Buffets

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
Since we talk about them often enough (at least I do), I thought I would start a thread about them.

First off, let's put jayl123's strategy (from IrvineHusky's Grand Las Vegas thread) here:

jayl23 said:
As for buffet strategy, here's mine:
1. Do a lap around the entire buffet to get an idea of what they have and make a mental note of what appeals most to you.
2. First trip is the scouting trip, to take one or 2 pieces of whatever appeals to you, the expensive proteins/seafood.  Then after you have sampled each item, the subsequent trips are to target the tastiest high value items, and to try what your fellow diners say are the tasty items.
3. To get the most bang for your buck, load up on the protein and seafood items, i.e. roast beasts and critters, sashimi, oysters, king crab, pretty much anything you know costs more at any a-la-carte restaurant.
4. Minimize the filler dishes, i.e. rice, pasta, starchy items
5. Minimize drinking, since you need as much stomach room for expensive protein
6. Always save room for desserts, especially the exotic and unusual ones, i.e. creme brulee, lava cake, etc.  Yea, I got a sweet tooth.
7. Don't take too much of anything, be considerate of other people, pretty good chance they will refill anything that runs out.  It's not good to have too much leftover food, especially bad if you didn't like the items you hoarded.
8.  Enjoy your meal!  Remember, it's not an eating competition, you don't want to overeat and feel bad after your meal.

For me, despite popular assumptions, a buffet isn't about eating as much as I can, but rather eating different kinds of food. This holds particularly true when it comes to desserts.

That's why I think I can do 3 buffets in a day because it's not really quantity that I'm going for, but variety.

This doesn't apply as much to breakfast because there are really only a few things I eat at this time... and I don't really have dessert at breakfast time (since almost half the foods can count as dessert).

That being said... what are your favorite buffets?

Locally, Las Brisas is pretty good. We recently went to Marie Callendar's for Sunday's brunch buffet and it was decent, I think what helped is I like pies so being able to sample a variety of them made me like it more. Others we've been to are Acapulco's (similar to El Torito) brunch buffet and of course HomeTown Buffet (this one is like your cafeteria food type buffet). Does Souplantation count (hard to believe it's like $10+ just for soup, salad and some pastas)? Or Sizzler's?

Does any old school Irvinite remember Soup Exchange where California Fish Grill and Panera is? How about SouperSalad in Lake Forest?

Oh, and for you AYCE KBBQ people, Seoul Garden in Tustin is actually buffet style, not wait for the server to bring you your meat style.

#BuffetsRuleIDrool
 
Just went to Kobe.. forgettable.  If you're goal is to just fill up your stomach.. go for it. Mediocre at best.
 
I like The Buffet at Wynn because of the excellent dessert selection.  Crab legs and rib roast are pretty generic, its the desserts that separates the men from the boys for buffets.  Wynne has a crepe station, that is very nice.
 
Is it just me or for the buffets in Vegas, the same brand seems to have the same food quality.

For example, we've eaten at Mandalay Bay and Luxor's buffet (both owned by MGM Grand) and there doesn't seem to be a big difference in their food... their dessert bars are almost identical. This may also explain why I don't think the Bellagio buffet is very good any more.

But the Bacchanal and Rio (owned by Caesar's) are much better.

I think that they each have different chefs, but for some food (esp desserts), they probably have to source from the same supplier.
 
aquabliss said:
Try Wicked Spoon at Cosmo it's pretty unique.
That's currently the wife's favorite.

It's a bit fru-fru for me... but I did like the carnitas on a chip thing.

I like it because of the small portions so it's basically a sample of each type of food... but we waited over 45 minutes and this was at 9pm (they close at 10).
 
aquabliss said:
Try Wicked Spoon at Cosmo it's pretty unique.

We went there last weekend.  My wife really enjoyed the bone marrow and the desserts.  I especially enjoyed the cured bacon, prime rib and beef ribs. :)
 
Just to add some more names:

Makino's (which we like)
Celebrities (which we didn't except for the Fried Chicken)
Hokkaido (don't know if that's still around but basic a cheaper version of Makino's)

AYCE BBQ

All that BBQ (awesome)
Korea House (not that awesome)

DaDa Shabu Buffet coming soon.

I can't eat as much as I used to so I tossed out the value consider and just go for the stuff I like.  I like buffets because of the variety but the higher end ones are getting too expensive for my taste.  I'm not a big seafood guy so I have already lost.

Pretty much stick to Souplantation these days.  Excellent value with the coupon and great way to get one's veggies.  Their Sunday breakfast is quite good.

 
Irvinecommuter said:
Just to add some more names:

Makino's (which we like)
Celebrities (which we didn't except for the Fried Chicken)
Hokkaido (don't know if that's still around but basic a cheaper version of Makino's)

AYCE BBQ

All that BBQ (awesome)
Korea House (not that awesome)

DaDa Shabu Buffet coming soon.

I can't eat as much as I used to so I tossed out the value consider and just go for the stuff I like.  I like buffets because of the variety but the higher end ones are getting too expensive for my taste.  I'm not a big seafood guy so I have already lost.

Pretty much stick to Souplantation these days.  Excellent value with the coupon and great way to get one's veggies.  Their Sunday breakfast is quite good.

Never tried soup plantation but a few others have mentioned it on here. Do you go to the one in irvine or foothill ranch?
 
bones said:
Irvinecommuter said:
Just to add some more names:

Makino's (which we like)
Celebrities (which we didn't except for the Fried Chicken)
Hokkaido (don't know if that's still around but basic a cheaper version of Makino's)

AYCE BBQ

All that BBQ (awesome)
Korea House (not that awesome)

DaDa Shabu Buffet coming soon.

I can't eat as much as I used to so I tossed out the value consider and just go for the stuff I like.  I like buffets because of the variety but the higher end ones are getting too expensive for my taste.  I'm not a big seafood guy so I have already lost.

Pretty much stick to Souplantation these days.  Excellent value with the coupon and great way to get one's veggies.  Their Sunday breakfast is quite good.

Never tried soup plantation but a few others have mentioned it on here. Do you go to the one in irvine or foothill ranch?

Weirdly enough...the best one is the one in Tustin (Newport).  They standardized all the restaurants a few months back so they are pretty similar but before that the Tustin one was a lot better managed. 

The Irvine one is almost always packed especially weekend...also terrible parking there.

The Foothill Ranch one is not as good IMO...the food area is relatively small so it feels cramped when it is even a little crowded. 
 
qwerty said:
http://www.souplantation.com/nutritionguide/nutrition.aspx?category_id=9

Not bad. Didn't know they did breakfast. My wife loves souplantation. I hate it. Sunday breakfast seems like a good compromise

It is definitely one of the lesser known secrets.  $6.99 for a decent Sunday brunch/breakfast (with coupon).  Souplantation is a must for families and anyone with kids...Kids under 3 are free.  Kids 3-5 are $3.50 (it used to be $2.99).  Kids 5-12 are like $6 and they get a drink.  Beats just about any kids meal out there and a lot healthier.

Make sure you sign up for their coupon offers and get like $1.50-$3 off.
 
Souplantation has become expensive in my opinion.

It's like over $10 for an adult dinner before buying the drink... for soup and salad.

The coupon for a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) with drinks used to be $19.99, now it's $32.99 and that just happened in the last 2 or 3 years.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Souplantation has become expensive in my opinion.

It's like over $10 for an adult dinner before buying the drink... for soup and salad.

The coupon for a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) with drinks used to be $19.99, now it's $32.99 and that just happened in the last 2 or 3 years.

I think you're getting the wrong coupons.

Last set of coupons:

$7.99 for lunch/$8.99 for dinner ($1.60 more for drinks)

Family deal:
1 adult 1 child:  $15.99 including drinks
2 adults 2 child:  $24.99 including drinks.

Seem like great deals to me...especially if you are a person who gets drinks (which I actually don't).
 
Are you sure about that $24.99? Is that from SP directly?

The cheapest one I've seen is $29.99 in the newspaper.

The $32.99 one I found online and just used this week.
 
Buffets are like a Monet painting.

They look good from afar. But up close, they are far from good.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Are you sure about that $24.99? Is that from SP directly?

The cheapest one I've seen is $29.99 in the newspaper.

The $32.99 one I found online and just used this week.

Yup...just subscribe to their e-mail list.
 
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