The Art of the Buffet

[IronEagle]

Featuring a very recent (last Friday) review of Golden Corral in Hagerstown, Maryland!

This guy has a lot of in-depth buffet coverage here. Looks like he primarily works the middle Atlantic states. He's got reviews of places in MD, PA, NJ, Long Island, etc.

http://buffets.blogspot.com/

[muggz]

[Two Gap Penetrator]

As I read through his reviews, a picture starts to emerge...

(and I quote) "I had medication to take and I am swallowing pills with clam chowder with the potatoes wanting to go down with the pills."

[IronEagle]

He's a big Shady Maple fan. Also seems to approve of Southern Smokehouse buffet in Linden, NJ. Hit the "meat wall" there.

I love barbecue. I love ribs. In the past the ribs here were OK. Now they are, what I consider, the second best buffet ribs that I have had. (The first best going to a buffet in Virginia.) The ribs are now what they should be. You can taste the smoke and the meat on the ribs can be eaten completely off the bone leaving clean bones behind. Why are they not the best ribs that I have ever had? In addition to the smoker they seem to be charring the ribs afterward. This creates a tougher outside layer on top that was a little chewier than I expected. While some would say that this is the "bark" that forms on the meat closest to the fire in the smoker, here it was consistent on each rib. This did not take away from the flavor but from the tenderness of biting into the rib. The ribs are very good. On my second visit, I decided that because I get smoked barbecue ribs so rarely, I would concentrate my meal around those ribs, and I did. In fact, I went one rib too far in the meal and hit that "meat wall" and could not finish the last one. And I struggled with myself to put it down on the plate and say that is all.

[Two Gap Penetrator]

This bit is fascinating...

"I wanted to try a dessert. There were some half donuts on the side in a covered serving dish. There were two halves left. I went to take one of those and felt through the serving tongs that it was hard. I passed on that."

[IronEagle]

But he knows where to draw the line.

-

(A word to excessively fat people at buffets - if you need the cane to walk, you should not be eating at the buffet or at least not eating further than the salad bar.) We managed to move the table enough so that we both could sit. We ate our soup to the sounds of one of these fat ladies complaining about what people were bringing her to eat - they thought she should be eatting vegetables (wise), she thought she should be getting fried chicken. They were bringing it to her because she was too fat to walk to get it herself (SAD). (This may sound like a rip on fat people - believe me, I am not thin, and I know that some folks are fat and there is not much that can be done about it, but these ladies were a category all onto themselves - they were loud and annoying.)

[Two Gap Penetrator]

I found this part quite interesting....

"Whatever it was, the corn kernals on the cob were mushy and off color - a whitish brown. I believe it was the corn that gave me stomach distress shortly after the meal..."

[CCPete]

Buffet resturants are for pigs. There has never been a good one and there never will be.

[Two Gap Penetrator]

WTF is it with all of these buffets and.....

.....bread pudding?

[Two Gap Penetrator]

What about cruising?

Good God. I went on a cruise and I felt like I was a sow being herded into a trough.

[IronEagle]

.....bread pudding?

He found a "hidden treasure" in North Brunswick! But according to Yelp it's now closed!

http://buffets.blogspot.com/2009/03/...new-jersy.html

[Two Gap Penetrator]

Hahaha I was never in that sh*thouse. However.....

There is a Turkish restaurant in that location right now that is excellent.

[Two Gap Penetrator]

BTW, did you notice that from 2006 to 2012.....

This tub of lard went to AT LEAST ONE BUFFET A WEEK?????

[CCPete]

Good God. I went on a cruise and I felt like I was a sow being herded into a trough.

Disgusting. Some people go on cruises so they can eat 24/7. We stick to the small ships Windjammer, Silver Sea, ......fine dining, choice of venue and people don't walk around with a feed bag strapped to them.

[IronEagle]

There is a Turkish restaurant in that location right now that is excellent.

The Buffetmaster wrote quite a bit about that place.

http://buffets.blogspot.com/search/label/Polish

Unfortunately, it appears to have gone downhill and met its demise after it was sold to new management.

"The owners of this buffet as reviewed sold the restaurant to someone else. While I have not personally been there to review the restaurant under the new owner, I am told by readers who have gone since that it is not the same and some have walked out.

So if you have read this article, what is said may or may not apply any longer."