No Seafood Special at Old Country Buffet

I really should know better by now than to believe the emails that Old Country Buffet sends out. Tuesday before Ash Wednesday I received an email through the Old Country Buffet email "club" that this is now the "season for seafood" and that there would now be on Wednesdays and Fridays a seafood feature. The email showed a photograph of a platter of butterfly shrimp. These were large and really nice looking fried shrimp - lightly batter coated from the photograph. My first thought was that I have never seen such shrimp at Old Country Buffet and wondered where they got these for the photograph - certainly not their kitchens. Well, anyway, I tucked this away in the back of my mind.

Ash Wednesday - the next day - we were deciding what to have for dinner and there really was nothing home to make that was not meat. I made the suggestion that we go to OCB just to see this new feature and it would solve the dinner question. My wife agreed and we headed out. I decided that we would go to the "good" Old Country Buffet out in the next county just to be sure that the dinner would be done right.

After we sat down I walked around the buffet servers to see what special treats in this "perfect catch" as the email put it were being served. Well, there was roast beef being carved along with turkey, there was meat loaf, and there was the usual fried and baked chicken. The only seafood was the usual Wednesday night tiny popcorn shrimp, fried, overdone fish, and a thin baked fish fillet. No "perfect catch" in sight. Oh yes, there was the "seafood pancakes" which are covered in chicken gravy. No kidding - I have watched more than once the fish pancakes come out and the employee with the tray go over to the chicken gravy go ladle the chicken gravy on top. Oh boy!

I went up for soup and expected at least to find clam chowder - no - there was cream of broccoli soup along with the chicken noodle and beef-based French Onion. So this was the "perfect catch"?

The baked fish was tasteless. The popcorn shrimp was like eating breading. The fried fish at OCB is never good. My intention for religious reasons was to be good. It was not going to be easy on this Ash Wednesday at Old Country Buffet.

I decided that I would fill up on salad. I like the Caesar salad at OCB WHEN it has a sufficient amount of dressing on it - which at this particular location it usually does. I went to take the Caesar salad and I thought that there was no dressing on it at all. The OCB Caesar dressing is a creamy Caesar and when the correct amount is put on the salad it coats the lettuce. This dressing was clear - at first it looked like the lettuce was just wet but there was dressing there. I filled my plate and went back to the table. I took a bite and there was a sweet taste to the salad. This definitely was not the usual Caesar salad dressing. I am not sure what it was but it had sugar in it - and after dinner my blood glucose level went skyrocketing (despite my medication). Another Diabetic could have ended up in the hospital!

When I got home I took a look at the Old Country Buffet Facebook page. Someone had posted that they too went to dinner for Ash Wednesday and they could not find the seafood "special" either. This person went to the manager and this manager knew NOTHING about any special. She claims to have showed him a printout of the email and he told her it was news to him!

All in all dinner on this night was a disaster. As I write this I am hoping that my blood sugar level will come back to normal in several hours.

If you get an email from Old Country Buffet about anything special on their buffet, ignore it. You won't find it when you get there. I previously fell for this when they sent one about their special steaks - see my article "Where's the Beef?". I really want to like this chain - it is the only buffet chain near me. Why do they continually do things to push their customers away (see the continuous negative remarks on their Facebook page)?

SOUTHERN SMOKEHOUSE, Linden, New Jersey PART TWO

For the beginning of this article please see PART ONE that was featured last week.

We finished our salads and headed up to the buffet servers for the main part of our meals. I walked around all of the servers to take in what was there. Now, remember that from the web site, what is featured at this buffet is southern barbecue and Chinese food. Interspersed with beans, black eyed peas and collard greens are lo mien, spring rolls, chicken and broccoli, pepper steak, General Tso Chicken, chicken on a stick, and other Chinese dishes. With that there was fried Cajun catfish, barbecue chicken, grilled chicken, southern fried chicken, meat loaf, sweet potato fries, thin sliced potatoes - like potato chips, baked potatoes - both plain and stuffed with cheese, french fries, fried shrimp, macaroni and cheese, meat lasagna, cold peel and eat shrimp, broccoli, string beans with garlic, pierogies, plantains, chicken nuggets, crab in cheese mixed, baked fish, corn bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, hot wings, bourbon chicken - and more. And all of this on the buffet hot tables. Over at the back wall where the grill and carving area are there was a large grill for steak which is only available on the weekend, a large Thanksgiving style whole turkey being carved, Salmon being carved and a large tray of barbecue ribs. The carvings vary and smoked ham is another carving that may be found. Next the all of this was a pizza section. The pizza was typical thin buffet pizza and while I am sure was fine, was not tempting enough to take away eating room from the rest. There were also corn bread, corn muffins, and in a server that said dinner rolls there was some other type of muffin.

I had those ribs in mind. I love barbecue. It is not often found on a buffet and I was looking forward to barbecue ribs. I went up to the tray and the server behind the counter was there to take them for you and place them on your plate. He placed two ribs on my plate and went for more but I stopped him at too - there was a large meal to go. I looked over at the flame grill. I asked the chef behind the grill if there was steak. He told me "8 minutes". OK- the website says steak grilled to order - I guess it was not my order that it would be grilled to. He did not put any meat on the grill. I headed over to the hot tables to see what I would take. There was nice looking barbecue chicken and I took a drum stick. I also took a pierogie and some of the strings beans (despite the garlic). With enough on my plate I headed back toward the table. I passed the flame grill and the chef was just then laying raw steaks out in quantity on the grill. Great - that would be next.

I returned to the table and started on the ribs. The first rib that I tried was moist and meaty. The meat did not pull away from the bone but it was tasty. There was a light barbecue sauce on the ribs - not too sweet. I tried the barbecue chicken leg. The sauce on this was a bit different than the barbecue sauce on the ribs. I could not quite place the taste but it was good too. The pierogie was fine - not as good as many that I have had (Buffet Europa comes to mind as does Shady Maple) - these were not as doughy and the outside was more macaroni like. The potato filling was good but did not seem to be seasoned. If you are inclined to add sour cream on top, it was over on the salad bar. The string beans were tasty but I like my string beans well done and the rest of the world likes the snap of partially cooked string beans so I was not thrilled but my wife liked them and I would say most everyone but me would. Note, these were fresh string beans - not canned and I do not think frozen. All of the food here has the taste, appearance and is cooked in the style of "homemade". This is a good thing. If things were not freshly prepared from produce then they were frozen but most seemed to be freshly prepared from fresh ingredients with home-style recipes.

When I started on the second barbecue rib on my plate there was much less meat on the bone and the rib was over-done. The meat on top was dry and chewy. There was little meat on the sides and it was also dry. All together at this meal I had six barbecue ribs. Only that first one was really good. The rest were like this second. On the second trip up to get ribs, there was a man ahead of me at the counter and he kept telling the server behind the counter - "no, give me the soft ribs". At first I was not sure what he was asking for - and I don't think the server knew either - because the man kept refusing what was offered - repeated - "no, the soft ones" and continued until he got what he wanted. I realized when I got back to my table with the next two ribs what he wanted - he wanted ribs that were not dry, but rather were moist and meaty. They were there mixed into the serving tray but I did not get them on that second try. I should have also asked for the "soft ones". On my third try of the ribs, I looked as closely as I could at the tray to distinguish the best looking ribs that I could see. The server was picking up two smaller ribs at the back. Up front there appeared to be the nicer ribs and I pointed at those and he gave me two. Maybe I should have just taken what he offered, because back at the table the two ribs that I thought looked better were just as overdone, overly chewy, and dry. So out of six ribs, one was a winner. Now, this was a busy night. Since there was one really good rib that I had, the odds are that there were others to be had as well. I will say that the ribs are hit and miss. There was a lot more food to take. I was looking forward to great barbecue. I had good tasting barbecue ribs that could have been better.

The turkey that was being carved was a "real" turkey. Why do I describe it that way? A lot of the turkey served at buffets are turkey breasts or reconstituted turkey meat formed into a ball. Here they were carving a whole turkey with drumsticks, nicely browned skin and with no doubt a turkey. When my wife went up for her first plate of food she had some of the turkey carved for her. The turkey that they were carving had been recently started - perhaps just a few minutes before. About a half hour or so later, another whole turkey was started. This shows that this buffet does not hesitate to put out the food that is necessary to feed their guests. I took some of the turkey. It was nicely roasted. It had good flavor. A whole roasted turkey tastes differently than turkey breast tastes - nicer. I did look for turkey gravy to put on top. I did not see any at the carving area and went to look on the hot buffet servers. There was beef gravy and chicken gravy in serving trays next to the mashed potatoes. There was no turkey gravy. I took the chicken gravy. The chicken gravy was thin and clear. It was not the usual thick, cream color gravy one would expect. I was a little hesitant when I spooned some on top of the turkey. I did not need to be hesitant, however. Back at the table it had a great taste and nicely complimented the turkey. On the salad bar there was a cold tray of slices of cranberry sauce. All together it was like Thanksgiving. There was cornbread stuffing on the hot buffet server to go with it all as well. The turkey was an A+!

I am a steak fan and there were supposed to be steaks on the grill. On my first trip up to the grill I was told when I saw no steaks cooking that there would be more ready in eight minutes. I think that in ten minutes from that moment they too were all gone. When I got up to the grill on that second trip up to the buffet there was one steak left on the grill and another diner got to the grill just ahead of me and got it. A woman came by and asked for steaks. I heard the chef say again, "Eight minutes". OK. The restaurant was very busy and the steaks were popular. So I took the turkey that I just told you about and that second try at ribs. I also took a little of the pepper steak to try and a few of the sweet potato fries. Later the sweet potato fries ran out and were replaced with little fried pillows. I am not sure what they were but the person bringing them out took away the empty tray where the sweet potato fries had been and put these in its place. Before leaving he took away the sign for the fries, but did not put up what these now were. The important thing really is that another food item was brought out to replace what was empty and it was something that in a way is equivalent (not like rolls for meat).

I went back after that plate determined to get a steak. The steaks that they were putting on your plate from the grill were whole steaks - not small pieces sliced off of what they were cooking. I got to the grill and there was one steak left - and it was mine. It turned out that it actually was two steaks - one on top of the other and actually more than I wanted - I would have been just as happy with one and perhaps the next guy would not have had to wait for eight more minutes.

The steaks being served, and they are only served on the weekend dinner buffets, are skirt steaks, also known as Romanian steaks. These are a part of the diaphragm of the beef. It can be a very tasty steak, but it is grainy and can be hard to cut and tough to chew. It is usually marinated well before cooking as these were. It has a good flavor and these steaks tasted like the classic skirt steaks that I have had in restaurants. This steak must be cut with the grain or it barely cuts at all. The steak was tough - as skirt steak can be - but it was very flavorful and tasty. Despite the job it took to cut and chew it - it was good and enjoyed it - the both of them that I was given. The steak is good. You have to time your getting to the grill just right to make sure you get some. Poorly timed you could easily go through a whole meal and get up to that counter to find the steaks all gone each time - and not because they were not cooking enough of them. They were filling the grill. On a less crowded weekend night - and I do not know when that would be - this might not be the case and there might be enough to go around each and every time.

The fried chicken kept catching my eye each time I went past it on the buffet server. I like fried chicken. I have written about broasted chicken which is served as fried chicken at some buffets. I like that but I am not sure how to describe really good fried chicken. It is not the fried chicken at OCB - which is OK but not right on. Close was the fried chicken at Ryan's years back but now that is the same as OCB's. Golden Corral's can be good. I have had "real" southern fried chicken at southern restaurants. The fried chicken here looked like that. Nicely coated in a light color coating - not deep brown but a light brown when fried. It is flaky and moist inside. I took a what I thought was a thigh. It turned out to be a small chicken breast. It was very good. The closest I have had in the north to what I have had in the south. The fried chicken gets an A!

I also took something that I really should resist but it just looked so good - and was! They serve home-style macaroni and cheese. This is not the orange color macaroni and cheese with thin cheese sauce that some buffets serve. This is thick and gooey, white cheese on puffy macaroni elbows with a crust of bread crumbs and cheese on top. Few buffets serve it this way- the most notable is the one in Bird in Hand in Lancaster, PA. This one was good. I should not eat it for health reasons. I had to take some of this and I did not stop at one small spoon but scooped two full serving spoons on my plate - thinking how bad I was being. While I was eating it, my wife asked me how something was - and she was not asking about the mac and cheese. I told her how wonderful it was - and when I realized what she was asking about I told her that I was actually telling her about the macaroni and cheese. She understood. She loves this type too - but she has better resistance power than I have. I have said this above - this is home-style cooking and what they are cooking does not seem to be coming from a commercial box or a prepared mix.

There were many things that I really enjoyed and I ate more than enough. I was comfortably full when I decided that I had enough. As I had said, I did go back to the Caesar salad to really get a plate full and that was filling and good.

My wife who is a more selective and conservative eater than I am was very happy with her choices. She enjoyed everything that she picked. She kept telling me how good and fresh everything was. She was right! Sometimes I feel that she just goes along with me in the buffets that I pick - and go back to. She really enjoyed this one.

I told you that the sign outside included "bakery" in the description. There was a small baked goods area at the far side and corner of the carving area. There were several kinds of cookies. There were also three different sheet cakes out cut into squares that were about two inches square and about one inch thick. There was red velvet cake, light chocolate frosting on yellow cake, and a chocolate cake (that looked deep red) with white icing and broken chocolate cookies on top. There was a soft serve machine with vanilla and chocolate ice cream and all of the toppings to make sundaes. On the hot buffet tables there was hot apple pastry dessert - apples in flaky crust top and bottom. There were also fried cinnamon buns. On the back of the salad bar there was chocolate pudding, jello, canned fruit including Mandarin orange pieces, peaches in syrup, fresh orange wedges, two kinds of melon, and fresh strawberries in a red syrup. There was certainly a dessert to please anyone looking for a sweet ending to the meal.

As I noted earlier the service was slow at start and then picked up to very good. Had we been in at a different table with easier access to our table by the server we most likely would have been better for the entire meal. This is no fault of the restaurant as they had to accommodate this very large party - who were there before us. Had there been other open tables when we came in and were seated I would have requested one. There were not. Our plates were picked up - once he got going - and drinks were offered and refilled (correctly).

My wife used the ladies room before our long trip home and she said that for a restaurant as crowded as it was, it was in pretty good shape and cleanliness. The whole restaurant was very clean and the floors were well kept up for the number of people there eating all day.

Looking around the restaurant and the foods being served it appears as if the owner has copied a lot from other buffets. The foods reflect many that are served at the chain buffets and the Chinese buffets. The appearance and layout remind one of the chain buffets. And again, this is an independently owned and operated buffet. It is not part of any chain. The food is higher in quality, freshness, and preparation than the chains. My wife wondered to me if someone in management had not once worked for one of the chains and brought the best of them into this buffet. I don't know. It reminded us of several other buffets we have been to down to the metal rack on the table holding condiments.

I have been writing this article over the course of two days. When I started my thinking was that I would have no hesitation to go back to this buffet again but it would not be a priority must get back to. Well, now, that has changed as I have been thinking about this meal and I would like to go back again soon. I enjoyed the meal - we both did. And the buffet had a lot to offer - and what it has is fresh.

So, would I go back? Absolutely yes. I recommend this buffet. It is an experience and there is nothing like it in NJ or in many other places in the north. I am heading back into New Jersey in about a week. Now I have to decide should I go back so soon - and I am tempted - or should I seek out another new to me (and perhaps you) buffet? There are two others that have been recommended by two readers - one of them Art. That remains to be decided. If you are in New Jersey try it!

Southern Smokehouse is located at Aviation Plaza Shopping Center which is at 611 West Edgar Road (Route 1 and 9) in Linden, New Jersey 07036. The phone number is 908-862-1883. The hours on Friday and Saturday are until 10 pm. Weeknights and Sunday nights they are open until 9 pm. They seem to open each day at 11 am for lunch. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.

Enjoy!

SOUTHERN SMOKEHOUSE, Linden, New Jersey PART ONE

Our readers have directed me to many buffets over the years and one of our readers in New Jersey - Art - has sent me to several good ones. Recently Art emailed this site and told me about two buffets that he was about to try in New Jersey. He had not been to either yet but he had heard some good things. One of those is Southern Smokehouse in Linden, New Jersey. Art's timing could not be better because at this time of the year every year I am in New Jersey. With Buffet Europa gone, I needed a new place to go.

Before the trip I looked at the website for this buffet. It seemed a bit odd from the types of food served - it is called Southern Smokehouse and there is mention of barbecue, but there are also a number of Chinese dishes talked about as being on the buffet. A Southern barbecue/Chinese buffet? I had to see this for myself.

We had business in New Jersey in an area not far from Linden, New Jersey on a Saturday and we decided that Southern Smokehouse was to be our choice for dinner. A new buffet and what was going to be an interesting experience...

Southern Smokehouse is located on the far end of a shopping plaza. Along with this restaurant in the shopping plaza are a Target, a Home Depot, a Shop Rite Supermarket, a multiplex movie theater, and several other stores. This restaurant has a parking lot pretty much to itself at the end of the larger parking lot for the shopping plaza. When we arrived the parking lot in front of this restaurant was packed. We found one of the last open parking spaces at the far end of this parking area. The outside looks a little bit like Golden Corral but not quite. The sign outside under the name says "Buffet. Grill, Bakery" - isn't that what is says outside of the Ryan's Buffets?

We went inside. There was a short line but it was obvious looking into the dining room that this restaurant was crowded. The price of the buffet for dinner on weekends is $12.95 per person. The price for children under 10 is $.85 per year of age. On weekdays the price is $11.85 per person. The price includes everything - which means, yes, the soft drinks are included in the price. You pay as you enter much like the chain buffets. This is not part of a chain. It appears to be independently owned and there are no others. The restaurant has been around for awhile as there were a numbers of letters of commendation on the wall going back to 2006. There were also several locally won awards including one for their soup. They also serve lunch at a lower price. There is no carving station at lunch. I believe that the extent of the carvings increases on the weekend dinners.

We were escorted to our table. Our table almost ruined the experience of this restaurant for us. It is not that the restaurant did anything wrong but the table that was available for us was the last booth in one of the two dining rooms and we were closely next to a very large party of more than twenty people with children who were celebrating a birthday of a relative. People from that table kept getting up and circulating around the table talking with others in the party. This made getting up from and out of our table to get to the buffet servers difficult at times. Again, no fault of the restaurant, but I was a bit put off from the start and I was trying very hard not to let this influence my experience here. Had we been at another table, I would have been much happier from the start. These circumstances also made it difficult for our server to get to our table - and while he started out questionable and I started to feel that service was going to be a problem, he improved greatly over the course of our meal.

We were seated and we got up right away for our first course- and as in most buffets for us this is soup. The layout of the buffet area is a salad bar across the front of the buffet area with four buffet servers behind going back into the room. At the far wall across the room is the grill, carving area, pizza, and bakery. The room is brightly lit and everything was labeled - more about that in a moment. There were two soups - one was New England Clam Chowder and the other was labeled Chicken Noodle Soup. There appeared to be no soup cups or soup bowls. There was a section next to the soup with soup spoons but along with those were dinner plates. At the salad bar there was a chest full of bowls for the salad. Not seeing any alternative or a place for such, we took those bowls for the soup. I pulled the ladle out from the chicken soup and right away we could see that this was "homemade" chicken soup. The broth looked fresh and there were large shreds of chicken along with large slices of carrots and celery in the soup. There did not appear to be any noodles but it looked to me at the moment that there were pieces of dumplings so I figured that these were the noodles. Back at the table I discovered otherwise. Those "dumplings" were actually clumps of rice - and there was more rice but not a lot at the bottom of the broth in the bowl. Now, everyone will say - so it was chicken rice soup - no big deal. Well, to me it is minority a big deal as I have not been able to eat rice for almost a year now. My wife was fine - but had I seen a sign that said "Chicken Rice Soup" I would have taken the clam chowder. I ate around the rice - after eating one of the clumps of rice and discovering that it really was not a dumpling after all. This is the importance of good labeling - there are many with food allergies or food complications that must know exactly what something is - especially on a buffet. During the course of the meal I discovered that when a new dish came out to the buffet replacing something that they were out of the sign either was taken away and not replaced OR the old sign was left. Hmm. This is a problem. Not major but a problem none the less. So many buffets don't label at all or label incorrectly that this can be overlooked - unless you have a problem when you discover that what you thought you were taking isn't that at all.

While we were having our soup another minor problem also developed. Eventually, mid-soup the server came to our table and took our drink orders. (I will put here that he must have come when we were at the buffet getting our soup as there was now silverware on the table and a stack of napkins when we got back.) My wife ordered her usual "Diet Coke". It took awhile for him to come back with the drinks. When my wife sipped the soda, she said to me "taste this". OK - I reluctantly did. It was odd and slightly sugar sweet. As she is also a Diabetic not knowing for certain if this was actually diet was a big problem for her. I avoid this problem by usually ordering unsweetened ice tea - if it is sweet when I get it before I add artificial sweetener to it I know right away that it is wrong. (And I always sip taste it first before adding anything to it.) So we needed the server and he was no where to be found. We finished the soup. My wife told me to go and get my salad and she would wait until he came back to pick up the dishes from the table to tell him about the soda. Let me add here that this did not taste like Coke either nor did it taste like Pepsi. It was definitely an off brand of cola. I looked up to see if I could see the server and he was not around. I got up and left her at the table and headed for the salad bar. Along the way I looked for him with out success.

When we were taken to our table at the beginning we walked past the salad bar and I noticed that the tray of romaine lettuce was just about empty. That was a good fifteen minutes before I went up to the salad bar for my salad. Certainly, it would be refilled by then. No it had not been. The same few pieces of lettuce remained in the almost empty tray along with a lot of water as the lettuce had not been dried before it went in. I took what was left and made my salad. The salad bar had both the romaine lettuce (which is part of the weekend salad bar and is not there other nights according to the web site), mixed lettuce, and a large assortment of toppings and dressings. Other than the wet romaine everything was very well kept - nothing was over-ripe, the raw vegetables were fresh, and everything seemed to be properly labeled. I will say now that I went back later in the meal for another salad and the romaine had been refilled and while still a bit wet, there was plenty of it. Again, this was a crowded night and a lot of items were moving quickly on the buffet. Though other than this lettuce everything was refilled or replaced with something else fairly promptly.

When I got back to our table, there was my wife, along with her same soda, and the dirty dishes. She went off to get her salad and I was now to wait for the server to tell him about the soda. When she returned he had not yet been back to the table. Every so often I could see him in the distance scooting around and then gone. I told her that we either had to wait for him or go to the beverage area and tell someone else. We began to eat our salads and waited. Eventually he did show up - asked "how is everything?" and we told him about the soda. He said something that we could not understand about a box and picked up the glass and took it away. It took several long minutes for him to return. This time the glass had a lemon on the top - a general sign that the soda is diet. She sipped the soda and looked at me again and moved the glass toward me. This time the soda still tasted odd but the after taste of the artificial sweetener told me that this time it was diet for sure. So don't expect Coke or Pepsi products - I could not tell you what the soda they serve is.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO NEXT WEEK

Midweek at the Festival Buffet at Foxwoods Casino Resort - CT.

Back in September I wrote at two part article on the Festival Buffet located at the Foxwoods Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Since then I have been thinking a lot about this buffet. I have been thinking when are we going back and looking for a reason to take the almost four hour drive just for dinner. The occasion recently presented itself - a museum exhibition in Connecticut that both my wife and I wanted to see. I decided that we needed to go mid-week - not on a weekend - so that I could see what this buffet was like on a weeknight. When we were last there it was a Friday night and on the weekends, which always seem to include Friday nights, the buffet is considered "enhanced" - meaning it is a special weekend buffet with extra offerings - and here that means an emphasis on seafood, particularly crab legs. I loved that meal. What would I think about the meal at this buffet mid-week?

We went on a Thursday night. The buffet is three dollars less than the weekend - $16.95 and with a casino card that to get all you need is ask for, register, and walk away with on the spot you get $1.00 off the price of the meal. This time we each got a card and headed off to the buffet.

This is winter - cold - and mid-week. The buffet was not crowded though there were many people inside. There was a line of only a few people ahead of us to get in.

Everything inside is as I described it to you in September so I will not repeat the layout of the buffet. Since there were not the crowds that had been there in late summer, there was no need for the roped lines at each buffet serving station, though there was still such at the carving station.

We sat down, ordered soft drinks (included in the buffet price) and went off to the soup area at the end of the salad bar. As I wrote last time, and again this time - there were two soups and both were cream soups. I really do not understand why this buffet does not offer a cream soup along with a clear/broth soup. Again, my good wife passed on the soup as she does not like cream soups. There were New England Clam Chowder and Cream of Chicken Soup. I took the cream of chicken. It was a thick white cream chicken based soup with rice in it. It was tasty but not what I would say as outstanding. Don't get me wrong but my expectations were set high from my first visit to this buffet and the cream of chicken soup was just fine. I am sure that had I taken the New England clam chowder as I had on the last visit I would have been just as impressed as I had been then - but I was intent on trying something different to get a broader picture of what the buffet has to offer.

A visit to the salad bar came next. I went over to the Caesar salad area - yes, it has it's own section on the salad bar. I seem to recall that on that first visit the Caesar salad was pre-mixed with dressing. It was not this time. There was a large salad bowl with romaine lettuce nicely cut up. I filled my salad bowl with the romaine and ladled on the Caesar dressing. I prefer when you can do this as you can control the amount of dressing on the salad. Last time, I had read before going about the special "grilled" Caesar salad and what I found when I got there was a bowl of cold chicken next to the lettuce to put on the salad. This time there was no chicken. There was a bowl of real bacon bits. I added some bacon and shredded cheese to the salad. I enjoyed this Caesar salad. I eat a lot of Caesar salad - out at buffets and at home. The dressing here was tasty and had a little pleasant bite. I actually thought about going back for more - but there was a whole buffet ahead of me.

I headed up to the different stations and like the first time here, I passed by all of the serving counters to see what there was to offer. Just to repeat the stations that are here - there is a seafood area, an international area, an Italian area, a Chinese area, and a barbecue area - all of entrees and side dishes. Missing from this mid-week buffet that you will see on the weekend were the crab legs (in their own area). There was a difference in dishes that were offered too - and perhaps there were less than there were on the weekend - not obvious by looking but there were repeats of several dishes in slightly different forms but close enough that if you took one you were likely not to take the other.

I did not read my first article before going back and I was only remembering parts of what I found and enjoyed on that first visit during this 0ne - what was memorable it seems was the over great experience on that first visit and that the food was sensational. I remembered some of the things that I had on that first visit - but mostly by seeing them again on this visit. I was not recalling the details - on things that were not out this time. I say this because I had a sense on this visit that there were things missing - or something was lacking - and coming back now and re-reading that first experience, I believe I know why - though that night I could not put my finger on it.

I remembered that the barbecue area particularly impressed me and I headed there first. There were barbecue ribs - but they were not the riblets that I had had the first time but rather ribs that were large, thick and meaty - in fact there was little bone except at the tip. They were in a thick red barbecue sauce. Missing was the pulled pork. Also not there were the grilled steaks and these are part of the weekend buffet only. There was fixings for tacos. There was chili. There was barbecue beans. There was taco beef and strips of grilled chicken. There was also a tray of broiled chicken which was labeled fried chicken. The broiled chicken - or perhaps it was some other type of chicken on the bone - was in an oil that was evident on the bottom of the serving tray. I took two of the ribs - as I say there was a lot of meat on each of these ribs - not really like one would expect of a rack of ribs. I added to that some of the Italian meatballs and some of the grilled Italian sausage that was served as Sausage with Peppers. I added a spoon of the Chinese sauteed string beans so that I could say that I was eating vegetables.

The ribs were good. The sauce was not too sweet as the riblet sauce had been on that first visit. The meat was tasty. I don't know why I should feel that there was too much meat on these ribs - after all the more of a good thing - but there was too much meat on the ribs and I did not have a "rib sensation" eating them. Sounds crazy but if you are a barbecue rib eater you should understand. The rest of the plate was good too - the meatballs were nice and the sausage was good. Some sausage lately is too highly seasoned - this was nice. The stir fried string beans were a bit on the spicy side but not too spicy.

So what next? On the last visit I had not taken much from the seafood area and I was drawn back there for the fried fish. Last time a lot was labeled cod - this time it was "fish". There was a seafood special of the day but that was all that it was labeled and the fish also was unidentified. The peel and eat shrimp were here as well but I passed on those to save more room for less common things. (Imagine considering shrimp cocktail common but when you go to buffets you will generally find it - other than at the chain buffets.) There were fried clams. There was a sign that said Jambalaya. Beneath it was a tray of what looked like fried rice. There was nothing evident in the tray but fried rice. Jambalaya is usually served with rice but it is usually seafood and sausage in a red sauce with peppers and such. This just looked like fried rice. I did not take any - I was not interested in fried rice. All together at the various buffet areas there were four different variations of rice. There were also fresh cut french fries with parts of the potato skin still on. It took some of that as well along with the fried fish and a some of the fried clams.

The fried fish was just OK - nothing wrong with it - just fried fish. The fish inside the batter fried coating was pure white and thick with no sign of bones - which is a good thing. The fried clams were chewy and tasty. I have to go off on a tangent here about fried clams. A long time ago there was a chain restaurant that was everywhere in the US called Howard Johnson's and Howard Johnson's had the best ever fried clams. There was nothing like them in texture or taste. And I tend to compare all fried clams to those - these were not those - but then again, neither are any other fried clams I have had since the last Howard Johnson's closed many years ago (replaced by the massive fast food industry). You may still find Howard Johnson's Fried Clams in the freezer case of your supermarket - they were around after the chain closed down and may have stuck around even until now - but you know what - the frozen ones are not like the real thing at all either.

Next - I know you are thinking - does this guy ever stop eating at one meal? Well - as I have said before I take a sampling plate when I take from the buffet - especially a buffet new to me. I take a small amount - enough to get a good idea of how it is and also in combination there is plenty to eat. (And I go back later for more of what I really liked.) I went next to the carving area or as they call it the "international" area - which has an assortment of entrees, potatoes, and the carvings. I went for the Prime Rib which was nice and rare. A large slab was sliced off and placed on my plate. Next to it in one of the hot trays were meatballs stroganoff. I took two of those. There were pirogi's and I took one of these. And again just to say that I had a vegetable I went to the Chinese area again and took some of the Shrimp Chow Mein.

The prime rib was excellent - as I remembered it. My wife took the other carving which was terriaki loin of pork. She said it was good. The meatballs - now these are another repeat - there were Italian meatballs and these meatballs strognaoff. Both were exactly the same meatballs - one was in tomato sauce and the other was in brown gravy - and it was just that - meatballs in brown gravy. The shrimp chow mein was good - it was good on the first visit too. It was nice because it was not thick and starchy but thinly covered in its semi-clear sauce. It made for a satisfying vegetable.

The last plate was a small sampling of some of the things I had taken earlier - two more Italian meatballs, another rib, and some green olives mixed with cold artichokes from the Italian area. That was very tasty- just a simple olive salad but well seasoned and the parts of artichoke were soft and tender.

Again on this visit there was no room for dessert but I went and looked and there were many really great looking desserts to take including crepes and hot desserts - and cheesecake! If you have been reading along with me for awhile you know that I can't really indulge in these any longer so it was hard not just giving in to temptation. But I was satisfied never the less with all that I did have.

Service was very good. The server at our table was there when we needed him. Empty plates disappeared when we went up for more and drinks were offered and refilled.

Was I disappointed at all that I went back? No. Was it the same experience as I had remembered? I have to say no. It was fine. It was good. Had I not been here before would I say that this was exceptional - as I had felt that first time. No. I would say that it is a cut above most but not memorable. Why? One thing is that this is way off season - this weeknight buffet in mid-summer may very well be very different. Another thing is that it just may be that the main effort is placed into the weekend buffet and that is what impressed that first time around. The quality of the food was the same - very good. Gourmet preparation? Yes, that first time - not really this time. Will this keep me from going back - midweek - again? I will be going back. As I write this a few days after the meal my mouth is watering. So maybe there was something there that is still drawing me back again - even mid-week.

Go and enjoy. If you go mid-week, take heed of this article. If you go on a weekend - take note of my first article.

Now getting there as I said back in September is a bit of a drive through the woods. We got there just fine this time with the help of our GPS, but going home in the really dark - with snow considerably still covering the ground from a recent heavy hitter storm was a bit of a story. We set the GPS for home and left the parking lot and came to the end of the driveway road into and out of the complex. The GPS said turn left when I-95 was to the right. Hmm. Maybe it new about traffic or such and we had come from the left though we had not come there directly form home but more north from where the museum we visited was. Ok - silly me we listened to the GPS voice and turned left onto what was a long and dark country road into the woods and out of the woods and into the woods again. In a while it said we were to turn left down a road that was no where yet near the main road we had come down on. Listen or not? We were not sure what to do if we went straight on ahead to parts unknown so we turned off onto the road it directed us on. I entered the road and went "NO WAY!" This was a narrow, single lane road into the woods that just went off into the darkness. Where? And as I said there was still snow on the ground and the roads were iced. I stopped in the middle of this road and said we are going back to the casino and going toward I-95. I managed to make a u-turn on this narrow dark road and headed back. Don't you know that every cross road we came to that GPS chirped turn here, turn at the next corner - make a u-turn. It was relentless. It was not until we were well past Foxwoods and heading to I-95 that it gave up and routed us on the main road. I expected it to come back and say - "All right already, we will do it your way!" By the way - this is a new GPS from the one I had on the first trip here.

Be prepared when you go to Foxwoods. Have an idea of where it is and how to get back home - without totally relying upon your GPS.

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.

The BEST Manager

As many of you know, I have been to many, many buffets. I have come across some greats and some not so greats - and one of the most important things that I have told you is that the manager can make or break a restaurant - particularly a buffet. At a buffet the public interacts with the staff, the facility, and the manager more than in a sit down restaurant. In many restaurants, unless there is something very wrong, generally people are not even aware of the manager of the restaurant. At a buffet that manager needs to be aware of what is happening at the buffet tables, in the dining room, and in the kitchen. There is a lot more direction required - and that does not always take place behind the scenes.

I have seen many managers. I have to tell you now about one that I feel is the best of any buffet that I have been to. His name is James and he is one of the managers at the Old Country Buffet in Bayshore, New York. Yes - you read it right - I just said that the best manager that I have encountered is one at an Old Country Buffet. James is not the General Manager of this location. He is, from what I can tell, just under the General Manager, but he is the most visible when you visit this OCB.

We have been observing James for a while. He is pretty much the reason that we go so far away to go to this OCB (when we have another one just ten minutes away). Why? Because he makes this OCB work right and he does it with a smile and a true appreciation for his customers. There is a reason why this OCB is so much the positive opposite of the other other OCB nearby - and from what can see it is directly related to this man. Let me clarify - there have been a few nights that we have been there when he has been off - and while things remain very good - they are not as good. (Don't say that his influence should carry over when he is not there - it does, but when the boss is away at just about every workplace - things are not exactly the same.)

He walks around the dining room regularly. He stops by tables and chats with the customers. Many of the regulars have come to know him and he, them. When he passes the buffet servers he makes sure that trays are full and makes sure that those needing refilling are refilled. When an item on the buffet runs out, an equal item replaces it - by this I mean - meat for meat, side dish for side dish. (Not the extra tray of rolls brought out to replace the meatloaf that has happened at another OCB.)

I have heard him more than once thank customers for coming there - expressing sincerely that he appreciates them - and has said, without the customer he would not have a job. That is the absolute best attitude that any manager (or employee) can have. And his attitude seems to carry over to the other employees. No one there has ever said = "not my job" - as I have heard elsewhere. Even on the busiest of nights, used dishes on tables are cleared.

I sing high praises for James. I do not know James's last name but if I did I would include it here. Now there is one problem with a manager being so good - sooner or later he will get promoted - and I don't think that anyone as good could take his place.

Thank you, James! You are appreciated!

Souper Salad IS NOT Souper! Salad!

This is so odd that I felt that it should have its own article. I have written several times on this site about a salad buffet chain named "Souper! Salad!". I was doing a search for their website (sure, I should have just come to my site and clicked on the link at the side of the page) when my search engine came up with "Souper Salad - Boston". Hmm? Could it be that this chain has made its way north?

The Souper! Salad! chain is located in the Western US, the Mid-West US, and in the Southeast US as north as North Carolina. They are wonderful and I ate in one about four years ago at their location in Spartanburg, South Carolina. You can read all about that visit here. I have often wished they would open one nearer to me in the Northeast. As you will read, this was a small buffet featuring salads, pasta, pizza, potatoes, and an assortment of other things. The price for the meal is about $6 and they constantly offer coupons bringing the meal down to $4.99. In fact, as a member of their Souper Fresh Club I just got an email with a "card" good for a whole month for as many visits as one would like with the meal at just $4.99. They also offer coupons and special discounts on a Facebook page.

Anyway. So here I am searching for their website and Boston comes up. I went immediately to the link. The site was familiar but was not the Souper! Salad! site. There is mention of a "salad bar" which to me at first means "all you care to eat" but I know that this is not always the case. I poked around on the site. They feature salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, etc. and the salad bar - but this is not a buffet and none of it is "all you care to eat". The salad bar is listed with two prices - small and large - you take it but you don't go back and pay by the size. There are four locations in Boston.

It just struck me odd. Same name with the difference of two !'s. I am very surprised that the Massachusetts business could incorporate with this so similar name. I am not a lawyer but I was involved with incorporating a business years back that had initials similar to a large corporation and we were blocked from using that name for our corporation because of those initials - and those were very, very different businesses. Here are two salad restaurant chains - one large and one small - and both with the same name (except for those !'s).

I was very disappointed to find that this was not the "real" Souper! Salad!. I could more easily get to Boston than I can to North Carolina where the nearest Souper! Salad! is and I thought that if the chain had moved that far north maybe there were more nearby. No such luck. This is just a little chain trying to cash in on the name of a larger chain and attract those like me who have tried the real thing and want it again. And you know, this Boston chain may be very good but because of this, I would not go there. Not saying that there is any reason not to go there but my annoyance at using the same name.

So I just have to hope that someone decides to open a "real" Souper! Salad! in the Northeast some day. Maybe it will happen... and maybe then I can use those great coupons that I get.

Golden Corral Feature - Beef Lover's Special

The latest special menu feature to come to Golden Corral is the Beef Lover's Celebration. And, of course, what else would this entail but lots of wonderful beef dishes.

Golden Corral still has special features to add to their buffet through out the year. Old Country Buffet and Ryan's no longer do. Golden Corral knows how to vary their buffet offerings and bring customers back who have not visited in a while or give regulars something different. The current feature for a limited time centers around beef.

I have not yet had an opportunity to try out this feature, but when I saw the television commercial for this my first reaction was "Oh, Boy!". The centerpiece of this feature is steak and Golden Corral has taken the lead in chain buffet steak with just their regular flame grilled steak offered regularly on the buffet - cooked to order, hot off the flames, and into your plate. With this feature they are adding several additional steak entrees.

One of the steaks being features is Brazilian Carved Churassco Steak. I have written about Brazilian Churassco all you can eat restaurants on this site. These restaurants flame cook a variety of meats on long skewers and then walk from table to table with the skewers and carve the meat onto your plate at your request. Golden Corral is bringing this style of cooking and steak to their $10 buffet. Golden Corral is skewering and flame cooking steak that has been marinating for 48 hours. The steak is served from the skewer to your plate and is said to be tender. (You know my mouth is watering as I write this...)

Another of the steaks is Bacon Wrapped Sirloin Fillet. This has been on previous feature menus at Golden Corral and it was good when I tried it in the past.

The last of the steak additions, but not the last of the beef features, is Peppercorn London Broil. London Broil is a slicing steak and Golden Corral is serving it covered in their own peppercorn sauce.

Smoked Brisket is another beef feature on this special. Smoked Brisket is a barbecue restaurant's mainstay and here it is added to this great beef assortment. Here the meat is smoked and then grilled on an open flame. Golden Corral is then covering the meat with their own special sauce.

The last of the beef additions on this special is Timberline Chili. Golden Corral says that this chili is specially seasoned and is "packed with lots of meat". Chili makes a nice addition to a beef special.

Of course they have to add a bit more too. There is Grilled Pineapple with Cinnamon. They are grilling a whole pineapple on the flame broiler and slicing it for you at the carving station. And if you have not put fear into your arteries yet, you can also have Smokey Cheese Potato Bake on the side. Potatoes, cheese, peppers, and bacon - oh yes...

This Beef lover's Celebration Special is being served every day after 4:00 pm and on Sundays after 11:00 am. It is not offered at all Golden Corral locations so if you are planning to go, call the restaurant first and make sure that you will find it there when you get there. As is true for all Golden Corral specials this is for a limited time - and that time is not made known in advance. So before it is too late - go and enjoy!

Mommy, I Want Plain Spaghetti

"Mommy, I want plain spaghetti!" That is something often heard from children at buffets and at most "American" food buffets that is certainly something that can be easily complied with - unless you go to Old Country Buffet.

Several months ago, OCB changed much of its menu offerings. One of the items eliminated was the plain spaghetti that could always be found on the buffet along with a serving tray of tomato sauce - often along with meat sauce. What they put in its place are changing pasta dishes - all mixed with some type of sauce and other ingredients. No longer can you just get plain spaghetti.

This was a big mistake for OCB along with several other changes that took place at the same time. This is not only a disappointment now for children - many of which like things "plain" but also many adult diners. In the past, the plain spaghetti could be taken with tomato or meat sauce, it could be taken just as it was - plain, it could be have brown gravy or chicken gravy poured on top like noodles, or it could be mixed with butter and cheese. There were a lot of possibilities with plain spaghetti. I also found that the server of tomato sauce was good to have on the buffet as well. I have added it to the OCB pizza when it has come out of the kitchen dry. It could be placed on top of any of the meat dishes to create other dishes - all at your choice. But not any more.

One of the difficulties in serving plain spaghetti on a buffet is keeping it from drying out and not clumping. OCB was actually one of the best of the buffets in being able to do this. It would be kept moist in a small amount of liquid and just a small quantity of oil - which did not overwhelm the pasta, add a taste, or be too oily. They did a better jog of this that many buffets.

I am not sure why they decided to make this change. It certainly could not be a financial decision. There are still pasta dishes put out with each buffet, but the pasta that is placed out now is always mixed with cheese - lactose-intolerant people beware.

Other changes took place at the same time - and none of them good. And these changes were universal to the chain - not just at some locations. Gone are the beef ribs that were a OCB staple on Thursday and Saturday nights. Many plain vegetable dishes have been replaced with seasoned vegetables. The green beans now are often mixed with ham - forget about those if you are a vegetarian or observe religious practices. Also, new metal serving dishes that are placed into the buffet steam tables have changed. Many of the deeper dishes that kept the food hot as it sat lower down into the steam table have been replaced with shallower dishes. The meatloaf that is now placed into those shallow trays is now always cold on the top and just warm on the bottom. Not good!

I have been spending some time observing the Old Country Buffet Facebook page. I am not the only one who finds these changes to be a problem. There are a number of posts daily from upset customers about the lack of the spaghetti, beef ribs, etc. There are pleads to bring them back. I know that OCB monitors their own Facebook page but they never seem to comment back to those customers just asking to have what they enjoyed about the restaurants brought back.

So - OCB - or perhaps I should address this to the parent company, Buffets, Inc. - please bring back the plain spaghetti and get rid of those shallow serving dishes. There are lots of kids out there - and their parents who will thank you for it.

Christmas Buffet at Best Buffet, Huntington, NY

What - I went to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner? What happened? Did the neighbors hated hounds come bursting into our kitchen and eat the turkey for our Christmas dinner? Well, maybe in the movies but we decided this year that we wanted something different - and I also have wanted to go back and try Best Buffet since they reopened several years ago and I was not happy. So this sounds like a big risk for such an important holiday dinner but it was just the two of us and based on some customer reviews that I have read since, we decided to try this.

Best Buffet in Huntington, New York is located where East Buffet was a number of years ago. East was one of the top Chinese buffets on Long Island. A fire put them out of business and the building remained empty for a while until the letters were changed just a bit on the front and East became Best. Everyone had high hopes for Best because we all liked East so much. I am not sure why we would think that a new restaurant with new owners would be anything like the former restaurant, but going there a few years back I had great anticipation. And, in fact, the new restaurant looked exactly the same inside and was serving almost a carbon copy of the menu from when it was East. What did not carry over - at that time - was the quality and the attention to keeping the food hot in the serving trays. My complaint at that time was that almost all of the food was cold - and at a buffet this is not good, or safe.

So, a few years have passed and we are not just trying this on an ordinary week or weekend night - we are going on Christmas! Here is what I figured - if this restaurant cannot put the food out hot and keep it hot for a crowded holiday meal then there really is something wrong.

Let me tell you about our Christmas dinner and you will see how it was as we go along. The dinner menu that is featured on Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day all day is special for the holiday with a number of items not ordinarily on the buffet - but the regular buffet offerings were there as well. For the most part this is not an "American Chinese" restaurant. It features a number of authentic Chinese dishes and for this reason there are many Chinese families eating here. There are dishes that I have never seen anyplace else and there are dishes that I have heard about served in Chinatown - and in China.

Soup is an important part of authentic Chinese meals and here for this special dinner there were eight soups. There were six hot soups and two dessert (cold soups). Aside from the usual wonton and hot and sour soups, there was lobster bisque with large pieces of lobster meat, seafood bisque, a ham and melon soup, a "silky" soup with ginsing, and then the two dessert soups one of which was tapioca soup (both sweet soups). I tried the lobster bisque. It was very good! I also later during the meal tried the ham and melon soup. It was slightly sweet, had a mild taste of ham and melon. The ham was boiled down to shreds and the melon was cooked down to fibers. The taste was familiar and I had winter melon soup in San Francisco many, many years ago - and that may have been the taste that was coming into my memory.

There are a number of grills working making hot meats and appetizers. There is a sushi bar with a variety of sushi. There were fresh clams and oysters being shucked and put out on ice. The buffet has a salad bar with unusual Chinese prepared salads and also greens and toppings to create a mixed salad. This is not your usual salad bar - even for an Asian buffet. There are two long, double-sided buffet servers with hot foods. There was also something that I have never seen before and is featured at dinners at this buffet for the same price Monday to Thursday and for just two dollars extra on weekends. It is called Shabu-Shabu. This is an Oriental hot pot. You select raw vegetables, meats, and fish on which is poured boiling hot broth which cooks what you selected. It was included on this holiday dinner. We looked at the extensive assortment of things to put into your bowl - beyond the vegetables that I could recognize and the meats like chicken and beef, and seafood including shelled raw lobster, there were many things that I did not recognize. There did seem to be raw tripe (stomach) in one of the serving dishes. I was not courageous enough to try this. I likely missed out on something really good, but I was plenty else that is more conventional to choose from so I stuck to the not so exotic. Most of the people taking this were Asian.

One of the things that I saw on the advertisement for this dinner was roast suckling pig. I have never had that but I have seen enough food shows on the Travel Channel to know that this is something not to miss. In case you are concerned that there was a little roast piggy out being carved, have no fear - the pig was cut up in the kitchen and brought out on a platter in thick pieces and put on a hot tray to keep it hot. My first piece was just as I anticipated from what I have seen on TV. The skin was crispy brown with a layer of fat below and a thick layer of pork below that. It was very good. Now, I must tell you that later when I went back for more the hot tray was not doing such a good job in keeping this pig sufficiently hot and it was just warm. (Back to my first review when things were not kept hot? Well, the pig was not hot as it should be and there were just a very few more things - grilled appetizers - that needed to be hotter. Everything else was fine!) Hey, I went back three times for more pig - hot or not - it was good.

I tried a number of different dishes. One that I did not care for but only because it was not to my taste was guinea hen stewed with herbs. I have never had guinea hen before and I did eat some of it. What was excellent were beef short ribs stewed in red wine! Scallops, clams, and fried tofu were good. Bake clams with bacon on top surprised me when I discovered after putting the contents of the clam shell into my mouth (the bottom hidden by the thick pieces of bacon) that the these were not chopped clams like baked clams usually are - these were whole clams. Nice, but I am not a big fan of cooked clams in the shell. The conventional shrimp with lobster sauce here is made the proper way with ground pork in the sauce - all other Chinese buffets leave out the pork.

On the advertisement menu it listed lobster with ginger sauce. There was none - BUT there were large steamed lobster claws mixed in with the crab legs. This was so much better than lobster with ginger sauce! The claws were full of lobster meat and there was plenty of melted butter sauce to dip the lobster in. I went back several times for these - and there was none of the usual wait and fight to get some before they are gone - there were plenty and they kept coming out.

There were several carvings - Peking Duck (yes, from the movie - "Chinese Turkey"), Fillet Mignon, Prime Rib, and Rack of Lamb. Each carved to your order. The duck was crispy without a lot of fat.

There were so many dishes that I cannot remember them all to tell you about. There were salt and pepper fried frog legs, salt and pepper fried dungeness crab, and salt and pepper fried calamari. There were mussel dishes. There were various Chinese meat dishes. There were several types of noodles including a Korean-style noodle which were very thin, a bit gelatinous, and very tasty. There were a number of seafood and fish dishes. Many of the more unusual things were there as part of the special Christmas dinner menu. They do claim to have 220 dinner items on the regular buffet menu.

For dessert there was a large variety of authentic Chinese pastries and puddings. There are desserts here that are not found in any other Chinese buffet - and not in restaurants unless they are located in predominantly Chinese areas.

Price for the Christmas Day dinner was $32.99 per adult and $16.99 per child. They automatically add a 12% service charge to your check. The buffet price does not include drinks. Soft drinks are refillable if you order them. There is a bar - we overheard one table asking for more juice to be added to a cocktail because it was "too strong". That is pretty good! This buffet is not cheap. It never was. Regular weekend adult dinners are $25.99 and are $18.99 on weekdays. This special dinner was also served on Christmas Eve night and is to be repeated on New Year's Eve and also all day New Year's Day. My wife, as we were leaving, pointed this out to me and said, "Let's come back!" That says it all! (For regular readers who have gotten to know my picky eater wife you understand why.)

I will come back to Best Buffet. I may even be here for New Years (though when you are reading this that will have passed). With this wonderful meal, I now recommend Best Buffet. I hope that it holds up equally well on a regular night...

Christmas Eve Buffet at Milleridge Inn, Jericho, NY

Every Christmas Eve my family gets together - my sister and her husband and little girl with my wife and me - and has dinner out. For a good many years the Milleridge Inn was a family tradition and a a number of years back, they began serving a buffet dinner. As time progressed, the special buffet dinner went down hill and a few years back we stopped going there. When it was time to find a restaurant for Christmas Eve 2010, my sister - and I discovered that the restaurants that we were going to either went out of business or were not going to be open on Christmas Eve. With a reluctance I suggested that she find out if the Milleridge Inn was serving the buffet again this year. We knew that they were serving a menu dinner, but that has not been good for a long time. I have actually written about the "special" buffets served at this restaurant before - not positively. I was pretty sure before we went that things had not really improved. So keep reading to find out...

The Milleridge Inn is a "landmark" restaurant on Long Island. It seems that it has been in business forever. It started in the late 18th/early 19th Century as a stagecoach stop and in the 20th Century the mansion became a restaurant. The building has been expanded many times so that the little stagecoach stop has been lost within the many constructions. Years back a little village of gift shops was added in the large parking lot and some time ago a catering building was built at the back of the property. This catering building is where the holiday buffets are held. There are similar buffets for Christmas Eve, Valentine's Day, and Easter.

The Milleridge Inn is not a buffet restaurant. It is a menu restaurant. The buffets are set up as a catered dinner would be set up for a party or a restaurant. I have said this before and I will say it again - the problem that comes up time after time when a menu restaurant tries to serve a buffet is that the staff are not willing or prepared to do what is necessary to take care of buffet diners and the restaurant is not used to dealing with a buffet set up. Here the problem is 95% the wait staff. In the past here we encountered waiters and waitresses that were upset with working on Christmas Eve and made that very obvious. On this night, the wait staff really wanted nothing to do with the tables that they were responsible for.

There were a lot of people dining at this buffet. We had a 7:30 pm reservation which was not the last of the night. We waited to be seated after arriving for our reserved time. We were a party of five - four adults and a child. We were escorted to a very small table that should have seated no more than two. We made a comment to the gentlemen who seated us that five could not fit at this time properly. He smiled and said, "Yes, this is your table." Then he walked away. OK. We sat down elbow to elbow, two on each side with the child at one end. We got up and went to the serving tables as it was quite clear that this was our table or there would be no table.

The spread of food is set out as it would be for a catered party - times two. There were two set ups that met in the middle, both exactly the same on each side. There was a long ice table with prepared salads and cocktail shrimp (already peeled and very large). There was a bowl of greens in the middle on a small table. My sister identified the greens in the salad as mescaline greens. There were two serving bowls of dressing - one that was Catalina French and the other some dark, oil and vinegar concoction. At the wall near the salad was a table with serving dishes of macaroni and cheese, pasta with a cream tomato sauce, and a single server with chicken fingers and french fries. Along the middle and meeting the other side in the center at a roast turkey breast carving were hot, covered serving dishes with entrees and vegetables. There were also stuffed roast pork and sliced steak carvings.

This poor quality photo taken with my cell phone camera will give you an idea of the setup of the buffet. You are looking at one of the sides with hot dishes. Not really visible to the left end of the table are the carvings.

There was no soup so we started with the prepared salads and cold shrimp. There were a variety of Italian style salads - this is not an Italian restaurant. There was a mixture of sliced salami and mixed olives. There were two pasta salads. There was an artichoke salad - which was tasteless and used more than the artichoke hearts making it pretty much artichoke leaves with nothing to eat. There was a nice tomato and mozzarella cheese salad that consisted of balls of semi-fresh cheese with chunks of fresh tomatoes in an oil and vinegar with chopped parsley dressing. There was a black bean salad and there was a string bean salad. At the end of this row was the cocktail shrimp. These were large shrimp peeled with the tail on - very much like the shrimp that would be served in a restaurant as shrimp cocktail.

We completed that course at varying times - one of the reasons that I do not like going to buffets with a group - they do not like my idea that we all eat together and once a plate is empty are up for more regardless of where the rest of the table is for that course. I know that many readers have said that this is the only way to dine at a buffet in a group - and perhaps that is practical, but it does not make for much of a family meal and certainly does not lend to dinner conversation with people bouncing up and down through the entire meal. As it was, three adults and the child finished together after the one of the adults had gone back up and had already come back and continued eating. When we returned with our salads, the plates from our first course were properly taken off the table. Why would I note such a thing? I never talk really about when plates are taken away - UNLESS - they are not taken away. Well, these were the only plates the entire meal that were taken away. Now, I have noted how small this table was. Barely room for the plates that we were eating from. There was certainly no more room to put soiled plates. But no one - after that first course - ever made an appearance to take away any soiled plates. This was not just our problem as other tables around us had the same situation. It got to the point that we were cleaning our own table between courses to remove the used plates. And what did we do with them? We broke a cardinal rule of buffets and stacked them on a small empty table not too far off from our table - as were others. Oddly, the stacks of plates every so often would disappear from that table. The waiter was aware enough to take the dishes from there - but never came near the dining tables to clear the plates away when necessary. OK - someone is going to say, why didn't you say something. Well, I did. I went over to two waiters who were standing on the side with a used plate in my hand. I put it down in front of them and said to them - "you are not taking the used plates off the tables" - I added, "I have never been anywhere that the soiled plates are left on the tables." I got a surprised look, a shrug, and a "huh?" I made my message known again. One of them followed me over to our table - with several soiled plates waiting to be picked up he took one, left the rest, and was not seen again. See, this is what I mean about restaurant that are not buffets doing buffet meals - and about staff on holidays. I have been to a number of buffets where the plates do not get cleared off the table promptly - mostly in the same chain. Sometimes the meal goes along for a while - but eventually every time before someone came and eventually cleared the table - and then returned to continue to do the same (at some point). This night was really a first.

At one point my sister got one of the waiters and asked for two things - this was after telling him about the plates - which he still did not come and take. She asked for a glass of ice and one of the loaves of bread that were on other tables but were never brought to our table - perhaps because there was no place to set it down. Again, she got a stare, a "huh?", and a total blank. Eventually, she got the message through and a loaf of bread showed up on the table - on a plate but without a knife to slice it with.

So back to the meal. The hot dishes were chicken Parmesan - not bad, sausage and peppers - much too greasy, eggplant rollatini (i did not try that), string beans and carrots - underdone (to my liking), salmon teriyaki - my brother in law said this was very good, mussels and shrimp in garlic sauce, red potatoes, and fried calamari - which ran out mid meal and were replaced with stuffing (some substitution!). The turkey that was being carved was a "real" turkey breast on the bone roasted with the skin on. There was a very thin turkey gravy for it. The steak was a thick, but narrow length of steak that was being sliced. When I went up for it, it was nicely rare and juicy. When I went back for more, what was left was well done and dry (so I did not take more). I did take, at that point, a slice of the stuffed pork loin. There was a thick gravy for the pork. Condiments including apple sauce were set out along the carving area.

On one side of the duplicated sides there was a hot dog cart serving steamed hot dogs on a bun and along side were very large soft pretzels. This may have been intended for the children along with the chicken fingers and french fries, but adults were getting this too. I took a hot dog (I love hot dogs) - this one was nothing to boast about. My little niece wanted one of the soft pretzels and brought it back to the table filling the plate. She took a few bites and was not happy. Asked why she said it was covered in butter - she did not understand why and evidently never had the buttered pretzels sold by some hot pretzel chains. She is used to NYC street pretzels which are more like the Philadelphia soft pretzels. I asked her how it was - other than the butter. She was very emphatic - "It tastes like NOTHING!" She even spelled out "n o t h i n g". Hmm, if you can't impress a kid with a giant soft pretzel...

Desserts are not on the buffet but were included with the meal. There were three desserts offered - a piece of cheesecake, what they called a little Christmas cake that was actually a cupcake with green frosting, and peppermint ice cream. One dessert was offered to each. They also brought a small serving dish of little pastries to the table. My brother-in-law said that they were very good.

Overall, the food was fine. My picky wife (regular readers know about how she eats) had a hard time finding things. She had planned to make salad and turkey the bulk of her meal but the salad was not to her liking. For the most part there was plenty of it, though as the night went on the carvings were getting down to the barest of remains and there was no intention on what we being brought out. Way back in the past, there were somethings in the cold seafood section that were not there this night - most notably clams and oysters on the half shell. I would just say that they have removed them from the menu, however, as we were first coming in I overheard someone talking about the oysters. Did the raw shell fish run out and was not replaced? If so, that was a big thing to be missed for the cost of this meal.

I cannot tell you how much this meal cost. I was the guest of my sister and her husband and it was not polite to ask. I am going to say that based upon the prices at this restaurant in general and other buffets that I have seen advertised here, the cost was $40.00 per person. I hope the child's price was less. That is a lot. Perhaps not for a holiday dinner, but it really was a lot for what was offered. No beverages were included in the price. And soft drinks were NOT refillable - without full charge.

Above all the worst part of this dinner was the service. We were clearing off our own plates! I turned to my little, 8 year old niece who was astounded at this too and I asked her, "Do you know what it means when the waiter does not take the dirty dishes off the table for the whole meal?" Then I answered when she said "what" - "No tip!" Her father chimed in - "That's right!" I always tip at a buffet provided the server actually does something - and at most buffets that means taking away the dirty plates promptly and refilling the beverages. I don't know if my brother-in-law left a tip or not - but had I been paying - I would not have. Gratuities should not be expected unless they are earned - in even the smallest way.

So! What will happen next Christmas Eve if other restaurants do not open for a holiday dinner? I don't know. Would I recommend to you to come to the Milleridge Inn for any buffet meal for any of the holidays on which they offer it - absolutely not! And I am really sorry to have to say that. I had hoped that in the several years since we had done this last that perhaps things had changed - attitudes had changed. No, sadly, they have not. I must say that I had a better Thanksgiving meal with a friendlier atmosphere and nicer employees at OCB than I had a Christmas Eve dinner at the Milleridge Inn buffet.

Minado Japanese Seafood Buffet, Carle Place, NY and Other Locations

It was time for our annual Office Christmas Party for Two once again and as we have for the past two years, the local Minado Japanese Seafood Buffet was at the top of the list. This year I was a little hesitant about going back - not because the restaurant is not wonderful - IT IS - but because with my recent diet restrictions I was not sure that I would enjoy this buffet as much if I could not indulge in many of my favorites. Silly me! While I am writing this, a good two hours since we finished this great meal I am still feeling stuffed. I had no problem at all at Minado finding things to fill my plate over and over again.

As those of you who are regular readers know, I have eaten in a lot of buffet restaurants. I have eaten in many really great buffet restaurants. The meals that I have had a Minado - and all together there have only been three including this one - are the ones that I have perhaps enjoyed the most. The reason for this is that they are the most unusual meals that I have eaten at buffets. The fact that I can only really afford to eat here once a year for a special occasion may also lend to that enjoyment. Of course, the excellence of the food adds to it too. Let's face it - most buffets - no matter how good - are basically serving the same types of things. Foods that have become "American" foods - even at specialized buffets such as Italian and Chinese. At least for me, the foods found are not "that" unusual. But at Minado, the food is Japanese, and judging by the numbers of Japanese or Asian people that fill this restaurant's tables, the food must be pretty close to authentic.

The first thing to be aware of is that Minado is expensive. Monday to Thursday dinner is $28.99. Weekends the dinner is $30.95. This price has gone up one dollar since two years ago when I first came. The weekend dinner actually went down one dollar. Lunch is less and $16.95 and $20.95 and I know several people who go for lunch and tell me that the meal is just the same. We save this restaurant for this "special" party for two. When I started working at home, sharing a home business office with my wife several years back she suggested that just because I no longer worked in a corporate environment did not mean that I could not enjoy a "company Christmas party" every year. We would go and have our own Office Christmas Party at someplace special. Three years ago we decided upon Minado and now it has become part of this tradition. So we splurge. Now I know that many of you can well afford this meal and do not see these prices as expensive - but I also know that many of my readers would. (If I still worked for the corporation, I might think this expensive either - but when each dollar earned is hard earned this is on the higher end of a meal price.) This is also the type of meal that you want to keep special.

So what is so special about Minado. It is the food and the variety of it. Of course, it is Japanese. There is an abundance of sushi and raw fish. There are Japanese prepared cold dishes and salads. There is a large assortment of Japanese hot entrees. There is a soup station including made to order udon noodle soup. There is an hibachi grill. There are hot appetizers off a chargrill. There is cold seafood including cold crab legs (there are also hot crab legs). There is a dessert bar. And there is a hot crepe station. And with all of this - there is a lot of it.

I eat things here that I do not eat anyplace else - that are not served anywhere else that I go. On this night I had the raw beef again - thin slices of raw beef marinated. Surprisingly it is very good - well, I like my steak rare anyway. The raw fish here is exceptionally fresh. The best raw tuna that I have ever had I have had here - and each time that I have come.

There are sushi chefs working behind the buffet server constantly making sushi and replacing the platters that are on ice as they empty. Interestingly - and I am not sure how to see this - the sushi chefs seem to be the only actually Japanese chefs that are out at the servers preparing food. Those at the grills and the soup station are Hispanic. Never the less, they are Hispanics who have been well taught to cook Japanese. Regardless, no matter who is cooking here, the food is great and as I say, there are a lot of Japanese people eating here.

Each platter or serving tray that is out is clearly labeled to what it is and what the ingredients in the dish are. This is excellent- especially with so many unfamiliar foods. Knowing what is in the dish makes taking something that you have never seen before or heard of much easier and with confidence that it will not be something that you will not care for. And you know to avoid things that for whatever reason you cannot eat.

Last year I commented that the food was spicier than the year before. I did not find that this year. Things that were supposed to be spicy were, but many things were just right to my palate.

At most buffets - including this one - I take a little of whatever I take to taste and if I want to get more of the same I do or continue taking different things on return trips up to the buffet tables. At this meal I took a little and went back for something different. As it turns out - I am stuffed. I must confess that there were a few things that I went back and took a little more of - the raw tuna, the raw tuna seared on the outside, the raw beef, and smoked salmon.

I waited toward the end of the meal to go to the Hibachi grill. Some of you may be familiar with the Japanese restaurants where the chef cooks at your table and grills meats and vegetable while tossing knives up in the air. This grill is just like that - without the knife tossing. You have a choice of beef, shrimp, or chicken (or all three or any combination) and you are asked if you would also like vegetables - onion, zucchini, and mushrooms. The meat is put on the grill to begin to cook. The vegetables are put on the grill alongside. The onion is a large, whole slice of onion. The chef turns the meat - I had beef (I always have beef) which was a good size steak - and as it cooks he begins to cut it into strips with one of those same ultra sharp and pointed knives that I have seen tossed and juggled in those other Japanese restaurants. The vegetables are cut up on the grill as well. All of this is seasoned and then a bit of soy sauce and a quantity of butter is put on top of the food. The food is tossed on the grill for the seasonings and the butter to mix thoroughly through. You are then asked for your plate and it is all scooped up from the grill and placed on your plate. You get it all and it overfills your plate. This alone would make a dinner meal in regular Japanese restaurants perhaps with some fried rice and/or noodles on the side - and for a price equivalent to this whole buffet meal. Here it is just another of your selections as you go through the buffet taking what you like. And, of course, you can go back to the Hibachi and start all over again. This is what filled me up. This entire plate of steak and vegetables was a lot to eat. It would have even been a lot had it been shared by two. I must say that I did not stop with the plate of Hibachi steak. Perhaps I should have, but I went back for some more sushi and raw fish - oh, and a half bowl of miso soup (just to taste it - nice). Yes, I broke one of the rules - and I ate too much. I knew it before that last plate and I went up for more anyway. When I walked out of the restaurant after the meal, I gave a groan - I ate too much!

There is a nice dessert bar with a variety of little cakes though these are better than the little cakes that are usually found at Asian buffets. There are also fresh fruits and jello. There is a soft serve machine with both vanilla ice cream and green tea ice cream. The green tea ice cream is much in demand here and everyone seems to have a large bowl full. Even though we both should not have eaten any - we each had a very small cup full. It is very refreshing.

For others like myself and my wife who eat a low carb diet due to Diabetes, there was no problem selecting things to eat. We did perhaps eat a bit more carbs than usual but after the meal our blood glucose test numbers were within proper range (my wife's better than mine). There was no problem getting the same raw fish with out rice that is used in the sushi rolls. I took several rolls and fish on rice and left over the rice and nothing was said about it. Some of the marinades may have sugar in them - some are sweeter than others but there was nothing that was not manageable. Anyone should have no problem finding something they will enjoy here - this is called a seafood buffet and the only seafood my wife will eat is shrimp - and she had no problem selecting things and she only had a little shrimp.

Service here is excellent. The server was continually walking up and down the aisle taking care of his tables, removing dishes, and asking if there was anything needed.

If you would like to read my two past reviews of this buffet - with more detail on the dishes that you will typically find - they do change from time to time - but are selected from a master menu- the start with this article. That article will have a link to the prior year's article which has the most detail in it.

Minado has five locations. One in New York (this one), one in Massachusetts, two in New Jersey, and one in Pennsylvania. They also run restaurants under the name Nori. The buffet that I have written about is located at 219 Glen Cove Rd, Carle Place, New York. Their telephone number is 516-294-9541. There is a website and the link is at the side of this page. Hours may always vary from location to location so check on the website before you go. On the website you will find details for all of the locations.

I highly recommend this buffet. If you want, save it for a special occasion as we do.

BEST BUFFET OF 2010

I have been struggling with this decision for most of this past year. I have examined the buffets that I have been to this year and in previous years very carefully. In making an important selection for BEST buffet of the year, I look at the quality of the food, the selection of food, the value of the price and what is received for the money, the cleanliness of the restaurant, the courtesy and quality of the staff - and management - and, perhaps most importantly - though not much more importantly than all the other factors - how much you say "Wow!" in a good way about your total experience at the buffet. Since my good wife accompanies me to all of the buffet meals and restaurants that I review and/or dine at, I run my thoughts by her and get her opinion as well.

With all of that, once again, the Buffet of the Year is Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Now, many of the regular readers here are going to say, "How come I knew that was what he would pick?". And I, myself, have had that running through my mind for the past few months. Why do I pick Shady Maple year after year? Simply, I cannot find any other buffet that gives me - and many of you who have been there - and many others who go there - that certain "Wow!". Believe me I have looked for a buffet restaurant to top it. There was one other that I considered this year, but I feel that an important factor to consider is ownership - a big conglomerate corporation versus a family owned and run business, I have to give more credit to the family owned and operated business - which is what Shady Maple is. And it seems that so many know this is THE buffet to go to.

Before I made up my mind I decided that I had to go back for one more meal just to be certain. So with this as the main intention of the 400 mile round trip, we went again to Shady Maple just a few short weeks ago. This is not the visit that I recently wrote about. This is yet another visit and meal. The afternoon before we went to the restaurant we stopped at a very popular farmer's market in Lancaster County called Green Dragon Market in Ephrata, PA. While I was looking through one of the larger permanent indoor shops at this very large outdoor and indoor market, I listened to a couple talk to a gentlemen at the cash register of this shop. They were talking about where to eat. These were visitors - tourists, I suppose. It is not unusual in this area to find tourists at all times of the year - with the exception of the dead of winter in January and February. They told the store owner the name of another local buffet that they were going to that Friday night - one that I have reviewed on this site and a very good one, too. They said a friend recommended it. The first words out of this local man's mouth then were "He did not recommend that you go to Shady Maple?!?" He said this with a bit of honest surprise - almost shock! They answered - "Oh yes! We are going there tomorrow night!" What is the point of this story. It is one that is repeated over and over again. I have overheard this same conversation in local shops and attractions many, many times. I have heard Old Order Amish say it. I have heard Mennonites say it. And I have heard the "English" say it. (The Amish and the Mennonites are the religous sects that have settled this area of Pennsylvania. The "English" are those who are not Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch- German).)

I have written so many times on this site about Shady Maple. I have told the history of the restaurant and the owners. I have described the extravagant decor of the "new" restaurant building. I have described many meals that have been served here. I will talk about this recently past meal just to emphasize some of the things that make this restaurant stand out. Before I do, I have one regret about Shady Maple and this has to do with the "new" building - which is not so new any longer. Each time I go to Shady Maple now I really miss the "old" building. It is like moving out of a first house and into a nice new, big home - but you still miss that old place. I miss the old Shady Maple that I first went to again and again so many years ago. It was smaller. The lines were out the door and way down the walk to get in. But the restaurant was more rural and homier. It was more in keeping with the locale. The food, service, and everything was and is exactly the same as it is now. We were there the last week before that old building closed and we were there when the new building opened. The building is still there - occupied by a furniture store now. The new building is on the same property - but in the back behind the supermarket that was the original farm stand business owned by the Shady Maple owners/founders. I love going to Shady Maple - then and now. My wife knows how I feel about the "old" building and will say to me - just about each time - "I know - you miss the "old" Shady Maple".

That said, let me tell you (I have said this to you before) that I believe that the "new" building is the largest, regularly open restaurant in the United States - maybe even the world. This is not anything "official" but I cannot think of any restaurant that is larger. I know of one in an amusement park that makes this claim - as the biggest restaurant - but they are not open all year and Shady Maple is larger. It is easily the size of a football field when all of the dining rooms are put together - and then there are the catering rooms that are not seen from the restaurant dining rooms. This place is huge. And they have it divided in such a way that when you are seated in any one dining room that you don't realize how much more there is. You have to be there to appreciate the size - and how well they handle the number of people that they are feeding at any one time. There is never an empty tray. There is always food coming out. And even near closing they are making sure that everyone has enough to eat.

Ok - I have gone on enough. Let me talk about this meal. I always seem to find something new on the buffet each time I come. This last visit, there was an unusual soup - sausage and peppers soup. It was a thick tomato base soup full of sausage, peppers, and Italian herbs and spices. It was mildly spicy and very good. It reminded me a bit, but different from, the Maryland Crab soup that is sometimes served here - and one of my favorites as they serve it. It had a definite Italian taste - as it should and there were large slices of Italian sausage in the soup.

Fall and late Fall are the time of year in this area for sausage. This is hog butchering time. There were two kinds of sausage on the buffet. One was served from the grill and the other served from the buffet server. On the grill - and found fairly regularly - at least at this particular time of year was Shady Maple's "own" sausage. This is a mildly seasoned, country sausage. It was very good. On the buffet server was Polish sausage. This was a sausage link with a small bit of spice - but not too much. This was very good as well. Tasty!

Chicken and Waffles are known to different cuisines, but in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country this is not the fried chicken over a waffle that is served in soul food restaurants. Here this pieces of chicken off the bone stewed in a cream sauce with carrots and celery. This is then poured over a thick, golden waffle. The cream soaks into the waffle and takes up all of the flavors of the stew. I have had this at Shady Maple before, but this is not something that is regularly found. It was there on this last visit. Wonderful!

One of the big favorites at Shady Maple is called "Smorgie" Cheese Steaks. I have written about these before and they are often served on Friday and Saturday nights. This is Shady Maple's own variation of Philly Cheesesteaks - and people in these parts really know their cheesesteaks - and they line up for these! They are made and served off the grill. Thin sliced steak beef is grilled and then chopped on the grill with the edge of a spatula and then thick cheese is put on top of the beef on the grill to felt on and into the meat. They make this with and without onions - your choice. And there is tomato sauce on the side to put on top at your request. They serve this on a large "hoagie" roll (depends on where you are from - hoagie, hero, submarine, torpedo - all the same roll). I surprised the gentleman behind the counter and asked for it with no roll - no problem - I just handed him my plate and he spatulaed it on. (With all of the great things to eat here - why fill up on a roll? The cheesesteak is just as good and then you have more room to keep on eating.) As I say and say, I have been here many times. Every time I go and there are Smorgie Cheesesteaks - I go "Wow!".

I will tell you about one more thing that I had at this meal. Ribs. When they have them, Shady Maple serves ribs from a buffet server hot tray. There are pieces of racks - about four meaty ribs to a piece served in a light, tomato base, barbecue sauce. I suppose these are considered "spare" ribs as they are very meaty ribs. I am sure that these are not cooked in a smoker but rather some form of oven, but the mark of a great rib is that meat just falls off the bone - and these ribs do just that. They are great! The meat is tender, moist, and juicy. The sauce is not overpowering and not too sweet. The outside of the ribs have a very slight char but not that it makes the outside tough or chewy. Wonderful ribs.

Put it all together - yards and yards of buffet buffet servers in a row, four grills each with four or more offerings, the cheesesteaks, the Pennsylvania Dutch local specialties, grilled to order steaks on some nights, the ribs, and I have not even mentioned the desserts - all together combined with great service, friendly staff, and a management that is present on the floor to make sure all is absolutely right - and nothing else comes close. This is why I cannot find another buffet to top this one. This is why this is the Best Buffet - year after year.

Visit their website, look at their own Facebook page and then look at the Facebook fan pages started by people who love this place, look at the You-Tube videos made by both Shady Maple and its fans - you will the understand. Heck go to this buffet! I know people besides myself that make this trip a destination. And lately I have been driving 400 miles round trip - there and back in one day.

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. (Put the name in your GPS and it will know it.) The phone numbers are 1-800-238-7363 and 717-354-8222. They are closed on Sundays and certain holidays. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page.