My father really likes to go to buffet-style restaurants. In my area, we only have two major restaurant buffet chains. We have Golden Corral and we have Hometown Buffet (which also owns Old Country Buffet and Ryan's chains). Does anyone have any thoughts on which chain they like better? Dad is insisting on going to one of them for my birthday today. They both sent me identical buy one, get one free coupons for my birthday, we just have to make a choice on which one to choose. Any thoughts on what sets them apart and who has a better menu?
I used to love Old Country Buffet but they seem to have gone downhill over the last few years. I have been to Golden Corral a few times, but even that is not all the commercials will lead you to believe. I would much rather go to a Chinese buffet. One of the problems with buffets is that the food is not as fresh as it should be. Although I do like making my own salad and having so many options of veggies to put on it. I love OCB's creamy Italian dressing though. I really do not think there is much difference between them though. By the way, Happy Birthday!!
I'm from a different country so I am not familiar with your restaurants but I have come across some comments bashing the Golden Corral in terms of hygiene and just overall quality although maybe that was just an isolated incident in one certain location. Regardless if it were me I'd still at least do some research first on my particular branch if I were to consider it as an option. Probably best to do it for the rest too since mid range buffets are all pretty much similar.
Our rule with buffet is the specialty. There are 2 popular buffets here - Vikings and Buffet 101. The first one specializes in seafood and the second has the best steaks. But both buffets have a complete array of dishes. So when we feel like going to a buffet restaurant, we determine first what we like the most because Vikings have the best crabs, prawns and lobsters while Buffet 101 have the ribeye, wagyu and other high quality steaks.
I have been to most of those. I haven't been to Ryans in years though. I am not sure if it is even still in this area. I like Golden Corral personally. You can eat really well there, and it is not super expensive. I also like Hoss's Buffet, they are mostly located in Pennsylvania, but they have a really good salad bar. Golden Corral also has the chocolate fountain which is really good. I am getting hungry. Maybe I will pop into the Golden Corral next time I am in Richmond.
Unfortunately we have a different group of buffet chains in our region so I have never experienced dining at those buffet restaurants you mentioned. My preferred buffet types are those that specialize in fusing cuisines. Like on one table there's Mediterranean, on another Chinese dishes and maybe French on a different table. Some of the coolest buffets I have been to let customers enjoy dishes from different countries.
