Swedish meatballs, chicken and dumplings, fish and chips, sausage and peppers, Polish sausage and suerkraut, country fried steak, meatloaf, poached whitefish, fajitas, shrimp scampi, and baked salmon. Also scattered through the days are the usual roast beef, fried chicken, spagetti, roast chicken, baked ham, etc. There is a complete salad bar, an assortment of vegetables and desserts to go with the meal. There is also a different soup every day.

There is also something on the menu each day that sets this buffet apart from all of the rest. Breakfast on Saturdays and all day dinner on Sundays include Belgium Waffles. These are very large and thick waffles topped with your choice of fruits, whipped cream, and other toppings. At these meals there is a Belgium Waffle Bar for you to top your waffles. When I first looked at the menu for this restaurant I thought that the waffles were included at every meal - which would have been a real treat, but they are there for dinner on Sunday. That makes Sunday dinner dessert a real treat!

The restaurant is located at 2300 Freeway Drive, Mount Vernon, Washington 98273. The phone number is (360)424-4044. There is a web site and a link may be found at the side of this page. The web site details the menu for each day for each meal.

If you have ever been to the Royal Forks Buffet in Mount Vernon, Washington please leave a comment and share your experience with all of us. If you know about other Royal Forks Buffet restaurants, please let us know about those too!

New Seafood Feature Menu at Golden Corral

Golden Corral is a very smart company. While Old Country Buffet/Buffets, Inc. struggles, Golden Corral has a national television advertising campaign to get out the word that they have a new "limited time" feature menu - "The Great American Seafood Tour". Smart folks at Golden Corral are doing something to bring in business during this economic period when restaurants across the country are reporting a drop in business.

I have not yet been to a Golden Corral for the Seafood Tour, but hope to before this feature is over. The feature includes what they are calling "all of your seafood favorites". These are Crunchy Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp, Hand-made Maryland Style Crab Cakes, and All American Hand Battered Fried Fillets of Fish.

A similar feature was offered this past summer and I did have an opportunity to try it. As I wrote in my article in August 2008, the fish on that feature at Golden Corral was very good. At that time there were the crab cakes and two different fried fish. As I wrote at the time the only thing I questioned was whether the crab in the crab cakes was real crab or the "krab" substitute. I am not certain that a restaurant can call something crab if it is not.

As then and I am sure now, this has got to beat Old Country Buffet's "Seafood Fridays" hands down. There is nothing special about the OCB Seafood Friday's buffet offerings. And the seafood that is there is not that good. Just looking at the television commercial depiction of the Crunchy Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp is enticing. It makes me want to figure out an excuse to travel the 160 miles to the nearest Golden Corral.

If you are near a Golden Corral go in for the Seafood Tour. Come back here and leave a comment to tell us all about it.

On a side note - while writing this article I went to the Golden Corral website to check on the Golden Corral in Lebanon, PA that I wrote about in August 2008 in The Mystery of the Golden Corral. Well, the mystery deepens - the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Golden Corral is no longer on the list. It appears to have disappeared - AGAIN. As I jokingly wrote, ending that article - it has faded again into the mist.

Buffet Europa, North Brunswick, New Jersy - A Hidden Treasure

I am always looking for unique buffets and buffets that feature international cuisines that are not primarily Asian. I recently did an internet search for buffets in a particular area of New Jersey that I would be visiting. Usually when I do these searches I find little to nothing. On this one occasion a name caught my attention - Buffet Europa. I went to the website to find the description of a buffet featuring European cuisine. I poked around the website and the more that I saw and read the more intrigued I became. I even found a coupon good from Monday to Friday. There was no hesitation to decide that this buffet was getting a visit.

Finding Buffet Europa, located in the town of North Brunswick, New Jersey, was not difficult but it is hidden from the main road that it is nearest to - US Route One. The restaurant is located in a very small shopping area of just a few stores. The shopping center is called Aaron Plaza and it is located just off Route 1 on Aaron Road. You cannot see this shopping center from US 1 and if you ride this road everyday it is likely that you have past this restaurant many times and never know it is there. Cross streets are well labeled on US 1 so when you get to Aaron Road - coming from the north it is just a few miles south of where Route 18 crosses US 1 - you turn right and then immediately left into the shopping center. The best landmark - as if it will help - is an Exxon Station on the corner. If you have a GPS in your car put in the address and it will take you right to the door - which is how I found it.

In the parking lot and driving up to the restaurant what you will see is a single storefront with a large sign above - Buffet Europa. From the outside this is nothing that you might expect if you are a frequent buffet goer. Once inside the restaurant is not much bigger. But let me say right now, that big things come in small packages. We were greeted enthusiastically as we walked in by a young woman who welcomed us as if we were coming to a party at her home and told us that we may sit at any table we wished. The restaurant is small - there are just 16 tables total. Five of those tables are booths and the rest are tables and chairs with two of the tables able to seat large groups and all of the tables for four able to be moved together to accommodate any number. The room is very nicely decorated with crystal lighting fixtures on the walls, a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the dining room and very simple but elegant European decor. It is also nicely carpeted. Each table has a white table cloth covered by a clear plastic cover. On each table is a very nice flower arrangement in a vase. There is soft background music playing in the dining room. Its opera instrumentals and it fits so perfectly with the atmosphere. At the end of the room is one double buffet server - half hot and half cold, with a counter behind that with soup, a soda dispenser, a dessert area, a single carving station, and plates and extra utensils. Each table is set with silverware and plenty of paper napkins nicely arranged in a holder. (It is evident that at one time in the past this was a Chinese restaurant - perhaps even a Chinese buffet - as there is an oriental, etched glass window set into the front wall.)

We visited on a Friday night at about 6:30. There were five tables full at the time. Through the night other tables filled as diners came and went. I think this restaurant is not well known, because if it was it should certainly have had many more diners. The price is a bit high compared to the "chain" buffets but there really is no comparison. The food that is served here is - how should I put it? - real restaurant food, and not the mass cooked buffet fare that is often encountered. The price of the buffet dinner is $15.99 per person, six nights per week. There is a children's price but I do not know what it is. Families with children are welcome. Dress is casual. The restaurant is open from 11 am to 9 pm, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sundays for private parties and catering. There is also a menu to order from and if you would like to take the buffet out, it costs $5.99 per pound (which is a very good price for a takeout buffet). The price of the buffet is all inclusive and there is no additional charge for beverages which include Pepsi products and real ice tea.

When I see one buffet server, I have apprehension. Here this one double server held more than enough variety to please anyone. The cuisine as the name implies is European and all of the dishes are from different countries in Europe with an emphasis on Polish and Italian. According to the website, Friday is Polish Night and Saturday is Italian Night. On this Friday night there were several Polish dishes and there was Italian there as well, along with other European dishes.

As we usually do, we started with the soup. There were two soups offered. One was a chicken rice soup and the other was seafood bisque. My wife tried the chicken rice and I tried the bisque. I tasted her soup before I tasted mine. This is chicken rice soup with a the taste of chicken rice soup in a fine restaurant. This was nicely flavored soup and not just chicken broth with rice tossed in. I am going to use this word a lot in this review - excellent! The fish bisque was wonderful as well. It was a thin bisque but it was loaded with large chunks of fish. The taste again was excellent. Right from the start of this meal we were both very impressed.

About a third of the buffet server is a salad bar. There was a variety of greens to choose from or mix together and very fine toppings to create a salad including several types of hot peppers, pickled vegetables, Greek olives, black olives, grape tomatoes and more. There were a variety of dressings. There were also prepared salads including coleslaw, cucumbers in cream (I have had this in German restaurants), and tuna salad. There was a tray of dinner rolls here as well. There was enough to make a wonderful salad. There was also a cut up melon assortment.

When I visit a new restaurant (new to me) I have a small salad selection so that I can try more of the entrees. I am glad that I left room. There were a number of entrees and side dishes. Each tray that was out was a half tray so there was plenty of room for a variety to be put out - and it was. Each item is clearly labeled. I will go through what was there and then tell you about what we tried. There was potato and cheese perogies (with sour cream on the side), chicken francaise, cheese blintzes,rice with vegetables, grilled vegetables, fried whiting fish, poached whole fish (perhaps blue fish or sea bass), vodka penne, mashed potatoes, BBQ small spareribs, stuffed cabbage with beef and rice, Swedish meatballs, and kielbasi. At the carving station was a roast pork loin.

I tried everything except the fried whiting fish and the only reason that I did not try that was that the portions were so large that taking one would have prevented me from be able to have room in my stomach to eat other things that I wanted to try. Each piece of fish was a fried triangle that would fill half a plate. I was very tempted though because it looked real good. Again, each item served was fine dining quality. Every tray of food was properly kept at the correct temperature and nothing was allowed to dry out. When trays came just close to needing to be refilled more came out. In fact, there was one whole poached fish and soon two more were in the tray. I liked everything that I tasted. The chicken francaise was better than we both have had at any restaurant in a long time. This is chicken that is coated and fried in an egg batter and then sauteed in wine and butter. Wonderful! The perogies were moist and light with a great taste. The cheese blintzes were not the rolls that are found in the supermarket freezer but light little, light pancakes folded flat around a layer of cottage-like cheese and covered with powder sugar - in the tray with a light butter sauce that was just enough to keep these little sweet treats moist. The grilled vegetables, which were different types of squash, onion, and zucchini, were nicely grilled, charred yet moist and in a light sauce that seemed to have a soy sauce base. The taste was very, very good. The rice was equally good with a mixture of chopped vegetables mixed in and nicely seasoned. The poached fish was very nice. I am not much of a whole fish eater and I there are a limited number of types of fish that I personally enjoy. This fish was not one that I have tried before. Someone who is a more enthusiastic fish eater than I will love this fish. The vodka penne was in a thick cream vodka sauce. There was not an overpowering taste of the vodka which is just right for this dish. The mashed potatoes were freshly mashed potatoes with a good flavor. The BBQ ribs were small chunks of ribs in a rich, tomato barbecue sauce. The meat was tender and came easily off the bones. The stuffed cabbage were small rolls of cabbage leaves filled with chopped beef and rice. They were good. I have not had kielbasi in many years - I once had a Polish girlfriend many years ago. The kielbasi here was just as I remember her mother serving.

You may have noticed that I did not tell you about the Swedish meatballs. They deserve their own paragraph. Swedish meatballs are small meatballs that are cooked in a brown cream sauce. Swedish meatballs at Buffet Europa were excellent! The sauce is what makes them special. It is a piquant sauce that enticed you to eat more of it. After the meatballs were gone from my plate I was scooping up the sauce. We more than enjoyed everything that we ate - we both commented to each other about the Swedish meatballs - and the sauce (and remember, my picky eater wife does not generally eat things covered in sauces).

As I said earlier, the carving this night was roast pork. It was a large roasted piece of meat. It is out with a carving knife and serving fork for you to carve yourself. The meat was tender and moist. There was not much fat, but enough to give flavor. There was a thin au jus gravy in an gravy server next to the meat. Again, this was roast pork that you would expect to be served in a fine restaurant.

I tried not to overeat, but everything was just too tempting and the flavor of each dish tried was such that I wanted to have more. I managed to save a little room for dessert.

The dessert area is small but there is a nice assortment of very fine baked goods. There was what I believe was tiramisu - large pieces, pre-cut on dessert plates. (This is one of their specialties so I am pretty certain that is what this cake was.) My wife tried a chocolate and yellow, marbled pound cake and brownies with chocolate frosting. I tried a square of crumb cake that was thick with crumbs over a nice yellow cake. I also tried the rice pudding with cinnamon sprinkled on top which was very good. There was also cheese cake. Scattered around the counter were Hershey's chocolate kisses. I had a long drive ahead of me to get home so I was not going to over do dessert. Dessert was not disappointing.

As we were eating it became apparent that there are just two people working at this restaurant - both I believe are the owners. The young lady who greeted us at the door was also the person clearing our dishes from our table, tending the buffet server, and interacting with the tables around the room. A gentleman came out from the back who looked equally in charge and he, and the young lady, are doing the cooking. According to a review of this restaurant, they cook all day to get ready for dinner. And they are cooking continually to make sure everything that is put out is fresh. Everything is homemade. There was no drawback to there being just the two of them. The food was continually put out. Our empty dishes were whisked away from our table each time we went back up to the buffet server for more. On top of everything this restaurant is spotless - everywhere.

The restaurant opened 15 months ago. It should be better known. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is excellent, and this buffet is truly unique in a buffet world of Asian cuisine and American country cooking. They seem to be trying to get the word out with increased advertising and they do offer coupons to bring the meal price down. We saved 20% off the check with the internet coupon from their website. When this hidden treasure gets noticed, it may be hard to get in the next time - and for me, there will definitely be a next time (though I am almost two hours from where this restaurant is located with two large bridge tolls to pay).

I highly recommend Buffet Europa. You will not be sorry. If you live in New Jersey or are traveling through the Brunswick area of New Jersey (not far from Manhattan) this unique buffet is a must. This is a buffet of European home-style cooking at its finest! In fact, this little buffet may become our Best Buffet of 2009. I was that impressed.

Buffet Europa is located at 1000 Arron Road, North Brunswick, New Jersey 08902. Their telephone number is 732-940-1122. They do have a website and the link is listed at the side of this page. Remember that they close at 9:00 pm and they are not opened on Sundays (unless you want to book the whole restaurant for a party).

Return to Makkoli Japanese Seafood Buffet - East Brunswick, New Jersey

It is a year later and we returned to the area of New Jersey where the Garden State Expo Center is for our annual visit to a trade show. My first thought of where to eat after the show was to return to Makkoli. I also found out about another new buffet in the area with a unique theme. I printed out information to find both before we left home. When it was time for dinner on this Saturday night, I decided that Makkoli was calling to me to come back for a second visit. (There is another trade show coming up in the same center and I will save this new buffet for that trip.)

If you read my first article (2/22/08) about Makkoli Japanese Seafood Buffet, located in East Brunswick, New Jersey, you will see that we had quite a hard time finding it. It is located in a small shopping center on a very busy main highway route. The restaurant is located in the back of the shopping center and not visible from the road. I was all prepared this time with a new dashboard GPS, but when I entered the exact address the device told me it did not exist. I checked the listed restaurants in East Brunswick it was not listed. With a last attempt I searched the name of the restaurant and it appeared! So Makkoli is well known enough to be included on, at least this, gps device. The directions guided us directly to the parking lot. When we arrived we did see that there is a sign now for the restaurant on the block of signs for the shopping center - it is the second from the top, but once you see the sign you will have passed the restauant and need to turn around - and on this road that is not an easy thing to do as you must go on to the next left turn circle and then travel back, passing the restaurant, to another left turn circle so that you may get back in the right direction to get to there again.

Happily, we were there and we entered to find that this restaurant was very busy at 6:30 pm on a Saturday night. There was a short wait in the small lobby area for a table. The restaurant was crowded with diners. Most of the people eatting were Asian, most likely Japanese, and there were many tables filled with large groups. These large groups of families and/or friends continued to come in throughout the time that we were there.

As I reviewed this restaurant very throughly a year ago, I will not repeat the description or the basics - they are still the same, with the exception of the price. Like every other restaurant and buffet the price has gone up. Here it is just one dollar more with weekend dinner priced now at $20.99.

When I dined at Makkoli a year ago I had never been to a Japanese Seafood/Sushi buffet before. Since I have been to Minado with several locations including one or more in New Jersey. Coming into Makkoli now, I had something to compare it to. And if you read my article on Minado, you know just how impressed I was with that restaurant. I can't not make comparisons now. Right up front understand, none of this is to say that Makkoli is not good. That is not so - it is very good. But there are differences, pro and con in choosing between the two - and since there is a Minado also in New Jersey, it is possible that one might make a choice between the two. Makkoli is the less expensive of the two - almost $10 less per person on the weekend. What you are getting at Makkoli is less than what you are getting at Minado. The number of varieties of sushi, Japanese salads, hot selections, and desserts are fewer at Makkoli. There is plenty of what there is. I must say that I feel that the freshness in taste of the sushi at Minado (and maybe it was just the one time that I was there) was greater. The taste of the sushi at Makkoli is very good - but it did not stand out to me as what I tried at the other restaurant. My picky wife was happy at both, but did comment to me that what she could select from at Minado was more than what was out at Makkoli. While everything is labeled at Makkoli as to what it is, at Minado the signs not only labeled the items but each also listed what was in the item. Perhaps it is not fair to compare the two. They are not next door to each other. It is not a choice of turn right and go here or turn left and go there. The two are 45 miles apart. Also, Minado is a chain of restaurants and Makkoli is just this location.

Putting the comparison aside, this Makkoli is a very, very popular restaurant. You would not know that there is an economic downturn or crisis in the economy seeing how many people were packing this restaurant at $21 plus beverages per person. And as I have said, the crowd continued through the night. And as I have said in other articles, when a culture-based restaurant is filled with people from that culture, you know that the food is authentic and good.

One of my favorites on my last visit and something that I enjoyed again (twice) on this visit is the Udon Noodle Soup. Thick white noodles are boiled and mixed in a bowl with a variety of spices, seaweed, and crisp batter fried onions. Clear, dark broth is poured over the top to fill the bowl. There was a chef at this serving station preparing each bowl as you stepped up. It has a wonderful flavor! There were other soups as well including wonton, egg drop, and miso soup.

On my last visit I passed on the raw oysters on the half shell because they seemed dry. The oysters on this visit were fresh - and small (which I find better than the larger ones). They were moist and had a nice, fresh taste. There was no sand and they were easy to remove from the shell - even with chopsticks.

At the sushi bar I did not notice the signs that were so obvious last year that if you do not eat the rice and just eat the fish that comes on the rice you will be charged extra. In fact, if I did not just re-read my article I would not have remembered that at all - as I don't think they are there anymore. (I may be wrong and just did not pay attention - but as I am recalling now they were very noticable last year.) Anyway, I often leave over much of the rice and I did this Saturday night - and no one said a word to me or charged me any more. There is a large variety of fish still offered and as trays emptied they were refilled. Fish such as red snapper, white tuna, makeral, and more were offered along with salmon and tuna. There was a tempura sushi roll with slices of fried shrimp tempura rolled in rice and seaweed. Over on the hot buffet there was sushi roll tempura - battered sushi rolls that were fried. This was interesting but for me, well, I like raw salmon and smoked salmon, but I do not care for cooked salmon - so what roll did I get in my sushi tempura but salmon sushi - and inside was cooked salmon. If you are a cooked salmon fan you will love it.

Entrees on the hot buffet varied this time from the last visit which is good. It is good to have something different offered when you return to a buffet. Some were the same, others varied. There were equally as many. If you do not care for fish you will have no problem here. My wife does not eat seafood except for shrimp and she found plenty of dishes to make her happy including chicken, beef, and pork. There were very tempting spare ribs. They were not heavy on the sweet sauce that is done by so many Asian buffets with ribs. They were not without sauce though - I prefer no sauce, cooked under a high heat brioler which is how ribs used to be cooked in Chinese restaurants. For those who love crab legs there were very nice crab legs on the hot buffet. They were individual legs and not clusters but they did look good. In addition to all of the hot entrees there is the hibachi station which cooks chicken, steak, or shrimp with mixed vegetables on the grill. If you have been to a Japanese hibachi restaurant where a chef comes and cooks on the grill on your table this is very much the same, but without the show. The resulting food is the same and very good. Last time I tried the shrimp and that was excellent. This time I went for the steak and that was just as excellent. My wife enjoyed the chicken.

One of my problems when I go to a buffet that I do not get to go to often is that I take a little of everything and wind up eatting too much. This was one of those meals. I wanted to go back for more, but I knew that there was just not enough room left for it. But I was enjoying it so much that I still wanted more - and this was before dessert. I comprised and went back for a second bowl of the excellent udon noodle soup.

Dessert is the standard Asian buffet dessert selection. The little pieces of sheet cake and pastries that I have so often compared to the Little Debbie cakes. There was also fresh fruit pieces and jello. They do have a serve yourself freezer full of tubs of hard ice cream with chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry, and pistachio.

Service was excellent. Dishes were removed from the table immediately. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

Makkoli Seafood Buffet is located in the Village Green Shopping Center at 415 Route 18 South in East Brunswick, NJ. The phone number in case you get lost is (732) 967 - 8900 or for free - 877 - 625 - 5654. There is a website which is linked at the side of this page. It is just off exit 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike and it is not far from US 1.

Makkoli well stood the test of time and a return visit. It did not disappoint in any way. I will go back again. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes sushi or Japanese food who is in or traveling through mid-New Jersey.

Two More Nights at Old Country Buffet

Two weeks ago I wrote about the new featured "theme" nights at Old Country Buffet. Now, I am sure someone is going to leave a comment to this article saying, "Don't you ever learn!" Well, no - I went back for two more nights. I tried TexMex Wednesday and Seafood Friday.

Since I tried the Friday night feature before the Wednesday night feature I will tell you about that first. Friday night is Seafood Friday. Basically, Friday nights at Old Country Buffet have always been Seafood Friday - but now it is "official". On a Friday night that we did not want to drive out to the Chinese buffet, we decided to to head on over to OCB, which is a lot closer. After Italian Tuesday and BBQ Thursday, I was not expecting anything special for Seafood Friday. It was a good thing, too, because with no expectations I was not disappointed. I was surprised, however, as there was less seafood than there usually is on the Friday night buffet. As a matter of fact, other than the usual Friday salmon at the carving station, regular broiled fish, the usual fried fish, and the weekend featured shrimp that goes along with "Shrimp and St. Louis Ribs", there was no other seafood at all. Even the seafood pancakes that seem to show up almost every night were missing for Seafood Friday.

There have been some nice seafood dishes that have appeared in the past. One might imagine that when creating a menu for Seafood Friday, a restaurant chain might bring back some of those dishes. Apparently, not at Old Country Buffet.

On this night, what was in demand was steak - which was being served in one inch cut strips, I suppose so that it would not run out, St Louis ribs that made an appearance once when we first came in and then were gone until almost the time that we were leaving, and pizza that was missing for almost forty-five minutes. As for the seafood, the same trays stayed out pretty much the whole time that we were there. So much for Seafood Friday.

As we left the floor to ceiling display sign announcing the features caught my eye and I was drawn to TexMex Wednesday. My wife commented that maybe we should have come on Wednesday night. I told her that I had thought about it, but figured that it would be as much of a let down as the other nights had been. Yet, in the back of my mind I recalled the several good dishes that were featured during a quick summer feature several years ago that was never brought back by OCB. Way back then I had tried that in two OCBs - one in North Carolina and the other in New Jersey. Now, looking at the sign there was a picture of chicken fajitas and tacos - nothing unusual, but just maybe...

So the next week I announced that we were going to OCB for TexMex Wednesday! I knew that I should not hope for much. And again, not expecting anything, I was not disappointed.

OCB, at least the one that I frequent, always has a taco bar. On that bar is chopped taco meat soaking in thin red oil, four different types of taco shells and tortillas, Spanish rice, and beans. Along side is a cold area with sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes, sliced green chile pepers, lettuce, and shredded cheese. This was the extent of TexMex Wednesday - with the addition of... Chicken Fajitas.

Chicken Fajitas is a dish that OCB once had on the buffet frequently. Those of you who read my articles regularly know about my pickey eater wife. She always liked the Chicken Fajitas at Old Country Buffet. Unfortunately, for her, they have now been changed. Prior the chicken meat was cut into large chunks and served alone with the sauteed pepers and onions in another serving tray to add yourself. The Chicken Fajitas that appeared on TexMex Wednesday was chicken cut into smaller chunks and served already mixed into the green pepers and onions. She was not happy. I must tell you that I did enjoy them. The meat was flavorful and not spicy hot. The onions and pepers were cut a bit too large, but were fine.

I looked around the hot servers for more "TexMex". There was none. Everything else was the usual Wednesday night offerings - meatloaf, baked chicken, steak, turkey. There were some new dishes for a Wednesday night - Chicken Florentine - which belongs on Italian Tuesday and butter crusted baked pollack (at least according to the sign - what was out was just plain broiled fish) which should have been out on Seafood Friday. Also making an appearance were seafood pancakes - which were missing from Seafood Friday. (I have spoken about this in the past, but it needs repeating - the seafood pancakes are covered in a yellow/white gravy. You might think that this is some type of seafood gravy, but it is NOT. It is the chicken gravy that is served for the mashed potatoes. This likely contains meat, so if you do not eat meat for whatever reason but you do eat fish - don't eat the seafood pancakes.) So I guess, if you add Chicken Fajitas to the Taco Bar you get TexMex.

I was determined to eat TexMex so I helped myself to the Fajitas, made a taco, and added steak to my plate (just for the Tex part). The Fajitas, as I said, are good. One thing always missing from the OCB Taco Bar is taco sauce, and it is still missing. There is hot sauce over at the condiments bar, but that is not taco sauce.

So - I have been to four of the seven new "theme" nights - each with barely a resemblance to the theme. I had my foolish hopes. If you are going to OCB any night of the week you are walking in on one of the theme nights. There is no avoiding it other than not going. If you like the usual menu at OCB you will be satisfied finding what you always find. I am curious if at other OCB's - as the one I go to is notorious - if the menus actually match the themes and other than the ordinary night's dishes are served. I doubt it. From what I have been told by Buffet, Inc. employees, the chain sends out the food. It is not ordered by the location. Other than what might run out and be, HOPEFULLY, replaced by something else, the menus should be fairly consistent.

If I had to pick two nights to go JUST for what is on the feature, I would go to Italian Tuesday and TexMex Wednesday just for the Fajitas. Many of you, when you feel like buffet, have a choice of chains. Here there is just OCB and a few Chinese/Asian buffets. So sometimes it is OCB or nothing - and OCB is generally (but not always) better than nothing.

If you try a night - leave a comment. Let's here about what other OCB's are doing with theme nights!

China Buffet City, North Babylon, New York Again

In August 2006 I reviewed a Chinese buffet on Long Island in New York by the name of China Buffet City. Since then I have written about it several times including one article all about the turkey they served there. I go there frequently. It has changed a lot since my first visit in 2006 and I thought that I might update you all on the major changes.

The prices at the restaurant have gone up - as have every buffet's prices. Increase each price that I listed by a dollar. The prices here two years ago were higher than many buffets in the area but now they are all about the same with some even higher.

There is no more turkey. So if you are intrigued by my article about their turkey - forget it. No more turkey. For a while they replaced the turkey with a pork roast which was also very good, but several months ago that was gone as well. There is nicely cooked steak/beef that is left for you to slice yourself . As long as the piece has not become dry and overdone on the buffet server this is good. This steak had been offered all along with the turkey or the pork, now it is the only thing that remains. I do miss that turkey.

For some reason the chefs at this restaurant feel that salt is a necessary ingredient to everything that is prepared and they add it to excess. Some dishes are too salty to eat. I am not talking about what appeals to those who eat a low salt diet, but to even those who will add salt to their food. Much of the food here is too salty. All of the dishes would benefit from much less salt.

With the increase in prices other selections, aside from the turkey, have changed. There seems as if there is not as much to choose from. Good dishes have been replaced with things like tacos - tacos in a Chinese restaurant? The appetizer items have increased while the entree dishes have decreased. When I wrote the original article in 2006 I said that you were getting a lot of meat and seafood here. This is not so much so anymore.

There remains a good assortment of sushi and they have improved by keeping the sushi chef present behind the counter most of the night. There was a time that if you arrived after an early hour for dinner the sushi chef was gone and what he made last was all that was left in the selection. The sushi is refilled now throughout the night and is better than at many of the more expensive Chinese buffets.

Rather than Chinese-style spare ribs, they serve their version of barbecue ribs. The rack of ribs is put out with the ribs sliced off the rack. They are covered on the top with a barbecue sauce. If it were not for the flavor of this barbecue sauce - not quite what you would expect barbecue sauce to taste like - these ribs would be good. The sauce they are making or using is overwhelming and because of that I tend to avoid the ribs.

I find myself eating the best of what I can find when I dine here and not very much of the dishes that I would normally select in a Chinese buffet. I can make up a good meal of sushi, peel and eat shrimp, and sliced steak. This is ok, but it should be better.

Am I saying not to go here? No. I still go there. Am I saying it could be better - and is not as good as it once was? Yes. If you need to eat low sodium or salt-free do not go here.

Oh - my recommendation to go to International Buffet in Carle Place, NY instead of here also no longer holds. That was the original International Buffet - which no longer exists in that form and now China Buffet City is a far better value for less money and not so different offerings. Though there is no salt problem at the "new' International Buffet.

There is no website for this restaurant. The address is 1114-1116 Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon (just north of the Southern Parkway) The buffet is on the back side of the shopping center, the side nearest the parkway. The telephone number is 631-274-0888.

Old Country Buffet Theme Nights

Old Country Buffet has had un-named theme menu nights in the past. Tuesdays had Italian dishes, Wednesdays had Chinese dishes, Fridays were seafood, etc. The newest announcement on the floor to ceiling menu poster at Old Country Buffet is now a theme for every night. Mondays are called "Meat Lovers Monday". Tuesdays are "Italiano Tuesday". Wednesdays are "Tex-Mex Wednesday". Thursdays are "BBQ Thursday". Fridays are "Seafood Friday". Saturdays are "Family Saturday". Sundays are "Homestyle Sunday". There is no announcement about this on the OCB website. They are still fixated on their take out offer and their menu listings are no different than they have ever been and generally outdated. What I have recentlylearned is that they bring these features now to different areas at different times.

When I saw this sign at the OCB I thought, "Wow, they are bringing the monthly features that they have had in the past to one night each week". There have been some good and not so good monthly features in past years. There has not been a monthly feature for some time - perhaps relating to the fact that they have been in bankruptcy. As they are supposed to be coming out of bankruptcy now, perhaps they are ready to vary the menu again and motivate business. The barbecue feature was always good. Tex-Mex has not been a feature for a few years but back then it was good. This could be interesting.

So far I have tried two of the theme nights - Italiano Tuesday and BBQ Thursday. I must say that my anticipatory excitement was all for nothing.

I will start with Italiano Tuesday. What was on the buffet was no different from what has been on the buffet on Tuesday nights for a long time. As I said in the beginning Tuesdays in recent years has offered Italian food on the buffet. What is offered now are the same dishes as were there in the past - but now they have a name for it, "Italiano Tuesday".

What was I expecting? I thought that I would find some dishes that have not been offered before. There was one, Chicken Parmagean. OCB has had chicken parmagean before, but now it is made with chunks of real chicken breast meat and not processed chicken patties. The fried chicken chunks were covered in mozzerella cheese and baked with tomatoe sauce. From the pan to the dish the food was rather dry. It was situated next to the tomato sauce for the spagetti and a scoop of that added on top made the dish moist and pretty good. Another dish offered has been offered for a number of months on Tuesdays and that is OCB's version of what is called in some areas stromboli, in others sausage bread, and in still others calzone (though this is nothing like real Italian calzone). This is baked dough filled with mozzerella, saugage, and peperoni. Had this not been sitting and allowed to dry out it would have been better. The system at OCB is to put the food waiting to come out to the buffet servers in a warming cabinet where they are accessible to the floor staff who refill the buffet. Food can sit there for some time and while there continues to cook from just standing and from the heat of the cabinet and get dry. As a result the dough was very dark on the outside and hard. The fillings were tasty but needed to be moister. As I write this I realize that a scoop of tomato sauce might have helped that as well. But you know, you are not supposed to have to fix up what they are serving on the buffet to make it right. Of course, the spagetti was there and there was also spagetti with a cream and cheese sauce. Nothing at the carving area was Italian. For those of us who are still seeking a good Italian buffet with a variety of Italian dishes, we must keep searching - perhaps in vain.

BBQ Thursday! I have really liked the barbecue month features that OCB has had in the past. When I went on BBQ Thursday this is exactly what I was expecting. I should not have bothered. BBG Thursday is just like every other Thursday last month, last year, and the years before that. Beef ribs have always been on the buffet on Thursday nights. Add to that the grilled pork that has come onto the buffet on Thursday nights since grills were added to OCB kitchens - and often frighteningly undercooked for pork, and honey barbecue riblets. No baby backribs, a barbecue month dish from the past, no Kansas City ribs that are offered on the weekends now, not even any backed barbecue beans. Instead of barbecue beef brisquit at the carving area, there was ham. There was not really anything to make the Thursday night feature special. The honey barbecue riblets are short one inch cuts of ribs, cut along several ribs so that you are eating the meat inbetween. These ribs were tough, burned, hard to get the meat off the bones, and overly sweet. If you are craving barbecue this is not going to do it.



So - the theme nights are pretty much a wash out. Even though this is only two nights of seven it is more than enough to know to expect no more than the usual OCB menu. Another dissappointment served up by Old Country Buffet.

Takeout at the Old Country Buffet

As you probably are aware, or perhaps you are not, that you can "takeout" the buffet at lunch or dinner at Old Country Buffet. This is not new. It was introduced several months ago. It costs $3.99 to take out the lunch buffet or $7.99 to take out the dinner buffet.

Buffet takeout is not unusual. Many of the Chinese buffets do this. It is usually done by giving you a styrofoam, lidded container and you choose what you want, it is weighed, and you are charged by the pound for what you have taken. There generally are rules that you cannot take all of one item and that there must be an assortment of what you take.

I watched some people who were taking out the buffet at dinner at Old Country Buffet recently and realized that this is not the case at OCB. You could take everything and as much as anything that you want as long as you get it into the container and it closes (though that is not so much the case either).

I watched one man in particular. He did nothing wrong. What he did was pile on as much of everything that he wanted into that container. Now, it was all on top of each other - mixing in to each other, but so many people at buffets fill their plates this way that this is nothing unusual. As I watched I was certain that he could not get that container closed. He placed it down and pushed that lid down on top squeezing down everything inside until it could be snapped closed with the two little tabs on the front. As he filled heaping portions into the container no employee said anything to him. You pay for this as you enter, so he could leave either by the unattended door at the side of the dining room or the front door. He left through the front door and no one said a word to him. Yes, the buffet is all you care to eat, and taking out the buffet limits what you can take in regard to what you have to carry it out in - but there is an almost five dollar difference between the take out price at $7.99 and the weeknight dinner buffet price of $12.39.

This all got me thinking. While it is impossible - because of how the takeout is structured at the Chinese buffets - weight and the requirement to take an assortment - to do this with other buffet takeouts, it is very possible that one could fill an OCB takeout container with all meat - perhaps several steaks. Or all shrimp. Or any of the other items that if purchased in any other takeout would cost a whole lot more than $7.99! You could plan a party and feed your guests very economically - and well - with OCB takeout. Did this occur to OCB when they set up this buffet takeout feature? Now that I have pointed this out will someone at Buffets, Inc Corporate pull in the offer or restructure it?

I am not suggesting that you do this - though by how the takeout offer is offered, it is perfectly legal to do. I just thought this so not usual that I would share it with you.

D.J.'s International Buffet, Garden City, NY -Another Try

About a year ago, the restaurant formerly known as just International Buffet reopened after an extended closure for remodeling under the name D.J.'s International Buffet. The restaurant is located in Garden City, New York on Long Island in mid-Nassau County. When the restaurant reopened, after great anticipation, I went to see what changes had been made. I was disappointed then that much of what had made this buffet stand out was no longer there or not up to the standard and quality of what had been served in the past. This is a very popular place and I still get comments sent to me that I must go back and try it again. I actually had gone back in September 2008. You can read both of these articles - January 2008 and September 2008 in th archives. That time things were a little different and better than my first visit, but ended with a reaction that has been the only thing that stood out in my memory about that visit. I decided that I must give D.J.'s International Buffet another try.

I will admit right off that the night that we just went to this buffet would be a hard night to judge any buffet. It was a cold winter night in the middle of the week. We went in and as there always is, there is a sign that states the price - $16.99 per adult. This is the Monday to Thursday dinner price. From Fridays to Sundays this price goes into the mid-twenty dollar range. As prices for Chinese buffets go in this area, these prices are high. There had been a $2 off coupon in the local newspaper so the mid-week price was going to come out to be what we have been paying at Chinese buffets here on the weekend. As I wrote in my recent article about the Minado Japanese Buffet Restaurant that is just a few miles away from this one, if the price is high and you get great food and good value, it is worth it.

We were brought into the dining room by a hostess and there were four tables with people at them eating. We made five. Throughout the night, with goings and comings, there seemed to consistently be five tables full. This is a large restaurant and other dining rooms were closed. Five tables seated at a buffet is not a good thing for the restaurant. Yes, it was mid-week. Yes, it was very cold outside. But, the night before we were at OCB. It was just as cold and also a weeknight. OCB had a good number of tables full- many more than here. Of course, there is a big difference in price - about $4.70 more per adult - and it is likely that this made for the scarcity of diners at International on this winter's night.

I am not going to go into the set up of the buffet. If you read the earlier articles it is just about the same. We started, as we always do, with soup. There are a number of soups offered. In the long past, they were always known for their Lobster Bisque. In my past two visits it had not stood up to its former-self. I opened the hot tureen cover to take a look. I was hoping for the thick, orange soup that I once knew. I was pleasantly surprised to see just that. I scooped a cup full and eagerly returned to my table. This Lobster Bisque did not disappoint. The taste was as I remembered it should be. It was thick and had small chunks of lobster meat scattered throughout. It had just the right mild tang that a good bisque should give. I was very happy eating my soup. My wife, who as you know, goes for the more mundane things on most menus, had the wonton soup. The wontons are served in the broth in the tureen and not in a steamer to add to the broth. This is fine (and I find preferable). The wontons were large and good.

I moved next to the Sushi Bar and my wife went to the steamed dumplings. The Sushi Bar as I have said before is long and extensive with two Sushi chefs working behind it refilling serving plates as necessary. None of the sushi is labeled. Some of it is easy to recognize. Some of it is not, if you are not an avid sushi eater. I have become spoiled by the tuna that I ate at Minado several weeks back. That tuna there tasted like a fresh sea breeze. The tuna here was not bad but was not near that quality. The salmon was light and delicate, and was better than the tuna. As there few few diners some of the sushi rolls had sat too long and the rice had hardened on the outside. Overall it was sushi that was one small step above average Chinese buffet sushi, but I have had better at some local Chinese buffets (at lower prices).

I took my wife's lead and went to the dumplings next, but on the way was inticed by the cold shellfish area of shrimp, oysters on the half shell, clams on the half shell, and cold crab legs. I will not eat shucked shell fish at a buffet unless it is served on a heavy bed of ice and I make sure that each piece out is full of juice and moisture and has not been allowed to dry out. Raw shellfish can be dangerous stuff and it is always advisable to make sure of its circumstances before you take and eat it. With the few diners in the restaurant and not a great demand for the shellfish that would keep it replenished oftern, I looked closely at the oysters - as this was what was beckoning to me. The ice was thick and the oysters in the shells looked moist and fresh. I took a few, and also took a shrimp just to try it. The shrimp at the "old" International was terrific. The oyster was fresh to the taste, cold, and good. There was no sand and it came easily from the shell having been properly shucked and cut. The shrimp was good too - not as it used to be as it is in the shell, but each one has been deveined, which you rarely find these days. Another happy choice!

I finally got to the dumplings. There were steamed shrimp dumplings, steamed cake, several steamed bean filled cakes, sticky rice, and fried dumplings (off on another serving bar). I took the shrimp dumplings and the steamed cake. The shrimp dumplings had sat in the steamer too long - the shrimp was hard and chewy and the dumpling was falling apart. The steamed cake was good and my wife reports that the bean dumplings were good. The fried dumpling was good, but I prefer those made with a thicker dough wrapping. That is just my preference. They were fine. With the dumplings I took a sparerib. Spareribs at Chinese buffets are very much unlike the spareribs that I have had a menu or take out Chinese restaurants. Chinese spareribs should be nicely broiled without sweet sauce dripping from them or worse, floating in red, sugar sauce. They should have their own flavor and if you like them sweet there is always Chinese duck sauce to dip them in. Many Chinese buffets serve them in this red, sugar sauce. The tray of spare ribs at the grill area looked promising. The sparerib was ok, but they had coated it with that same sweet sauce.

Had the meal ended at this point I would have be writing a glowing review. Unfortunately, there the meal continued on to the entrees and went rapidly downhill. The reason for the meal's decline can be summed up in one simple sentence. Many things were not hot. They should have been, but the hot tables were keeping things just on the edge of warm moving to cold. There were many interesting dishes to choose from and I took a variety of things that I have never had before. With the great beginning to the meal I was anxous to try abalone and a dish called sea bass teriaki. There was a chicken dish of thinly sliced chicken with portabello mushrooms. I took a bit of each to try. Back at the table I took a bit of abalone. Cold. It was not meant to be cold. It had an interesting taste, but it was not palatable cold. I tried the chicken - a more familiar item - again, cold. The sea bass was just warm, but had so many bones in the chunk that it was difficult to eat. When I went back for another plate of food, I walked around all of the hot servers. Some had steam coming from around the serving trays, some did not. I passed a tray of corn on the cob. I so much wanted to take a photo of this to show you but it was too obvious to do. The corn looked like dried corn that you see in the Fall as decorations - or that you would use as feed for livestock. Cobs with kernals seperating from each other, wrinkled and dry. There was an entire tray like this. I had to bring my wife over to look. There was a young woman who was taking care of the buffet servers and the serving trays. She stirred some. Others she walked by. What she walked by was congealing in whatever liquid it had been cooked with. There was a try of sausage and peppers that looked untouched that had congealed over - and no doubt, as it much have sat there for hours untended - or taken away. I tried a Korean Seafood Pancake - very much like a Chinese scallion pancake, but again this was just warm and it had become hard and greasy sitting out. I was not certain what to take next. I did not want more lukewarm or cold "hot" food. At the grill there was half a beef roast for carving. It was marbled with white fat that had started to harden. It was definately out too long. There was a tray of snow crab legs. These looked hot and there were nice looking, moist part clusters to take. I decided to try these and these were good. There was good meat in the tops and the legs broke apart easily to release the meat inside. For a Chinese buffet these were above average. I must say that the other Chinese buffets in this area that serve crab legs don't come close to these. I went back to the cold shellfish - if I was going to eat something that was cold I decided that I wanted something meant to be cold. I took shrimp and enjoyed that.

I asked my wife if she was finding things "not hot". She told me that many things were just warm. She recommended one dish to me that she said was very good. I went just to take that and she was right. It was called Chicken Teppanyaki. This was an interesting dish of just chicken cut into small pieces and cooked in a sauce that was very good. And it was hot! Not spicy hot - temperature hot! I wish that I had found that earlier.

Dessert is an assortment of the Chinese Buffet "Little Debbie" cakes (which I have found out are commercially sold to the restaurants baked and packaged by a Chinese bakery in Chinatown, NY), puddings, fruits, jello, not good looking soft serve ice cream, and the famous Creme Carmel that was always one of the features of the original buffet here. The Creme Caramel was good. The cakes had sat out too long and were hardening.

I have been told a number of times that paying more for a meal means that you are getting a better meal. Not this night. You should not have a hard time finding something that looks good and is cooked and served correctly for this kind of money - or any kind of money. Maybe on a busy Saturday night everything would have been hot and all of the food that was out would have been appetizing. A winter night is a tough night to judge a buffet - but there was no discount for being here on an off-night. I still paid what I would pay on a busier night with more diners in the restaurant. My expectation is consistency- a busy night or a slow night should offer the same experience. What is the best that I can say? I expect that mid-summer or on a Saturday night things would be kept hotter and fresher as more people are in the restaurant taking them and creating a need for them to be replaced often. I am being fair to this restaurant that so many love by saying that. Will I go back? At some point I will go back and on a night that I figure that this restaurant should be on its best. Happily, the after dinner reaction that I experienced last September did not reoccur on this night - both of us were physically fine. We were dissappointed. We both agreed, had the food been the proper temperature we would have been happy. And it had gotten off to such a great start!

DJ's International Buffet is located at 1100 Stewart Avenue in Garden City, New York. Their phone number is 516-227-2472. There is no website.

Keeping in Touch with Customers

I have signed up with a number of buffet restaurants to receive offers and coupons. Many of the chain buffets have a place on their websites to do this. What I receive are infrequent coupons by email. The two soup and salad chains - Sweet Tomatoes and SouperFresh send coupons quite frequently. They are always offering two for one deals. Sadly, I am more than five hundred miles away from the nearest location to use the coupons, but I am always happy to see that they are keeping in touch with their customers and making them offers to come and dine.

I also get a very different communication from a buffet restaurant. It is mailed to me just about monthly and it comes from The Family Cupboard Restaurant in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. This is a restaurant that I have written about many times. Look back through the articles and you will find very nice things said about it. What is particularly nice is this little four page newsletter that they mail out to their customers.

There are no coupons printed in it. There are no big sales pitches. What there is are nice things to say about their employees, recipes, cooking tips, household tips, and a thoughtful letter from the restaurant's owner, John Dienner relevant to the month or the season. Rarely do you get to know the owner of a buffet. John writes this letter from the heart. For example, in December his letter was about the meaning of Christmas and how it is a season to reach out and help neighbors and friends. When I first saw the recipes I thought that these were recipes of things served in the restaurant, but no - they are a variety of home-cooked things that are just good to eat. (I would love to see their recipe for Chicken Corn Soup as it is served at the restaurant, but they are not giving that away too easily.)

I always enjoy getting the "Cupboard Courier". It is like getting a letter from a friend. One of the regular articles is about a featured employee - not a special employee of the month who has done something outstanding, but just about one of the employees and how they came to work at the Family Cupboard, what they do there, and how that person is appreciated. These articles are also written by John, the owner, and you get a real feeling that he values the people who are working for him. When you are in the restaurant you get the feeling from the employees that they enjoy working there too.

It is such a simple, homey little newsletter but it is big on warmth and bits of information that have nothing really to do with the restaurant, but things that you might want to share with friends if you were writing to them. It is really an extra step that this restaurant has gone to make their customer feel like part of the family.

The newsletter is professionally printed and mailed - I am sure at an expense that they certainly do not need to spend, but they do. Where you might expect a mailing such as this to hit your over the head to come back and dine there, this one is just a subtle reminder that the restaurant is there when you want to come and visit. I like that. There may be an offer or two in addition, but this is not included every month.

If you would like to see the most recent edition of "The Cupboard Courier" follow this link. If you would like to have it emailed to you regularly, send an email to Kyle at kyle@familycupboard.com. To have it mailed to me I filled out a card at the restaurant, but I am pretty sure if you request it at the Contact Us page on thier website they will send it to you too. The Family Cupboard website may be found at the side of this page.

There used to be a State advertising slogan for Pennsylvania - "You have a friend in Pennsylvania." Getting this newsletter from John at the Family Cupboard I feel that I really do.

Smackies Smokehouse Bar-B-Que - Columbus, Ohio

One of our readers recommends this barbecue restaurant in Columbus, Ohio for their Sunday Buffet. I have been on the lookout for a long time for a barbecue buffet restaurant. On a trip through North Carolina while riding though several towns I saw a few restaurants that we passed with signs that said barbecue buffet. Unfortunately, we could not stop and on some roads you go past so quickly that you don't have time to even note where you are - or even what the name of the restaurant was. I have made internet searches with no success to find those restaurants - wondering sometimes if I did not just dream them. Well, now a kind reader has pointed out Smackies. It is not in North Carolina - not even close. Smackies is in Columbus, Ohio, the same city that Schmidts sausage buffet is located in. I just told my wife that we are going to have to figure out a trip that would include Columbus!

I looked up Smackies and found out a lot about it to share with you all. I need to say this, as I always do, that I have not eaten there, but as I say, one of our readers has and recommends it.

Smackies Smokehouse is a restaurant that specializes in open-pit, southern-style, barbecue. They smoke their meats in a wood smoker over hickory and apple wood. Everything that is served at this restaruant is made from scratch in their kitchen. Six days a week this is just a good barbecue restaurant but on Sundays from Noon to Five, Smackies is a Southern Buffet featuring barbecue and southern dishes.

The buffet menu is extensive and it includes smoked beef brisket, pulled pork, and fried chicken and waffles. What you are not going to find on the buffet are their Memphis dry rub ribs that is the restaurant's signature dish. But the pulled pork is the best selling item on the menu and in this resaurant you will be more than satisfied (from what I can see) with the barbecue offerings on the buffet. The restaurant has several featured barbecue sauces including regular, spicy, Carolina red, Jack Daniels, and whiskey dip. These are certainly offered to make the barbecue selections perfect. As the restaurant points out, this is real barbecue - meat that has been properly smoked in "the pit". This is not what other buffets are serving and saying is barbecue coming out of an oven or off a grill - and that is what this is all about, the pursuit of all you care to eat REAL barbecue where the meat cooks for sixteen hours under the care of one pit-boss and has that smoke ring!

Along with the meats mentioned above, the buffet includes battered fish, fried green tomatoes, mac and cheese, collard greens, fried okra, fried corn nuggets, scalloped potatoes, black-eyed peas, bisquits and sausage gravy, green beans, cornbread, habanero bacon cornbread, and several breakfast entrees that could make this a "brunch" though Noon to Five is late to consider the extent of thie meal "brunch". Those include an omlete station from Noon to Three, Freneh Toast, waffles, and pancakes. There are Southern desserts to complete your meal including banana pudding, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, and sticky buns.

The website puts the price of the buffet at $11.99. Pretty good! There is menu and take out service. They will also cater events - I am assumming off premises - for up to 2000 people. This is a family owned and operated restauant. There are two videos on the website that show you the people working and eating there and they tell you about how good the food is and what makes it special. This is the enthusiasm that you want to see when you go to any restauant.

Smackies is located at 5730 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. They are open seven days a week. Their hours are Monday to Thursday, 11 am to 9 pm, Friday 11 am to 10 pm, Saturday from 11 to 11, and Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm - BUT REMEMBER the buffet is only on SUNDAYS from NOON TO FIVE. The telephone number is 614-794-1600. There is a website and the link is at the side of this page.

If you have ever been to Smackies for the Buffet please leave a comment and let us know how you liked it.

MINADO JAPANESE SEAFOOD BUFFET - Carle Place, New York

Minado Japanese Seafood Buffet is a chain restaurant with five locations - Little Ferry, New Jersey; Morris Plains, New Jersey; East Norriton, Pennsylvania; Natick, Massachusetts; Carle Place, New York; and a location in Sandy Springs, Georgia that is called Nori. I recently went to the Carle Place, NY location.

Sometimes the trip to get to the restaurant is as exciting as the dining experience itself, and this was one of those occassions. The restaurant is extremely easy to find, and actually about seven miles from my house. I pass it all of the time. When we decided to go there we thought nothing of leaveing the house and getting there in about fifteen to twenty minutes. What we had not planned on was the fact that we were going three nights before Christmas and the traffic we would encounter miles away from the mall that is between us and this restaurant. In fact the first night that we headed out, we wound up coming back without ever getting there. The second night - now two nights before Christmas - we tried again, took a back way, and with luck avoided the traffic that again was backing up all of the main roads.

You may be wondering if this buffet is so close, why have I never gone there before? Simply, the price. This is not an inexpensive buffet, though as prices keep increasing at the lower price buffets it is not as much higher as it once was. Going there now was a holiday celebration just for my wife and myself - we share an office with her business and mine, and this was to be the office Christmas party - for two.

Now that I have brought the issue of price up first let me get that out of the way. The dinner price for adults from Monday to Thursday nights is $27.95. Beverages are not included and frankly, we did not order any so I cannot tell you how much they are. From Friday night to Sunday night and Holidays the price is $29.95. Lunch prices are less expensive. Lunch Monday to Friday is $15.95; Saturday, Sundays and Holidays is $19.95. Children's prices are actually good compared to many Asian-style buffets. Children pay by height - 5 ft. and under are Half of adult price, 4 ft. and under are 1/5 of adult price, amd 3 ft. & under are Free. Let me say before I go any further that the buffet meal in this restaurant is worth every penny.

The Carle Place location is in an outdoor shopping center and takes up a large space right in the middle. The restaurant is at least five store fronts in width and two store lengths plus in depth. Entering the restaurant you come to the reception desk where you are escorted to your table. I understand that it is not unusal to have to wait to get in - especially on a Saturday night and they do take reservations for groups of ten or more. The room decor is Japanese Industrial Modern - a mix of traditional Japanse motifs with an open steel ceiling and stark, industrial panels crossing the ceiling containing room lighting. Three quarters of the depth of the restaurant is filled with tables, some large enough to seat ten or more and others seating as few as four. The aisles are wide and it is not hard to walk through the dining room to the buffet area that fills the rear of the restauant. There is a second dining room that is reserved for parties. On the night that we were there a party was going on that filled the room. The rest of the restaurant was not filled but it was busy which for a mid-week, icy cold winter night is unusual.

The young lady who seated us was very welcoming and very friendly. We were promptly greeted by our server who asked if we had ever dined there before and then proceeded to explain what we would find at the buffet and where we would find it. The buffet area is dominated by a large and long, U-shape cold server. The three sides tended to from the inside by sushi chefs and attendants. One side is Sushi, the front is cold seafoods, and the otehr side is full of Japanese salads and cold noodle dishes. To the right of the U are two cold servers, one with fresh fruits and jello, and the other with small cubes of cakes and little cups of desserts. There is also a soft serve ice cream machine. To the left of the U is a long hot server of entrees and side dishes. Across the rear between the hot server and the U is an Hibachi Grill, a Japanese Noodle Soup station, a desert crepe station, and a chargrill for skewered meats, seafood, and vegetables. Just by looking you get the scope of the amount of food that is available to you.

We generally start with soup and this was no exception. We went up to the Japanese Noodle Soup staion and asked the chef behind the counter for a bowl full. He dips Udon noodles - thick, doughy noodles in boiling water, adds them to a bowl and covers them with broth. He then points to several bowls of items to add into the soup. There was fried shrimp tempura, scallions, two different crunchies (sorry, but I have no idea what they were and did not really understand what he identified them as), and a bowl of mixed spices and seasonings. I had him put it all in except the spices. My wife asked me, "Is there anything there I am not going to be happy about?" - if you have read my articles you know my wife. She is the one that does not like any fish other than shrimp and tends to be very picky about sauces and spices. I told her that she should be fine with it all and though I did not know what the spices were, to avoid the spice. In addition to the soup that was made in front of you there were also two hot soup servers to the side - one with crab soup and the other with miso soup. We both went back to our table with our steaming bowls of soup. All silverware is at the buffet counter - you get your own. On your table you are brought chop sticks and napkins, as well as a large package with a hand towel inside.

Before I tell you about the soup, let me tell you about the people who were dining here. I have always said that you can tell that a restauant with a cultural theme is good if the people of that culture are dining there. This majority of the diners in this restaurant were Asian - and I am pretty certain that the majority of them were Japanese. Everyone around us were well skilled with their chop sticks. I can use them, but I soon gave up and picked up my fork.

Back to the soup - it was wonderful. There was a subtle, sweet undertaste - just slightly there. The noodles were just right. The shrimp tempura soaking in the soup kept a bit of crunch and had a great flavor - as did those little crunchies. The soup was so good that I considered going back for another bowl but looking across the rest of the buffet I knew that I better move on if I wanted to taste as much of it as I could. I did wind up going back toward the end of the meal and getting a half bowl of the crab soup just to see what it is like. This was just a broth. In the server you could see crab legs in the shell that were cooking in the soup along with some oriental vegetables. I spooned a ladle of broth into the bowl and it was full of tiny pieces of soft crab meat floating in it. This soup had a terrific flavor as well.

I headed to the sushi next. One of the problems about writing about a restaurant that has so many unusual dishes is trying to remember what those dishes are called and when there are as many as those offered here it is also hard to keep track of all of them to report when writing. So, I will tell you about what I tried - as best as I can - and I will try to tell you about what more was there. There is Maki - Sushi which are the rolls wrapped in Nori. There is Nigiri - Sushi which is fish on a bed of rice. There is Tekaki - Sushi which are rolled cones of rice fish, and vegetables wrapped in seaweed. I took what I am familiar with and what I thought I would like to try. I must tell you that I took a piece of tuna on rice and when I ate it, it was the freshest piece of raw tuna that I have ever had in any buffet. The flavor was so much like the sea that as I finished it, I said, "Wow!" No other buffet tuna sushi has ever come close. The salmon melts in your mouth. I tried Tuna Tataki and Salmon Tataki - these were slices of fish that appeared to be cooked on the outside and the outside was also covered in black pepper. The inside was raw. These had a subtle flavor - milder than the usual raw salmon and tuna. I especially liked the tuna. I also tried white tuna that was very good. There were different rolls that had chopped fish rolled in rice. Of these I tried the tuna, the shrimp, the salmon, and two spicy rolls. I have had spicy tuna and spicy salmon before. These had the emphasis on spicy - so hot that I could not finish them. On the restauants website all of the different sushi are named - not everyone is served every day or night. As trays of sushi were emptied they were replaced almost instantaneously. There are sushi chefs working constantly behind the sushi server. This is buffet has so much more than sushi but if you like all varieties of sushi you will not be dissappointed here and you can make a meal of it.

My wife does not eat sushi, but she was not unhappy at all because as you move around the U you move to many other cold Japanese dishes. In the front, there was Sashimi - several varieties of raw fish without rice. The excellent tuna that I had on rice was here as well, along with salmon, and two other fish. Past the raw fish there were cold, peeled and deveined shrimp. My wife tried these and she said that they were excellent. There is also cold snow crab legs. These were legs and claws and not clusters, but they were large and meaty. Nutcrackers are brought to your table. Move around the U to the other side and you find a long, long row of Japanese cold noodle dishes, Oriental and Japanese prepared salads, and cold vegetables. Do not look for a tradtional salad bar - there isn't one. There was a Japanese chopped salad of lettuce, etc. Again, there were so many unusual salads and noodles that I cannot name or describe them all. I tried a cold peanut noodles and shrimp dish that was long noodles with a sauce and no visible shrimp but the shrimp flavor was in the sauce along with a subtle taste of peanuts. There was some red pepper flakes mixed in here too that gave it a mild zing. I also tried a green thin udon noodle salad in oil that was good too. There were several salads with shitake mushrooms. I tried two - one was a mound of finely shredded vegetable and mushrooms which was good and the other was just the mushrooms with vegetable - also good. There was Tataki Salmon with Cilantro Sauce - that same part cooked/part raw salmon, thinly sliced in the sauce - good. There was a Tataki Beef that I did not try as it did look like raw beef cubes that were marinated. Again, the website menu lists everything that might appear in this section.

I moved on to dumplings and tempura next. My wife was a section ahead of me as she skips the sushi. She went to the Hibachi station as she had the dumplings a dish before. There are four types of dumplings. There are Gyoza dumplings - traditional Japanese dumplings that are triangles of dough filled with chopped meats and seasonings that are pan fried. There were three types of steamed dumplings - the usual pork shumai - chopped pork wrapped in a dough cup, a shrimp dumpling ball - chopped shrimp filling a ball of translucent dough, and crab dumpling - again chopped and filling a dough dumpling. The dumplings were served in steamers. When my wife tasted the Pork Shumai she told me that it was the best one she has ever tasted. I tend to avoid these in Chinese restaurants because they are often over steamed and dense. The ones here were very light and had a delicate taste as well. I really should say that all of the dumplings could have been hotter - they were warm and there was no problem, but I expected hot and not warm.

With the dumplings I added some of the tempuras to my plate. I found two types of shrimp tempura - one that was called shrimp tempura and another that was labeled ebi tempura. Both look alike, but there was a light white sauce on the ebi tempura. I also took a piece of a vegetable tempura that was some type of squash. The tempura was crispy and not greasy. All were good. The vegetable had an interesting texture.

I finished my dumplings and tempura and headed back to the Hibachi Grill as my wife continued to enjoy her Hibachi Chicken. I decided to go with the beef. You go up to the grill and tell the chef what you would like. You have a choice of steak, chicken, shrimp, scallops, and fish. The chef took out a steak and put it on the grill. He asked if I would like to add vegetables and there were mushrooms, onions, and bean sprouts to add to the grill. As the meat cooks he begins to cut it up into small peices along with the vegetables. As it nears completion he added black pepper, soy sauce, and lemon juice. There is also chopped garlic and hot peppers if you would like. He scoops it all into your plate and is ready to cook for the next guest. Next to the Hibachi Grill is a chargrill and another chef is cooking charbroiled shrimp on skewers, vegetables on skewers, and Korean pork chops. I took a shrimp skewer and a vegetable skewer - the pork chops were still on the grill cooking. On my way back to the table I stopped at the hot server and added some noodles with vegetables on my plate. The Hibachi Steak was very good. It was seasoned nicely with no overpowering taste of soy sauce and a light taste of lemon. The noodles were also great. The shrimp on the skewer was good fire grilled shrimp. My wife's Hibachi Chicken was just as good as my Hibachi Steak.

It seems like it would be impossible to eat any more, but I take small portions of most things so that I can taste and enjoy more things. I had to try some of the hot entrees and again there were many unusual things. I tried a crab cake that had thin noodles mixed inside with the crabmeat. One of the best things that I tried was fried codfish that was made in a light crispy batter. It had a wonderful, fresh fish taste and was light and flakey. I tried both beef terriaki and chicken terriacki and both were made with a nice terriaki sauce that was not sweet - very different from the usual that is called terriaki. I tried two things served in shells - one a scallop mixture - very good - and the other a crab shell filled with crabmeat and breadcrumb mixture - good. Japanese Fried Rice was good. There were many other things that I just had no room to try (if I was going to make it to the desserts). Among those were Japanese barbecued chicken, salmon rolls, pork spareribs, Fried Whitefish with Asian sauce, eggplant in a sauce, calamari, oysters rockafeller, and more. There was nothing dissappointing.

Dessert. You must consiously make an effort to remember that there is going to be desserts that you will want and you must pace your eating accordingly. It is easy to get to this point in the meal and realize that you are truly stuffed. BUT - you must have the desserts. The most enticing of the desserts are the crepes made to order. A chef makes crepes on a crepe grill and fills them with your choice of fillings. There is a list at the side with all of the fruit fillings and other fillings. I am certain that you can combine them if you like. This night next to the grill were strawberries, rasberries, pineapple, and apples - all toppings and not fresh fruits. On the list were blueberries but there were none out. I was about to ask and then chocolate caught my eye. Yes, that was the one I was going to try. The chef took the hot crepe and covered it with chocolate sauce and then folded it in half and let it cook a little longer. It was then scooped onto a plate and whipped cream was added on top. Oh my! Yes, I made the right choice. It was wonderful. Have you noticed that I keep describing things as wonderful. I have noticed that too, but that is the word that comes to mind first - and it was...wonderful. I finished that and headed back to see what more there was. There was an assortment of cakes - at first glance they appeared to be the usual "Little Debbie"-style cakes found at all Asian buffets, but they were not. Each was a small square or cube but these were flavors and varieties that you do not usually find. There was a smll cup with Vanilla Flan - nice. A cream puff was filled with real whipped cream and not he usual sugared cream. There were sliced fruit tarts. There was a cup with strawberry yogurt - but this was not supermarket yogurt. There was also an assortment of fresh fruit and melons - watermelon way out of season - along with other melons. There was also soft serve ice cream but not what you might expect. There were two flavors - the usual vanilla and the other green tea ice cream. We both had to try green tea ice cream. It is green. It was very refreshing, not very sweet, but I did not taste the tea. My wife said that she tasted a light tea flavor. It was pleasant and I finished it down to the bottom of the cup.

Everything about the restaurant was good. Everything was clean. The restrooms were clean and very modern. The service was excellent and friendly. Plates were removed from the table immediately. At the buffet servers, everything was labeled and many of the items also had descriptions of what was in them. All of the food was kept fresh in the serving trays. Everything was well tended and staff kept a close eye on the serving dishes to make sure they did not need to be replaced.

There was nothing about this at the restaurant but on their website on their FAQ page they state that they like to limit each table to a maximum of 90 minutes. That is fair and adequate and not surprising with the crowds that this restaurant is known to get. They will make special arrangements beyond this for large parties if you speak with them.

The website also notes that the lunch menu does not include the Hibachi Grill or the Crepes Grill, Crab Legs, Cocktail Shrimp, and "Premium" fish .They do say that there is, however, an equal number of dishes served at lunch and dinner. There is no mention that the weekend dinners are any different from the weeknight dinners.

We are both very happy that we went to Minado. I will again say that there was nothing disappointing about the entire meal and all was... wonderful! This will most likely become our new restaurant to go to for special occasions. At the price, at least for me, this is not an every week or even a once a month restaurant. But we have personal celebrations that we like to go to someplace special. This was special on this night and we look forward to the next time that we will have an "excuse" to go and spend more than $70 on dinner with tax and tip.

The hours of the restaurant are to be noted, as they are closed between lunch and dinner. The hours are Monday - Friday: 11:30am - 2:30pm and Saturday - Sunday: 11:30am - 3:00pm for lunch and dinner hours are Monday - Thursday: 6:00pm - 9:30pm, Friday - Saturday: 5:30pm - 10:00pm, and Sunday: 5:00pm - 9:00pm. The last seating is thirty minutes before closing - and you must be aware that the Hibachi Grill and the Crepe Grill also close thirty minutes before closing. If you go at the end of the evening you may not make it to both the Hibachi Grill and the Crepe Grill.

The New York location of Minado is located at 219 Glen Cove Rd, Carle Place, New York. Their telephone number is 516-294-9541. There is a website and the link is at the side of this page.

I definitely recommend that you try Minado Japanese Seafood Buffet. If all of the locations are like the one in Carle Place, NY you will be as happy as we are.

Schmidt's Sausage House - Columbus, Ohio

I am starting the new year with a new discovery. I first learned about this restaurant on the Travel Channel and when I heard them say "Sausage Buffet" my ears perked up and I quickly took note of the location. Now, as I always do, when I have not personally been to a buffet, I let you know right up front. This one I have seen through the magic of cable television and I have researched what I have been able to find about it. I cannot say that I have tasted the food, but I have heard that the food was excellent.

I am always looking for new buffets and I am especially on the look out for buffets that are serving foods and cuisines that are different from the usual chain , "international", or Asian buffets. Sausage! This restaurant has a SAUSAGE BUFFET!

Schmidt's Sausage House in Columbus, Ohio is in the middle of the German area of the city - an area referred to as "German Village", which it turns out is the largest, privately funded restoration project in the United States. The restaurant is an off-shoot of the company's meat business that specializes in German sausages. Schmidt's Packing Company has been in business since 1886 - yes, that is 1886 making sausage. The restaurant is not only a buffet but a buffet is featured as part of the regular the menu that features both German dishes and sausages. The buffet is called "The Autobahn". If you don't know, the Autobahn in Germany is a road with no speed limits - and like the road, the buffet has no limits as well. Items on the buffet have been served here for over 120 years.

From what I could see of the buffet it is served in hot chafing dishes set up in the restaurant. The buffet offers a variety of German sausages made by Schmidt's including bratwurst, knockwurst, and a special sausage only made by Schmidt's called Bahama Mama. The Bahama Mama is a combination of beef and pork and is spiced with a secret blend of spices which are both tasty and quite spicey. There is also a "mild" Bahama Mama offered. Bratwurst is a pork sausage - much like what you would expect a sausage to be. Knockwurst is a beef sausauge and in my experience has been much like a very large and thick frankfurter. The sausages are served on the buffet cut up into chunks. These sausages have won many local awards.

According to their website, other German dishes are served on the buffet as well along with a variety of side dishes. Dessert is not included on the buffet but those ordering the buffet are given a discounted price on desserts from the menu including the restauant's special feature desert - a half pound cream puff. This cream puff is huge and bursting with cream! You can also get the cream puff with chocolate.

I do not know the price of the buffet. The menu lists prices for entrees from between $10 and $15. They do not list the price of the buffet, nor do they list the price of the cream puffs. Just about everything else on their web menu has a price. In addition to soft drinks, alcohol and micro brews are served. What would German sausage be without a mug of beer?

According to their website there is entertainment at Schmidts too. There is German and American music on select nights and the acts change frequently. They advise calling or checking the website to see who will be playing and when.

The building is historic and the restaurant is located in a restored livery stable. As I said, this is all in the heart of an historic restoration. The restaurant is located at German Village, 240 East Kossuth Street, Columbus, Ohio 43216. Their telephone number is 614-444-6808. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.

I am trying to figure out how I can make one of my trips go detour through Columbus, Ohio so that I can try this buffet. It sounds that good! If you have ever been to Schmidts and had the Autobahn Buffet, please leave a comment with this article and let us all know what you think.

THE BEST BUFFET - 2008

This site has once again chosen the Best Buffet Restaurant of the Year. The buffet that is chosen for this distinct honor is one that surpasses all of the rest in food, quality, presentation, and value. Restaurants are considered on the consistency over repeated visits, the quality of food, the quantity of food, the quality of service, the quality of cleanliness, the friendliness of staff, and the value received for the money paid for a meal. This year I have thought long and hard and consulted with others on the restaurant to select. There have been several that come close, but there is always one that stands out. One word that comes up from those I spoke to is "lavish". Yes, lavish, but so much more of everything to look for in a buffet.

Once again, our best buffet of the year of 2007 is again chosen for 2008 - The Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earle, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County.

Everyone who I have spoken with agrees that no other buffet in this price range is as large and as lavish as this buffet with a consistency in great food, excellent presentation, and extra fine and friendly service. I sought to find a buffet that is better, but none even come close.

There are a number of articles on this site that describe Shady Maple. What I would like to do here is give you a little history of the restaurant and its owner, before I repeat what I have said before about the layout and the meals.

The roots of the Shady Maple go back to 1962 when Mr. and Mrs. Henry Martin ran a roadside farm stand next to a maple tree in front of their house selling produce. Their daughter married Marvin Weaver, and together, they took over this family business continuing to sell produce. In 1970 they expanded the roadside stand to a small building. Expansion continued over 20 years and the produce stand grew into a grocery store and then a full food market. In 1982, the food market included a cafeteria. Marvin Weaver decided that a smorgasbord restaurant would be an excellent addition to the food market. He was already purchasing the volumes of food and baking bread and pastries for the supermarket that could also be used to supply a restaurant. In 1984 construction began on the original Shady Maple Restaurant building and Shady Maple Smorgasbord opened in 1985. The restaurant seated 300 people and the restaurant filled to overflowing. In four years - 1989 - that building was expanded to seat 500 people. I fondly recall that building - and the ever present long line in that zigzaged through ropes in the lobby and then stretched down a hallway especially built to accommodate the line. You could wait on that line for an hour or more - happily - as you moved along with a goal to a terrific meal at the end. I remember first-timers and tourists complaining about the wait and saying that they hoped it was worth it. Everyone in the know on the line was assure them that it certainly was. I loved the country ambiance of that building. I was there right up to the end at the last week that it was open to move to a new facility on the property behind that started construction in 1999. In September 2000 the new and present building opened. This restaurant seats 1,200 - and there still are lines to get in.

The new facility brings us to the present and what makes Shady Maple stand out from all of the rest of the buffet restauants. It is the largest buffet restauarant perhaps in the world. It is longer than a football field. There are four massive dining areas in addition to smaller dining rooms that can be used either for private parties or the general public. There are also catering dining rooms used for private functions and weddings. Walking into the finely decorated lobby you see huge crystal chandeliers - which carry through into the dining rooms. The lobby has a large fireplace and elegant furniture. This is so very different from any restaruant or buffet in this area that it is entirely unexpected when you enter. The restaurant and the market which is now a super supermarket are now part of a complex and are still owned by Marvin Weaver and his wife, Miriam. Mr. Weaver can often be seen walking around the restaurant - always smiling and greeting his guests.

There are several cashiers in the lobby - each with its own line. (I know a secret about which line to get on for the shortest wait but I don't think that I am going to share it. It has nothing to do with who is working at it or the equipment - as it is no different than any of the other cashiers.) You pay when you enter. Meal prices vary by the night as the menu changes each night of the six day week. Beverages are included in the meal price. Like most other restaurants in this area Shady Maple is not opened on Sundays. The gratuity - actually too small a percentage - is automatically added at the cash register on your bill. You are given a ticket to display on your table to alert the cleaning staff that your table is occupied and you head off either to your table or another line depending on the crowd. The seating lines generally move quickly and when you are seated you are asked if you have ever been there before. If this is your first time, definitely say so because you will be told where everything is that you will not want to miss. You can come to Shady Maple for a breakfast, lunch, or dinner smorgasbord. The restaurant opens at 5:00 am and closes at 8:00 pm. It is one of the few buffets that you can arrive at close to 8 and still be seated and not rushed out (they are probably going to love me for saying that on a night when they would all like to go home).

When you are ready to start eating you go up to the smorgasbord which consists of four grill stations and a long - the length of the restaurant (remember football field) double sided serving bars. You enter from the middle and it appears that if you go in either direction you will find the same things - but this is not the case. There will be many things repeated on both sides from the middle - but there are many different things on each side as well. Always take a walk down each side to see what there is - and keep in mind that these are also double-sided servers. When you leave make an effort to know where your table exactly is - there are many, many similar tables here and it is not uncommon to sit down and then realize that it is not your table - oops!

What are you going to find to eat? What can you think of? You will probably find it or a variation of it. There is every possible way to create a salad. There are many prepared salads. There are six soups and beef chili. What is on the grills depends upon the night of the week. What is on the serving bars changes from day to day. Some of the basics stay day to day - fried chicken, turkey, sliced pork, beef, etc. There are plenty of vegetables. There are often pasta dishes. There are always local specialties of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. Each of the four grills is cooking up several things and each different from the other grills - on some nights popular items are found on more than one grill to avoid lines. Steaks on Monday nights are great and very tasty. Seafood is found grilling on Saturday, Friday and Tuesday nights - though Tuesday is the official "seafood night". One of my favorites is Philly Cheesesteaks - these are a treat here, but not served regularly but if you are there when they are on the grill try one - try one with sauce - it was a surprise to me for find the option for tomato sauce on one of these state favorites, but it was good! Do you feel like pizza? There is usually a huge and thick pizza at the side of the middle grill station. One slice is really too much - with everything else you are going to want eat.

You get your own beverages here and there is a very large variety including ice slushies in several flavors. There are specialty coffees, cappuchino, etc. There are sodas from both Coke and Pepsi. There are juices including orange juice. There are Ice Tea, iced mint tea and an iced tea cooler (mix of tea and lemonade - so good!), hot teas, regular coffeee, milk, and just about anything that you can think of as long it is a soft drink.

Dessert? There are plenty of choices and you are going to want more than one. There are cakes, pies, puddings, cookies, pastries, excellent soft serve ice cream, and sugar-free pies that are actually good and contain no sugar alchols (bad for you) or artifical sweetners. This is one restaurant that you have to keep reminding yourself to save some room for dessert.

The service is excellent. Your dishes are cleared promptly and as long as you keep that ticket prominently out on your table your server is not going to clear it away completely and make it ready for the next guest. Scattered along the sides of the dining room are trays of silverware and if you need extra you can easily get it. If you want extra napkins they are next to the beverage area. You are only relying on the dining room staff to clear away your dishes. You are on your own for everything else, but when staff come to your table it is with a smile. Rest rooms are clean and with a fancily decorated anteroom outside the actual facilities room. There are also "family restrooms" large enough for a family to go in together and they are private.

On the lower level of the restaurant is a large gift shop the size of the restaurant. This shop has gift items from furniture to toys to fancy glass decor. You will find both the inexpensive and the high end. I am not talking souveniers of the area, but actual gifts.

As I have said before, this is a destination restaurant. People travel from all over just to come to this buffet. I will often reroute a trip so that I can include Shady Maple. There is a popular television reality show about an adorable family with twins and sextuplets called Jon and Kate Plus Eight. They live close to this area and on one of their first season shows they come to dine at Shady Maple Smorgasbord with the whole family - eight very young children and the parents (and friends). With all of the buffet restauarants in this area, it is Shady Maple that they chose to go to. It seems like everyone in this area knows it. More than once I have been at a Farmers Market and hear someone say, "We are going down to the Shady Maple tonight." At Shady Maple you will find locals, tourists, and Old Order Amish who have arrived in horse and buggy and parked it in special stalls in the parking lot for horses.

I think that you can now see why I could not find anyplace that tops this restaurant for our restaurant of the year. So congratulations to Shady Maple - Best Buffet Restaurant for 2008!

A certificate declaring this fact is being sent to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord. They have been proudly displaying our certificate awarded to them in 2007 in their lobby. When you go there look for the certificate and tell them that you read all about them here!

Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East or Route 322 South to get to the restaurant. The phone numbers are 1-800-238-7363 and 717-354-8222. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.


*History details - Amish Country News, Vol. 19 - Issue 5, September 2008 pg. 4-5