To me, “All you can eat” usually means “You won’t want to eat this stuff.”
With the exception of elegant Sunday brunches, the places that promote overindulgence
in trip after trip to the buffet offer food that just isn’t worth the effort.
Buffet City proves that every rule has an exception.
Located at 1774 Wabash Ave., Buffet City does an excellent job of combining
the unlimited-eating format with fresh-tasting food. The restaurant bills itself
as the “largest New York-style Chinese buffet in Springfield” and offers more
than 150 items to back up that claim. New dishes are routinely added to the
menu to freshen up the offerings for frequent customers.
Several things distinguish Buffet City from the rest of the pack. First, the
variety of dishes is impressive — you can choose Mongolian grill, sushi, Chinese
dishes and American favorites such as fried shrimp. The food is fresh, replenished
frequently and doesn’t taste as if it’s being served in massive quantities.
The dinner seafood buffet is the best bet for your money. In addition to the
large serving stations featuring tubs of steaming food, from sesame chicken
and dim sum to chicken legs and potato wedges, there are fresh seafood
options such as snow-crab legs, baked and raw oysters, mussels and peel-and-eat
shrimp.
I was impressed with the sushi bar, located at the back of the dining room,
which offers freshly made California rolls and spicy salmon rolls with avocado,
as well as raw tuna, salmon and barbecued eel. You can watch the sushi chef
in action as he continually makes and refills the rows of sushi. Next to the
sushi bar is a Mongolian grill, where diners select their own meats, vegetables
and sauces and then hand them over to be grilled to their specifications. Diners
can choose from everything from bowls of mushrooms, carrots and bean sprouts
to slices of chicken and pork.
I have dined at Buffet City several times. During one dinner, a family sitting
next to us was feasting on plates piled high with snow-crab legs. Another woman
was eating a plateful of cream puffs. My mother prefers to stick to the salad
and fried shrimp (which is large and crispy — not the popcorn variety usually
found on buffets). My father was ecstatic at being able to enjoy fried frog
legs, sizzling shrimp and ribs all in one meal. I saw one child eating nothing
but a plate of kumquats. That’s the beauty of a buffet — you can enjoy all you
want of your favorite dish or enjoy a small sampling of a wide variety of dishes.
It would be hard not to find something here you like: from American basics such
as pork, beef, chicken, boneless spare ribs, salad, fresh fruit and ice cream
to the array of Chinese dishes, which ranges from dumplings, egg-drop soup and
egg rolls to an array of pork, seafood and chicken and vegetable dishes.
You can also order from an extensive menu, which includes fried rice, lo
mein, chop suey, and chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, and mein fun dishes.
The menu also features healthy options of steamed food, cooked without oil or
MSG, such as steamed chicken with broccoli, and several lunch specials. Although
the menu sounds appetizing, the buffet is hard to pass up, especially if you’re
hungry.
The dessert options are uninspiring, and most people seem to choose ice cream
and fruit to finish their meals. The plates of pastries, brownies and other
generic options weren’t worth saving room for — not that we had any room left
once we finished our meal.
Even though customers serve themselves, the waitstaff is friendly. They frequently
visited our table to remove used plates and refill our drinks.
The lunch buffet, offered from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, is $5.99
for adults and $3.29 for children ages 3-10 years. The Sunday buffet is $6.99
for lunch and $8.99 for dinner ($3.50 and $4.50, respectively, for children).
The dinner seafood buffet, served from 4-9:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, costs $8.99
($4.50 for ages 3-10). Buffet carryout is also available. The restaurant serves
beer, wine and soft drinks.
Buffet City is located at 1774 Wabash Ave. Phone: 217-787-8299.
Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sun.
Easter eggs
According to the American Egg Board, more eggs are sold during the
spring than at any other time of the year. In 2003, an average of 72.6 million
dozen eggs were sold at U.S. supermarkets each week.
Because many people decorate eggs for Easter or spring and use eggs as part
of the Passover seder meal, that number usually increases during this time of
year. Last year, the total number of eggs sold during the week before Easter
jumped to 84.8 million dozen; during the week of Easter, egg sales reached 105.4
million dozen.
So what will you do with all those leftover hard-boiled eggs? Because the
week after Easter has been designated Egg Salad Week, why not try the following
recipe (provided by the AEB)?
Egg Salad
Chop the eggs and add a moistening ingredient — perhaps mayonnaise,
sour cream, yogurt or a bottled salad dressing. Then add shredded or chopped
carrots, chopped olives or other vegetables. You can also stir in chopped chives,
snipped parsley or other herbs.
Spread the salad on bread or toast slices or roll it up in a tortilla; spoon
the salad onto lettuce, spinach or other greens; or stuff it into a pita pocket,
a hollowed-out tomato or a large cooked pasta shell. For a new treat, serve
hot egg salad on an English muffin or sliced bagel, cocktail rye-bread slices
or even a frozen waffle, then sprinkle on some shredded cheese and bake or microwave
until the cheese is melted.
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2004.
