FESTIVAL BUFFET at FOXWOODS CASINO, Connecticut - PART 2

PART 2 (SEE LAST WEEK FOR PART 1)

Ready for entrees I decided to walk around the entire buffet counter to see what was being offered and since there was so much out, to choose wisely. The buffet is divided into sections - dessert, seafood, International, Italian, Chinese, and Barbecue. The Barbecue section is easy to miss though there is a large sign over the entrance way to one of the patio dining areas and the barbecue counter is inside that area - still along the same and continuing wall. There was a lot to tempt me and the largest crowd was at the crab legs which are the Friday night feature. What was calling me was the Barbecue and that is where I went first. Here there were pulled pork, BBQ riblets, chicken, steaks, beans, taco meat and the fixings for tacos. I took some of the pulled pork and the riblets. On the way back to the table I went over to the seafood counter and took some peel and eat shrimp too. Odd combination but it just seemed right - spicy and smokey barbecue and cold shrimp. The pulled pork was nice. The riblets were small pieces of bone and meat in a thick and sweet red barbecue sauce. The rib tray could have used some attention and needed to be stirred. It was not dried out but was moving in that direction. I stirred it myself when I took my riblets. The ribs were tasty and good. The sauce could have been less sweet but perhaps that is just my palate. I enjoyed the first serving of them that I took. I later went back for more and struggled a bit to finish them as the sweetness of the sauce had gotten to me after a while. I am sure that many of you will love these - and when I go back, if they are there, I will have more.

I went back up to see what else I would take. There was a lot. On the Seafood area there were the peel and eat shrimp, a cod cooked with vegetables in an Asian sauce (the fish were whole sections of cod), fried shrimp, fried cod, and french fries. On the International section there was Chicken Tarragon with Asparagus and Shrimp, stuffing, potatoes, sliced beef in brown gravy, a carving station in the middle where they were carving ham and Prime Rib, mixed vegetables, and a section filled with crab leg clusters - whole, hot clusters. Along the line, next came the Italian area with vegetable lasagna, beef lasagna, tortellini in a creamy cheese sauce, sausage and peppers, meatballs in tomato sauce, and ziti with a tomato sauce to put on or a spicy marinara sauce to put on top. There were also cold marinated olives and marinated mushrooms. The Chinese area had General Tso Chicken, shrimp chow mien, fried rice, lo mien noodles, cold noodles with sesame sauce, fried dumplings , egg rolls, and a few other dishes. I have already described what I found at the Barbecue area.

The choices all looked good. I decided that this plate would be a sampling plate and I took a little of several items. I took some of the tortellini, a chunk of sausage, a meat ball, a piece of the Asian cod, a fried dumpling, and some marinated olives. The only thing that I would pass on was the fried dumpling as it was dry and the dough was chewy. The rest was very good. The sausage had a fresh made taste. The tortellini drew me back for a few more (though I should not be eating pasta in quantity).

My next plate was a mistake but only for the amount of food that it contained and it limited what more I would be able to fit in me afterward. I went to look at the steak. I always like steak. The steak here is grilled and put out in quantity in a serving tray. They are called club steaks - small, rounds of steak. In the tray they looked a bit dry and it was likely that they were well done. When steak is cooked and then allowed to sit it continues to cook so unless the steaks are constantly being replenished, if they are sitting they are likely to be well done. I decided to pass on the steak and go over to the middle of the counters to the carving station to see the Prime Rib. The Prime Rib that was being carved was not with bones but the meat was nicely red and medium rare. I went up for a slice and was given a thick, full cut of Prime Rib. This piece was as large as served as a full portion in a menu restaurant. It filled the plate. I added some au jus gravy to the meat. I also picked up some French Fries back at the seafood area, and added some of the shrimp chow mein just for a vegetable side. The Prime Rib was tender and very tasty. I very much enjoyed it and was glad that I chose that over the unknown steaks. But it was a lot of meat - if one was planning on eating more. It is probably best to direct the carver to cut a thin slice. For those who prefer a more well done beef, there was sliced beef in brown gravy on the buffet as well and this was much more well done.

Of course, after my Prime Rib I still had intentions of eating more (silly me) and it is usually at this point of my buffet meal in a buffet that I have not visited before to go back for some of the items that I really enjoyed. So back I went for bbq riblets, two more meatballs, and more tortellini. When I sat down with my plate I realized that I really had wanted to try the fried cod, but figured I would do so on the next plate. There was no next plate for me because with this all, I was full. No more room. (When at a buffet, heed that feeling and don't go one plate beyond, because afterward you will regret it.) I reached my limit and stopped wisely. Not even room for dessert.

I did, however, go to look at the dessert selections and there were many, many good ones. There were many types of pies and cakes - nice layer cakes. There was cheesecake. There were pastries. And there were hot waffles waiting for soft serve ice cream to be added on top with a variety of sundae sauces and toppings to join it. There was fruit, puddings, a few nice looking, hot bread puddings, and also a large selection of sugar free desserts (if you are so inclined). Had I taken dessert I would have regretted it, and I very reluctantly passed.

The food was very, very good. The quality of the food was very good. The cooking and maintenance of the food (with the few exceptions noted) was very good.

Was there anything that I did not like? One minor thing and that was the way the different buffet counter areas were roped off to create a line. When there was no one at an area, it was not problem to just walk up to the tray that you wanted and take some. BUT when there were others at that area, they were lining up - directed to by the ropes along the side - and it meant that you were walking behind others, cafeteria style along the entire line before you got to the tray that you wanted. If you had intention of going to all of the trays along the line 0r even some of them, this is not a problem, but if that one item that you want is at the end of the line, you were waiting until you got up to it behind what at some counters were long lines. I said, earlier, that I took some French Fries. They were in the last serving tray on the seafood line. There was a long line of people at that area. I slipped over to the end (where by the way no one was standing) and took some fries from the tray - without waiting on the line. A woman jokingly told me that I was "cutting" and then laughed. I made a joke back saying that all I wanted was a few fries and that I thought I would just slip in a grab a few. She laughed and made a point to say that she had been only joking. Good matured lady. Someone else might have made an unnecessary fuss. I had also said earlier that they had nice looking crab legs and you will note that I did not talk about eating any. Well, the line at the crab legs was consistent throughout the night, and I felt (with the many other good things to get) that it was just not worth the wait.

Service was also good and plates were taken off the table promptly and drink refills were offered without our asking.

Would I go back? Oh yes! In fact that is all I have been thinking about since leaving. This was a great meal and one that I look forward to repeating. The crazy thing is that if you drew a line from this buffet to my home it is about thirty miles away. The problem is that there is the Long Island Sound - part of the Atlantic Ocean - in the middle of that line. So to get to this great buffet I have to take the long way around, through NYC and into Connecticut and back in the direction of my home, but further north which is about a 300 mile round trip. A long time ago someone said let's build a bridge, but many people said "Not in my backyard!" ("NIMBY" is a popular expression in my area) and so there is no bridge.

Foxwoods is located pretty much in the woods. It is accessed by Route 2 in Connecticut which is a mix of highway and country road. Once you get to the complex of buildings it does get a bit confusing as there are three entrances and little explanation on the signs on the road. It is actually very simple if you know that all buildings are interconnected so if you go into any of the entrance drives and park - in one of the three self-park free parking lots or have your car valet parked - you will enter a building that will connect to all of the other buildings and areas. The buffet is in the "Rainmaker" area. A walk through the complex is very nice and the halls are made to look like a New England street with shops along the way, as well as casinos. So just pull into any of the entrances and park. Make note of which parking lot and level you are in. And the MGM Grand is part of the same complex and connected as well through a series of hallways and escalators.

The Festival Buffet is at Foxwoods Resort Casino. The address is 350 Trolley Line Boulevard,
Mashantucket, CT 06338-3777. The phone number is 1-800-369-9663. There is a website with directions, etc. and that is listed at the side of this page. A note about the address. My GPS did not recognize the town or the street. The casino did come up in a search of the list of points of interest and that is how we routed to it.

The Festival Buffet at Foxwoods is a must try!

FESTIVAL BUFFET at FOXWOODS CASINO, Connecticut - PART 1

I have been hoping to eat at a buffet that I can really rave about, and finally I did! The Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, CT is a large complex of four casinos, two hotels, and what amounts to an amusement park for adults. This is a casino that is owned and operated by a Native American tribe. There is a Native American museum as part of the complex. The entire complex has many, many restaurants but just one buffet - the Festival Buffet.

I had been to the Festival Buffet many years ago - before I had started writing this site - and I was not very impressed. In all this time I had not gone back when in this area and that is too bad because over time there has been a great improvement and I was missing a wonderful buffet experience.

We went on a Friday night and Friday's feature is seafood (what else?). The cost on Friday and Saturday nights is three dollars more than Sunday through Thursday nights when the price is $16.95 per person which includes your soft drinks. On Friday and Saturday the price for dinner is $19.95. Lunch prices all of the time are $16.95. If you have a casino "comp" card - easily obtained for several booths around the complex for free (though you may encounter long lines to get one) the price is $1.00 less at all meal times.

There was a long line to get into the buffet. We waited over forty-five minutes on the line. The system to get people in and out when it is busy is not the best. First you wait on line to pay and once you pay, you are held to the side of the front of that same line to be let in to go and wait on another line from which you will be seated. Once on that second line there is a host/hostess with a walkie-talkie announcing what the size of the parties are that need to be seated and answers come in from around the dining room to send the party of 2, 3 or whatever over to a particular area to be met by someone who seats you.

The buffet is located along a very long wall that extends from where the cashiers end into the dining room and even around into another dining room. In the center of the dining room is a large salad/cold buffet server. The decor is very nice with walnut color partitions along the tables and sections of tables. Around the dining room is a "patio" dining room that is actually on the floor of the concourse leading to the casinos and entertainment. The outside was very noisy and smokey from cigarettes. Sitting in that patio area - and it is extensive exposes you to all of the noise and the smoke. Part of the noise is a night club that is located just opposite the buffet and if you like loud music you can enjoy the buffet and be entertained at the same time. I was happy to get a table in the main dining room, away from the noise and the cigarettes (the smoke would have spoiled this great meal for me).

We were seated by a very pleasant woman who directed to go up and start to get out meal while she finished setting the table. We went up first for soup - as we always do. The soup is located on the end of the salad server and there were two soups. One was New England Clam Chowder and the other Tuscan Soup. Both were white cream soups. I took a cup of the New England Clam Chowder first. It was thick and rich, full of potatoes and clams. It was very good. When I finished that I went back for the Tuscan soup to see just what Tuscan soup is. It was a thin white cream soup with pieces of sausage, a green leaf vegetable of some variety cut up into the soup, and sliced potatoes. The soup was mildly spicy and very good. Two winning soups, though I would have paired a cream soup with a broth soup for more variety. Since my wife does not eat cream soups she was off right away to the salad bar.

I headed to the salad bar next. When I looked up the buffet before my visit I read about the special "grilled" Caesar Salad. I went right over to see what that was. There were two bowls of Caesar salad - one that was labeled Caesar Salad and the other labeled Chicken Caesar Salad. I had read about grilled shrimp Caesar salad but that was not there. So the "grilled" part was whatever they added in - of course. I took the regular and skipped the chicken figuring there would be enough meats later on in the meal. The Caesar salad was excellent. There was additional cheese to add in, if you like. It was thick and creamy. There were a large variety of prepared salads, many that were unusual or perhaps I should say "gourmet". Along the other side there were the standards - potato salad, cole slaw, pasta salads, etc. And there was a large assortment of greens and toppings to make just about any salad that you like. Everything was very fresh.

END OF PART 1 - PART 2 NEXT WEEK!

This article got so long that I have split it in two - if I am tired of writing, then you must be tired of reading. So come back next week for the rest! See ya then!

Sadie's Buffet - Perkasie, Telford and Vernfield, PA

Last week I told you about the buffet that I did go to on a recent trip to Pennsylvania. This week I am going to tell you about a buffet that I "almost" went to. Well, I actually went there but I did not eat there. I need to say right up front that there was nothing wrong with it - it just was not the night to try this buffet.

Anyway, I heard about Sadie's Buffet two years ago. I have been actually waiting for an opportunity to be close enough to one of the three to try it. While we were at a nice little history festival called Goshenhoppen in central, eastern Pennsylvania, I decided that at the end of the day we would go to Sadie's Buffet which I saw on a map looked near by. When I put the location into my GPS as we were leaving the festival, the screen told me that it was about 50 minutes away and then a red warning screen flashed telling me that the route included "Unpaved Roads"- and did I want to take those. OK. Unpaved roads, really? I was in the mountains in a rural area but come on - unpaved roads? How was this thing routing me? I will stop here for a moment and tell you about my GPS - which will go un-named. Recently, particularly in the state of Pennsylvania it has been routing me north to go south and also routing me through parking lots - really - parking lots. All in a round about way to take me where one road would have lead to another road and then a simple left turn was all that would have been necessary to get me to the same spot that the parking lot led me to. Never the less, I told the silly thing that I did not want to drive on "unpaved roads", it seemed satisfied and we were on our way - with by the way one parking lot included in the route.

Back to Sadies. There are three Sadie's Buffets and each one is located in a Landis Supermarket. There is one in the towns of Perkasie, Telford and Vernfield, PA. I have written about buffets located in supermarkets before - the best of which is Yoders which I have written about many times and recently at that, and several others. Each was an actual restaurant located in the supermarket - seemingly unique (at least to me) to Pennsylvania. So we were headed by way of my GPS to Perkasie to the Landis Supermarket to have dinner on a Saturday night in mid-August. We arrived - with about an hour and a half ti spare before closing at 8. We went into the supermarket and I started looking for the restaurant. There was a sign in the supermarket window talking about the Sunday Brunch buffet - so this was the right place. But unlike all of the other supermarket buffets, separated off from the supermarket in an actual restaurant with servers, etc., Sadie's is part of a small food court in the middle of the produce department of the restaurant. Off to the side there was a sectioned off area with small booths and between the two there was a woman at a cashier. There were was a buffet server with cold on one side and hot on the other. Along one wall - an extension of the produce wall was a sandwich bar. There was also a small area of desserts - pies, cakes, and such. This was one of the most unusual buffets that I have ever seen. Let me clarify that - I have seen such set ups before in supermarkets always designed so that you package hot and cold foods, weigh them, pay for them by weight, and take them home to eat. I have not seen ones that are set up to eat there and with an all you care to eat option. The all you care to eat price is $9.95 per adult. Drinks were extra. You could also have made up a single plate of an item or taken things in a container to take home.

I live in an area in NY where some of these supermarket serve yourself food counters to make up containers to take home have become suspect. Because they are relatively unsupervised, they have been known to have had not very nice people slip things into the food, etc. NOW - this is just where I am and because of this I have avoided eating from these types of set ups. I am sure that not all are a problem and I am NOT saying that there was anything wrong with the buffet servers at Sadie's. But the idea gave me some pause. But I decided that we had come all that way, let's look and see what there was - it was right out there in the open so it is easy to see exactly what you would be eating. We walked around and I took stock of what was in store.

The selections were very limited. The most interesting thing and something not on any buffet that I have ever seen is a sandwich bar. There was an assortment of breads and a variety of sliced cold cuts and also bacon, along with a variety of sandwich toppings. Yes, very interesting. Along the hot foods there were individual small meat loaves, what had been a tray of fish but just one piece remained, some type of chicken that I could not tell if it was baked or fried, and a couple of other hot foods. There were also potatoes and a couple of vegetables. Some items seemed to need "tending" and were starting to look dry. Several items all around the servers needed replacing. There was no one visible that was maintaining the food bars or replacing anything. There was a small salad area with a few tossed salad fixings and prepared salads. The food did not look bad but was this going to make me happy for my dinner that Saturday night? (Since you got last week's story first - obviously, not.)

It is not just me who is eating at these buffets but my wife is with me at each meal. And as you know, if you read this site regularly, is a bit of a picky eater and likes things basic and plain. Well, basic and plain was not going to be a problem BUT the assortment of what was there for her was going to be - and me too. It was not for her that we left - it was my decision.

I had been looking forward to Sadie's Buffet. I was hoping for another Yoders. It was far from that or any supermarket buffet that I have been to - and written about. Had the selection been greater and had everything been out that was being offered in fuller trays and being watched over and refilled we probably would have stayed and tried it. I very hesitantly and reluctantly decided to leave. And off we went hoping that the additional almost hour's drive would get us in time to the Golden Corral that I told you about last week.

Should you go to Sadie's Buffet? Maybe. If you are in for a different buffet experience or like sandwiches for dinner (this might be a good lunch stop - and there is Sunday brunch with the usual brunch/ breakfast items), this could be very good. I am sure there are many who have enjoyed any or all of the three in this part of Pennsylvania. There were a few people eating there that night - but just a few. If I am back in this area, I may come back to Sadie's Buffet for lunch - it is a ten dollar lunch but I really would like to try it.

I have included a link at the side of this page with Sadie's buffet and you can get directions to all three locations from the website (which is also the Landis Supermarket website). It is hard to see in the photos what these buffets are like - I really did not know what to expect before going except for my miss-led assumptions. Each buffet is open from 11 am to 2 pm for lunch, closed for two hours and then opens again from 4 pm to 8 pm. every day. If you are up for something a little different in manner of eating at a buffet, please give it a try. If you have been to anyone of the Sadie's Buffets please leave a comment and tell us about it. You may just be able to entice me back sooner than later - and for dinner too.

Golden Corral -Bensalem, PA

It has been a while since I have been to a Golden Corral. With Ryans now fast becoming an OCB clone, I consider Golden Corral to be the best of the major chain buffet restaurants. We were in an area of Pennsylvania that was far enough off from Lancaster - world of buffets - that we could not get to one of the usuals in time for dinner. There were two possiblilities that were not close but not impossible to get to enough before closing - one I will talk about in next week's article and the other was Golden Corral in Bensalem, Pennsylvania - just east of Philadelphia. We ate at Golden Corral.

The restaurant is located in a shopping center with several stores and a Sonic fast food restaurant next door in the parking lot. We went on a Saturday night and the restaurant was packed. A line ran out side the door and along the sidewalk. Interestingly, we had passed an Old Country Buffet on the way just about a mile down the road and there was no such line out the door. We had a forty minute wait on the line until we got up to the cashier's counter to pay. At Golden Corral your drinks are given to you on a tray when you pay for your meal along with a plate for you to start off with. Refills of your drink and more clean plates are brought to you by your server. A number of Golden Corrals have switched over to a much better system of taking your own plates when you need them from a stack out by the buffet - as is pretty standard at buffet restaurants. This Golden Corral has not made that switch and you rely upon your server to get you clean plates. It is for this reason that a good server at a Golden Corral is essential because if you don't have a good server your meal will be a disaster without clean plates. This night, we had the best server that we ever have had at a Golden Corral!

The price of the meal was $9.99 per adult and the drinks were $2.00 each. Yes, $2.00! That is the most I have paid at a buffet for drinks. With the dinner price so low, it is not too bad. The drinks served are Pepsi products. I will talk more about my drink later.

I was excited to go to a Golden Corral because I have been looking forward to the Ribs Special Feature - unfortunately, I missed that and the feature is now - Oceans of Shrimp. I am not sure why these chain buffets think that the shrimp that they server regularly on the buffet should be a feature - but they do. This feature was disappointing, but there is a lot more available that the feature does not really matter - but I sure was looking forward to trying those ribs! Sad to say, no ribs.

We started, as we generally do with soup and there were several choices - the best of which at Golden Corral is always the Chicken Noodle soup with its big, doughy broad noodles. There is an extensive salad bar with a combination of make your own salads including salads with cold meats to create a chef's salad or a chicken Caesar and prepared salads. One of the prepared salads was shrimp salad that is part of the feature - but it was off to the side and not even noticed. When I did see it, it did not tempt me - and I love shrimp salad. The lettuce put out for the Caesar salad should have been romaine but it was a mixture of chopped lettuces.

I should say right here that not everything was wonderful about this Golden Corral. I was sure when I went in that I would be coming back to an old friend and I would be able to write an article about a totally great experience. Well... I am going to start getting a reputation for reporting not so good things about buffets but I have to be honest and tell it like it is. This is not to say that there were not good things here - there were many!

Let's get some of this out of the way. I will start with my drink. I paid two dollars for an unsweetened ice tea. What I received was a glass of what that with a slightly brown tint that faintly tasted like tea. My first thought was that the tea was being served before it was ready and that this would be corrected in the refill. The refill came - from a different tea dispenser and was lighter in color and had less of a taste of tea. I might as well have saved my two dollars and been drinking water with lemon and sweet and low. Eventually, the tea did come looking and tasting like brewed ice tea should - dark and well - tea. That was the first thing that happened - as it was right at the start. Now, after our soup and before our salad, my wife looked at one of the plates that we were given and it was dirty. There was encrusted food across the plate. We looked for our server and she was no place to be seen - I said we had the best server that we have ever had at a Golden Corral - he was the second server we had that night - the first, this young lady left shortly after we started eating. Good too! Anyway. The plate. My wife picked up the plate and walked over to the cash register counter and went up to the woman who seated us. My wife explained that she got a dirty plate when we paid and please give her another clean one. Reasonable and simple request. Well, this woman - management level - took the plate and started examining it - and kept examining it. It took her several minutes to walk over and get a clean plate - and she never said a word. It was as if we were returning something for credit at a no refund policy store. There was no, let me take that right away and get you a new one - and we are so sorry that this happened. No, it was like my wife was asking for something monumental. Come now! Give a new plate and apologize! This was not the only dirty plate for the meal. We were given several dirty plates by our server - but he was fast to take them away and bring clean ones once we pointed out the problem. The one other problem during the night was the temperature in the restaurant. It is sometimes better too cold in the summer than too hot, but this restaurant was freezing inside.

That out of the way - the food was for the most part good. The carved ham should have been hot but was cold and the cold chicken pieces on the salad bar were frozen. I must tell you right away that I had one of the best pieces of steak that I have ever had at a buffet. The steak is cooked on a flame grill and this cook knew his stuff. He could tell and produce rare and medium rare without a problem - not raw but real rare. I got a steak that was perfectly charred and crispy on the outside and red and juicy inside. And he did this more than once.

The fried chicken was very nice too! The pieces were nicely breaded and very crispy with moist chicken inside. At the grill they were carving ham and roast beef. The shrimp feature was scattered all around the buffet with shrimp in pasta, shrimp scampi, every form of fried shrimp that you can imagine including fried coconut shrimp. I like shrimp, but to me it does not matter much if it is little shrimps fried in batter or large fried shrimp. They are all the same.

The offerings were not much different from what I have had at Golden Corral before. I did miss the nice fried fish that they have had in the past and I guess some of the shrimp took the place of that. There was also a section of Asian cooked dishes - there was Mongolian beef and sauteed mixed string beans. Both were OK.

Overall, for the crowd, the restaurant was clean and the service was great. All dishes were picked up right away - and clean dishes brought to the table. Eventually, the tea got corrected and this server was bringing refills before we even asked.

The crowd that was there when we were coming in was still there just about to the time that we were leaving. This was a very busy night. The dishwasher was pressed to keep up and did not do as good a job as there should have been but other than that the crowd inside did not make much of a difference - except for a few times that people kept lining up cafeteria style and were upset if you just moved in to the buffet to take something in the middle. I suspect that there were a number of people new to buffets that night.

Would I go back? Yes, with no question. Would I recommend this Golden Corral. Yes, I would. I am pretty sure that the few problems encountered this night were the result of the crowd.

The Golden Corral in Bensalem, Pennsylvania (one of the most eastern Golden Corrals in the Northeast that there is) is located at 1465 Street Road in Bensalem, PA 19020 and their phone number is (215) 245-5301. There is a link at the side of this page to the Golden Corral chain.

FRENCH QUARTER BUFFET- Showboat Casino, Atlantic City, NJ - PART 2

Part 2

As I had said in Part 1, the entrees and side dishes were scattered all along the various stations and mixed into each other without much regard for type of cuisine. I went for the crab legs next. These were located, not with the seafood but at the far end of the buffet next to the fried chicken. Ok. There was a large tray of crab legs and these were full clusters. I took two large clusters and went back to the table. I need to comment here about the climate in the room. This was not a very hot day despite the month of July - and we had been having some scorchers at that time. But this was a fairly pleasant day in temperature. The air conditioning in the restaurant was cranked up all the way to high. It was not uncomfortable to sit there but it made everything on one's plate cold in no time at all. The crab legs may have been hot or at least warm when I took them but by the time I got back to the table and started on the first leg of a cluster they were rapidly cooling down to cold. Perhaps they were not hot enough to start with. The problem is that when crab legs get cold they become a struggle to get the meat out of the shell. A properly hot crab leg only requires a snap in the middle and the section of crab meat slides out whole. Once the crab cools off, that same piece of meat breaks with the shell and the pieces need to be dug out - if they come out at all. So what should have been very nice crab legs were not worth the struggle. The tops of the clusters that should have nuggets of meat in them were pretty much empty too. So that was enough for the crab legs to not bother going back for more.

My wife - as those of you who read this site regularly know - does not eat seafood except for shrimp and while there was a variety of shrimp she was having a problem finding anything else to take. She resorted to eating salad and string beans (one of the vegetables for the night) and not much else. Besides the money, I felt bad that she was not finding much to eat. She had tried several dishes that she said were too highly spiced for her - and indeed, just about everything served had some seasoning and spice. There really was nothing plain. I thought that I would not have the same problem but I too was walking back and forth trying to find something that was worth eating.

One of the things that I had heard about being served at this buffet was good steak. I had been led to believe that it was cooked to order but it was not. There was steak - flat iron steak. It was served in a serving tray pre-cooked. I picked around the steaks until I found one that appeared that it might be at least medium rare - and it was when I cut into it. The steak had a crust of seasonings on it. I have had flat iron steak before but it had not been like this. This was nicely charred outside and then as I say crusted with seasoning. Inside the steak was red to pink which is how I like it. So what was wrong? The side of the steak was grizzle from end to end. You had to be careful cutting around it or you were chewing and chewing on something that was not going down easily. The taste was fine but for this money compared to other Atlantic City casino buffet steaks I have had (at less money) it should have been a better cut of meat.

In addition to the steak there was beef tri tip at the carving station. Tri tip is a cut of meat used for smoking barbecue but this not smoked. It looked like it had been baked or broiled and was not very inviting. It looked more like roast beef sliced at a deli counter than a fine beef meant for carving. It may be a fancy cut of meat but they did not do it justice here. I passed on that and I passed on the baked salmon that was also at the carving station.

None of the dishes that appeared to be "regular" dishes were "regular". There were meatballs - but not beef meatballs - they were beef and chicken meatballs. These were in a spiced tomato sauce. There was Italian sausage with peppers and onions. The sausage was off in taste - nothing wrong with it but an unusual seasoning. One of the dishes that people seemed to be lining up for was grilled skewered shrimp. There were four large shrimp with the shell split on a wooden skewer. I did not at first notice what the sign above them said and went back to the table with a skewer to try. The shrimp were not well cooked for grilled shrimp - moist but they could have been grilled more to give that grilled flavor. They tasted like they were seasoned with butter and lemon - which if that was the case would have been fine. But when I went back up to the counter the next time I read the sign and these grilled shrimp were Pineapple Chile grilled shrimp. Ok, but there was no taste of pineapple (or was that the lemon taste) and certainly no taste of chile - so now what should have been seasoned wasn't. Also up by the shrimp was fried codfish. I took a piece and it was fine. Nothing special but it was nicely batter breaded fish.

At the Italian area there was a large selection of pizzas. There was pepperoni, cheese, what looked like sausage, white pizza, and white pizza with broccoli. I took a slice of the cheese. The slice was about half the width of a street slice of NY pizza - thin but also a thin crust. The crust was disappointing. The pizza, itself, was nice. I know for a fact that Atlantic City knows what NY pizza is - the Boardwalk outside the casino is full of pizza stands selling real NY pizza. The crust on this pizza was flat. There was also a thick pizza. And when I went back I took a small square of that to try. This one was very dissappointing and perhaps was what they want to call Foccachia now instead of pizza. There was cheese and sauce on top but the dough was dried out - nothing like thick pizza that I have had anyplace before. I was sorry that I took that and not another slice of the thin pizza. Also at the Italian area was a pasta dish that looked like Penne ala Vodka. It was called penne something else. It tasted like penne ala vodka but without the vodka taste. There was also plain penne with a butter over it to keep it moist and a tray of Italian red sauce. There was another dish at the Italian area. It was macaroni and cheese with lobster and crab. I am not sure what this was doing in the Italian area but maybe because it was macaroni it some how fit. It was basic American mac and cheese with some lobster and crab meat chopped in - enough to stop any kid from taking their favorite mac and cheese.

The Chinese dishes consisted of General Tso's Chicken, Shrimp with Soy Beans, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Lo Mein. I tried the Lo Mein and it was not very good - not anywhere near what is found at every Asian buffet or restaurant. There was a large bowl of steamed dumplings and one sign above this single bowl that said Chicken Dumplings on top and then under that it said Fish Dumplings. All of the dumplings in the bowl looked the same - so which was which - and my wife who takes no chances on eating fish took none because she could not know if they were chicken or fish.

There was a desert bar behind the salad bar in the middle of the buffet area. There was hard ice cream scooped for you with a sundae bar. There was a very nice assortment of cakes and tarts and puddings. There was also a sugar free section at one end.

Our server was quick to take away our dirty plates and empty the shell bowl that was on each table - nicely providing shell crackers and cocktail fish forks along with a good supply of wet-naps. The server brings your drinks and she promptly took our soft drink order when we sat down and brought the drinks right away. But through the meal when my wife had emptied her soda glass, the server came and went and never refilled it. Several times with us sitting there she looked directly at the empty glass and before we could say anything was off somewhere else. It was not until the end of our meal when I finished my ice tea did she come over and ask me if I would like another - still ignoring my wife's empty soda glass. I had to tell her to bring both another soda and an ice tea or my wife would never have gotten a refill. You have to wonder about this and my wife later heard another diner complaining about this server to the manager.

Had this dinner cost the $20 that most other Atlantic City buffets cost would I have been so put off? Probably not, and it is not the extra money as long as you get value and a decent meal for that value. I have had better meals at Golden Corral and for under $10. After dinner we took a walk to a few other casino's to check out the prices of the buffets. All Friday night buffets and this was the highest priced. At what I consider still to be the best AC Casino Buffet - the buffet at Bally's Wild Wild West, the price was $20.99 and they too had a special feature which was Prime Rib. Plus there you get all of the international stations and the steaks. Value and the quality of the food means a lot. This was what was lacking here. With the sales tax and tip you are putting down almost $70 for a meal for two that offered little more than most $14.99 Chinese buffets that offer a raw bar and crab legs and lower priced chain restaurants.

I was so hoping to recommend this buffet to you all. I wish that I could but I can't.

The French Quarter Buffet is located on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in the Showboat/House of Blues Casino Hotel.Their website is listed at the side of this page. Parking at the casino is an additional $10 per day - one price no matter how long you stay in the garage for the day. If you have a casino comp card the parking is $5.00.

FRENCH QUARTER BUFFET- Showboat Casino, Atlantic City, NJ - PART 1

When I started writing this I had intended it to be one single article, but it grew to be so long that I have split it into two parts -

Part 1

For two years I have been told that the best casino buffet in Atlantic City, New Jersey is at the Showboat Casino. When the casino first opened many years ago, I went to the Showboat's buffet a number of times. They were known THEN for their all you can eat lobster buffet and way back then it was served every night. I guess there were a lot more lobsters around then and they were more affordable because at the time the buffet's price at that time was not higher than any of the others. Now, you may ask - how could they do that? Well, the answer is they couldn't and the every night lobster buffet became history at the Showboat. After that the buffet at the Showboat became just so, so. Nothing really to brag about and there were better at other casinos.

Flash forward several years later and the buffet at the Showboat moved from one part of the second floor to another. It became a little more open - though the view that you had of the ocean in its original location was gone. But the offerings remained just average and after trying it again, I was not all that impressed and looked to other casino buffets.

Now we come to the present and as I said, I have been told by a number of people that the best buffet in a casino at Atlantic City is at the Showboat. It had to be really good to top what I consider to be the best Atlantic City casino buffet which is at the Wild, Wild West Bally's Casino. We recently went to Atlantic City pretty much just to have dinner at the French Quarter, Buffet at the Showboat Casino.

We went on a Friday night which is called Seafood Festival. Sounded good on the signs around the casino. We also passed a sign that said - Saturday Night - ALL YOU CAN EAT WHOLE LOBSTER. So hey, they have brought that back too, at least for one night a week. Other nights of the week there are other features and I am assuming a lower price. The Seafood Festival was $27.99 per person and the Saturday Lobster is $29.99 per person. I am going to base this review on my experience at the Seafood Festival Friday night feature. The Lobster may be wonderful and more than worth every penny of the $30 per person (which is reasonable for all the whole lobsters that you can eat), but there was no value in what was paid for the Friday night Seafood Festival. Does the French Quarter Buffet hold up to the claims that it is the best casino buffet in Atlantic City - not in my opinion. Let me tell you about the whole night and I will tell you why.

The buffet is located on the second floor of the casino building, above the gambling area and in the middle of the floor that it shares with a theater, banquet rooms, and the House of Blues nightclub/bar. The second floor is reached by escalated at either end of the building. You walk down the hallway and you will see the buffet - a large open area along the middle of the hall. Getting in was confusing. There are three entrances - each for a different "comp" card holder - holders of the silver, gold, or platinum cards each go into a different entrance and those without cards enter where the silver card holders go in. All of this and all three entrances enter into the same cashier area with the same cashier desk. I am certain that when there is a crowd - on this Friday night on the last weekend of July there was surprisingly no crowd and no line at all (???) - you will wait much less time depending on which card you have in your hand. You have to earn that gold or platinum card with how much gambling that you do.

So, we finally find the right entrance opening and go to the same cashier that everyone else would go to and we pay - $27.99 each. If you do have a card it is swiped and "points" are added to it. The more points you have (from this or gambling- the more things you get from the casino - which are called "comps" for complimentaries). We go to the side of the cashier and are met by a young woman who escorted us to a table. A server came along almost as soon as we arrived and we were asked for our drink orders which are unlimited soft drinks included in the meal price. If you want wine or beer that is extra, but available with a per drink charge. They seem to be serving Pepsi products as that is what my wife thinks her diet soda was - Diet Pepsi - though she commented that she could not be sure it was not a no name brand.

The layout of the buffet is this - there is a dining room that forms an L around the very long serving area. The entire rear wall is the serving area with a salad and dessert island in front of that closest to the dining tables. Each type of cuisine is SUPPOSED to be in its own section along the serving area - Chinese in the Chinese section, meat in the carving section, Italian in the Italian section, seafood in the seafood section and so on. I say supposed because it was actually scattered all over the place with no sense or reason at all. What should have been in one was mixed into another area. It really was necessary to walk completely around and take note of what was offered to be able to find everything because if you skipped say the Chinese area because you were not in the mood for Asian food but you really wanted some plain string beans (NOT Chinese style string beans) you were not going to find them because they were next to the trays of fried rice and lo mein. Behind each serving counter was an open area for chefs to cook what was being served. Nothing was being cooked to order but they were cooking and refilling what needed to be out - at least as some stations - but not all.

We usually start our meal with soup and soup was scattered all around the different stations. Over by the raw bar and some of the seafood there was Manhattan Clam Chowder (the red kind). At the Chinese area there was egg drop soup. At the Italian area there was Minestrone soup. And then between the Italian area and the carving, hidden so well that I did not find this until mid-meal was another soup - Turtle and Snapper Soup. I took the clam chowder and it was fine - nothing much different than the clam chowder that is served every night at every diner on Long Island where I live (yes, in some areas there is always Chili offered, on Long Island in a diner there is always Manhattan clam chowder). Anyway, the clam chowder was nice - lots of clam pieces but nothing special. I will say here that later I went and had to try the Turtle and Snapper soup. I have had mock turtle soup before and I have had red snapper soup before - usually made with sherry. I have liked both when I have had them. The serving tureen of this soup was skimmed over with a thick layer of cooled soup. I took the ladle and stirred a lot to blend this thickened layer into the soup. I started to scoop and long, thick strands of soup hung from the ladle. Was this supposed to happen with this type of soup? None of those other soups that I have had - the mock turtle or the snapper did this. I scooped a half cup. It looked like brown gravy. I thought to myself that perhaps this was not soup at all but brown gravy for the beef. It was actually thicker than the thickest brown gravy would be. Back at the table I took a taste - the thick reddish brown soup clung to the sides of the cup and again, a long strand of something came up with the spoon and down into the soup. I bravely, broke the strand and tasted. It tasted like other snapper soup that I have had. There was the distinct subtle taste of sherry. The taste was pleasant - the consistency was odd. It was super thick and those strands kept coming up with the soup. There was no pieces of anything in the soup - just these stringy strands. I did finish most of the half cup, leaving behind what was clinging to all of the sides that the soup touched.

My wife visited the salad bar next and I went on to the raw bar. The salad bar was very extensive with a variety of salad toppings to go along with the greens and then a number of prepared salads including a Caesar salad that was prepared. I tried the Caesar salad later on and it looked a lot better than it was. The dressing - and most of what is Caesar salad is the dressing - was weak. My wife was upset that a number of the salad toppings contained drippings and pieces from other toppings containers. I commented to her that this was the fault of the people serving themselves moving one spoon to another container but she pointed out to me that at many salad bars at buffets - including the chain buffets - the employees come around and correct this when it happens - removing whatever does not belong or even replacing the container. Here this did not happen and the - let's call them "contaminated" containers remained that way the entire time that we were there. While eating her salad, my wife discovered that the slices of cucumber that she had taken were all spoiled.

As I said, while my wife had salad, I went to the Raw Bar and there were raw oysters and clams on the half shell. The oysters were large - perhaps too large to eat comfortably for raw oysters. I took three oysters and one clam. The oysters were not wet as they should be and instead of silvery grey in color they were a dry, pale yellow. I ate the first one and thought that it was slightly off in taste - not bad but not with that fresh ocean taste that raw clams should have. They were served on a large bed of ice so they should have kept fresh but it is hard to tell how often they are taken and replaced. I tried one more with more concern - and the last thing that I wanted on this night was raw shell fish poisoning. It did not have that fresh ocean taste and that was it for oysters for me that night. I did try the clam and it was OK - too large really to be very good. The Raw Bar also had shrimp in the shell - large shrimp that had been de-veined. The ones that I picked were fine. My wife took some later that she said were under cooked and not good. So far the Seafood Festival was not so festive.

END OF PART 1 - Come back next week for PART 2

Being Diabetic at a Buffet

This is a bit different than my usual articles and perhaps it is aimed at specific readers, but I want to share something important. To do so and make this understandable to all, I am going to explain Diabetes in the simplest of terms. This is a disease in which the body either does not produce insulin or is resistant to the insulin that it produces on its own. Insulin is important for survival and without its proper production or use a number of complications will occur in the body that could lead to eventual death. Now, that is what it is - and again in it simplest explanation. What leads to this condition is a variety of factors only one of which is heredity. People who are over-weight are prone to developing the disease, but believe me the skinniest of people also can be come Diabetic. To control the disease a variety of specific medications are prescribed - some Diabetics require that the insulin in their bodies be replaced and insulin is such that it can only be injected. Not all Diabetics take insulin. Some take oral medications and some take no medication but control themselves with diet and exercise. I need to make clear that traditionally Diabetes is always associated with sugar - and many believe that a Diabetic can never eat sugar or anything containing sugar and this is just not true. What a Diabetic needs to cut back on are carbohydrates - in any form - and this does include sugar, but it also includes potatoes, fruit, breads, pasta, and so much more. These do not have to be eliminated in the diet 100% but they do need to be reduced.

I have gone on above just to easily understand what I am about to write about. Knowing this, how could a Diabetic eat at a buffet? My answer is "easy!". What? Yes, in fact, I know from experience that a buffet is one of the best and easiest places to eat.

One of the problems with menu restaurants for a Diabetic is the limitations of what is on the menu and portion sizes. Either the portions are way to large or ridiculously low or the offerings just don't fit in to what one can eat - and they are site unseen. Now, go to a buffet. The portion sizes are up to you. If you want to eat something that perhaps is OK but only in a small amount, you take a small amount. Not sure what is on something - is that vegetable covered in breadcrumbs - at a buffet all you need to do is look.

Now, it does take a proper mindset of not going in to the buffet as a "free for all" eating marathon. There has to be a lot of self-control to pass up those tempting desserts or pass on the lasagna. But there are many choices and possibilities at a buffet for someone determined to enjoy the meal while keeping track of that to eat or not to eat.

At a buffet you will almost always find a salad bar and this is a wonderful place to fill up a plate and create a salad to your liking. Skip the croutons, pasta salads, or potato salad and pretty much you can eat as much as you care to eat. But you are not limited to the salad bar. Remember what I said - what needs to be limited are carbohydrates and while you will find many at a buffet that you may take in small amounts there are plenty of meats, fish, and vegetables to enjoy. As long as one does not go "overboard" there is no problem for a Diabetic at a buffet.

I have been Diabetic for many years - even before I started writing this site. Some of my lowest carb meals have been at buffets - maybe most of my lowest carb meals and I did not leave that buffet hungry. I have to actually watch that I eat enough carbs at a buffet meal. Yes, too few carbs can lead to too little sugar in your blood (the insulin controls the sugar in your blood and what your body does with it) and the result is a low blood sugar reaction which believe me is nothing anyone wants to go through too often - imagine being upside down on a roller coaster with blurry vision. At a recent visit to Shady Maple I was too careful about eating carbs and had this reaction on the drive home - not good at all. A Diabetic who is knowledgeable about what to eat and is actively working on control soon learns what can be eaten and what can't - and everyone's body is different so there are few universals. To learn this the Diabetic tests his/her blood with a simple prick of the finger and an small electronic meter that will tell you what your blood sugar (actually blood glucose) is at the moment. Test two hours after eating and you will know how that meal and those foods effect you. Complicated, not really. Necessary, absolutely.

So, as I have been rambling on here the point is that if you are a Diabetic or a member or your family is - or a friend - you all don't have to forget about going to a buffet. Just be wise and choose wisely. Eat and enjoy.

New Changes at Yoders

I have written several times about Yoders Restauant - the buffet located in a supermarket in New Holland, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. On a recent visit there were a few pleasant surprises - a few new additions. Before I tell you about these, I will give you a brief rundown on this buffet - my "second" most favorite buffet to go to.

As I say, Yoders is located in a supermarket building. It is off in a wing of its own connected to Yoder's Supermarket. It shares this area of the building with two gift shops and large banquet catering rooms that are an extension of the restaurant. Yoders Restaurant offers both menu and buffet dining. Look here for Yoders and you will see pricing, etc.

Don't go to Yoders expecting eletgance in decor. The dining room is filled with hard, but comfortable booths similar to those found in family restaurants or even some fast food restaurants. The main dining room seats four at the most at a table but there is another dining room to the rear that accommodates more at a table - so have no concern if you look in and wonder where your family of six is going to sit. The rear of the dining room is the buffet area. There are several hot and cold double sided buffet servers, a grill at the back, and two buffet servers on each side wall.

On this particular Saturday night the feature was Surf and Turf - and this is the same on Friday nights. Now, don't equate surf with lobster - there is no lobster to be found here but there is some very good seafood - and nice steaks grilled to order on a flame grill. The soups went along with the theme too - vegetable beef and "Krab Supreme" which was very large pieces of the "fake" crab meat in a cream of broccoli soup. It was rather good - different, but good!

The only complaint that I can say about this particular meal was that some of the portions that were given at the grill and even on the buffet were too large. NOW, this is A GOOD THING - but I would have been happier leaving more room in my stomach for trying more. The steak - which they call Marinated Steak - was a whole steak - not a cut off piece or a small cube of meat. The steak had a slightly sweet and seasoned taste which was very good. I took a piece of fried cod fish from the buffet and the pieces were large pieces of fish. The taste was excellent and I guess I could have cut into one in the serving tray and taken less but I hate to do that. My wife asked for turkey at the carving station and was given several substantial slices. BUT I would rather the servings are large than too small - as so often is the case at some buffets.

Now for the changes -

The most impressive change is an expansion of the dessert area. Still within the same space, there is an increase in cakes and also the addition of a sundae bar. Built onto the wall are cylinders that dispense sundae toppings - sprinkles, nuts, etc. along with a variety of syrups.

There are now two large screen televisions hanging down at each side of the carving area/grill. This is not for watching shows but electronically displays the specials on the grill and carvings. Very nicely done! Easy to change and I have not seen this anywhere else. The screens blend in well and do not distract you sitting in the dining room eating.

At the middle of the grill area they have placed a new buffet server. This replaces a small serving module that had been in this area previously. The new server has both hot and cold - condiments, hot mushrooms and hot onions for the steak, sauces, and on this night - steamed, spiced shrimp. This small double sided buffet server divides the grill/carving area and compliments it well with items that go along with what is served there.

The last change we did not notice until we were dining for awhile. There has always been a wall length buffet server along the left wall at the back with the soups and breads. For as long as we have been coming here, I never noticed the far area at the other end used to serve anything. On this night my wife was a bit disappointed that her favorite dish here on the buffet was missing - baked oatmeal. It is generally served every night but it was not on the buffet servers with the entrees and side dishes - which is where it always has been. Almost at the end of the meal she was walking past that far end of the wall buffet server and glanced in - and there was the baked oatmeal. Not only that but there was also baked oatmeal with fruit and other similar dishes. So this area is now being used and if you go make sure to look to see what may be there. Now, I wish I could say that this made my wife happy as she loves their baked oatmeal but she said that it was different - not the same consistency and texture as usual, and a slightly different taste. So she told me she wished that she had not found it or it had really been missing because it just was not the same. Maybe a different person in the kitchen made it - maybe it was a one time difference... I will encourage her to try a small bit of it again the next time just to see. I was happy to try a slice of something called Funny Cake - this is a cake in a pie shell - yellow cake with swirls of a dark chocolate syrup-like mixture of chocolate (not sure how to describe it because it is not filling and it is not syrup). What it is is good and this is the first time that I have seen it here or any buffet. It is not commonly found and is specific to one German region of Pennsylvania not in Lancaster County. I have had it at festivals - but never at a buffet. This one was not the best that I have had but it was good and a delightful surprise.

There is a website for Yoders listed at the side of this article. The restaurant is located at Yoder's Supermarket or perhaps, more properly, Yoder's Country Market, Route 23, New Holland, Pennsylvania. The phone number is (717) 354-4748. Yoders is open from Monday to Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner until 8 pm. It is also now open on Sunday morning/early afternoon for Sunday Brunch.

ALLYOU CAN EAT "BUGS"

They are called many things. In some parts of the southern US they are known as "bugs". In some regions they are "crawdads". Most technically they are crayfish. Crayfish look like tiny lobsters. In some respects because of their size and shape they do look like bugs.

There is a legend about crayfish - it goes that when the French settlers were forced out of Nova Scotia in the 18th Century and journeyed down the east coast of the United States to settle in what is Louisiana and there became the Cajuns, the lobsters in the waters around Nova Scotia followed them. All along the way the lobsters cried in sorrow and with each mile became more and more emaciated. When they reached Louisiana they had become very small - and thus became what we know as crayfish. Nice story - certainly with no fact.

They are naturally black and when boiled their shells turn bright red. To eat them, since they are so small - about two or three inches long for the larger ones - you twist their heads off and then eat out the meat from the tail by placing the tail end into your mouth and pulling and sucking. They tend to have a very fishy taste - especially when steamed or boiled - and they are full of juice. Many will tell you to suck on the ripped open end of the head and you will get a great taste there.

Some seafood buffets will offer crayfish - Captain George in Williamsburg, Virginia is an example. Some Asian buffets also will include crayfish. There is going to be a one day special in of all places the Ikea Stores' in-store restaurants. They are offering a dinner of All You Can Eat Crayfish! Ikea is the assemble it your self furniture store chain from Sweden that has locations across the United States and I am sure the world. I am not sure why but Ikea has announced this AYCE special Crayfish Party for August 20, 2010. The price is just $9.99 for adults and just $2.49 for children under 12. This is an annual event!

I am sure there are kids who like crayfish - they have a very strong flavor and it is not something that I believe the average kid will like but at $2.49, if your kid loves crayfish it is a deal. The $9.99 adult price is great for adults too!

Here is a link to the event. This link may only work until the day of the event, but look again in a year for this annual event if you miss it this year.

If you love crayfish this is your opportunity to get your hands on all you care to eat! Personally, I can't eat many - the flavor is too strong and I can't get past how much like bugs they look. (The meat is great when cooked into things like a bisque soup.) But a lot of people love them and I say get to Ikea on August 20, 2010 and dig in! A sign at the store says to go in advance to purchase tickets - so if you want to get this one night feast, head on over to your local Ikea now!

It is Going to Take a Lot

When I am in southeastern/central Pennsylvania I make a point to get to Shady Maple Smorgasbord for dinner. I have written about this restaurant many times and it has been selected as Best Buffet - anywhere - for several years running by this site. I was recently there again and started wondering what would it take to top this? What would it take for another buffet to be the best?

I have been to many elaborate buffets - some in hotels, some in casinos. I have been to many family buffets. None come close to the size, consistency, quantity, and value as Shady Maple. It is almost embarrassing to find no competition. I have looked. I have tried and tasted. Entering a new buffet there is always hope - will this be the one? So far none have.

It does not matter what season or what night of the six days of the week that it is open, it is always full of people. This is a favorite of both locals and tourists and they line up to get in. We were recently there in the middle of the week - what usually is an off night for restaurants - even in an tourist area. There were lines - though short lines - at Shady Maple and while there really was no wait most of the large dining rooms - and they have several were full of happy diners.

This recent visit the feature of the night was Prime Rib. Full prime ribs being carved to order at several carving stations. If you wanted rare, there was a rare one to be had. If you wanted well done, there was a well one there too, as were medium done too. Who else does this? Most are "here is what we have" - it is rare or it is well done, not both,and usually it is well done.

The same is true when steaks are served. Order it as you like it and it will be cooked for you and shown to you to make sure it is how you want it. A few buffets will do this, but not many.

The number of different items being served at one time on the buffet is unchallenged. As I have pointed out before that many do not walk down to both ends of the buffet servers. In the middle it appears that the each side repeats what is on the other, but that is not true. Even the second salad bar and soup area will have a number of different offerings than on the first. There are different side dishes on each end and different entrees mixed in with some that repeat. Even the two dessert areas have different things assorted in.

I want to see the buffet that tops this one. It will have to be spectacular beyond imagination. It really is going to take a lot to top Shady Maple. If it is out there, I want to know about it.

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.

BUFFET EUROPA GONE

On June 4, 2010 I wrote an article here announcing that the wonderful buffet restaurant, Buffet Europa was sold to new owners. I have just been informed by one of our readers that there is now a sign on the front of the restaurant that says: "Coming Soon: Mediterranean and Turkish Restaurant". What was and had been Buffet Europa is now gone.

While this would not usually be deserving of its own article, but rather, perhaps, a comment on one of the other articles about this buffet, this little gem of a buffet was getting a following from our readers - perhaps too few and too late - but a following never the less, and it is important that all know that if they go there now, they are not going to find the buffet there any longer.

The website for Buffet Europa is still running. It has not been updated but when one looks at it it appears that all is open and the same. But this may be that the website was never transferred to the new owners or if it was it has not been maintained. The link to that site has been removed from the side of this page.

I could lament the loss of Buffet Europa but anyone who follows this site already knows how I and many feel. There really should be no surprise to any of us as we all have commented on the sad lack of business that this restaurant received despite how good the buffet was.

The new restaurant that is coming to this location may be very good. It doubt that it will be a buffet, but if it is we would all love to hear about it and please leave a comment below or contact me.

If the original owners ever do open a new "Buffet Europa" I hope that they will contact me through this site and let us know where it is. It will certainly become a priority trip!

So if you were heading to Aaron Road in North Brunswick, New Jersey for a meal at Buffet Europa you will not find it when you get there.

So sad...

IVY BUFFET, WEST NYACK, NEW YORK

I love finding small, non-chain buffets that are not Asian. There are many oriental independent buffets and in areas like Pennsylvania it is also not unusual to find one, but in New York it is very rare. I came across the Ivy Buffet on a trip many months ago. We had planned to dine there on our next trip to that area - and I must say going to this area is very rare for us - but in the past year we have gone three times. Well, on that second trip things just kept going wrong and we never made it to the Ivy Buffet. Just recently we found that we needed to go past this area again, and we knew that on our way back home we would definitely dine at Ivy Buffet.

The Ivy Buffet is located in West Nyack, New York. It is across from Palisades Mall, one of the largest malls in the United States. The mall is a location to see all on its own with a Ferris wheel inside and even a Chinese buffet in the mall itself. The Ivy Buffet is not in the mall or accessed from the malls many parking lots. It is across Route 303 from the mall and you must be on the north bound side of the route to get in which resulted in our passing it and pulling into a business parking lot to turn around as the road is no U turn sign after no U turn sign.

The restaurant is in a building that had been formerly one of the many chain restaurants before - not a buffet chain, but the outside of the building was very familiar looking though I am not certain which of the chains it had been before. There is a large enough parking lot and the building has been well maintained. There is a large sign outside - Ivy Buffet - so that you cannot miss it.

Inside you find a very nice decor. I am sure that whatever this had been before - this buffet has only been here less than a year - came from the former restaurant. There are three dining rooms and a private room for parties also. The first dining room is directly in front of the entrance doors and away from the buffet servers. The other two dining rooms are next to each other - separated by only a short, see over wall and right next to the buffet servers.

Dinner at the Ivy Buffet is $9.99 Monday through Sunday for dinner. Lunch is $5.99 from Monday to Saturday. Unlimited soft drinks are $1.49, served to you by your server and they have Pepsi products. There are children's prices that are split by two age ranges. The price of the meal is well worth it and the food as you will see as you read on is good.

The food at the Ivy Buffet is called "Continental" and I guess that is a good description. It is not Southern or country like many buffets - no fried chicken (at least not on the night that we went there). This is what could be called European (not like Europa Buffet had though) or basic American fare. There are three large double sided buffet servers and one smaller server against the back wall with desserts.

We were told when we came in to pick any table that we liked. It was about 7:30 on a Friday night. The restaurant was almost empty. There were about six tables full. As we were there other groups came in, but the restaurant was never really crowded with many empty tables. As we were dining I kept thinking about a similar situation at Buffet Europa in New Jersey. Though, I have seen reports that Ivy Buffet can get crowded at times - which is a good thing for business.

We gave the server our drink order and we went up to the buffet. We always start with soup and there was one server with chicken rice soup. There was an empty spot next to that for another soup. Almost as soon as we were back at the table with our soup the second soup was brought back out full of seafood chowder. I, of course, finished my chicken rice soup - it was very nice - and went up for a cup of seafood ch0wder. The chowder was a thin, red chowder very similarly seasoned to clam chowder but it was full of chunks of a white fish and shrimp. This soup was good too.

We next headed up to the salad bar. One entire server was a cold server with salads, greens, salad fixings, prepared salads, and also peel and eat shrimp on ice. The shrimp were large. This server also had several fresh fruits to choose from along with chocolate pudding and vanilla pudding. There were also Greek stuffed grape leaves with the salads. When we came in I was certain that I heard a Greek accent from the gentlemen who greeted us and in NY it is common for local restaurants to be owned by Greeks. The fruit included whole fresh peaches, grapes, and watermelon. It is not everyday that you find whole fresh peaches on a buffet. I chose the Caesar salad. It was pre-mixed and nicely full of dressing with seasoned croutons. This salad was very good. One of the best that I have had at buffets.

We moved on to the hot foods next. There was an interesting assortment. There was chicken Marsala, chicken parmigiana, meatloaf, hot wings, spare ribs, fried whole whiting (fish), broiled basa (fish), whole shrimp with the shell and head, meatballs in tomato sauce, Italian sausage and peppers, linguine, chicken in Spanish rice, chili, baked ziti with meat, fried chicken cutlets, pizza, and mixed vegetables and potatoes including whole red potatoes, french fries and mashed potatoes. While this is not an overwhelming number of entrees there certainly were enough to choose from. The food was good. The chicken Marsala - chicken lightly coated and sauteed in wine sauce with mushrooms had a good taste of the wine in the sauce. The chicken parmigiana was cut into half size pieces, each covered in mozzarella cheese with tomato sauce. This was good as well - and with the addition of a little extra tomato sauce on top of the cheese taken from the server of tomato sauce next to the linguine, this made it even better - though it was good on its own. The spare ribs were thick and meaty. They did not have a traditional barbecue sauce on them though they had a light sauce that had been brushed on before they were baked that cooked into the top of the ribs. There was a lot of meat on each rib. I would have preferred them in barbecue sauce but many prefer them plain. These were baked ribs and in the bottom of the server there was some oil that had come from the meat - at first I was concerned that the ribs would be greasy but they were not. They were very tender and tasty but not fall off the bone ribs. Basa is a catfish that comes from Vietnam and is very popular in Europe and was recently introduced to the market here in the US. I did not know this at the time and I do like catfish. The Basa had a mild taste, was less fatty than catfish, and was mildly seasoned when broiled. The surface of the fish was a little tough but the meat of the fish was tender. The sausage and peppers were nice, as were the meatballs. The meat loaf was not covered in ketchup as it is in some restaurants. It was good. The chicken cutlets were brought out later while we were dining and added to the tray that contained french fries. When the pizza was gone - and it did not come back out, the chicken came out in its place. I think that is a fair substitution. I want to make a comment also about the linguine. In many buffets the pasta is kept in water or oil to keep it "fresh". Here the linguine was kept nicely fresh without being soaked in water or oil. It was not dry at all. It was hot and fresh. I am not sure how they do it but it was done well.

There was a small dessert assortment that included chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate brownies, butter cookies, European style chocolate chip cookies, apple strudel cake, soft serve ice cream and cones with toppings, and all of the fresh fruits and puddings that I mentioned above that were on the salad bar. A woman at a nearby table commented on how good the ice cream was. It did look good - creamy and not icy.

I must point out that food was continually brought out and added to the buffet to replace anything that was even beginning to run out through out the time that we were there and there were not that many tables full of diners. A good effort was made to make sure that nothing was empty and that everything was hot and fresh.

The meal was way beyond what one would expect to get in a buffet for $9.99. The food was better than some chain buffets and I must say was far superior to the buffet meal that I had a few weeks ago that I wrote about at the Mohegan Sun Casino high price buffet.

My only regret is that I am far from this buffet and it is in a location that I am not likely to return to very often. The trip back home took 90 minutes with several large tolls included. But I was there anyway and this was one of the high points of the day!

The food is good and the value is excellent. The location for anyone in this area is easy to get to. It is actually less than 30 minutes from New York City and it is also not far from the New Jersey state border (actually very near).

I recommend the Ivy Buffet. For those of you who had been to Buffet Europa before it was sold, do not expect to find a buffet on that same level, but judged on its own merits, Ivy Buffet is a find.

The Ivy Buffet is located at 78 North Route 303 in West Nyack, New York 10994. The phone number is 845-348-1110. There is an email address but no website. The email address is IvyBuffet@aol.com.

A Manager Can Make or Break a Buffet

As in any business, the manager - the man in charge at any particular moment - is a very important factor in the success or failure of a buffet restaurant. Through the years I have observed many good managers and a number of not so good managers. While it is the line staff that the public sees the most. It is the manager who oversees and directs that staff and that manager has to be visible for most of the time that the public is in the restaurant.

One of the best things that a manager can do is walk around the buffet and the dining room with wide open eyes. Are all the tables being attended to? Are there any dirty plates being left on tables? Are the floors clean? At the buffet tables are all of the trays full or near full? Does the kitchen know that any tray is about to empty? Are there serving pieces in all of the trays? And it can go on and on. If a manager has trained his/her staff well, that manager's job is much easier.

I realize that it is because of the economy but many buffets lately are understaffed. A dining room that should have a minimum of three table staff have one. A buffet area that should have several staff including a carver at the carving station or within a few steps has two or maybe three staff total - with the carver doing several other jobs other than carving. While we can blame the economy, this lack of service to the dining public is going to directly result in that restaurant losing customers and losing more money to its eventual demise.

Another important part of the manager's job is to anticipate the needs of the kitchen and the buffet for the day. I know of a buffet that never does this - holidays and significant days that will certainly bring out more patrons to the restaurant are treated as any other day and always results in shortages as the day moves into the dinner period and onto closing. Days like the last day of school, local school vacations, and, of course, holidays bring out an increase in dining out - and a family friendly buffet is always a choice of many with kids. Many of the large chain buffets will do increased advertising, run promotions, and let everyone knot that they want you there for holiday dinner. But recent visits to buffets on two family holidays were a major disappointment. Most, if not all businesses (and the chain buffets are certainly included in this) can go back into their records for that holiday the year before and see how much business was done, how many meals were served. This was easily done before there were computers so with the massive data at a businesses disposal now, this is certainly easy to do. Combined with the dining trend for the current year it is pretty straight forward to accurately predict how much food will need to be on hand, how many staff will be needed, and how to keep every customer who comes in that day feeling that they got what they came for. At one buffet that I have been to, sadly, if this were only the case. They never seem to know that the kids are home from school on a particular day and the dining room is more than full. On holidays things run out at a level that no anticipation or thought had gone into the preparation for the day. Here is an example of what took place at a buffet on a Sunday holiday in June. Long lines kept even early dinner diners from getting a table before hours later than usual - no problem here as if there are a lot of customers there are going to be lines and that cannot be helped. But once inside, these dinners who were out with their families for a holiday meal (one by the way that was well promoted by the buffet) found empty trays, carvings gone, a wait for dishes, cups, and glasses, and many of this not replenished at all. Had this manager (or team of managers) anticipated the needs for this holiday - based on previous holidays this should not have happened. Here is a conversation that was overheard between the manager of the buffet and a "concerned" customer. >>Customer - There are no coffee cups. Manager - There are supposed to be some out there. Customer - Obviously, but there are not. Manager - Oh.. Customer - Could you have some brought out. Manager - Ummm... I will have someone bring some out. << Then this manager walked into his office. It took twenty minutes before coffee cups were brought out. By then I am guessing this customer had given up. What should have this manager done? His immediate response should have been, "I will make sure that some are brought out right away. Thank you for alerting me." And then - just to show this customer that the concern presented was not being ignored, walk obviously over to the kitchen so that the customer could see that the manager was going to get this done. I have seen good managers in similar situations ask where the person is sitting and tell them they will bring whatever they are asking for right out to them - and do. That night continued on to have no more carved meat at an early enough time that there were still people at the cashier being let in, salad bowls empty for the entire night we were there, along with a number of entrees and side dishes empty. At one point earlier, for the lack of being able to find the carver, people were taking the carving knife and cutting their own meat with several just taking what should have been carved down but taking the piece. No wonder there was no more meat later on. Overheard from that same manager - who at this point was sitting at an empty table with an employee rather than tending to what was needed - "We are out of it all. No cake, no cookies, no nothing..." Yet people were still being let in. Why is this bad? Because everyone who pays the price for the meal is entitled to the full offerings of the day. There is no discount or even explanation given to say we are out of many items - be are glad to have you but expect that things will not be there when you come in.

I have seen managers at other buffets when things get to this point not let any more people in. I have seen managers who when a customer brings a concern will turn around and hand that customer either a money off coupon for the next visit or even a coupon for a free meal. While that customer may have still felt disappointed, they walked away knowing that the manager tried his/her best.

There are many managers who keep a close eye on their buffet. I have seen some taking temperature readings at the hot servers making sure that everything is properly kept hot. I have seen managers bring out a whole plate to a customer of an item that was empty on the buffet - just for that customer - while the tray was refilled for all. I have been greeted at my table - along with the guests at the other tables - by the owner of a buffet. He has sharp eyes on his entire operation and this is not a small restaurant and is often visible in the dining room along with his more than competent managers.

So, it is plain to see that a good manager will have a successful restaurant because he/she knows what the customers expect - good and plentiful food and quality service. Here is to all of the good managers out there!

The Phantom Returns

Two years ago I wrote an article called The Mystery of the Golden Corral. It was about a Golden Corral Restaurant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania that seems to come and go. One day there it is and then suddenly, poof. Since writing that article - POOF! It was gone! In the area a few times since I would drive by and there would be the empty building - restaurant sign gone. Closed.

Now, a reader just recently wrote to me and guess what - It's Baaack! Yes, out of the mists, the phantom restaurant has returned. Same location and same Golden Corral. This is really incredible. One can only imagine what happens with the owning of this franchise location.

This Golden Corral, I am told, has been redone inside to the "new" style - get your own plates design. This is a good thing because the only thing not great about Golden Corral is having to wait until your busy server comes around with more plates.

I have also been told that the food is good. It was when I was there last but that was BEFORE the disappearance AGAIN. So there is no telling if the cooks and staff disappear with the restaurant to another dimension and then reappear in mass when the restaurant fades back into existence. If you go now you can get the Ribs feature that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, it just occurred to me, what if you are inside eating when the restaurant starts to fade away again - off into the netherworld of buffet restaurants... Nah, probably can't happen. Or can it?

The phantom Golden Corral is located at 1147 Quentin Road in Lebanon. PA. Or is it???

Sunburst Buffet at Mohegan Sun Casino Resort, Uncasville, Connecticut

The Mohegan Sun Casino Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut is an entertainment destination. Not only are there four or five full gambling casinos within the complex, there is an upscale, shopping mall, and a number of restaurants including two complete buffets. I have eaten at both (prior to starting to write about buffets) and the Sunburst Buffet - what is considered the "upscale" buffet here has always been a fond memory that I have longed to return to. I recently found myself in Connecticut and the Sunburst Buffet at Mohegan Sun was on my list of things to do.

Sometimes memories can be far better than reliving the experience again. And I am sorry to say that the Sunburst Buffet has changed a lot or I remember it a lot better than it is today. On our return it was a fine meal but nothing really that would stand out among other casino buffets that I have been to over the years.

The buffet is located just off of the shopping mall and the casino that is located where the big orange glass mountain is that is often shown in Mohegan Sun advertisements. Yes, there is a glass mountain. There are also two waterfalls nearby. You pay as you enter - as you do at most casino buffets. The price of the meal was $21.00 per person. Children are about half that price and there is no difference in price at various times of day - it is the same at lunch and dinner. The meal price includes unlimited soft drinks.

The buffet servers are set up in islands in the center of the restaurant with a carving station and the dessert bar along one wall. Each island is a tiled counter with hot serving trays on top or a cold area with cold selections. Every dish is marked above as to what it is - and this seemed to be consistent throughout and correct.

So what did I not see that I remember. As we go along now I will tell you more, but the thing that stuck in my mind the most were chefs at every station creating dishes to order. For example, a saute chef who would make a dish from a selection of dishes just for you. The stations were actually there, and with the exception of a woman boiling plain pasta at the Italian section, the chefs were not there anywhere to be found.

We started our meal with soup and there were six soup choices. Not bad, but several of the soups were variations of each other with slight modification. I tried the New England Clam Chowder which was a thick white cream chowder with noticeable clams. It had a nice taste. I also tried later in the meal the vegetarian vegetable soup which was a thin vegetable stock soup with a mixture of vegetables cooked in. This soup looked just like the Italian Wedding soup which was close by without the little meatballs. The vegetable soup was overly seasoned and salty. Overly seasoned is a phrase that you will see a lot in this article because that is how I can sum up the entire meal - overly seasoned.

We next went to the salad bar. There is an extensive salad bar, perhaps the most impressive that I have seen. It stretched around one island and then on the "Italian" island there is a second area with Italian themed salads. When we got to where the lettuce was put out - several varieties, they boasted on the sign that the lettuce was "bagged greens" from Dole. Hmm. I am not sure I would boast about bagged lettuce. Even if this may be common in the industry - and I am not so sure it is - I would at least give the impression that the lettuce was freshly cut from whole. Bagged lettuce often has preservatives added. My wife saw this and almost did not take the salad. There were many, many toppings to add to your salad and there were many, many prepared salads as well. Of note, at the Italian island there was a mozzarella salad that was fresh and good with the cheese not dry. There was also a pitted olive salad that was an assortment of Greek and Italian olives - and all with not pits.

Entrees were where we began to be disappointed. The sign in front of the restaurant listing a description of things to be found inside talked about a Mongolian grill where a chef would create entress - the grill was there but no chef - and not just no chef to be found because he was off somewhere - no chef and the grill was closed down. At the carving area there was a large steamship round of beef. There was a carver who just about understood what was being requested. She had to places to cut from for differently cooked beef - what should have been medium rare and well done turned out to be well done and more well done. On the side were caramelized onions and mushrooms together to put on top of the beef. My wife got all excited because she saw turkey gravy and went to get herself some turkey. The turkey being carved was "cajun turkey". This was a flat slap of turkey that had a thick black outside. My wife passed on the turkey. I tried it. It was dry, tough, and somewhat cajun-seasoned on the outside - but the outside was so thick that it was not really edible. I had to wonder why bother and why not just put out a nice turkey breast (I will tell you why later). This was the extent of the carvings offered. The carving area outside on the sign was described as the "Rotisserie". There was a large rotisserie behind the carver. We presumed - one should never presume - that something would be cooking on the rotisserie that would belong on a rotisserie such as chicken. No, we were wrong. Perhaps when the Cajun turkey had been cooked it came from there but there was nothing there now. Along the side of the carving station there were potato dishes and also a tray of St. Louis Ribs. The ribs were thick and meaty but over-sauced and again a bit too much seasoning. Even the steamship round of beef was seasoned with something that did not quite belong with the taste of the beef.

Over where the Mongolian grill was there were several more entrees around the counter top. There was a seafood fra diavlo - in Italian, Seafood from the Devil. In other words, spicy hot seafood and it certainly was that. The only seafood to be distinguished in the dish were shrimps. There were other fish in there but there was no telling what they were. There was mahi-mahi in a sauce with vegetables. There was a tray of "Summer Vegetable Melody" was was mostly zucchini but again with an odd taste that hinted that the vegetables were grilled but there was some seasoning there that overwhelmed the taste.

Around the far side of the salad bar - almost hidden were more hot dishes. There was beef barbecue that was overly sweet in barbecue sauce. There was also a tofu and cranberries dish. Tofu has no real flavor on its own and takes it taste from the foods that it is cooked with- this one tasted just of dry tofu.

The Italian island was the best of the selections with the ability to have the chef boil you pasta or spaghetti and add your own Alfredo sauce of Marinara sauce. There were also several Italian dishes. There was ravioli which were good but were in a thick cream sauce that again was over-seasoned. The most intriguing dish to me was an Italian sausage stew. Pieces of sweet Italian sausage with potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables in a thin brown stew gravy. When I saw this I was reminded of a wonderful version that I had many years a go in a very, very fine Italian restaurant in New York City. It looked the same. It tasted good - again, less seasoning would have made it much better. This was the dish that I went back to have several times. Though on the ride home from Connecticut I must say that this was the taste that continued to repeat on me with each belch. Also at the Italian Island was focaccia , which basically is thick pizza without any tomato sauce - just cheese. This looked very good but dry so I added the marinara sauce on top from next to the pasta - it made a so-so pizza.

Dessert may be the best part of the meal here. There is an extensive dessert bar with large pieces of real cheesecake, pastries, cakes, a variety of puddings, fresh fruit and hard ice cream. There are also waffle makers to make thick waffles to put toppings and/ or ice cream on. No one seemed to be getting any but the waffle makers and the ladies to use them were there. Next to the ice cream was an extensive sundae bar.

So, I said that I would tell you why no regular turkey. There are two buffets at Mohegan Sun - this one and one off one of the casinos called Seasons Buffet. Seasons Buffet is the less expensive and so-called "plainer" of the two. The big features at Seasons are carved roast beef and turkey - along with made to your order pizza and a variety of dishes from the various menu restaurants in the complex. I had been to Seasons once before and was disappointed there in the plainness of what was offered and the cafeteria feel that the whole buffet had. But apparently if you wanted turkey and roast beef (which had to be the same beef in a smaller version) that was the place to go that night and paid five dollars per person for dinner less.

Service though the night was fine. Our dishes were cleared away promptly. My wife's soda was refilled but when I emptied my glass of ice tea our server walked past our table - there were very few other tables he was waiting on - five times before he stopped when we were just about to leave and asked if I wanted a refill.

Overall, I had to apologize to my picky eater wife who mostly ate salad for her $21 as there was nothing really plain or not spiced for her to eat. I guess the past is always better in memory than in reality. But I truly do remember a wonderful meal here several years ago and I have been looking forward to that meal again. I still am.

The Sunburst Buffet is not open every day. It is closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Sunday, Monday, and Thursday it is open from 11am to 9pm. On Friday and Saturday it is open from 11 am to 11 pm. There is a full alcohol bar available in the restaurant at additional charge.

Would I recommend this if you are at this casino? Let me say this - go check out both buffets here first before you decide which to go into. Ask first to go inside and walk around and look. If you are happy with spiced and highly seasoned food you may like this. If not and you are a "plain" eater - skip this and go to the Seasons Buffet - but again, walk around inside first and see what is being offered. Frankly, if you want something different skip the buffets and check out the variety of other restaurants. There was an Asian food court restaurant - the whole Asian restaurant is the food court - that looked interesting.

There is a link to the Sunburst Buffet at the side of this article.

Golden Corral New Feature - Babyback Ribs!

There are now two major buffet chains - Golden Corral and Buffets, Inc, which operates Old Country Buffet and what is left of Ryans. There was a time that all of the chains would have special menu features - and make a big deal about these. Only Golden Corral does this any longer. And they do it very well.

There is a new feature currently at the Golden Corral buffet restaurants across the US. The feature is babyback ribs. That is what is being advertised on television and on the posters, but this feature actually consists of a lot more and it will please barbecue fans! As with most features, this is offered for a limited time and I hope that I can get to a Golden Corral while it is still offered.

Let's start with the main feature, the babybacks. Golden Corral has taken babyback ribs and seasoned them with dry rub. Then they cook them until they fall off the bone - my sign of the best cooked ribs! Once cooked like that they are brushed with barbecue sauce and then flame-grilled. When you get the ribs you are offered three sauces to put on them yourself - more traditional barbecue sauce, sweet hickory bourbon sauce, or spicy habenero bbq sauce. Oh my! I love babybacks when they are cooked right. These sound perfect!

Another part of this feature are Kansas City Full Rack Spare Ribs. Here the ribs are seasoned with a barbecue blend and then slathered in traditional barbecue sauce and flame grilled.

If that all was not enough the feature keeps going with Hawaiian Glazed Split Pork Ribs. The same ribs that are used for the Kansas City ribs are covered in a Pineapple Dijon sauce and flame grilled. They are then hand cut and served hot.

Had enough barbecue? I hope not because there is more - North Carolina Slow Roasted Pulled Pork and Kentucky Hickory Bourbon Smoked Beef Brisket. The a whole pork roast is seasoned with a special barbecue blend and then cooked for five hours! It is then hand pulled and seasoned with the barbecue sauce that is well known in eastern North Carolina - a vinegar-based sauce. This is served up hot on the buffer server. North Carolina style barbecue is a bit different from the sweeter barbecue in other regions. But if you crave the sweeter style then go for the Brisket which is hand carved at the buffet. This brisket is first cooked until tender and then flame broiled with hickory bourbon sauce.

Of course, all great barbecue needs a great side dish and Golden Corral has added Homemade BBQ Potato Chips. What? Potato chips that don't come in a bag? Yes! Hand slice whole potatoes very thin and then fry them up. The chips are then sprinkled with BBQ seasoning. They are fresh and they are crispy! I have had homemade chips before but I have never seen them offered on a buffet.

It all sounds great and readers report that it all tastes great! This feature will not last forever. If you want to enjoy this do not wait. This is a summer time feast that is served along with all of the other Golden Corral favorites including flame grilled steak. This is the season to eat barbecue and Golden Corral lets you enjoy for very little money! AND OF COURSE, IT IS ALL YOU CAN EAT! Or perhaps we should say - all you care to eat!

Another Old Country Buffet

I had an opportunity to have dinner at a different Old Country Buffet and though I eat at OCB often, I decided to see what happens at another location. I went on Memorial Day night to see this OCB on a night when the day would have been busier than normal. As it happened there was a carnival going on in the parking lot that day and night right outside the restaurant so business that day was good.

We went in, paid our $10.99 each plus the now additional $1.69 for beverages, and sat down. Immediately, looking around the dining room, the floors were clean. If there had been spills or things dropped during that busy day, and their must have been, they certainly had been cleaned up promptly. As soon as we were seated our server came over quickly and greeted us. Asked if if there was anything we needed and invited us to go up to the buffet. Now, this is a scene that takes place thousands of times at buffets everywhere, but this was certainly different for me at an Old Country Buffet. I watched as this same server went from table to table as people were eating, picking up dirty dishes almost as soon as they were put down, and asking the diners if they needed anything. Amazing!

We went up to the buffet and most serving trays were full enough and those that were low were being replaced by several people working at the buffet table area - in addition to the woman who was at the carving station. Throughout the rest of the night while we were there trays of food kept coming from the kitchen to replace what was "beginning" to empty out.

Even the food was prepared better. The pizza was not incinerated. The macaroni and cheese was not macaroni floating in liquid cheese. There were noodles in the chicken noodle soup. The Caesar salad had the proper amount of dressing on it.

When we went up for our beverages there was ice in both machines and not only were there plenty of clean glasses, there were also coffee cups as well. Why I am so surprised to even mention this? This is not something that I have often encountered at the usual OCB.

Now, I am not writing this to knock the usual OCB that I go to and I know a lot of you may take some of my other articles and say look, he is doing it again, but as I suspected all along it is not the chain - it is the location. And this pleasant meal at another OCB just goes to prove that. Perhaps refresher courses are required for some OCB restaurant management staff. A good manager trains good employees and makes a restaurant stand out.

I know that there are other OCB's out there just as good as this one. I have heard from a number of readers recommending OCB's all over the country. Again, it is not the chain, but the location.

BUFFET EUROPA UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

I have been informed by one of our readers that on a very recent visit to Buffet Europa, he discovered the restaurant was sold. The restaurant remains in business but the original owners are gone, and apparently have moved to Jersey City, New Jersey.

This reader reports that they went into the restaurant, immediately learned that there were new owners and then they looked around at the buffet to decide if they wanted to stay and try it. They had been to Buffet Europa before and saw nothing of what they expected. As the reader put it to me, they did not like what they saw and left.

For all of you have been to Buffet Europa - the restaurant that this site chose as the "Best Small Buffet of 2oo9" - this is a real tragedy. I say this because it was the two people who ran this restaurant all on their own who made this the unique and wonderful place that it was.

I cannot judge the new owners or their cooking or the food that they are serving. It may be very nice - though as I say, I reported above what a reader encountered when he and his wife went their. I have been told that the ethnicity of the new owner is not the same as the original owners who were Italian and Polish - and the reason why this European cuisine featuring buffet was so good. Whether that should make any difference remains to be seen.

I have looked at the website and it remains exactly the same as it always has - the site shows the same hours, days, and menu items on the buffet. There is no mention of new owners and the links to all of the reviews remain from various media including ours. Of course, that review no longer holds true without the people who made this restaurant so special.

I look upon this is just one more notch in this bad economy's belt. We have speculated for a few months now how they could remain in business with the few customers that would be there on nights that several of our readers and I have been there in 2010. A month or so ago we learned that they had closed for renovations - and from the description of the person who spoke to our reader that time and the person who spoke to the reader who informed us of the new owner - well, that had to be the same person.

For now, I can no longer recommend Buffet Europa until some of our readers report back to me - if they try it - how the food is now. Maybe they will be pleasantly surprised. I hope so. Whether I will return any time soon remains to be seen - and if I do, I, too, would go in prepared to walk right back out if I don't see what I think is a quality meal being served. If you go to Buffet Europa after you see this article please leave a comment. If you have been there before - even within the last few months it was likely you were there with the original owners - so to be current with this restaurant - only comment on the food if you are there from here on.

Buffet Europa is located at 1000 Arron Road, North Brunswick, New Jersey 08902.

Farewell, Buffet Europa. Maybe the nice couple who started this restaurant will open another just as good in a location deserving of the food that they serve and they get the business that they should.