I’m with Aesiron. Everything else is secondary to the fried rice; if they have a tasty eggroll, all the better, but I’m seriously addicted to fried rice. (The nearby Chinese buffet always gives me the Weird Eye when I get fried rice to go. Yes, just the rice. That’s all I need. Thank you.)
[sub]And can I just hijack for a sec to rant about places that put motherloads of ginger in their eggrolls? I don’t care if it’s more authentic, or something…I’m pretty sure people in China don’t eat half the stuff on a Chinese buffet, so get over it! Enough with the ginger! Augh![/sub]
I only ever go to Chinese buffets, so that’s the end of my contribution to this thread.
Wait! No it’s not. We had a tradition when I was a kid of going to the Sunday buffet at the clubhouse after church. Omigod. They had thinly-sliced roast beef, omelettes-to-order, heavenly chicken salad, and these lovely little cheese trays with cubed cheddar.
Chinese buffet: Green beans! Also crab rangoon and those little sweet donuts, if they’re fresh.
Other: We used to have a fabulous restaurant out here in the sticks – Chef Greg’s Cafe and Spice Co. Chef Greg Wenger is/was a contributing editor to Vegetarian Times magazine; it was not a veg restaurant, but he did offer some nice veg entrees. He had very limited hours and was a little pricey for this area, but his food was to die for. One of his nice touches was that at least once during your meal, he would emerge from the kitchen in his chef togs and tall hat and go around to the tables greeting everyone and making sure they were enjoying their meal. It was great to be able to praise him in person, even if it was with your mouth full.
Sunday mornings he served up a fabulous champagne brunch. You went hungry because you wanted to eat as much as possible. Three or four times during the meal his minions would come around offering little plates with tidbits such as shrimp scampi, some teriyaki, mussels, or ostrich. They made fresh omelets to order and carved meats. But my favorite item was his egg Benedict. Fabulous.
Unfortunately, the typical yahoo locals didn’t appreciate this gem, and Chef Greg’s folded after a few years and he returned to California to do catering. His last Sunday brunch was a big event for us regulars. When he came out to make his rounds, applause broke out, at which he seemed a little embarrassed. It was very sweet.
So you people out near Catalina Island, if Chef Greg Wenger ever opens a restaurant out there, GO!!! And appreciate your good fortune.
Scarlett67 - Ostrich for a buffet item? Eeeew what does that taste like? I would think that the cost of ostrich would be high and therefore woulnd’t be on a buffet menu.
For Chinese: Black Bean Chow Fun, Green Beans, and/or Sushi. (There’s a place called Red Sun down the way a bit… you write down what kinds of sushi you want, and they make it fresh on the spot for you. YUM!)
For Thai: Pad Thai, Massuman Curry.
For Indian: Ummm. Dunno what it’s called, but it’s potatoes and assorted veggies in a curry sauce. No meat in it. And the dessert that has coconut milk and rice.
For ‘American’: Good roast beef.
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<< Now I’m hungry. And the power is out for most of the city. Grrr. >>
It wasn’t on the buffet – his assistant chefs would bring samples around periodically to the tables on little plates, for anyone who chose to try it. (It was also available as an entree in the evening.) It tastes like beef, and I think it’s lower fat and supposedly healthier for you – kind of like buffalo. Quite good, actually.
Well, you’ll just have to open a franchise…probably only be economically feasible if there were more Kosher-observant Jews in the Philly area. (They started with only one location in upper Manhattan but have now grown to four, in major Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, plus a temporary one in the Catskills over the summer. So they do do franchising…but you need to have your market.)
Dang, people, I’m all hungry now and it’s bedtime.
Ditto on most of the Indian stuff (mmmmn… pakoras…), but if any of y’all ever eat in Austin you gotta try the Al Borz lunch buffet. It’s Persian. They do things with rice I’d never imagined before and ohmigod it’s soooooo good. And pomegranate seeds in the most unlikely places, including the addictive tabouli. They have this one beef stew with celery as the main vegetable – who’da thought? My cow-orkers pick it for birthday lunches all the time – it’s the one place everyone, from the vegans to the supervisor who thinks tofu might be a liberal plot to kill her, absolutely blissful. It’s hard not to stuff yourself sick.
But if you go in the evening you have to pick just one dish, and there’s a freakin’ pasty white belly dancer with a heavy touch on the zills: avoid!
