Re-discover the all-you-can-eat dining experience at these keep-it-fresh buffets.
The traditional American buffet has a bad reputation, earned from years of presenting over-cooked meat and wilted salad bars. But leathery prime rib and dehydrated iceberg lettuce aren't all-you-can-eat mandates. With some searching, budget diners and grazing retirees can enjoy a varied range of buffet options -- satiating mass-consumers while avoiding any textural comparisons to a worn Sperry Top-sider shoe.
I've tried to focus on interesting and ethnic buffets with affordable price tags, but notice one pricier option in Vegas -- I couldn't possibly compile a list of buffets without a stop on The Strip. Feel free to gripe, groan or agree in the comments section below, and make sure to drop your own buffet suggestions in the process.
Leonard's Pit Barbecue -- Memphis, Tenn.
Two dangerous bedfellows: all-you-can-eat and barbecue. Meander the buffet line at Leonard's -- an 87-year-old Memphian porksmith -- and you'll fall satisfied victim to far too many helpings of rich, flavorful Southern dishes, many graduating from a long stint in the smoker; others from the deep fryer. Leonard's offers a lunch buffet Sunday through Friday and nightly evening buffets ($10-$15), all of which rightly include chopped pork shoulder and crispy fried catfish.
Other choices rotate daily between Southern birthrights like barbecued chicken, barbecued ribs, country fried steak and assorted sides like barbecued beans, coleslaw and hush puppies. Leonard's collection of comfort food once tempted Elvis, who supposedly stopped by for after-hours parties and, presumably, an obscene number of pork sandwiches.
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Sawa's Original Old Warsaw Restaurant -- Broadview, Ill.
Everything at Sawa's is immense. This decades-old Polish restaurant outside Chicago is marked by an enormous neon sign, holds over 300 diners and serves heaping mounds of authentic, buffet-style Polish food. "I was the only guy in high school taking cooking," says owner Stu Sawa, alluding to his early interest in the restaurant business; after school he took over Sawa's from his father and carried on the tradition of community hall congeniality and rich Polish cuisine.
