View Full Version : Buffets
Andy _B
04-07-2008, 12:56 PM
I know a lot of people like Buffets but the oly time we have tried them offsite, Golden Corral, I think, I thought it was poor quality food. They may be cheap but I would rather have good.
Onsite buffets seem better but then they are a lot more expensive.
Keith
04-07-2008, 01:21 PM
I know a lot of people like Buffets but the oly time we have tried them offsite, Golden Corral, I think, I thought it was poor quality food. They may be cheap but I would rather have good.
Onsite buffets seem better but then they are a lot more expensive.
That's been our experience too
Some of the slightly offsite hotels do decent enough ones! The wyndham palace, now the Buena vista palace right opposite downtown disney did a nice character buffet when we were there! Food actually hot!
some of the worst ones have been the all you can eat chinese super buffets. Really poor food, barely heated <shudder>
I have completely given up on off site buffets. I've been to the one at Gaylord Palms and was not pleased with the quality of the food. The Rosen Hotel at Christmas one year had a beautiful buffet, but forgot to light the warmer tins so everything was at the tepid (and dangerous) temperature.
I've tried the "all you can eat" lobster/seafood buffets and they were some of the worst. Horribly overcooked (yet not hot) lobster and crab, and in one, a filthy (as in dripping sand/dirt/grit) pan of clams.
So, Andy B. I agree with you completely.
The only buffets I've ever had trouble with at WDW were Trails End (the one time we visited it was horribly messy, like a feeding frenzy was happening!) and Cape May (one of our visits saw the steam tables not working which made for very long lines and grumpy people). Other than those two instances, we've always felt secure with Disney buffets. :D
cathydisneynut
05-07-2008, 03:48 PM
I'm not sure if we'll ever go back to offsite places for buffet breakfasts or dinners. Unless we are doing a character breakfast, it will be breakfast in our rooms at SSR, and a really good meal at night. On our last holiday, it definitely came down to quality over quantity.
lisaw
05-07-2008, 08:34 PM
I really don't like the mass market buffets off site, the only one I like is Sweet Tomatoes. The food quality onsite is much better and they work for us because I am pretty fussy so I can make my own meal how I like it :D Boma being my absolute favourite!
I always forget about Sweet Tomatoes. I will eat in certain ones of those. :yes:
disney1sttimer
05-07-2008, 11:31 PM
What are the ponderosas like ? good food buffets ?
I'm sorry, but in my opinion no. :sorry: I will not eat at a Ponderosa, or a Sizzler. No Shoney's either. :sorry: I'll go to a grocery store and buy lunch meat and bread before eating at those places. :(
Have you tried Sweet Tomatoes? It is a very good buffet. There are lots of salads to choose from as well as soups, breads, muffins, a pasta dish, pizza and desserts. We went at 3.45 last time and paid lunch time prices as the dinner choices were being carried out. The food is great.
Margaret
mainecoon lover
07-07-2008, 02:17 PM
We ate at a golden corral once as friends wanted to eat there. Never again. Have had some good buffets in Disney, the best being CP. I love Cracker Barrel for breakfast.
The first two times I went to Orlando in 1988 and 1989 we ate regularly at the Ponderosa opposite the Holiday Inn on I-Drive and it was lovely. Few years later I went back there and they had dropped the price to rock bottom and the quality had dropped with it. Sad to see items like tinned tomatoes on the breakfast buffet - obviously catering to the British tourist. Never been in one since.
And never eat in any Chinese buffet along 192. :eek:
josh.p.
07-07-2008, 08:52 PM
Buffets scare me, disney or not, they are just like a big breeding ground for bacteria, what if someone didn't wash their hands after going to the toilet and then uses the big spoons for the soup... or worse.. for the sweet chilli dipping sauce! *shudder*
And the kids sticking their fingers in the food...
Oh please don't get me started! :eek:
Serving ladles and spoons completely submerged in the food, and people reaching into the pan to fish the spoon out! :eek: UGH!
On cruise ships many of them now serve you at buffets. I much prefer that.
'Course dining out is always chancey. We were in a Pizza Hut and a (very badly behaved!) child and his Grandmother were at a table near us. The boy kept shaking some of the grated cheese onto the shaker lid and LICKING it off! The grandmother never said a word, nor did she give the shaker to the server to be taken away.
Keith
07-07-2008, 10:08 PM
the Boy Kept Shaking Some Of The Grated Cheese Onto The Shaker Lid And Licking It Off! The Grandmother Never Said A Word, Nor Did She Give The Shaker To The Server To Be Taken Away.
Ewwwwwwwwwww
josh.p.
07-07-2008, 10:36 PM
I think I'm going to be sick, I was in pizza hut on saturday and I love parmesan on pizza. I think maybe I'm going to have to take my own shaker next time LOL
BouncyTigger
07-07-2008, 10:44 PM
I like pizza hut too. I will definitely be checking the shaker before I use it next time I go.
Isn't that disgusting? Ugh! I'll never use another public shaker! Well, maybe the red pepper. I don't see anyone licking that. :D
PsychoAlice
08-07-2008, 04:52 AM
Im spoiled....Ive eaten buffets in Las Vegas....
Tink2
08-07-2008, 07:57 AM
We love Sweet Tomatoes and go to the one off I-Drive a couple of times a trip.
I'm not really keen on Golden Corral but my DS has autism and for quite a few years he had to be able to walk into a restaurant and immediately get a bowl of plain pasta. There would have been no way we'd have been able to sit at a table and wait for a server to take our order and then wait for the food to be delivered. If we wanted to be able to eat out then the buffets were our only answer. Thankfully as he's got older and has got used to the restaurant environment we're able to gradually introduce more non buffet meals, which I'm very pleased about.
We've got a week of free dining in September (just me and the kids) and most of those meals are buffet but that's mainly because of the characters.
Keith
08-07-2008, 12:47 PM
Im spoiled....Ive eaten buffets in Las Vegas....
yeah thats so true, vegas champagne buffets yum :yes:
We love Sweet Tomatoes and go to the one off I-Drive a couple of times a trip.
I'm not really keen on Golden Corral but my DS has autism and for quite a few years he had to be able to walk into a restaurant and immediately get a bowl of plain pasta. There would have been no way we'd have been able to sit at a table and wait for a server to take our order and then wait for the food to be delivered. If we wanted to be able to eat out then the buffets were our only answer. Thankfully as he's got older and has got used to the restaurant environment we're able to gradually introduce more non buffet meals, which I'm very pleased about.
We've got a week of free dining in September (just me and the kids) and most of those meals are buffet but that's mainly because of the characters.
I would say thank God for buffets when it comes to having a child with special needs. I too have been through the 'cant wait' situation so many times due to my ds having Aspergers, so getting in, getting ds fed and getting out again has been very important to us too. And of course there are the characters.
However you are right folks, there are some awful buffets and hygiene sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.
Margaret
Im spoiled....Ive eaten buffets in Las Vegas....
Many of the Las Vegas buffets are in a slightly different class, aren't they?
PsychoAlice
08-07-2008, 10:35 PM
Totally...I just cant look at a buffet the same...
Johnie
08-07-2008, 10:40 PM
I tend to not like buffets but I do like Sweet Tomatoes and Boma. That's just because they are different than the normal buffet.
The Executive Chef (Barry) who was our favorite at Cape May left there for Vegas. I would like to see/try the buffets there one day. A friend of mine told me there is one there (of course, there may be more than one) that all you can see are rows and rows of seafood. :D
Different class all together, I'm thinking. :yes:
PsychoAlice
09-07-2008, 06:02 AM
Thats at the Rio...THE BEST BUFFET EVER....
Keith
09-07-2008, 12:18 PM
We went to a couple of champagne ones and I thought ok, it's $25 or something, so it'll be one glass of bad champers. Food was great and as it turned out they kept coming over and refilling the glasses with extremely nice champagne. Really amazing value
Yes! The Rio! I couldn't remember the name of the place.
Keith, champagne and nice food, doesn't get any better than that, eh? :D
Thats at the Rio...THE BEST BUFFET EVER....
It's apparently variable. The time we ate there it was awful! We haven't had the nerve to try it again! :lol:
Johnie
09-07-2008, 05:43 PM
So, I need to go to Las Vegas for the buffets? They have 5 Cirque du Soleil shows there too! Who needs gambling?
So, I need to go to Las Vegas for the buffets? They have 5 Cirque du Soleil shows there too! Who needs gambling?
Plus a few Dragone (spelling?) shows. He's the former artistic director of Cirque.
Johnie
09-07-2008, 05:46 PM
oh cool! And Elvis impersonators too! I didn't even know I wanted to go to Vegas :lol:
oh cool! And Elvis impersonators too! I didn't even know I wanted to go to Vegas :lol:
Just be sure to go in cooler weather! Summer is hot, hot, hot!
Johnie
09-07-2008, 05:52 PM
:lol: we can't ever seem to get the weather right. We went to NYC in January! And about froze to death. I'll probably end up going to Vegas in August :oops:
:lol: we can't ever seem to get the weather right. We went to NYC in January! And about froze to death. I'll probably end up going to Vegas in August :oops:
Fair warning! Prepare to be miserable! :lol:
It's still fun, though. We stay indoors as much as possible during the day and go out after dark. Still hot, but at least the sun isn't pounding down on you. The strip is designed for endless walking!
Johnie
09-07-2008, 05:55 PM
Mom went to visit a cousin of ours this past April. She said the weather was perfect then. I'll have to try to go in the spring.
I've "heard" that there are any number of people handing out flyers for "entertainment" if you get my drift. Is that true? I'd not be thrilled with that. Las Vegas has never really appealed to me for several reasons, but that is one of them. :unsure:
Keith
09-07-2008, 06:00 PM
I've "heard" that there are any number of people handing out flyers for "entertainment" if you get my drift. Is that true? I'd not be thrilled with that. Las Vegas has never really appealed to me for several reasons, but that is one of them. :unsure:
yeah, it's why I dont do a lot of walking in vegas! I tend to get cabs, well seems to be limos over there, to different hotels and just enjoy the hotels and the shows.
Vegas is great, just don't book any of the shows after 10pm that's when they go topless. It's like watching 100s of tiny poached eggs all dancing in rythm.
Johnie
09-07-2008, 06:02 PM
:lol: oh my goodness, I almost choked!!
I saw a real-life police car chase in Vegas. It was awesome. This car came flying down the strip with 3 police cars in pursuit. Me and a friend were just coming out of Ceasars and it was about 4am. This car pulled into a hotel parking lot opposite and the 3 police cars followed it and for about 20 minutes they just went round and round this lot. Me and my friend were stood in the median watching them in hysterical laughter. Then the police get this idea of blocking off the exits to the lot so they pull across but they didn't pull across far enough and this car got out and sped off down the strip and the police wedged each other in. I swear we were laying in the road laughing by this point. :D
It isn't as bad as it used to be, Tink. But, yeah, they do hand them out--primarily to men, thank goodness! They basically shove them at them.
They aren't permitted to block walkways or crossing areas, although sometimes they try to to so. I just kind of look down my nose at them (difficult at 5'3") and stare them down. Not that I'm a better person--I'm just within my rights to use public sidewalks/crosswalks.
They tend not to be around entrances to the resorts--more at the construction areas along the strip. It's so built up now that there isn't a lot of construction on the main part of the strip (unless an existing resort is being renovated or replaced)--some day there will be no vacant property left!
I saw a real-life police car chase in Vegas. It was awesome. This car came flying down the strip with 3 police cars in pursuit. Me and a friend were just coming out of Ceasars and it was about 4am. This car pulled into a hotel parking lot opposite and the 3 police cars followed it and for about 20 minutes they just went round and round this lot. Me and my friend were stood in the median watching them in hysterical laughter. Then the police get this idea of blocking off the exits to the lot so they pull across but they didn't pull across far enough and this car got out and sped off down the strip and the police wedged each other in. I swear we were laying in the road laughing by this point. :D
Are you sure they weren't filming a movie? ;)
:sigs-cartoon-022:
Poached eggs! LOLOLOL! Where's the toast?!!! LOLOLOLOL!
Keith
09-07-2008, 06:29 PM
Poached eggs! LOLOLOL! Where's the toast?!!! LOLOLOLOL!
I know! I didn't realise the whole after 10 thing (honestly!) so I was a bit shocked when we were all basically searched on the way in for cameras! then as the show started, I thought AHHHH ok I see :lol: and the rather excitable Japanese business man sitting next to me pulled out a tiny camera and started snapping away.
Are you sure they weren't filming a movie? ;)
Definitely the real thing. Funniest thing I've ever seen. :lol:
Oh good grief. Had he never seen poached eggs before then?
lisaw
09-07-2008, 07:47 PM
Vegas is great, just don't book any of the shows after 10pm that's when they go topless. It's like watching 100s of tiny poached eggs all dancing in rythm.
:sigs-cartoon-022:
I have such an image in my head now! :lol:
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