I first tried the "other" Dutch-Way buffet restaurant located in Myerstown, PA a year ago. At that time, I did not enjoy this location as much as I enjoy the Gap restaurant. We were in this area again and we decided that we would go back. We actually decided to come back to give this buffet another chance over trying the buffet at the Hollywood Casino near Hershey, PA.
We went on a Friday night which offers the same buffet features as Saturday night. Like the Dutch-Way restaurant in Gap, Pa, this restaurant is not open on Sundays and the nightly features are the same at each location.
The best way to describe this restaurant in comparison to the Gap restaurant is to say that it is an abbreviated version of the Gap location. I would say from the look of the age of the restaurant that this existed before the other. There is less buffet serving area here and as a result less food is offered - and that with some differences.
I will go through what was being served on the buffet on this night. There were four soups - and they were good ones! There was chicken noodle soup with rivels (rivels are long dumplings), shrimp bisque, creamy vegetable soup, and chili. My wife had the chicken noodle with rivels and told me that it was very good. I had the shrimp bisque and that was exceptional.
Moving to the salad bar there was lettuce and toppings but less so than at Gap and there were a few prepared salads - but nothing like the assortment at Gap. There was Ceasar dressing for the salad and on the hot buffet there is hot bacon dressing - yes, hot bacon dressing which is a local delicacy.
Should I be comparing the two restaurants like this - I am not sure how to describe my reaction to this buffet without that comparison. Let me say that had we never been to the Gap buffet, I would be saying that this is a nice little buffet - and we might go back if we were in the area again. But this is a sister buffet to one that exceeds it and it is only fair to you the reader who may come expecting as we did to find what we found in Gap to know this.
Anyway, let me go on. The hot entrees and side dishes included baked chicken, fried chicken, meatloaf in tomato sauce, ham balls, chicken bot bie, spaghetti and meatballs, baked haddock, turkey in gravy, taco macaroni, pork and kraut, and cold peel and eat shrimp that were spiced with Old Bay seasoning. At the carving station was Prime Rib and pork roast. The side dishes included pineapple filling, green beans, brown butter noodles, potato filling, beets, stewed tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn pie, mashed potatoes, kernel corn, scalloped potatoes with ham, Calico Beans (baked lima beans with pieces of what looked like hot dogs but could have been small pieces of smoked sausage) and with the Prime Rib at the carving station there were sauteed mushrooms and sauteed onions.
There is an area with bread near the soup and instead of the assortment of breads as found at Dutch-Way Gap, there was just raisin bread but this was commercial raisin bread from a bag (distinctly not from a bakery even if just the attached supermarket bakery). Taking up one of the trays on the hot buffet was hot corn bread. There were also wrapped in plastic wrap muffins.
All of the food is good! There is no question about that. There were two Prime Ribs being carved - one rare and one well done. The Prime Rib was good. The meatloaf in tomato sauce was good but the tomato sauce overwhelmed the meatloaf. The ham balls were good. The chicken bot bie was good. The pork and kraut was good. My wife had the corn pie and felt that it was more corn than corn pie (really a corn casserole). We both had a good meal and there was plenty of food. It was the selection - again, compared to Gap (and we were recently at Gap a few weeks before this on a Saturday night with the same feature buffet) was lacking. The selection here - now and a year ago - was a step below, how can I put this without sounding food snobbish, in class. Maybe I should just say that the dishes here are plainer in food style. To be fair, counting the entrees on this night, there were ten and counting the entrees on the recent Saturday night at Gap there were eleven. Not really a significant difference in number but for some reason it just feels as if there is. While I can't wait to go back to Gap, I am very fine with not getting back here for another year when I may be in norther PA again.
Dessert follows suit with the same idea - similar desserts but less of them. There were half donuts (which really do make me happy - and I did have one), little danish, cookies, a few types of pie, a few slices of cake from the supermarket bakery, squares of chocolate peanut butter cake, soft serve ice cream and sundae toppings, and a few drink cups covered in plastic wrap each with a different type of cold prepared dessert pudding inside. This was odd and we could not figure why this was served this way - as if it was left from something else, rather than serving trays of puddings. But dessert space is very limited here though I don't think, for instance, that if I took the cup with the chocolate eclair pudding dessert, there was going to be another put out for someone else to take.
Service this time was much better than it had been. The server was experienced and attended to us well. The people at the buffet servers were also much more attentive than they had been a year ago and every tray was well tended and quickly replenished.
The price of the dinner here on Friday and Saturday night is $13.99 just like at the Gap restaurant buffet. And there is a discount for seniors over 60.
As I said here a year ago - wonderful buffet but not special as its sister restaurant is. That one is a hidden gem, this one is a nice buffet. I will go back and if you are in the area you should try it. This is way off the tourist area and this very much is a local restaurant.
The Dutch Way Family Restaurant in Myerstown, PA is located at 649 East Lincoln Avenue,
Route 422 East in Myerstown, PA 17067. The phone number is
717-866-5758. There is a website for the three locations (only two are
buffets) at the side of this page.My GPS put this address past its location so watch for the supermarket as you drive down Route 422 and the restaurant is on the right side of the same building as you face it from the road in the same parking lot.
An aside - I have not know what the recent feature for Monday nights is at the two Dutch-Way Family restaurants and here there was a sign. On Monday nights it is create your own pizza and a pasta station. Sounds interesting.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Golden Corral, Whitehall, Pennsylvania
We were off Route I-22 in Pennsylvania and found a fairly new Golden Corral in the Lehigh Valley Mall in the town of Whitehall, PA. The restaurant is on the outskirts of the mall in the back. It is necessary to drive around the mall from the mall entrance to the rear to find this Golden Corral. The building looked new outside and in.
We went on a Thursday night in late July and the restaurant was crowded. We were seated in just a few minutes. Like OCB, at Golden Corral you pay as you enter. At other Golden Corrals that I have been to you give your soft drink order at the cash register and someone behind the counter hands you your drinks. Here the soda/drink machines were facing out from the entrance counter and you took your own drinks and paid for them with your meal as you got up to the cashier. I wondered if this meant that there were similar setups in the dining room where you now would get your own drink refills but it did not. You still ask your server for drink refills.
We were sat at a table with tables around us that had not had their plates picked up. I wondered if this was a bad sign. Until about a quarter of the way into the meal it was.
I am not going to go through everything that was on the buffet. I will talk about the features, but the main offerings at Golden Corral are usually the same and I have written about that many times in the past about various Golden Corral locations. I will focus on the highlights - and lowlights.
The overall arrangement of the food counters were the same as most Golden Corrals but this one had distinct signs over each section - the Hacienda where the taco bar is, the Wok where the Chinese Section is, and so on. Maybe because it was all new here it stood out more than it may be at older Golden Corrals.
The feature at the time of our visit was Wings and Baby Back Ribs. This was a pleasant surprise as the website was only showing Wings as the feature. The features at Golden Corral are always after 4 pm. An earlier feature of Wings had included Baby Back Ribs and I wanted to try them at Golden Corral. Now I could.
The Baby Back Ribs were in a serving tray at the grill along with a tray of pulled pork barbecue. I took some ribs and some pulled pork. The ribs were a disappointment. They were dry and not tender. it was hard to bite the meat that came off the bones with some coaxing. At one point I thought that I was chewing bone but it was just the stringy overcooked meat. Just in case it was just this batch that was out, I tried a couple of ribs from another batch that came out later. It was not much different. The pulled pork was much better. Too bad. It may be this location. It may be just how these ribs are made at Golden Corral. They are not, of course, coming out of a smoker, but they can be cooked so that they stay moist and tender. Here they were not.
I like the steak that Golden Corral serves and have considered it the best steak of the chain buffets since Ryans was taken over by Buffets, Inc.. The first piece of steak that I got had a bit of a charcoal lighter fluid taste. I order it rare and perhaps it had not cooked over the flames long enough to loose that taste. I had another peice of steak later in the meal and this time I ordered it "medium rare". It was cooked much more medium than rare. It did not have that same taste but it was tough and far too well done for what I ordered. As I have said before the grill at Golden Corral (and any buffet with a grill really) very much depends on the grill chef doing the cooking. Some know exactly how to judge how the meat is cooked - and some do not. This may have just been this chef working that night and another night another chef would have done much better.
The salad bar was well stocked and everything was kept stocked and fresh by the people behind the counter. The hot food trays were kept replenished but not promptly and then some items were replaced with duplicates and triplicates of other items already out. My wife tried both the fried rice and the Lo Mein in the Chinese section and both were spicy. These dishes were not labeled as spicy and one does not expect to find hot peppers in either of these Chinese dishes. She did try the chicken meat that was out to create your own chicken fajitas and she was very happy to tell me that it was not spicy at all and she enjoyed that.
Gone is the seafood stir fry and good riddance. It is possible to get close to the grill area again. Sadly gone is the carved whole turkey that was at a Golden Corral that we were at just a couple of months before. That is something that adds a lot to the offerings and if it is now gone from all Golden Corrals, it should be brought back.
When we were ready for dessert we both had a desire for something for dessert. I don't usually take dessert, but my wife will if there is something that tempts her. What tempts me at Golden Corral are the cupcakes and there were vanilla cupcakes out. My wife decided to take one and there was one last one on the tray as we were walking over to the dessert counter. A little girl and her mother got there first and it was gone. I heard a young boy ask the woman behind the counter if she would bring out more and I told my wife that more were coming out. We waited and a few minutes later a tray was put out which was descended upon by several unsupervised children who were touching everyone on the tray. This put my off from taking one. I was going to take ice cream and decided to take one of the remaining cupcakes instead. When I picked it up from the tray I knew that was a mistake as it was ice cold. I ate part of it and had it been fresh it would have been nice - but cold it was not very good. I should have taken the ice cream.
As I started out saying, the server for this section was not good at the beginning but got better as the meal progressed. She did not come to clean the surrounding tables for awhile and our dishes were beginning to stack up. She also had not been around to put her name on our receipt as the servers at Golden Corral do fairly quickly once you are seated. She eventually did come around to put her name on our receipt and after that things started to get better. I did have to ask her for drink refills - she did not offer.
Everything that I took to eat for this meal was fine - but it could have been better and has been better at other Golden Corrals. But I will not judge this buffet negatively on this one visit because it was on the border that night. This restaurant is located in an area that I can get back to on occasion and I will go back to try it again at some future date.
I will go back to try again. Should you? Try it, but I am not making any promises. It may just have been this night. Many of the standard Golden Corral buffet items were as they are in other Golden Corrals. And by the time you read this the feature will have changed - perhaps twice as Golden Corral features do not stay around very long.
This Golden Corral is located at 900 Lehigh Valley Mall Drive in Whitehall, PA 18052. The phone number is (610) 443-0866. The chain's website is linked on the side of this page. This restaurant is just northeast of Allentown, PA. If coming west on I78 it is easiest to go to past to where I22 and I78 join and come back a short distance to the exit for the mall and this restaurant rather than drive north through the streets of the City of Allentown.
We went on a Thursday night in late July and the restaurant was crowded. We were seated in just a few minutes. Like OCB, at Golden Corral you pay as you enter. At other Golden Corrals that I have been to you give your soft drink order at the cash register and someone behind the counter hands you your drinks. Here the soda/drink machines were facing out from the entrance counter and you took your own drinks and paid for them with your meal as you got up to the cashier. I wondered if this meant that there were similar setups in the dining room where you now would get your own drink refills but it did not. You still ask your server for drink refills.
We were sat at a table with tables around us that had not had their plates picked up. I wondered if this was a bad sign. Until about a quarter of the way into the meal it was.
I am not going to go through everything that was on the buffet. I will talk about the features, but the main offerings at Golden Corral are usually the same and I have written about that many times in the past about various Golden Corral locations. I will focus on the highlights - and lowlights.
The overall arrangement of the food counters were the same as most Golden Corrals but this one had distinct signs over each section - the Hacienda where the taco bar is, the Wok where the Chinese Section is, and so on. Maybe because it was all new here it stood out more than it may be at older Golden Corrals.
The feature at the time of our visit was Wings and Baby Back Ribs. This was a pleasant surprise as the website was only showing Wings as the feature. The features at Golden Corral are always after 4 pm. An earlier feature of Wings had included Baby Back Ribs and I wanted to try them at Golden Corral. Now I could.
The Baby Back Ribs were in a serving tray at the grill along with a tray of pulled pork barbecue. I took some ribs and some pulled pork. The ribs were a disappointment. They were dry and not tender. it was hard to bite the meat that came off the bones with some coaxing. At one point I thought that I was chewing bone but it was just the stringy overcooked meat. Just in case it was just this batch that was out, I tried a couple of ribs from another batch that came out later. It was not much different. The pulled pork was much better. Too bad. It may be this location. It may be just how these ribs are made at Golden Corral. They are not, of course, coming out of a smoker, but they can be cooked so that they stay moist and tender. Here they were not.
I like the steak that Golden Corral serves and have considered it the best steak of the chain buffets since Ryans was taken over by Buffets, Inc.. The first piece of steak that I got had a bit of a charcoal lighter fluid taste. I order it rare and perhaps it had not cooked over the flames long enough to loose that taste. I had another peice of steak later in the meal and this time I ordered it "medium rare". It was cooked much more medium than rare. It did not have that same taste but it was tough and far too well done for what I ordered. As I have said before the grill at Golden Corral (and any buffet with a grill really) very much depends on the grill chef doing the cooking. Some know exactly how to judge how the meat is cooked - and some do not. This may have just been this chef working that night and another night another chef would have done much better.
The salad bar was well stocked and everything was kept stocked and fresh by the people behind the counter. The hot food trays were kept replenished but not promptly and then some items were replaced with duplicates and triplicates of other items already out. My wife tried both the fried rice and the Lo Mein in the Chinese section and both were spicy. These dishes were not labeled as spicy and one does not expect to find hot peppers in either of these Chinese dishes. She did try the chicken meat that was out to create your own chicken fajitas and she was very happy to tell me that it was not spicy at all and she enjoyed that.
Gone is the seafood stir fry and good riddance. It is possible to get close to the grill area again. Sadly gone is the carved whole turkey that was at a Golden Corral that we were at just a couple of months before. That is something that adds a lot to the offerings and if it is now gone from all Golden Corrals, it should be brought back.
When we were ready for dessert we both had a desire for something for dessert. I don't usually take dessert, but my wife will if there is something that tempts her. What tempts me at Golden Corral are the cupcakes and there were vanilla cupcakes out. My wife decided to take one and there was one last one on the tray as we were walking over to the dessert counter. A little girl and her mother got there first and it was gone. I heard a young boy ask the woman behind the counter if she would bring out more and I told my wife that more were coming out. We waited and a few minutes later a tray was put out which was descended upon by several unsupervised children who were touching everyone on the tray. This put my off from taking one. I was going to take ice cream and decided to take one of the remaining cupcakes instead. When I picked it up from the tray I knew that was a mistake as it was ice cold. I ate part of it and had it been fresh it would have been nice - but cold it was not very good. I should have taken the ice cream.
As I started out saying, the server for this section was not good at the beginning but got better as the meal progressed. She did not come to clean the surrounding tables for awhile and our dishes were beginning to stack up. She also had not been around to put her name on our receipt as the servers at Golden Corral do fairly quickly once you are seated. She eventually did come around to put her name on our receipt and after that things started to get better. I did have to ask her for drink refills - she did not offer.
Everything that I took to eat for this meal was fine - but it could have been better and has been better at other Golden Corrals. But I will not judge this buffet negatively on this one visit because it was on the border that night. This restaurant is located in an area that I can get back to on occasion and I will go back to try it again at some future date.
I will go back to try again. Should you? Try it, but I am not making any promises. It may just have been this night. Many of the standard Golden Corral buffet items were as they are in other Golden Corrals. And by the time you read this the feature will have changed - perhaps twice as Golden Corral features do not stay around very long.
This Golden Corral is located at 900 Lehigh Valley Mall Drive in Whitehall, PA 18052. The phone number is (610) 443-0866. The chain's website is linked on the side of this page. This restaurant is just northeast of Allentown, PA. If coming west on I78 it is easiest to go to past to where I22 and I78 join and come back a short distance to the exit for the mall and this restaurant rather than drive north through the streets of the City of Allentown.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Return to Ruby Buffet, Massapequa, New York
On my first visit to Ruby Buffet - a new buffet that had opened in Massapequa, New York on Long Island in the winter of 2013 I was disappointed. I had decided that I was not going back again. It took a $2.00 off coupon to get us to go back and try all of these months later. Our second experience there was much better than our first.
The buffet dinner here is priced at $14.99 per person with soda at $1.99. As I said in my first article this is in the upper price range of mid-priced buffets in this area and there are larger buffets with lower prices. The big issue last February was taste and value. And when I left I felt that I had gotten neither.
When we saw the coupon in a mailed coupon collection from various local businesses we discussed going back. We both felt that we should give it another chance as they have now had many months to break in, so to speak. This is part of a chain of Ruby Buffets and they are located in various parts of the US. A chain should not need any real break in period as it should be a turn key operation with recipes and selections already established in the other locations. This one has shown that over time it could improve and it did.
We went on a Friday night and it was fairly crowded. There was no wait to come in but the dining room was full and we were seated in a small dining room off to the side that has about six tables. I was not thrilled to be set off from the main dining room as one can often get lost and not receive the attention of the wait staff that you want in a buffet. I have to say that the service on this second visit was fine - it could have been better especially had we ordered soft drinks other than water as while dishes were cleared promptly, no one ever offered to refill our water glasses and I was seeing the same thing happen at tables around us who were paying for soft drinks. Refills are included in the $2 price for the soda.
I am going to list what we found on the main buffet servers - mostly focusing on the main entrees and accompanying dishes. There were the same four soups that we found on our first visit. There was wonton, egg drop, hot and sour, and seafood bisque. I took the seafood bisque and while it had a heavy pepper under taste, it was thick and rich. It was an orange red color and there were pieces of some type of fish, some small pieces of shrimp, and what must have been pieces of Krab legs (not real crab legs but the fish formed into Krab legs type). There were some small bits of shell in the soup and it took some picking out. The soup was good and throughout the meal I thought about getting more - which I did do at the end of the meal.
On the salad bar there was a seafood salad with lemon olive oil, crabmeat salad (that may have been real crabmeat), edame (soy beans), a cucumber and tomato salad with light Italian dressing on top, and lettuce with dressings. There was cold peel and eat shrimp, raw oysters, raw clams, and raw mussels.
The sushi bar had a good assortment of sushi and this was beyond the usual Chinese buffet sushi bar. Different from our first visit, this time the dishes were full of sushi and they kept replenishing them. If you like sushi and like more than the usual salmon and tuna, you will like this sushi bar. In addition to sushi on the sushi bar there was seaweed salad. My wife likes this and she said it was good. One thing that did concern her was that the tongs that were placed on plates as they are at most sushi bars along the counter, were getting soiled from one item and carrying that into other items on the bar - particularly the seaweed salad. To the credit of the restaurant, when the soiled tongs were seen they were taken away and replaced.
The hot buffet servers are a mix of Chinese appetizers, Chinese side dishes, and entrees. Over on the hot buffet there was steamed dim sum, steamed stuffed buns, steamed red bean buns, egg rolls, spring rolls, fried shrimp, chicken on a stick, ribs, chicken wings, curly fries, pizza, chicken teriyaki, New York Steak with a sauce on the side, crab legs, sweet and sour chicken, vegetable lo mein, vegetable fried rice, white rice, sauteed green beans, cabbage with hot red peppers, shrimp stuffed with crab, crab cakes, chicken with broccoli, pepper steak, fried wonton with cheese and crab, baby clams with black bean sauce, spicy shrimp and scallops with honey, seafood scampi, corn on the cob, stuffed seafood in clam shell with pork, shrimp, and vegetable, sweet cheese pie puffs, garlic bread, steak with teriyaki sauce, General Tso chicken, honey chicken, crispy duck, chicken and shrimp with black bean sauce, Texas fried fish, red snapper with fruit and dill, seafood cheese pasta, plantains, fried donuts, bourbon chicken, and boneless ribs.
I took a small amount of several things to try and some dishes stood out as particularly good. Of all things, the chicken in the chicken with broccoli was very good. It was lightly battered and the sauce for the dish was very light in flavor which made for a delicate taste and texture of this chicken. I did go back for more of this. The red snapper with fruit and dill was very good also. This was a white fish (red snapper) in a light clear sauce that was not sweet. There was no whole fruit of any kind but the fruit was in the sauce. This dish had a good flavor.
Of course, I had to try the ribs again that I had found so disappointing on the first visit. These are not in any way Chinese restaurant spare ribs or even Chinese buffet spare ribs. These are in a type of barbecue spareribs. They are sauced with a brown barbecue sauce. I first took two ribs on my plate. The first was meaty and soft. The taste was pretty good. The second rib that I took was overdone. More ribs came out and I took two more. These both were overdone. Before the end of the meal I took two more and these were like the first rib that I had - meaty and not overdone. So the ribs are hit and miss. The ones that were not so well done that they were almost just bone and char, were not good at all, but trays did come out with ribs that tasted good and ate well. So for pseudo-BBQ ribs they were OK.
Some of the dishes do not appear to be hot and spicy until you look closely for the peppers. The vegetable lo mein was a little on the greasy side. The fried rice was light and very good. I tried the seafood in clam shell with pork, shrimp, and vegetable. This looked like a stuffed baked clam and I am sure that if someone ignored the sign would think that they were taking stuffed baked clams. There was no clam in this other than the shell. The filling was dry and dense with little taste of pork, shrimp, or vegetables. The shrimp stuffed with crab on the other hand was very good - a broiled shrimp wrapped around clam and bread stuffing.
I went over to the raw shell fish and looked at the oysters. I hesitated because the oysters look slightly dry on the surface. With raw shell fish you want it to be continually being taken and replenished right there on the spot - so that it is absolutely fresh when you eat it. When it is stacked in advance on a bed of ice you have no idea how long it may have been sitting out. I found three small oysters that looked the freshest and that were moist all around. The first two had a good taste, the last was slightly off from the rest. I started to wonder if I had made a mistake that I was going to regret. I was fine later on - but I am not sure I would take the oysters again under the same conditions. The oyster was also not cut all the way from the shell which is not how they should be served. The shucking knife should go all around and break the muscle that holds the oyster to the shell. The raw shell fish is off to one end of the salad bar and it would have been much better if they were at the sushi bar where they could have been shucked on the spot.
There were two steak dishes - teriyaki steak and steak with teriyaki sauce on the side. Both dishes seemed to be using the same cut of steak and it was very, very tough - to the point of hard to chew. The sauce that was on the side was A1 sauce. The crab cakes has more crab in them this time and they were much better. The crab legs depended on how fast you got to the tray when they were brought out. People just fill their plates with crab legs and what is left are the small broken legs that are left behind. The crab legs were properly served at the correct temperature. They came out of the shells easily. What they are serving are two leg clusters with parts of the tops.
Desserts were your standard Chinese buffet desserts with the little squares cakes, almond cookies, soft serve ice cream with a few toppings and cones, assorted puddings, jellos, fresh fruit, and banana pudding.I tried the soft serve ice cream and it was not bad. It was not icy in texture though it was the type of soft serve that one would usually get icy. This may not have had a chance to get icy as it was popularly being taken by many on this hot night.
Items on the buffet never went empty. As soon as a tray was getting down to the bottom a new tray was brought out to replace it. The food was also served at all of the correct temperatures which is very important.
Service was just OK. All of our plates were gone almost each time that we went up for another plate and returned. It would have been nice if we were offered to refill our water glasses. They put a large wood bowl on the table for your crab leg shells and also a nut cracker. This bowl was never emptied and my shells remained with us for the rest of the meal in the bowl.
We had no problem in finding things to eat here on this visit and a lot has improved. I am glad that they put out this coupon as it enticed me to come back and try this buffet again. If another coupon comes we will go back again. At $14.99 I have to decide to come here or go to another $14.99 Chinese buffet that is further east on Long Island but has some particularly good selections. This buffet is not out of the running however - and it is likely we will come back.
I can recommend this buffet now. If you are on or are visiting Long Island, come and try Ruby Buffet in Massapequa on the outside of the mall building next to the food court of the Sunrise Mall shopping center.
Ruby Buffet is located at Westfield's Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, New York off of Sunrise Highway. The address is 1 Sunrise Mall Suite 2152, Massapequa, NY 11758. The phone number is (516) 882 - 0300. There is a website and it is linked at the side of this page. I have no idea if my meal at this location is any indication of the food at the other Ruby Buffet locations.
****
We went back to Ruby a couple of weeks later (again with a coupon) and the experience was the same. This time we were seated in the main dining room and the service was better. They have also given the seaweed salad its own set of tongs. The same items that were good the first time were good the next and those that were not so good have not changed - the two steak dishes are still extremely tough and I did not finish either of the two because it was not worth the chewing. I would still go back again. I am sure there will be more mailers with coupons.
The buffet dinner here is priced at $14.99 per person with soda at $1.99. As I said in my first article this is in the upper price range of mid-priced buffets in this area and there are larger buffets with lower prices. The big issue last February was taste and value. And when I left I felt that I had gotten neither.
When we saw the coupon in a mailed coupon collection from various local businesses we discussed going back. We both felt that we should give it another chance as they have now had many months to break in, so to speak. This is part of a chain of Ruby Buffets and they are located in various parts of the US. A chain should not need any real break in period as it should be a turn key operation with recipes and selections already established in the other locations. This one has shown that over time it could improve and it did.
We went on a Friday night and it was fairly crowded. There was no wait to come in but the dining room was full and we were seated in a small dining room off to the side that has about six tables. I was not thrilled to be set off from the main dining room as one can often get lost and not receive the attention of the wait staff that you want in a buffet. I have to say that the service on this second visit was fine - it could have been better especially had we ordered soft drinks other than water as while dishes were cleared promptly, no one ever offered to refill our water glasses and I was seeing the same thing happen at tables around us who were paying for soft drinks. Refills are included in the $2 price for the soda.
I am going to list what we found on the main buffet servers - mostly focusing on the main entrees and accompanying dishes. There were the same four soups that we found on our first visit. There was wonton, egg drop, hot and sour, and seafood bisque. I took the seafood bisque and while it had a heavy pepper under taste, it was thick and rich. It was an orange red color and there were pieces of some type of fish, some small pieces of shrimp, and what must have been pieces of Krab legs (not real crab legs but the fish formed into Krab legs type). There were some small bits of shell in the soup and it took some picking out. The soup was good and throughout the meal I thought about getting more - which I did do at the end of the meal.
On the salad bar there was a seafood salad with lemon olive oil, crabmeat salad (that may have been real crabmeat), edame (soy beans), a cucumber and tomato salad with light Italian dressing on top, and lettuce with dressings. There was cold peel and eat shrimp, raw oysters, raw clams, and raw mussels.
The sushi bar had a good assortment of sushi and this was beyond the usual Chinese buffet sushi bar. Different from our first visit, this time the dishes were full of sushi and they kept replenishing them. If you like sushi and like more than the usual salmon and tuna, you will like this sushi bar. In addition to sushi on the sushi bar there was seaweed salad. My wife likes this and she said it was good. One thing that did concern her was that the tongs that were placed on plates as they are at most sushi bars along the counter, were getting soiled from one item and carrying that into other items on the bar - particularly the seaweed salad. To the credit of the restaurant, when the soiled tongs were seen they were taken away and replaced.
The hot buffet servers are a mix of Chinese appetizers, Chinese side dishes, and entrees. Over on the hot buffet there was steamed dim sum, steamed stuffed buns, steamed red bean buns, egg rolls, spring rolls, fried shrimp, chicken on a stick, ribs, chicken wings, curly fries, pizza, chicken teriyaki, New York Steak with a sauce on the side, crab legs, sweet and sour chicken, vegetable lo mein, vegetable fried rice, white rice, sauteed green beans, cabbage with hot red peppers, shrimp stuffed with crab, crab cakes, chicken with broccoli, pepper steak, fried wonton with cheese and crab, baby clams with black bean sauce, spicy shrimp and scallops with honey, seafood scampi, corn on the cob, stuffed seafood in clam shell with pork, shrimp, and vegetable, sweet cheese pie puffs, garlic bread, steak with teriyaki sauce, General Tso chicken, honey chicken, crispy duck, chicken and shrimp with black bean sauce, Texas fried fish, red snapper with fruit and dill, seafood cheese pasta, plantains, fried donuts, bourbon chicken, and boneless ribs.
I took a small amount of several things to try and some dishes stood out as particularly good. Of all things, the chicken in the chicken with broccoli was very good. It was lightly battered and the sauce for the dish was very light in flavor which made for a delicate taste and texture of this chicken. I did go back for more of this. The red snapper with fruit and dill was very good also. This was a white fish (red snapper) in a light clear sauce that was not sweet. There was no whole fruit of any kind but the fruit was in the sauce. This dish had a good flavor.
Of course, I had to try the ribs again that I had found so disappointing on the first visit. These are not in any way Chinese restaurant spare ribs or even Chinese buffet spare ribs. These are in a type of barbecue spareribs. They are sauced with a brown barbecue sauce. I first took two ribs on my plate. The first was meaty and soft. The taste was pretty good. The second rib that I took was overdone. More ribs came out and I took two more. These both were overdone. Before the end of the meal I took two more and these were like the first rib that I had - meaty and not overdone. So the ribs are hit and miss. The ones that were not so well done that they were almost just bone and char, were not good at all, but trays did come out with ribs that tasted good and ate well. So for pseudo-BBQ ribs they were OK.
Some of the dishes do not appear to be hot and spicy until you look closely for the peppers. The vegetable lo mein was a little on the greasy side. The fried rice was light and very good. I tried the seafood in clam shell with pork, shrimp, and vegetable. This looked like a stuffed baked clam and I am sure that if someone ignored the sign would think that they were taking stuffed baked clams. There was no clam in this other than the shell. The filling was dry and dense with little taste of pork, shrimp, or vegetables. The shrimp stuffed with crab on the other hand was very good - a broiled shrimp wrapped around clam and bread stuffing.
I went over to the raw shell fish and looked at the oysters. I hesitated because the oysters look slightly dry on the surface. With raw shell fish you want it to be continually being taken and replenished right there on the spot - so that it is absolutely fresh when you eat it. When it is stacked in advance on a bed of ice you have no idea how long it may have been sitting out. I found three small oysters that looked the freshest and that were moist all around. The first two had a good taste, the last was slightly off from the rest. I started to wonder if I had made a mistake that I was going to regret. I was fine later on - but I am not sure I would take the oysters again under the same conditions. The oyster was also not cut all the way from the shell which is not how they should be served. The shucking knife should go all around and break the muscle that holds the oyster to the shell. The raw shell fish is off to one end of the salad bar and it would have been much better if they were at the sushi bar where they could have been shucked on the spot.
There were two steak dishes - teriyaki steak and steak with teriyaki sauce on the side. Both dishes seemed to be using the same cut of steak and it was very, very tough - to the point of hard to chew. The sauce that was on the side was A1 sauce. The crab cakes has more crab in them this time and they were much better. The crab legs depended on how fast you got to the tray when they were brought out. People just fill their plates with crab legs and what is left are the small broken legs that are left behind. The crab legs were properly served at the correct temperature. They came out of the shells easily. What they are serving are two leg clusters with parts of the tops.
Desserts were your standard Chinese buffet desserts with the little squares cakes, almond cookies, soft serve ice cream with a few toppings and cones, assorted puddings, jellos, fresh fruit, and banana pudding.I tried the soft serve ice cream and it was not bad. It was not icy in texture though it was the type of soft serve that one would usually get icy. This may not have had a chance to get icy as it was popularly being taken by many on this hot night.
Items on the buffet never went empty. As soon as a tray was getting down to the bottom a new tray was brought out to replace it. The food was also served at all of the correct temperatures which is very important.
Service was just OK. All of our plates were gone almost each time that we went up for another plate and returned. It would have been nice if we were offered to refill our water glasses. They put a large wood bowl on the table for your crab leg shells and also a nut cracker. This bowl was never emptied and my shells remained with us for the rest of the meal in the bowl.
We had no problem in finding things to eat here on this visit and a lot has improved. I am glad that they put out this coupon as it enticed me to come back and try this buffet again. If another coupon comes we will go back again. At $14.99 I have to decide to come here or go to another $14.99 Chinese buffet that is further east on Long Island but has some particularly good selections. This buffet is not out of the running however - and it is likely we will come back.
I can recommend this buffet now. If you are on or are visiting Long Island, come and try Ruby Buffet in Massapequa on the outside of the mall building next to the food court of the Sunrise Mall shopping center.
Ruby Buffet is located at Westfield's Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, New York off of Sunrise Highway. The address is 1 Sunrise Mall Suite 2152, Massapequa, NY 11758. The phone number is (516) 882 - 0300. There is a website and it is linked at the side of this page. I have no idea if my meal at this location is any indication of the food at the other Ruby Buffet locations.
****
We went back to Ruby a couple of weeks later (again with a coupon) and the experience was the same. This time we were seated in the main dining room and the service was better. They have also given the seaweed salad its own set of tongs. The same items that were good the first time were good the next and those that were not so good have not changed - the two steak dishes are still extremely tough and I did not finish either of the two because it was not worth the chewing. I would still go back again. I am sure there will be more mailers with coupons.
Friday, August 09, 2013
A Second Visit During the Same Week to Dutch-Way Family Restaurant, Gap, PA
Of all of the Lancaster, PA buffets that we could have gone to or gone back to within a week's visit to the area, we decided to go back to Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap, PA. We like this buffet that much! This was a Saturday night.
The feature on Friday and Saturday nights is Carved Roast Beef and Carved Ham. The price on Friday and Saturday is one dollar more ($12.99) than the Monday to Wednesday dinners which are $11.99. Thursdays is Seafood Night and the price increases a few more dollars. If you are over 60, tell them at the cashier when you are paying your check and you will get a discount.
This was the Saturday of a holiday weekend. The dining room was busy but not packed. As I have said many times before, this is a local restaurant and not a tourist restaurant and is way off out of the tourist area. We were seated at a table not far from a large group of Amish people who were also having the buffet.
The buffet not only varies day to day but also dishes vary week to week. There is generally something that we have not had before here each time that we come. Some dishes are found almost every night.
Starting with soup we had a choice of four - generally there are always four to choose from here. The soups included Beef Vegetable, Chili, Chicken Corn, and Corn Chowder. I chose the Chicken Corn and my wife chose the Beef Vegetable. The Chicken Corn soup was one of the thin varieties of this local soup that there seem to be many recipes for. It was a light chicken stock and loaded with noodles, corn, and chicken. This was a very satisfying soup. My wife chose the Beef Vegetable and she compared it favorably to one that she makes at home for holidays from a PA Dutch recipe.
The salad bar is just as I have described before, but I should say that the arrangement of the items on the salad bar were back to their normal places as they have always been in the past except for the last night we were here this week on Tuesday - when not only we were surprised that items had been moved around. Perhaps it was an experiment and someone finally said, "Put it back the way it was!"
The entrees on this Saturday night in addition to a large roast of Beef and a large baked Ham at the carving counter were Turkey in Gravy, Slices of Roast Beef in Gravy, Ham Balls, Dutch-Loaf, Barbecue Ribs, Pork and Kraut, Cajun Catfish, Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, what the sign said was Tortellini with Tomato and Basil but was actually Ravioli and not Tortellini, and Henny Penny Chicken. The side dishes included Dried Corn, Clam Filling, Potato Filling, Baked Lima Beans, Creamy Brussels Sprouts, Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Herb Roasted Potatoes with Cheese, Stewed Tomatoes, Honey Carrots, and Beets.
I have to take talk about the Barbecue Ribs. I had ribs on at another buffet on this trip and they did not hit the spot to satisfy my rib craving. They were good but much too meaty. These ribs looked like they were going to make me happy - and they did. I am sure these were not ribs cooked in a smoker but they were tender, enough meat per rib and not too much, had a sauce that was tomato based but not overly sweet and not overwhelming - just right, and when I was eating them, the meat just fell right off the bones. These ribs were wonderful! I almost concentrated my whole meal on those ribs. I don't think that I have had ribs here before - maybe - but on this night these ribs were just right!
I did try other things. I had a small slice of carved beef and while it was more done than I might have liked it had great taste and was very tender. The Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole was just what it is called - chicken with ham covered in a cream sauce and melted cheese. It was gooey to scoop out of the tray and it was very good. The Ravioli was also good and there were chunks of tomatoes in the light tomato sauce and leaves of fresh basil. The Cajun Catfish looked good but looked spicy (as it should be if it is Cajun) and I did not try it. Henny Penny chicken is like Broasted Chicken and since the Broasted name is copyrighted it seems that the Henny Penny company also has a process like Broasting (frying under pressure) and this is their copyrighted name for what looks like and is very much like fried chicken. The Dried Corn was very good. The Clam Filling was very different and good. In this area filling is another name for "stuffing" and it is baked in a pan and served as a side dish. This filling was a bread filling and it was flavored with clams. The clams were in there - not obvious (in other words you were not chewing on clams as you ate this) but you could taste the clams. Similarly, potato filling uses potato for the filling instead of bread and here, as I have said before, you can taste the potatoes. The Herb Roasted Potatoes with Cheese were small whole white potatoes that were roasted and seasoned with herbs and the whole tray was layered with cheese which made a great addition to what was already a good dish.
For dessert there were slices of chocolate and vanilla cakes, fruit and cream pies, Shoo Fly pie, fresh fruits, and a number of prepared desserts. There was Hawaiian Wedding Cake in one of the prepared dessert pans - a whipped cream covered, pineapple cake. There is also Turkey Hill (a large East Coast brand of Ice Cream which is located in this area) soft serve ice cream and sundae bar.
I looked at all of the desserts and decided that I had indulged enough in desserts over this past week and went over to the bread bar. There I took a slice of pumpkin bread and it was delicious. It was dense and tasted like pumpkin and spice. It was just like some excellent pumpkin muffins that I have had in the past in a non-buffet restaurant in Virginia. This was as good as any dessert I could have taken.
Service was excellent as always. Every dish was cleared away whenever we went up for more, and drinks were refilled promptly.
We did not regret going back a second time just four nights after our visit earlier. This restaurant/buffet is one that I cannot resist.
I obviously recommend Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap, PA. As I have said, this is a local restaurant for the local community. If you decide to go there - and you should - just don't act like a tourist.
The Dutch-Way Family Restaurant is located at the Dutch-Way Farm Market Supermarket at 365 Gap Newport Pike (Route 41), Gap, Pennsylvania 17527. The buffet is served from 4 pm to 8 pm Monday to Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. This is about two and a half miles south of Route 30. There is a web site and that is linked at the side of this page. The phone number is 610-593-6080.Yes, you are out of the Lancaster area code here - that is how far off it is.
The feature on Friday and Saturday nights is Carved Roast Beef and Carved Ham. The price on Friday and Saturday is one dollar more ($12.99) than the Monday to Wednesday dinners which are $11.99. Thursdays is Seafood Night and the price increases a few more dollars. If you are over 60, tell them at the cashier when you are paying your check and you will get a discount.
This was the Saturday of a holiday weekend. The dining room was busy but not packed. As I have said many times before, this is a local restaurant and not a tourist restaurant and is way off out of the tourist area. We were seated at a table not far from a large group of Amish people who were also having the buffet.
The buffet not only varies day to day but also dishes vary week to week. There is generally something that we have not had before here each time that we come. Some dishes are found almost every night.
Starting with soup we had a choice of four - generally there are always four to choose from here. The soups included Beef Vegetable, Chili, Chicken Corn, and Corn Chowder. I chose the Chicken Corn and my wife chose the Beef Vegetable. The Chicken Corn soup was one of the thin varieties of this local soup that there seem to be many recipes for. It was a light chicken stock and loaded with noodles, corn, and chicken. This was a very satisfying soup. My wife chose the Beef Vegetable and she compared it favorably to one that she makes at home for holidays from a PA Dutch recipe.
The salad bar is just as I have described before, but I should say that the arrangement of the items on the salad bar were back to their normal places as they have always been in the past except for the last night we were here this week on Tuesday - when not only we were surprised that items had been moved around. Perhaps it was an experiment and someone finally said, "Put it back the way it was!"
The entrees on this Saturday night in addition to a large roast of Beef and a large baked Ham at the carving counter were Turkey in Gravy, Slices of Roast Beef in Gravy, Ham Balls, Dutch-Loaf, Barbecue Ribs, Pork and Kraut, Cajun Catfish, Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, what the sign said was Tortellini with Tomato and Basil but was actually Ravioli and not Tortellini, and Henny Penny Chicken. The side dishes included Dried Corn, Clam Filling, Potato Filling, Baked Lima Beans, Creamy Brussels Sprouts, Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Herb Roasted Potatoes with Cheese, Stewed Tomatoes, Honey Carrots, and Beets.
I have to take talk about the Barbecue Ribs. I had ribs on at another buffet on this trip and they did not hit the spot to satisfy my rib craving. They were good but much too meaty. These ribs looked like they were going to make me happy - and they did. I am sure these were not ribs cooked in a smoker but they were tender, enough meat per rib and not too much, had a sauce that was tomato based but not overly sweet and not overwhelming - just right, and when I was eating them, the meat just fell right off the bones. These ribs were wonderful! I almost concentrated my whole meal on those ribs. I don't think that I have had ribs here before - maybe - but on this night these ribs were just right!
I did try other things. I had a small slice of carved beef and while it was more done than I might have liked it had great taste and was very tender. The Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole was just what it is called - chicken with ham covered in a cream sauce and melted cheese. It was gooey to scoop out of the tray and it was very good. The Ravioli was also good and there were chunks of tomatoes in the light tomato sauce and leaves of fresh basil. The Cajun Catfish looked good but looked spicy (as it should be if it is Cajun) and I did not try it. Henny Penny chicken is like Broasted Chicken and since the Broasted name is copyrighted it seems that the Henny Penny company also has a process like Broasting (frying under pressure) and this is their copyrighted name for what looks like and is very much like fried chicken. The Dried Corn was very good. The Clam Filling was very different and good. In this area filling is another name for "stuffing" and it is baked in a pan and served as a side dish. This filling was a bread filling and it was flavored with clams. The clams were in there - not obvious (in other words you were not chewing on clams as you ate this) but you could taste the clams. Similarly, potato filling uses potato for the filling instead of bread and here, as I have said before, you can taste the potatoes. The Herb Roasted Potatoes with Cheese were small whole white potatoes that were roasted and seasoned with herbs and the whole tray was layered with cheese which made a great addition to what was already a good dish.
For dessert there were slices of chocolate and vanilla cakes, fruit and cream pies, Shoo Fly pie, fresh fruits, and a number of prepared desserts. There was Hawaiian Wedding Cake in one of the prepared dessert pans - a whipped cream covered, pineapple cake. There is also Turkey Hill (a large East Coast brand of Ice Cream which is located in this area) soft serve ice cream and sundae bar.
I looked at all of the desserts and decided that I had indulged enough in desserts over this past week and went over to the bread bar. There I took a slice of pumpkin bread and it was delicious. It was dense and tasted like pumpkin and spice. It was just like some excellent pumpkin muffins that I have had in the past in a non-buffet restaurant in Virginia. This was as good as any dessert I could have taken.
Service was excellent as always. Every dish was cleared away whenever we went up for more, and drinks were refilled promptly.
We did not regret going back a second time just four nights after our visit earlier. This restaurant/buffet is one that I cannot resist.
I obviously recommend Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap, PA. As I have said, this is a local restaurant for the local community. If you decide to go there - and you should - just don't act like a tourist.
The Dutch-Way Family Restaurant is located at the Dutch-Way Farm Market Supermarket at 365 Gap Newport Pike (Route 41), Gap, Pennsylvania 17527. The buffet is served from 4 pm to 8 pm Monday to Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. This is about two and a half miles south of Route 30. There is a web site and that is linked at the side of this page. The phone number is 610-593-6080.Yes, you are out of the Lancaster area code here - that is how far off it is.
Friday, August 02, 2013
A Return to Dienners Country Restaurant Since Family Cupboard Has Closed
I have written about Dienners before and in November 2012 wrote here about the Family Cupboard Restaurant in Lancaster County, PA closing (actually being up for sale but it has closed and the bulding is about to become a store). Family Cupboard was owned and operated by John Dienner and his wife, and he is the son of the owner of Dienners Country Restauant on Route 30 in East Ronks, PA in Lancaster County. John decided to sell and eventually close his restaurant so that he could go to help his father run Dienners. I like Dienners, but we (my wife and I) liked Family Cupboard more. The buffet menus were similar but Family Cupboard in our dining experience always topped Dienners.
I had two hopes for Dienners with John Dienner's move there. One was that he would change the hours that Dienners is open. This restaurant closes at 6 pm every night except Friday nights when it is open until 8 pm. (The restaurant like most local buffets and restaurants here is closed on Sundays.) My other hope was that John would bring his recipes and also some of the variations to the buffet menu that he had at Family Cupboard. Neither of these has happened. Dienners still closes at 6 except for Friday's at 8. What is on the buffet at Dienners has not changed.
We went on a Friday night recently. We waited about 45 minutes to get in. The restaurant is small and there always seems to be a line to get in. While you wait you are given a beeper that allows you to walk into the neighboring shops to spend time and get out of the summer heat. We had arrived at the restaurant just after 6 and it was almost 7 when we went in. I have to say here that someone was seated at just about 8 pm and there was no problem - though this may be because the family had been waiting outside the 45 minutes that seemed to be told to everyone that came up to the hostess inside.
Dinner price was $11.99 and this was the Friday/Saturday buffet price. It is about a dollar less from Monday to Thursday. This is an excellent price for a buffet considering what the chains are now charging. The food here is quality and most, if not all is made from scratch. The people in the kitchen including the chefs appear to be primarily Amish and Mennonites and this is really home cooking.
When I reviewed Dienners a year ago, fair or not, I based my review on a comparison between this restaurant and Family Cupboard. Family Cupboard is now gone so that review is based on Dienners merits alone.
The Friday night buffet - which is the same on Saturday - includes some items that are not on the Monday to Thursday buffet. As I describe what we found to eat, I will point out what seems to be different.
We started with soup, as we always do, and there were two soups - Chicken Corn soup and Clam Chowder. Clam Chowder is not a surprise as it is standard in this area to find that or a similar seafood based soup on a Friday night. It was New England Clam Chowder, a white cream soup with clams and potatoes. We both took the Chicken Corn soup. The Chicken Corn soup was a thick chicken soup with loads of corn and hard boiled egg with noodles. The soup is thickened with might be a thickened creamed corn. There texture was smooth and not grainy which it would be had a grain or starch been used to thicken it. It was very good. I have my favorite Chicken Corn soups - this is close. Both of the soups are the same from my last visits here.
The salad bar is large and takes up a full buffet server. There is lettuce and an assortment of toppings and also prepared salads - some made with local recipes.
I had two hopes for Dienners with John Dienner's move there. One was that he would change the hours that Dienners is open. This restaurant closes at 6 pm every night except Friday nights when it is open until 8 pm. (The restaurant like most local buffets and restaurants here is closed on Sundays.) My other hope was that John would bring his recipes and also some of the variations to the buffet menu that he had at Family Cupboard. Neither of these has happened. Dienners still closes at 6 except for Friday's at 8. What is on the buffet at Dienners has not changed.
We went on a Friday night recently. We waited about 45 minutes to get in. The restaurant is small and there always seems to be a line to get in. While you wait you are given a beeper that allows you to walk into the neighboring shops to spend time and get out of the summer heat. We had arrived at the restaurant just after 6 and it was almost 7 when we went in. I have to say here that someone was seated at just about 8 pm and there was no problem - though this may be because the family had been waiting outside the 45 minutes that seemed to be told to everyone that came up to the hostess inside.
Dinner price was $11.99 and this was the Friday/Saturday buffet price. It is about a dollar less from Monday to Thursday. This is an excellent price for a buffet considering what the chains are now charging. The food here is quality and most, if not all is made from scratch. The people in the kitchen including the chefs appear to be primarily Amish and Mennonites and this is really home cooking.
When I reviewed Dienners a year ago, fair or not, I based my review on a comparison between this restaurant and Family Cupboard. Family Cupboard is now gone so that review is based on Dienners merits alone.
The Friday night buffet - which is the same on Saturday - includes some items that are not on the Monday to Thursday buffet. As I describe what we found to eat, I will point out what seems to be different.
We started with soup, as we always do, and there were two soups - Chicken Corn soup and Clam Chowder. Clam Chowder is not a surprise as it is standard in this area to find that or a similar seafood based soup on a Friday night. It was New England Clam Chowder, a white cream soup with clams and potatoes. We both took the Chicken Corn soup. The Chicken Corn soup was a thick chicken soup with loads of corn and hard boiled egg with noodles. The soup is thickened with might be a thickened creamed corn. There texture was smooth and not grainy which it would be had a grain or starch been used to thicken it. It was very good. I have my favorite Chicken Corn soups - this is close. Both of the soups are the same from my last visits here.
The salad bar is large and takes up a full buffet server. There is lettuce and an assortment of toppings and also prepared salads - some made with local recipes.
The entrees are what are most important. There were not many entrees and compared to other local buffets this may be surprising. There were Rotisserie Chicken, Beef Tips in Gravy, Sliced Ham, Fried Fish, Fried Shrimp, and there should have been Ham Loaf, as it was marked on a sign on the buffet, but they were out of it and it was not brought out. (In its place was a second tray of Rotisserie Chicken.) Someone walking around the buffet server commented that there was no fried chicken. I thought that she must be mistaken and went back and looked and this woman was right - there was no fried chicken which is a standard at just about every buffet.There is no fried chicken on the regular menu.
The side dishes were more plentiful and included Broccoli, Browned Butter Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, fresh Carrots, Corn, fresh String Beans, Bread Filling, Beets, White Rice, Baked Lima Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, and Stewed Tomatoes. There was chicken gravy and brown gravy.
Rotisserie Chicken is one of the things that this restaurant (and formerly, Family Cupboard) is known for. It is moist and extremely tasty chicken on the bone cooked with the skin on. Add some chicken gravy on top and it is a treat. The Beef Tips in Gravy is a dish of braised beef chunks that are then almost stewed in brown gravy. This becomes very tender and the meat falls apart on your fork. This too is very tasty. The Ham is served pre-sliced from a tray on the buffet server and is fine. I like the Fried Fish here and there is a very nice tartar sauce to add to it. These are large strip chunks of filleted fish (no bones). The Fried Shrimp is very nice. There is also cocktail sauce for the shrimp on the side of the buffet. I wish that they had not run out of the Ham Loaf as this can be very good - and is a favorite of my wife.
The side dishes are all fresh vegetables and freshly made. There were strings in the string beans and a few stems too - fresh. The carrots were not sweetened and were good on their own. The Baked Lima Beans are cooked in a mild sauce like baked beans. The Stewed Tomatoes are good but slightly sweet - as they usually are. You can tell that the mashed potatoes were mashed in the kitchen and the Browned Butter Noodles had the correct nutty flavor and is good!
There
is a buffet server full of desserts. There are custard and fruit pies
in a separate refrigerated case, on the buffet table there were puddings, prepared desserts, hot chocolate fudge cake, hot peach tart compote, chocolate cake, carrot cake, and there is soft serve ice cream with sundae toppings. There was egg custard among the prepared desserts and I love egg custard and that was what I had for dessert.
Our service was excellent and the young lady came regularly to refill soft drinks and clear away plates. She was very pleasant and very nice.
The food is very good. The choices are limited. We did not leave hungry. This place is always busy and both the locals and the tourists come here. The restaurant is right in the middle of the tourist area. This can lead to tourists who have never been to a buffet before who think it is a cafeteria and not only have to follow along as if the buffet tables have lines but also get upset if anyone in the know jumps in to get something from a tray and move off. The restaurant cannot be faulted for this. There will be times - particularly off season - not in the summer - when you will see almost exclusively local people here including Amish and Mennonites.
I was hoping to find a Dienners mixed with Family Cupboard and did not find that. Dienners can stand on its own just the way it is. The selections that I have named above is what you are going to find - perhaps meatloaf instead of shrimp on a Monday to Thursday - or perhaps not - and perhaps no shrimp or fish. The atmosphere is country restaurant and as I said it is small. There are tables along both sides of the buffet area and there is another small room off to the side. Come here for home Amish cooking but without some of the standard Amish dishes that you will find at other buffets.
There is menu dining also and the menu is just about the same in choices as the buffet with the addition of burgers and sandwiches. You can order from the menu if someone at the table is having the buffet.
Will I come back to Dienners? I suppose so, if I am feeling reminiscent for Family Cupboard because what is here is what was there, but here minus a few more dishes. I certainly liked the food here. Should you come here? I will say try it at least once for the cooking. The price is certainly right and you are getting quality food.
Dienners is located at 2855 Lincoln Highway East in East Ronks,
Pennsylvania (This is US Route 30). It is next to the big windmill so
you cannot miss it. I have told you the hours, remember that like the
rest of the local buffets it is closed on Sundays. Their phone number is
717-687-9571. There is a sparse website and that is listed at the side
of this page.
You can see a menu there but not for the buffet (but that you have here).
Friday, July 26, 2013
Shady Maple Smorgasbord on the Fourth of July
For a big tourist area, not all restaurants are open on the Fourth of July in Lancaster County, PA. Shady Maple at one time closed early, but for a long time now has remained open for its regular hours. We were in the area on the Fourth of July and went to Shady Maple for dinner.
It was crowded but there was no wait. We went right in and was seated. The dining room was crowded and we sat a bit off to the side of where we are usually seated. I prefer a table and I like the main dining room area in front of the buffet area entrance. This Fourth of July was on a Thursday and the Thursday feature for dinner is always Family Value Night - and dinner was priced accordingly. As we were seated the hostess told us that there was an additional feature for the holiday - three types of ribs!
The menu is always changing at Shady Maple and there is so much that listing everything that is on the buffet just does not make any sense. There were some new soups which I have not seen there before that I do have to make note of and those were Sweet Potato Soup and Ham Vegetable. The Sweet Potato Soup was very interesting - and very good. Imagine mashed sweet potatoes sweetened with brown sugar and maybe even a little maple, add a little fresh butter, and liquify this with cream to a thick, creamy soup. This was the Sweet Potato Soup. If you like sweet this is the soup to try - and there was enough sweet potato flavor to satisfy. This would make an excellent soup to serve on Thanksgiving. Even though it was over 90 degrees outside, it was still satisfying! The Ham Vegetable was interesting also - like beef vegetable but with ham and a nice ham stock loaded with chunks of ham and vegetables. When there is more than one soup here that tempts me I take a half cup of each. The Ham Vegetable was very good - and it was very different from Ham and Bean (which they also had on this night).
The three types of ribs were baby back ribs, St. Louis ribs, and I guess what we can call generic barbecue ribs. The baby backs and the St. Louis ribs were served from one of the grills. The barbecue ribs were served from a tray on the buffet servers. I tried the baby backs and the St. Louis ribs. They both were good, but it may seem odd to say, but with each there was too much meat on and between the rib bones. The bones somewhat came away from the meat easily but my rib craving was not getting satisfied by these ribs. They were good but they would have been better if they had cut the ribs apart - they were served together in groups of three or four ribs, and if they were not like eating pork with bones in between. The sauce was good, but I did not go back for more ribs and ordinarily when I find ribs on a buffet I do go back for more. It did not really matter, though, as there was so much more to have - as there always is at Shady Maple.We had spent the day outside in the heat and perhaps this was just too heavy to deal with for dinner that day.
The Oriental Stir Fry was set up on the last grill and this I believe is a regular part of Thursday nights at Shady Maple. On that grill there was a sign for Portuguese Cod Cakes. I had no idea what would make a fish cake Portuguese but I tried one. These were breaded cod cakes with the cod minced like a crab cake is and it was mildly seasoned. They were flat fried on the fry grill. They were tasty and slightly spicy though not "hot and spicy". They were interesting and good.
Over on the charcoal grill they were cooking burgers. I did not have one but you could have had a burger grilled to order (with or without a bun) - add cheese and there are many toppings all over the buffet to build a burger with. I had wondered what they did with the grill when it was not a night that they serve steak - and on this Fourth of July Thursday they were grilling burgers.
There is no question that if you are in this area you must eat at Shady Maple. I have to struggle with my dinner choices not to go to Shady Maple so that I can get to the other buffets in the area that I love.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East or Route 322 South to get to the restaurant. The phone numbers are 1-800-238-7363 and 717-354-8222. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page. There is also an active Facebook page.
It was crowded but there was no wait. We went right in and was seated. The dining room was crowded and we sat a bit off to the side of where we are usually seated. I prefer a table and I like the main dining room area in front of the buffet area entrance. This Fourth of July was on a Thursday and the Thursday feature for dinner is always Family Value Night - and dinner was priced accordingly. As we were seated the hostess told us that there was an additional feature for the holiday - three types of ribs!
The menu is always changing at Shady Maple and there is so much that listing everything that is on the buffet just does not make any sense. There were some new soups which I have not seen there before that I do have to make note of and those were Sweet Potato Soup and Ham Vegetable. The Sweet Potato Soup was very interesting - and very good. Imagine mashed sweet potatoes sweetened with brown sugar and maybe even a little maple, add a little fresh butter, and liquify this with cream to a thick, creamy soup. This was the Sweet Potato Soup. If you like sweet this is the soup to try - and there was enough sweet potato flavor to satisfy. This would make an excellent soup to serve on Thanksgiving. Even though it was over 90 degrees outside, it was still satisfying! The Ham Vegetable was interesting also - like beef vegetable but with ham and a nice ham stock loaded with chunks of ham and vegetables. When there is more than one soup here that tempts me I take a half cup of each. The Ham Vegetable was very good - and it was very different from Ham and Bean (which they also had on this night).
The three types of ribs were baby back ribs, St. Louis ribs, and I guess what we can call generic barbecue ribs. The baby backs and the St. Louis ribs were served from one of the grills. The barbecue ribs were served from a tray on the buffet servers. I tried the baby backs and the St. Louis ribs. They both were good, but it may seem odd to say, but with each there was too much meat on and between the rib bones. The bones somewhat came away from the meat easily but my rib craving was not getting satisfied by these ribs. They were good but they would have been better if they had cut the ribs apart - they were served together in groups of three or four ribs, and if they were not like eating pork with bones in between. The sauce was good, but I did not go back for more ribs and ordinarily when I find ribs on a buffet I do go back for more. It did not really matter, though, as there was so much more to have - as there always is at Shady Maple.We had spent the day outside in the heat and perhaps this was just too heavy to deal with for dinner that day.
The Oriental Stir Fry was set up on the last grill and this I believe is a regular part of Thursday nights at Shady Maple. On that grill there was a sign for Portuguese Cod Cakes. I had no idea what would make a fish cake Portuguese but I tried one. These were breaded cod cakes with the cod minced like a crab cake is and it was mildly seasoned. They were flat fried on the fry grill. They were tasty and slightly spicy though not "hot and spicy". They were interesting and good.
Over on the charcoal grill they were cooking burgers. I did not have one but you could have had a burger grilled to order (with or without a bun) - add cheese and there are many toppings all over the buffet to build a burger with. I had wondered what they did with the grill when it was not a night that they serve steak - and on this Fourth of July Thursday they were grilling burgers.
On the buffet among so many things there were a couple of things I have not seen before here. One was barbecue beans which were kidney beans, bacon, green peppers and onions. The other was potato chunks with browned
butter. There is usually browned butter noodles served every night at Shady Maple. This was the first time that I saw potatoes in browned butter (and they were good!). To make browned butter, you take a pot filled with butter and put it on a stove and melt the butter - and once the butter melts to all liquid you leave it on the flame to continue to cook. What happens then is that the butter begins to burn and brown flakes form in the liquid. When it has all turned brown - you have browned butter. This gives the butter a very nutty taste and it is delicious. As I say, it is common in this area to see it on noodles, but not so often on potatoes.
As always at Shady Maple you have to tell yourself to stop going back up because there is always something else that you wanted to try or take more of. I stopped eating with several things that still caught my eye. I don't know if I have mentioned these here before but Shady Maple serves pretzel rolls - fresh baked and brushed with butter. They are found in a glass, heated case next to the left side at the edge of the dining room of the center grill island. These are very good but I reluctantly stopped myself from adding one of these to the end of the meal.
Of course, Shady Maple has been BEST Buffet for so many years in a row and in 2012 when we changed the format of the awards, it remains a TOP Buffet. (As I said then - if we did not do something to add more buffets to recognize for their excellence there is NO topping Shady Maple.)
There is no question that if you are in this area you must eat at Shady Maple. I have to struggle with my dinner choices not to go to Shady Maple so that I can get to the other buffets in the area that I love.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East or Route 322 South to get to the restaurant. The phone numbers are 1-800-238-7363 and 717-354-8222. There is a website and it is listed at the side of this page. There is also an active Facebook page.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Yoders Restaurant on a Wednesday Night
I thought I had been to Yoders Restaurant in New Holland, PA at least once on each night of the week, but we were in the area on a Wednesday and went to Yoders and discovered that when we got there it was Italian Night. We had not been there before for Italian Night so this was going to be an experience for an Italian that grew up in an all Italian family and was raised on fine Italian cooking.
As we went in I wondered just how much of the buffet would be Italian and how much would be the usual Pennsylvania Dutch fare that Yoders usually serves. We discovered that there was a very pleasant mix of the two. What this showed me and that I can share with all of you is to not be put off by a "special" feature night and that generally there will be standards and non-themed dishes served along with the featured theme.
Yoders is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They open very early in the morning and close at 8:00 pm at night - as most other buffets in this area do. They recently started opening for Sunday brunch but other than that they are not open on Sunday's for lunch or dinner and close at 2 pm. The main days are Monday to Saturday for buffet and menu dining. Some at your table can order from the menu while others order the buffet. They have no problem with that.
The restaurant is located at Yoder's Country Market, Route 23, New Holland, Pennsylvania. The phone number is (717) 354-4748. There is a website and that is linked at the side of this page. There is also a Facebook page that you can "Like" and get updates on specials.
As we went in I wondered just how much of the buffet would be Italian and how much would be the usual Pennsylvania Dutch fare that Yoders usually serves. We discovered that there was a very pleasant mix of the two. What this showed me and that I can share with all of you is to not be put off by a "special" feature night and that generally there will be standards and non-themed dishes served along with the featured theme.
One would not know from the soups on this night or the majority of what was served from the grill that this was Italian Night. The soup selections were Cream of Celery and Chicken Corn Noodle. The chicken corn noodle was both our choice and it was very good. It was loaded with noodles and corn in a light stock with pieces of chicken. I tend to like a thicker chicken corn soup but this was very good and it did have pieces of hard boiled egg in the soup which is traditional in this area for chicken corn soup.
The salad bar was the same as always. It had its usual great selection of a variety of lettuces, toppings, dressings (including creamy Caesar), and prepared salads.
The grill was featuring Smoked Brisket, Cajun Catfish, Potato Cakes, Corn Fritters, and in keeping with the theme - Chicken Parmigiana. I tried the Smoked Brisket and the Chicken Parmigiana. The brisket was a little dry and I should have put some barbecue sauce on top which was available. The Chicken Parm was a little unusual from what you would get at an Italian restaurant in that the chicken was not fried, but broiled and then put without breading on the flatiron grill with cheese and tomato sauce put on top. This was then covered with a lid and steamed to melt it all together. It was tasty but not what I had expected - but that was OK because it was good.
It was when we went up to the hot buffet servers that we saw that this was Italian Night but the Italian dishes were intermixed with Pennsylvania Dutch and American dishes. There was a very good assortment and this included Lasagna, Fettucini with Red Clam Sauce, Italian Sausage and Peppers, Eggplant Parmigiana and Pizza in the Italian selections and Hamballs in Pineapple sauce, Ham in Gravy, Prime Rib, Baked Chicken, Broasted Chicken, Baked Haddock. Chicken Hot Wings (Buffalo Wings), Nachos with hot, melted cheese and toppings, aTaco Bar and a Potato Bar. The side dishes included Corn, Steamed Mixed Fresh Vegetables, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Green beans, Mashed Potatoes, Potato Filling, Macaroni and Cheese, Stewed Tomatoes, Brown Butter Noodles and
Brussels Sprouts.
The Lasagna was good. The Fettucini in Red Clam Sauce was interesting. There were not obvious clams in the sauce. I suspect that they were blended well in with the tomatoes which were chunked. It was very nicely seasoned and it tasted very good. I was quite delightfully surprised. The Italian Sausage and Peppers brought me back several times for more. These were not served in a tomato sauce but rather as grilled or baked sausages with peppers and onions around them. The Hamballs were very good and not overly sweet. The Prime Rib was a big surprise as in the pan it just looked like thin slices of Roast Beef in a thin gravy. But when I ate this it was definitely Prime Rib - very tender and good! I very much enjoyed it!
We were quite happy with the selections. My picky eater wife found plenty of things to enjoy. Over on the counter where the breads are there were hot trays of baked oatmeal and baked oatmeal with blueberries. I tried the baked oatmeal with blueberries and they were a nice addition to what is already a good baked oatmeal.
There were a variety of desserts out including fruit and cream pies, shoo fly pie, cakes, and a wide assortment of prepared desserts. There is also soft serve ice cream and a sundae bar and the soft ice cream here is excellent. I wish they would include the hard ice cream that is made in Yoders adjacent dairy. This fresh made ice cream is wonderful and can be had on the menu but not the buffet. I chose the same two desserts that I had the night before at Dutch-Way - shoo fly cake and cracker pudding. Here the cracker pudding is more traditional and not overwhelmed with coconut though there is coconut in it. I like this cracker pudding better. The shoo fly cake was very good but the shoo fly cake at Dutch-Way was moister. Both were satisfying and I would not pass either up.
Service was very good and the server came regularly to clear away plates and offer refills on our drinks. While the restaurant closes at 8 pm they were still seating people at 8.
This buffet is one of our Top Buffets for 2012 and it still deserves that rating. I have to say this every time I write about Yoders. This is a restaurant in a supermarket and it is not at all fancy inside. It is pleasantly decorated but the booths and tables are utilitarian - nothing fancy. People come here for the food and not the ambiance. And this a restaurant for the locals. It is rare to see tourists here. It is more common to see Amish and Mennonites dining here. I was recently looking at their Facebook page and someone - obviously from outside of the area was not pleased with Yoders - things were too plain - and not fancy. Well, local people responded and suggested this must be someone from the "big city" and what were they expecting when they came in. The food is good and I come here for the food. The price is extremely reasonable and good. Deciding to come here on this night we had two other choices - buffets that don't often get to and when I discussed with my wife where we should eat, we both agreed to go to Yoders. If you are looking for big city fancy like the lady on Facebook - don't come here.
Yoders is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They open very early in the morning and close at 8:00 pm at night - as most other buffets in this area do. They recently started opening for Sunday brunch but other than that they are not open on Sunday's for lunch or dinner and close at 2 pm. The main days are Monday to Saturday for buffet and menu dining. Some at your table can order from the menu while others order the buffet. They have no problem with that.
The restaurant is located at Yoder's Country Market, Route 23, New Holland, Pennsylvania. The phone number is (717) 354-4748. There is a website and that is linked at the side of this page. There is also a Facebook page that you can "Like" and get updates on specials.
Friday, July 12, 2013
One of Two Dinners in a Week at Dutch-Way Family Restaurant, Gap, PA
We were staying several nights in Lancaster, PA and out of all of the buffet restaurants that we love to go to in Lancaster, Dutch-Way Family Restaurant in Gap was the one that was calling us to go to first. We went on a Tuesday night. We seem to go to Dutch-Way a lot on Tuesday nights. The specials for Tuesdays on the dinner buffet at the grill are "build your own burgers" and a choice of hot wings.
I have written about Dutch-Way several times and the Gap location is one of our Top Buffets for 2012. I was curious if they posted our certificate and found that they did not. I am not sure why. Some other buffets that are awarded our certifications do post them prominently. This buffet is so good I cannot hold that against them.
This is a local restaurant much out of the tourist area. When dining here you are primarily dining with people from the communities around the restaurant including Old Order Amish families and Mennonite families. On this night there were several tables of Amish people dining at the buffet. Getting to this buffet means driving somewhat out of the way of the usual tourist area. It is not far and it is worth the trip.
Dinner from Monday to Wednesday is $11.99 and there is a discount for seniors 60 and over. The soda price is $1.99 and includes refills. Pricing here goes up on Seafood Night which is Thursday and is higher Friday and Saturday nights. As I have described in the past, is part of a supermarket and while the restaurant is completely separated from the supermarket there is a hall that connects the supermarket part of the building with the restaurant entrance. The dining room and restaurant have very nice ambiance and are at a standard equal to any stand-alone restaurant. The decor is pleasant and there are booths and tables that will seat from two to a large group. There is also a separate dining room for parties and meetings. That room has been frequently in use when we have been to the restaurant.
One nice thing about this buffet is that there is also menu dining and they have no problem is someone in your group wants to order from the menu and others want to order from the buffet. Some restaurants make a big deal about this - and perhaps that is necessary for those who want to sneak food from the buffets and just pay for a platter. There is no problem here - each order whichever way they want.
I have to get right into what was on the buffet on this particular night. I don't think we have ever been to Dutch-Way and not found something different on the buffet from other visits. As we like to start with soup, we shall start here with soup and there are always four soups. This night there were Chili, Beef Vegetable, Corn Chowder, and Beef Barley. I tried the corn chowder and my wife had the beef vegetable. The corn chowder was very good and loaded with potatoes and corn in a cream based chowder that was between thick and thin. The beef vegetable soup was a beef based stock with vegetables. It was not loaded with beans or cabbage as some vegetable soups can be and this made this soup better.
The salad bar at Dutch-Way is extensive and it takes up both sides of a buffet server. The arrangement on this night was odd for this buffet and several diners at the salad bar were commenting about this. Everything that has always been there was there but in a different spot and arranged on different sides from where people expected to find things. Other than the so many things to add to a salad, the prepared salads are very good and the potato salad was especially good. If you have never tried Lebanon bologna, there are chunks of it here to add to a salad. This is something to try and a specialty of this area.
I have written about Dutch-Way several times and the Gap location is one of our Top Buffets for 2012. I was curious if they posted our certificate and found that they did not. I am not sure why. Some other buffets that are awarded our certifications do post them prominently. This buffet is so good I cannot hold that against them.
This is a local restaurant much out of the tourist area. When dining here you are primarily dining with people from the communities around the restaurant including Old Order Amish families and Mennonite families. On this night there were several tables of Amish people dining at the buffet. Getting to this buffet means driving somewhat out of the way of the usual tourist area. It is not far and it is worth the trip.
Dinner from Monday to Wednesday is $11.99 and there is a discount for seniors 60 and over. The soda price is $1.99 and includes refills. Pricing here goes up on Seafood Night which is Thursday and is higher Friday and Saturday nights. As I have described in the past, is part of a supermarket and while the restaurant is completely separated from the supermarket there is a hall that connects the supermarket part of the building with the restaurant entrance. The dining room and restaurant have very nice ambiance and are at a standard equal to any stand-alone restaurant. The decor is pleasant and there are booths and tables that will seat from two to a large group. There is also a separate dining room for parties and meetings. That room has been frequently in use when we have been to the restaurant.
One nice thing about this buffet is that there is also menu dining and they have no problem is someone in your group wants to order from the menu and others want to order from the buffet. Some restaurants make a big deal about this - and perhaps that is necessary for those who want to sneak food from the buffets and just pay for a platter. There is no problem here - each order whichever way they want.
I have to get right into what was on the buffet on this particular night. I don't think we have ever been to Dutch-Way and not found something different on the buffet from other visits. As we like to start with soup, we shall start here with soup and there are always four soups. This night there were Chili, Beef Vegetable, Corn Chowder, and Beef Barley. I tried the corn chowder and my wife had the beef vegetable. The corn chowder was very good and loaded with potatoes and corn in a cream based chowder that was between thick and thin. The beef vegetable soup was a beef based stock with vegetables. It was not loaded with beans or cabbage as some vegetable soups can be and this made this soup better.
The salad bar at Dutch-Way is extensive and it takes up both sides of a buffet server. The arrangement on this night was odd for this buffet and several diners at the salad bar were commenting about this. Everything that has always been there was there but in a different spot and arranged on different sides from where people expected to find things. Other than the so many things to add to a salad, the prepared salads are very good and the potato salad was especially good. If you have never tried Lebanon bologna, there are chunks of it here to add to a salad. This is something to try and a specialty of this area.
There are two long hot servers and half of one is filled with hot dessert choices. The entrees that we found on this night were Ham Balls with pineapple sauce, Swiss meatballs with mushroom sauce, Chicken Bot Boi, Chicken with Biscuit, Roast Beef, Turkey, Henny Penny Chicken which is a version of "broasted" chicken, Cajun catfish, Pork and Kraut, Lemon Herb Pollak, and Dutchloaf in brown gravy which is meatloaf. Add to this the specials on the grill which were "build your own burgers" and hot wings. The "build your own burgers" were burgers grilled to order and then on top you chose items like bacon, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, raw onion, a variety of cheeses, tomatoes, and other toppings and sauces. The burger is served on a roll. I had mine without a roll. The side dishes were
Mixed Vegetables which were not the usual frozen mixed vegetables but rather an assortment of fresh vegetables, Green bean casserole, Roast potatoes, Baked Limas, Stewed Tomatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Potato Filling, Pineapple filling which is bread filling full of pineapple, and Beets.
I have talked about Chicken Bot Boi from various restaurants in Lancaster County many times. Here the noodles are more pasta like and less doughy dumplings as is done at some restaurants. The squares of noodle/dumplings are in a thick yellow chicken stock with chunks of chicken meat, carrots, and celery all boiled together into a stew. This is similar to but not like Chicken Pot Pie - there is no crust and the taste is much different. While I prefer the larger doughy dumplings the taste of this Chicken Bot Boi is very good.
The Chicken with Biscuit is creamed chicken served topped with individual biscuits and it is very good. The Swiss Meatballs were just right with the mushroom sauce that was covering them. The ham balls were not too sweet in their pineapple sauce and they are a favorite of the both of us. The Pork and Sauerkraut here is not overwhelmingly flavored with vinegar as it can be in some buffets. The Lemon Herb Pollack was light in texture and right in taste. My wife who as my regular readers know is a picky eater and likes primarily plain foods likes the Dutchloaf here. She does not care for meatloaf covered in ketchup and here it is served in brown gravy. It has a dense texture that holds together well.
At the grill I had a burger made to order. I asked for a medium rare burger with cheese, bacon, and sauteed mushrooms with no roll. The burger was cooked perfectly. The items were melted together on the flatiron grill so that the cheese was dripping down the sides of the burger. It was a very good burger and I enjoyed it! (Why no roll? I learned a long time ago eating at buffets and all you care to eat restaurants that there is no need to fill up needlessly on bread when there are so many good things to have.)
At the grill I had a burger made to order. I asked for a medium rare burger with cheese, bacon, and sauteed mushrooms with no roll. The burger was cooked perfectly. The items were melted together on the flatiron grill so that the cheese was dripping down the sides of the burger. It was a very good burger and I enjoyed it! (Why no roll? I learned a long time ago eating at buffets and all you care to eat restaurants that there is no need to fill up needlessly on bread when there are so many good things to have.)
The potato filling as I have said in previous articles about Dutch-Way is one of the best with the potato taste predominant and not the dough it is mixed with. The Green Bean Casserole is the Thanksgiving favorite and made exceptionally good with fresh green beans in a mushroom cream sauce and topped and mixed through with fried onions. These did not seem to be the canned onions but similar onions made in the kitchen.
Along with the meal there is a counter with a variety of breads with breads like pumpkin bread, banana nut bread, breads swirled with fruit and more. Some of these make a good dessert - but there are good dessert choices here that vary. There are many prepared puddings and desserts. There are fruit and cream pies. There is a cold case with the pies that need to be kept cold. There are usually cakes but there were none out on this night. There were hot desserts - warm cakes with toppings to pour over on one of the hot buffet servers. There is also Turkey Hill brand soft serve ice cream and a sundae bar. I don't often take dessert but I could not resist the Shoo Fly Cake which was served to scoop from a tray with the prepared desserts and the cracker pudding. Shoo Fly Cake is a molasses cake with a crumb topping. It is very similar to Shoo Fly Pie which is a specialty of this area. Cracker pudding I can only find now at two restaurants and this is one of them. Think rice or bread pudding but made with saltine crackers and shredded coconut. This is very good!
Service was excellent as usual here. The server was bringing us drink refills before we were half finished with our drinks. Dishes were gone each time we returned from the buffet servers with a next plate. She was very friendly and very good!
I enjoyed this meal so much that I knew then that we had to come back again for dinner before we left the area. I very much recommend Dutch-Way. It looks like a small buffet when you look at the buffet servers but it is big on taste and quality. I am hesitant to encourage tourists to come here because it is not a tourist restaurant but if you are visiting the area and you will go out of the way to come here, have dinner at Dutch-Way.
Be aware that they close at 8 and this means that they really do start to break down the buffet at 8 pm. If you arrive close to 8, expect to see them taking things away or at the least, combining what is remaining into a smaller area while they begin to clean. There are some buffets that seat until the closing time and keep the food area open. This is not one of them. This does not bother me. I get there early enough to be finished at 8 pm.
Be aware that they close at 8 and this means that they really do start to break down the buffet at 8 pm. If you arrive close to 8, expect to see them taking things away or at the least, combining what is remaining into a smaller area while they begin to clean. There are some buffets that seat until the closing time and keep the food area open. This is not one of them. This does not bother me. I get there early enough to be finished at 8 pm.
The Dutch-Way Family Restaurant is located at the Dutch-Way Farm Market
Supermarket at 365 Gap Newport Pike (Route 41), Gap, Pennsylvania 17527.
The buffet is served from 4 pm to 8 pm Monday to Saturday. The
restaurant is closed on Sundays. This is about two and a half miles
south of Route 30. There is a web site and that is linked at the side of
this page. The phone number is 610-593-6080.
Friday, July 05, 2013
Children at Buffets
Buffets are generally affordable dinners and many families come to buffets. When I go to a buffet I expect to see children there with their families. But children need to be supervised in a buffet, and for some reason so many parents just seem to send the children - I have seen as young as five - up to the buffet by themselves. And this is not only dangerous to the child, it becomes a broader problem.
Some buffets have signs posted on the sneeze guard glass above the servers, "Children under 12 must be accompanied by adult." This is a good step but too often those signs are ignored (by the parents) and the children are up there alone anyway. Some buffets make announcement over the loudspeaker system - "Parents please do not allow your children to go up to the buffet tables alone!" Another good attempt that also seems to be ignored by many parents. Do you see that most of the problem is not the child but the child's parents?
I have seen small children - not easily seen as they are so close to the ground almost stepped on by bustling adults just walking around the buffet tables. I have seen people carrying bowls of hot soup almost pour the bowl onto a child's head. These are not single incidents. I go to and have gone to many buffets over the years and this happens regularly.
And the problem goes beyond the danger. So many times I have seen a child up at the buffet by themselves, trying to put food into their dish - some barely able to see over the counter - some who could not see over the counter to the tray - and large quantities of food that they will never eat go onto their plates - and onto the counter - and onto the floor. A more serious problem is when they don't use the serving utensils and their hands and fingers are in the food tray. I watched a young boy recently grab a handful of french fries with his hands, put them on his plate, take one and bite into it, make a face that he did not like it and the half of the french fry he bit into and the rest on his plate were scooped up in his hand and put back into the serving tray. (Tell the manager or staff this happened and in some buffets they will tell you that tray will be removed immediately - and it never is.) How about a finger that goes from the kid's nose to the mash potato tray and right into the mashed potatoes. And the parents - even when they go up with the child pay no attention to what the child is doing and they say "Well, he is little. He does not know any better." Yes, he is little and that is why you, parent, are supposed to be watching and even better putting the proper amount of the right foods on that child's plate and carrying the plate back to the table for the child.
Old Country Buffet has been making this even worse with their Thursday is Kid's Night promotion. Not only is the buffet overrun with children, but the children are running all around the dining room and the buffet serving area - with no supervision whatsoever. Thursday nights was once one of my favorite nights at OCB. We do not go to OCB on a Thursday night any longer.
My wife says that the parents don't know any better themselves - and on observation, she is correct - as when you watch the parents (adults) up at the buffet, their hands sometimes go to the tray without a serving utensil (that is just sitting right there in the tray to be used). Sometimes, their food goes while standing there from the tray to the mouth and then bitten, back into the tray. My wife's opinion is that their parents did not teach them proper manners so they do not teach their children manners either. And you know, this is not just proper manners - it is general common sense and an awareness that other people are around you, and your actions may and can effect other people. This is why our "Rules of the Buffet" came about in the first place - all are common sense do's and don't's.
So, parents who are reading this - please do not permit your children to go up to the buffet serving tables without you. When you are there, keep the child with you and YOU take the food and put it on the child's plate and make sure it stays there until the child and you together are back at your table! Remember "family dinner" does not mean "children's free for all".
Some buffets have signs posted on the sneeze guard glass above the servers, "Children under 12 must be accompanied by adult." This is a good step but too often those signs are ignored (by the parents) and the children are up there alone anyway. Some buffets make announcement over the loudspeaker system - "Parents please do not allow your children to go up to the buffet tables alone!" Another good attempt that also seems to be ignored by many parents. Do you see that most of the problem is not the child but the child's parents?
I have seen small children - not easily seen as they are so close to the ground almost stepped on by bustling adults just walking around the buffet tables. I have seen people carrying bowls of hot soup almost pour the bowl onto a child's head. These are not single incidents. I go to and have gone to many buffets over the years and this happens regularly.
And the problem goes beyond the danger. So many times I have seen a child up at the buffet by themselves, trying to put food into their dish - some barely able to see over the counter - some who could not see over the counter to the tray - and large quantities of food that they will never eat go onto their plates - and onto the counter - and onto the floor. A more serious problem is when they don't use the serving utensils and their hands and fingers are in the food tray. I watched a young boy recently grab a handful of french fries with his hands, put them on his plate, take one and bite into it, make a face that he did not like it and the half of the french fry he bit into and the rest on his plate were scooped up in his hand and put back into the serving tray. (Tell the manager or staff this happened and in some buffets they will tell you that tray will be removed immediately - and it never is.) How about a finger that goes from the kid's nose to the mash potato tray and right into the mashed potatoes. And the parents - even when they go up with the child pay no attention to what the child is doing and they say "Well, he is little. He does not know any better." Yes, he is little and that is why you, parent, are supposed to be watching and even better putting the proper amount of the right foods on that child's plate and carrying the plate back to the table for the child.
Old Country Buffet has been making this even worse with their Thursday is Kid's Night promotion. Not only is the buffet overrun with children, but the children are running all around the dining room and the buffet serving area - with no supervision whatsoever. Thursday nights was once one of my favorite nights at OCB. We do not go to OCB on a Thursday night any longer.
My wife says that the parents don't know any better themselves - and on observation, she is correct - as when you watch the parents (adults) up at the buffet, their hands sometimes go to the tray without a serving utensil (that is just sitting right there in the tray to be used). Sometimes, their food goes while standing there from the tray to the mouth and then bitten, back into the tray. My wife's opinion is that their parents did not teach them proper manners so they do not teach their children manners either. And you know, this is not just proper manners - it is general common sense and an awareness that other people are around you, and your actions may and can effect other people. This is why our "Rules of the Buffet" came about in the first place - all are common sense do's and don't's.
So, parents who are reading this - please do not permit your children to go up to the buffet serving tables without you. When you are there, keep the child with you and YOU take the food and put it on the child's plate and make sure it stays there until the child and you together are back at your table! Remember "family dinner" does not mean "children's free for all".
Friday, June 28, 2013
Buffets, Inc. Does Not Want You to Count Carbs
Just about all of the buffet chains have a nutrition chart on their websites. The Buffets, Inc. restaurants' websites do have a nutrition chart but they are missing a very important column - the carbohydrate counts for each of their food items. This is an interesting deletion as all of the other standard counts are there. So why is this a problem? The Buffets, Inc. buffets include Old Country Buffet, Ryan's Buffet, Hometown Buffet, Fire Mountain Buffets, and a chain called Grannies Buffets.
Most Diabetics need to count carbohydrates, whether exactly or approximately. They are necessary to determine how much insulin a Type I Diabetic needs to take before a meal. They are necessary for Type II Diabetics to know to make positive food choices when they eat. Many watching their weight or on a weight control diet also count carbs. Lowering one's carbohydrate intake will result in weight loss. There are carbs in many foods - and very often those carbs are hidden or are in prepared foods that one would not expect them to be in. What is a hidden carb - some recipes for "low fat" foods substitute a carbohydrate for the fat. For example, most low fat salad dressings have much more carbohydrates in them than the regular fat included original. Calorie counts don't help. Many low calorie so called "diet" or "sugar free" foods have high carbohydrate counts. It has to be carbs on the chart to make meaningful choices.
So what is a carbohydrate? The most obvious is sugar, but flour, bread, pasta, potatoes, fruits (fresh or processed), starch, beans, many vegetables and many other foods all have carbohydrates. And a low carbohydrate diet is just that - low - and not no carbs. One can make choices when one knows the quantity of carbs in a food serving to still enjoy many carb containing foods in a reasonable and known quantity. And doing this is not a problem in any of the other buffet chains like Golden Corral or for that matter most of the non-buffet chain restaurants. They all have carb counts per specified quantity listed on their nutrition charts.
I have no idea why Buffets Inc. has chosen to exclude carbs in their nutrition counts. A number of years ago, carbs were on the Old Country Buffet nutrition chart, and then they were gone. Could it be that if their patrons knew how many carbs are in their foods, they would not come and eat there?
I have found at OCB that foods that do not need to be covered in sweet sauces, are swimming in them - this adds carbs to a food that would be perfectly fine without the sauce - and the sauce could be offered on the side to add to your own taste. Some of these foods would have no carbs on their own, but once the sauce goes on, the carb count (if they revealed it) would be high. Meats that have not been processed (added to like sausage or hot dogs or made part of a recipe) have 0 carbs, but add seasonings with sugar or starch and now a 0 carb meat becomes a food containing carbs. All we need to know is how many carbs to make a proper choice. We were at an OCB recently and one of the meat dishes ran out and out came a tray of smoked sausage which is one of my favorite items at OCB - and often is not put on the dinner menu any longer. Well, the tray of smoked sausage was covered in a thick red/yellow sugar sauce. Now, smoked sausage has some carbs on its own - but with that sauce it became a super high carb dish.
So, if Buffets, Inc. is reading this (and I always suspect that they are - and that is fine!) put carbohydrate counts back on your nutrition charts! Many of us really do need to know!
Most Diabetics need to count carbohydrates, whether exactly or approximately. They are necessary to determine how much insulin a Type I Diabetic needs to take before a meal. They are necessary for Type II Diabetics to know to make positive food choices when they eat. Many watching their weight or on a weight control diet also count carbs. Lowering one's carbohydrate intake will result in weight loss. There are carbs in many foods - and very often those carbs are hidden or are in prepared foods that one would not expect them to be in. What is a hidden carb - some recipes for "low fat" foods substitute a carbohydrate for the fat. For example, most low fat salad dressings have much more carbohydrates in them than the regular fat included original. Calorie counts don't help. Many low calorie so called "diet" or "sugar free" foods have high carbohydrate counts. It has to be carbs on the chart to make meaningful choices.
So what is a carbohydrate? The most obvious is sugar, but flour, bread, pasta, potatoes, fruits (fresh or processed), starch, beans, many vegetables and many other foods all have carbohydrates. And a low carbohydrate diet is just that - low - and not no carbs. One can make choices when one knows the quantity of carbs in a food serving to still enjoy many carb containing foods in a reasonable and known quantity. And doing this is not a problem in any of the other buffet chains like Golden Corral or for that matter most of the non-buffet chain restaurants. They all have carb counts per specified quantity listed on their nutrition charts.
I have no idea why Buffets Inc. has chosen to exclude carbs in their nutrition counts. A number of years ago, carbs were on the Old Country Buffet nutrition chart, and then they were gone. Could it be that if their patrons knew how many carbs are in their foods, they would not come and eat there?
I have found at OCB that foods that do not need to be covered in sweet sauces, are swimming in them - this adds carbs to a food that would be perfectly fine without the sauce - and the sauce could be offered on the side to add to your own taste. Some of these foods would have no carbs on their own, but once the sauce goes on, the carb count (if they revealed it) would be high. Meats that have not been processed (added to like sausage or hot dogs or made part of a recipe) have 0 carbs, but add seasonings with sugar or starch and now a 0 carb meat becomes a food containing carbs. All we need to know is how many carbs to make a proper choice. We were at an OCB recently and one of the meat dishes ran out and out came a tray of smoked sausage which is one of my favorite items at OCB - and often is not put on the dinner menu any longer. Well, the tray of smoked sausage was covered in a thick red/yellow sugar sauce. Now, smoked sausage has some carbs on its own - but with that sauce it became a super high carb dish.
So, if Buffets, Inc. is reading this (and I always suspect that they are - and that is fine!) put carbohydrate counts back on your nutrition charts! Many of us really do need to know!
Friday, June 21, 2013
MIdsummer Smorgasbord at IKEA
It was time for one of IKEA's special smorgasbord dinners in their stores' restaurants again. This one was our second year at the Midsummer Smorgasbord. We have attended each in 2012 and so far in 2013 with the exception of the August All You Care to Eat Crayfish dinner. This dinner, tonight (a week before you are reading this article) was the most fun of all of the dinners because it was set up to be a real party with a three person band that played, sang, and set up singalongs and dances to Swedish music. The food offered was very similar to the food at each of the other IKEA smorgasbord dinners. The all you care to eat menu served as a buffet is basically the same at each of the special smorgasbord dinners that they have. The summer dinner offers more in the way of fresh fruits - strawberries and blueberries, along with tossed salad with berries added, and a dessert of rhubarb crumb pie tarts, and cherries in syrup to put over a very nice and dense cake, plus ice cream.
Let me tell you the menu, in case this is the first of my articles that you are reading about IKEA's smorgasbord dinners. The following was the menu as printed:
Assorted varieties of herring
Hard boiled eggs with shrimp
Gravad Lax with mustard sauce
Smoked salmon with horseradish sauce
Whole poached salmon
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Rhode Island Salad
Midsummer fruit salad
Assorted Swedish cheeses
Boiled dill potatoes
Meatballs with lingonberries
Swedish ham served cold with mustard
Prinskov sausages (sauteed)
Crisp bread, thin bread, and dinner rolls
Ice cream
Assorted desserts
Beverages
I need to compare this dinner that we have just had with the similar dinners that we had in the past year plus at these special Smorgasbords. While the menu was basically the same, there were some things slightly less at this meal. Yes, there was herring, but instead of the three distinct varieties of marinated herring that I sampled last year at some of the dinners, there was just one type of marinated herring out at this dinner. The smoked salmon initially put out on the serving tables was one type of "cold smoked" salmon and not the three varieties that were served last year. About halfway through the dinner seating - an hour into the two hour dinner - that smoked salmon was gone and a "hot smoked" gravlax took its place. Both were good, but my preference was for the "cold smoked" salmon and I was glad that I took a quantity of it on my first plate as it was gone later. I have never had "hot smoked" gravlax before, but I have heard of it and, here, it was good. Basically, I am observing a cutting back on the fish offerings - not the quantity but the varieties. Nothing else ran out during the coarse of the dinner (except a simple thing of sour cream that was put out served with the boiled potatoes). The staff here do an excellent job of replacing emptying serving platters on the fly. As soon as a platter is seen as getting low, someone comes out almost immediately with a new platter to take its place.
As always the food was good and this dinner sells out to people who seem to know Swedish food and very much approve of what is served here. This is a dinner (as are all of the special Smorgasbord dinners at IKEA that you must purchase tickets in advance for and a month or more before the dinner these tickets sell out. There are two seatings - 4 pm to 6 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm and both sell out. Price is extremely reasonable - $12.99 per adult and $4.99 per child BUT if you have a freely distributed IKEA Family Club card - free at any IKEA store - the price is $9.99 per adult and $2.49 per child.
So this dinner - for the first time - had entertainment.
The photo is not great. I took it with my phone from a distance and waited until almost the end of the evening when there were a lot less people and I could get as clear a shot as I could with no one in the way. Before this there were people dancing. Traditional Swedish folk dances were set up and taught to those gathered on the dance floor and everyone had a great time. There were also a few singalongs with the Swedish words repeated several times so that everyone could pronounce them and were cued to shout them out at the appropriate places in the songs. Lots of fun. IKEA - at least here - has never done this before and I don't know if it was also done at other IKEAs for this same dinner. This little combo band was very personable and mixed in some familiar American songs including some country and Cajun! (Getting ready for the next dinner which will be the Crayfish Feast in August?)
The local IKEA store just renovated the restaurant dining room and made it larger and brighter. There are also new tables in a new arrangement so everyone was a little confused who had been to these dinners before to see how the room was set up. The buffet tables were moved off to the side of where they have been in the past and the dining tables were arranged a little differently. In the past when you arrive you stand on a line with your ticket waiting for the room to open and be seated at 7:00 pm. It is always wise to arrive early - 30 to 45 minutes - to get on line to be sure you get the table of your choice. There are tables set for four to 8 and on this night there was one group of 20 together who rearranged tables so that they could be together. This was fine and several large groups of families and friends did similar. The big surprise this night was that they started to let the line in at 6:40 pm to be seated but the buffet serving area was not opened until 7:00 pm. Everyone was invited to go up and get a beverage and wait patiently at their tables until the hot and cold foods were placed out and the party officially declared "started". It is just the two of us and we sat at a table for four. As it turned out no one came to sit at the other two seats at our table. Most stay through most of the dinner though some do arrive after 7 and there is so much food that this is not a problem.
I had a great dinner, ate more than I should have, and had a wonderful time. I am looking forward to the next Smorgasbord - but for us it will not be the Crayfish Feast in August (while I marginally like crayfish, my picky eater wife does not care for them and there is not much else at that particular dinner). The next regular Smorgasbord is just before Christmas. There are three - Summer (June), Christmas, and Spring (Easter). The fourth similar dinner is the Crayfish Feast in August.
It is different and unique. Even my picky eater wife finds plenty to enjoy - great ham, Swedish meatballs, and more! This is a really should try - as long as the menu appeals to you! They were selling tickets for the crayfish dinner. Had they been selling tickets for the Christmas dinner we would have bought them. We almost missed those last year and had to take the earlier seating because it was sold out in October. We will start asking for them this year after the crayfish dinner in August and I am sure they will be on sale at that dinner.
And there are IKEAs all over the US and Canada - and all of them have these dinners on the same nights! Check with your local IKEA store!
Let me tell you the menu, in case this is the first of my articles that you are reading about IKEA's smorgasbord dinners. The following was the menu as printed:
Assorted varieties of herring
Hard boiled eggs with shrimp
Gravad Lax with mustard sauce
Smoked salmon with horseradish sauce
Whole poached salmon
Tossed green salad
Cucumber salad
Rhode Island Salad
Midsummer fruit salad
Assorted Swedish cheeses
Boiled dill potatoes
Meatballs with lingonberries
Swedish ham served cold with mustard
Prinskov sausages (sauteed)
Crisp bread, thin bread, and dinner rolls
Ice cream
Assorted desserts
Beverages
I need to compare this dinner that we have just had with the similar dinners that we had in the past year plus at these special Smorgasbords. While the menu was basically the same, there were some things slightly less at this meal. Yes, there was herring, but instead of the three distinct varieties of marinated herring that I sampled last year at some of the dinners, there was just one type of marinated herring out at this dinner. The smoked salmon initially put out on the serving tables was one type of "cold smoked" salmon and not the three varieties that were served last year. About halfway through the dinner seating - an hour into the two hour dinner - that smoked salmon was gone and a "hot smoked" gravlax took its place. Both were good, but my preference was for the "cold smoked" salmon and I was glad that I took a quantity of it on my first plate as it was gone later. I have never had "hot smoked" gravlax before, but I have heard of it and, here, it was good. Basically, I am observing a cutting back on the fish offerings - not the quantity but the varieties. Nothing else ran out during the coarse of the dinner (except a simple thing of sour cream that was put out served with the boiled potatoes). The staff here do an excellent job of replacing emptying serving platters on the fly. As soon as a platter is seen as getting low, someone comes out almost immediately with a new platter to take its place.
As always the food was good and this dinner sells out to people who seem to know Swedish food and very much approve of what is served here. This is a dinner (as are all of the special Smorgasbord dinners at IKEA that you must purchase tickets in advance for and a month or more before the dinner these tickets sell out. There are two seatings - 4 pm to 6 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm and both sell out. Price is extremely reasonable - $12.99 per adult and $4.99 per child BUT if you have a freely distributed IKEA Family Club card - free at any IKEA store - the price is $9.99 per adult and $2.49 per child.
So this dinner - for the first time - had entertainment.
The photo is not great. I took it with my phone from a distance and waited until almost the end of the evening when there were a lot less people and I could get as clear a shot as I could with no one in the way. Before this there were people dancing. Traditional Swedish folk dances were set up and taught to those gathered on the dance floor and everyone had a great time. There were also a few singalongs with the Swedish words repeated several times so that everyone could pronounce them and were cued to shout them out at the appropriate places in the songs. Lots of fun. IKEA - at least here - has never done this before and I don't know if it was also done at other IKEAs for this same dinner. This little combo band was very personable and mixed in some familiar American songs including some country and Cajun! (Getting ready for the next dinner which will be the Crayfish Feast in August?)
The local IKEA store just renovated the restaurant dining room and made it larger and brighter. There are also new tables in a new arrangement so everyone was a little confused who had been to these dinners before to see how the room was set up. The buffet tables were moved off to the side of where they have been in the past and the dining tables were arranged a little differently. In the past when you arrive you stand on a line with your ticket waiting for the room to open and be seated at 7:00 pm. It is always wise to arrive early - 30 to 45 minutes - to get on line to be sure you get the table of your choice. There are tables set for four to 8 and on this night there was one group of 20 together who rearranged tables so that they could be together. This was fine and several large groups of families and friends did similar. The big surprise this night was that they started to let the line in at 6:40 pm to be seated but the buffet serving area was not opened until 7:00 pm. Everyone was invited to go up and get a beverage and wait patiently at their tables until the hot and cold foods were placed out and the party officially declared "started". It is just the two of us and we sat at a table for four. As it turned out no one came to sit at the other two seats at our table. Most stay through most of the dinner though some do arrive after 7 and there is so much food that this is not a problem.
I had a great dinner, ate more than I should have, and had a wonderful time. I am looking forward to the next Smorgasbord - but for us it will not be the Crayfish Feast in August (while I marginally like crayfish, my picky eater wife does not care for them and there is not much else at that particular dinner). The next regular Smorgasbord is just before Christmas. There are three - Summer (June), Christmas, and Spring (Easter). The fourth similar dinner is the Crayfish Feast in August.
It is different and unique. Even my picky eater wife finds plenty to enjoy - great ham, Swedish meatballs, and more! This is a really should try - as long as the menu appeals to you! They were selling tickets for the crayfish dinner. Had they been selling tickets for the Christmas dinner we would have bought them. We almost missed those last year and had to take the earlier seating because it was sold out in October. We will start asking for them this year after the crayfish dinner in August and I am sure they will be on sale at that dinner.
And there are IKEAs all over the US and Canada - and all of them have these dinners on the same nights! Check with your local IKEA store!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Charbroiled Steak at Shady Maple
Of course, we are back to talking about Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Lancaster, PA - the buffet that has been awarded best and top buffet from this site year after year. Just before the new year, Shady Maple announced that they were adding a char grill to the restaurant. I have mentioned this but a few weeks ago I got to try it and I will tell you all about it.
We were there on a Monday night - steak night - and I was eager to see how this new grill would be utilized. The types of steaks have not changed. They are still serving New York strip steaks and Delmonico steaks. I wondered if they would be only using this new grill for the steaks as there seemed to be talk of only one grill and there are three stations where steaks are cooked. There is just one grill and the cooking station on the left of the entrance of the buffet serving area is the one with the char grill. All of the other stations still have the fry grill that they have always had in the past. If you go to that first grill (the one closest to the entrance to the dining room from the lobby) you will get a char grilled steak. If you go to any of the other grills you will have your steak cooked as Shady Maple has always done in the past on a fry grill top. Each grill was active with people getting steaks and I wondered if everyone realized that the steaks at the first grill were being cooked differently.
I wanted a char grilled steak and went right for that. Of the two steak cuts served, the Delmonico has always been my favorite. I find it has more flavor than the NY strip but it is a thicker cut steak and I decided that it would go better on the char grill than the thinner Delmonico. So I asked for a NY strip rare and that is what I got. It was cooked nicely. It could have been charred on the outside more but that is sometimes the price of ordering a rare steak - less cooked both inside and out. (My idea of a perfect steak is red on the inside and crispy charred on the outside and I have had steaks like this - even at some buffets.) Right away I regretted not having the Delmonico just because I prefer it so much more.
I went back later for a second steak and this time I ordered the Delmonico. I enjoyed it much more than the NY strip but I knew that I would.
Now, does the char grill add very much to the steaks at Shady Maple? Well, I have liked the steaks fried on the grills of Shady Maple for many years. These charbroiled steaks come off the grill with less grease and a flame broiled taste so they were good. On occasion, Shady Maple will have different cuts of steak for special occasion dinners and I think that these thicker and fancier steaks might grill better and really put the new char grill to excellent use. The next steak night that I go to Shady Maple I will certainly go for the char grilled steaks rather than the fried steaks. I prefer charcoal cooking over frying (searing) when it comes to meats. But if the only steaks available were on the original grills I would not be disappointed. Which leads me to note - as the night got later and the grill stations were combined down to just one, the char grill was closed and the center grill with the fry grill top remained open, so all steaks then were cooked in the original Shady Maple manner. So if you go up for your steak late, you may not see a char grill choice at all.
Just a side note. It is remarkable when I talk about Lancaster County in any context sometimes with complete strangers and totally unrelated to food, I am asked if I know about Shady Maple. This restaurant seems to be known by so many as the must go to place to eat in Lancaster.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East from Lancaster 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.There is also a very active Facebook page!
We were there on a Monday night - steak night - and I was eager to see how this new grill would be utilized. The types of steaks have not changed. They are still serving New York strip steaks and Delmonico steaks. I wondered if they would be only using this new grill for the steaks as there seemed to be talk of only one grill and there are three stations where steaks are cooked. There is just one grill and the cooking station on the left of the entrance of the buffet serving area is the one with the char grill. All of the other stations still have the fry grill that they have always had in the past. If you go to that first grill (the one closest to the entrance to the dining room from the lobby) you will get a char grilled steak. If you go to any of the other grills you will have your steak cooked as Shady Maple has always done in the past on a fry grill top. Each grill was active with people getting steaks and I wondered if everyone realized that the steaks at the first grill were being cooked differently.
I wanted a char grilled steak and went right for that. Of the two steak cuts served, the Delmonico has always been my favorite. I find it has more flavor than the NY strip but it is a thicker cut steak and I decided that it would go better on the char grill than the thinner Delmonico. So I asked for a NY strip rare and that is what I got. It was cooked nicely. It could have been charred on the outside more but that is sometimes the price of ordering a rare steak - less cooked both inside and out. (My idea of a perfect steak is red on the inside and crispy charred on the outside and I have had steaks like this - even at some buffets.) Right away I regretted not having the Delmonico just because I prefer it so much more.
I went back later for a second steak and this time I ordered the Delmonico. I enjoyed it much more than the NY strip but I knew that I would.
Now, does the char grill add very much to the steaks at Shady Maple? Well, I have liked the steaks fried on the grills of Shady Maple for many years. These charbroiled steaks come off the grill with less grease and a flame broiled taste so they were good. On occasion, Shady Maple will have different cuts of steak for special occasion dinners and I think that these thicker and fancier steaks might grill better and really put the new char grill to excellent use. The next steak night that I go to Shady Maple I will certainly go for the char grilled steaks rather than the fried steaks. I prefer charcoal cooking over frying (searing) when it comes to meats. But if the only steaks available were on the original grills I would not be disappointed. Which leads me to note - as the night got later and the grill stations were combined down to just one, the char grill was closed and the center grill with the fry grill top remained open, so all steaks then were cooked in the original Shady Maple manner. So if you go up for your steak late, you may not see a char grill choice at all.
Just a side note. It is remarkable when I talk about Lancaster County in any context sometimes with complete strangers and totally unrelated to food, I am asked if I know about Shady Maple. This restaurant seems to be known by so many as the must go to place to eat in Lancaster.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord is located at 129 Toddy Drive in East Earl, PA. Take Route 23 East from Lancaster 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.There is also a very active Facebook page!
Friday, June 07, 2013
Cactus Willies Steak Buffet and Bakery, Lancaster, PA
It has been a year since I have been at Cactus Willies Steak Buffet and Bakery in Lancaster, PA. This is becoming our Sunday night buffet in Lancaster as all of the usual buffets are closed on Sundays other than Millers Smorgasbord, Cici's Pizza Buffet, and Old Country Buffet. This is not a Pennsylvania Dutch foods buffet but it is part of a two location chain with the other location in Essex, Maryland.
Not much has changed in a year here. The prices are still good and the meal has a lot to offer though do not expect it to be on the same scale as Golden Corral which it is most similar to in layout inside.
I will focus this review on what stood out on this visit and there were two items that became the mainstay of our selections - one for my wife and one for me. Those to items were the barbecue ribs and the grilled chicken made on the char-grill. If you are a regular reader you know which of us had which. Let me say that I did start with the steak which has been good in the past was good on my last visit a year ago. The steak this time was not very good. The meat was grizzled and tough and while I asked the woman cooking and serving at the grill for a steak rare or medium rare, the piece that she had that was the closest was far from that and she did not offer to cook one for me. After that piece with no other steaks seeming to have gone onto the grill, I did not go back for another try at steak.
What caught my eye were the barbecue ribs. They looked good though they had a lot of red barbecue sauce on them. For most this is OK but for personal reasons, I prefer less sauce - but they were calling to me and I gave in. The ribs (as I have said in the past) were meaty and fell off the bone. They served my urge for "real" barbecue ribs very nicely, though I doubt that they had been cooked in a smoker. They tasted good, the meat was tender, and I could wipe away any sauce that I did not want. I should say that the sauce was good and not too sweet or with too much vinegar. The ribs were the size of baby back ribs (though I am not certain that this is what they were) and they were cut into pieces of three ribs. As I took some of the pieces up with the tongs onto my plate some of the bones fell away.
I did try a few other things that were on the buffet that night. I went back for a favorite of ours that we have only had here - turkey pot roast - and that was good. But those ribs, that was what I went back for and did have a few plates of them.
Now my wife is a picky eater and my readers know that. She eats "plain" - no sauces. She looked for carvings and there was not the usual ham or turkey. She did find grilled chicken breasts which she had spotted on one of our previous visits but had not tried. She took one and enjoyed it. She did have another. Had I wanted to look for something other than the ribs I was enjoying I would have tried the chicken also. (I stuck with the ribs.)
A little aside, and something that I have been doing more and more recently. Just because it is a buffet with choices of many items there is no reason why you cannot just choose one item that you like a lot and make a meal of it - an all you care to eat meal of that item. For me on this visit it was the ribs.
Will the ribs be as good the next time that we go? I hope so. As I have found here, things change and it depends on who is cooking and what is being cooked.
We do not get here often. We have been planning our Lancaster visits around weekdays and Saturdays when the regular buffets that we enjoy so much are open. When we need to be in Lancaster on a Sunday night, this is where we will come.
If you are looking for a buffet on a Sunday night, give it a try. I can't say everyone will like it and don't think you are walking into anything like the Lancaster buffets that I usually recommend. You will find enough to eat and we have both been fine there.
Cactus Willies is located in a strip mall not far from the city of Lancaster. It is located at the Regency Mall, 101 Rohrerstown Rd, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This is a bit out of the way of the usual tourist areas. The phone number is (717) 390-7060. There is a website (for both locations) and that is linked at the side of this page.
Not much has changed in a year here. The prices are still good and the meal has a lot to offer though do not expect it to be on the same scale as Golden Corral which it is most similar to in layout inside.
I will focus this review on what stood out on this visit and there were two items that became the mainstay of our selections - one for my wife and one for me. Those to items were the barbecue ribs and the grilled chicken made on the char-grill. If you are a regular reader you know which of us had which. Let me say that I did start with the steak which has been good in the past was good on my last visit a year ago. The steak this time was not very good. The meat was grizzled and tough and while I asked the woman cooking and serving at the grill for a steak rare or medium rare, the piece that she had that was the closest was far from that and she did not offer to cook one for me. After that piece with no other steaks seeming to have gone onto the grill, I did not go back for another try at steak.
What caught my eye were the barbecue ribs. They looked good though they had a lot of red barbecue sauce on them. For most this is OK but for personal reasons, I prefer less sauce - but they were calling to me and I gave in. The ribs (as I have said in the past) were meaty and fell off the bone. They served my urge for "real" barbecue ribs very nicely, though I doubt that they had been cooked in a smoker. They tasted good, the meat was tender, and I could wipe away any sauce that I did not want. I should say that the sauce was good and not too sweet or with too much vinegar. The ribs were the size of baby back ribs (though I am not certain that this is what they were) and they were cut into pieces of three ribs. As I took some of the pieces up with the tongs onto my plate some of the bones fell away.
I did try a few other things that were on the buffet that night. I went back for a favorite of ours that we have only had here - turkey pot roast - and that was good. But those ribs, that was what I went back for and did have a few plates of them.
Now my wife is a picky eater and my readers know that. She eats "plain" - no sauces. She looked for carvings and there was not the usual ham or turkey. She did find grilled chicken breasts which she had spotted on one of our previous visits but had not tried. She took one and enjoyed it. She did have another. Had I wanted to look for something other than the ribs I was enjoying I would have tried the chicken also. (I stuck with the ribs.)
A little aside, and something that I have been doing more and more recently. Just because it is a buffet with choices of many items there is no reason why you cannot just choose one item that you like a lot and make a meal of it - an all you care to eat meal of that item. For me on this visit it was the ribs.
Will the ribs be as good the next time that we go? I hope so. As I have found here, things change and it depends on who is cooking and what is being cooked.
We do not get here often. We have been planning our Lancaster visits around weekdays and Saturdays when the regular buffets that we enjoy so much are open. When we need to be in Lancaster on a Sunday night, this is where we will come.
If you are looking for a buffet on a Sunday night, give it a try. I can't say everyone will like it and don't think you are walking into anything like the Lancaster buffets that I usually recommend. You will find enough to eat and we have both been fine there.
Cactus Willies is located in a strip mall not far from the city of Lancaster. It is located at the Regency Mall, 101 Rohrerstown Rd, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This is a bit out of the way of the usual tourist areas. The phone number is (717) 390-7060. There is a website (for both locations) and that is linked at the side of this page.
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