Posts Tagged ‘buffet’

OM Indian Fusion Cuisine

Sunday, November 12th, 2017

20171027_120216OM Indian Fusion Cuisine, located in an old strip mall on the east side, features South Indian and Indo-Chinese cuisines through both a buffet and menu ordering.

Speaking of the menu, it’s huge–for example, you’ll find 12 varieties of bread alone. As a result, OM has many items not found at other Indian restaurants, but the quality wasn’t consistent. For example:

  • The peas in the tindora poriyal (sauteed vegetable medley) were quite undercooked, some hurting my teeth because they were like pebbles. At least the tindora (gourds) were tender and tasty, with a good balance of cumin and coriander.
  • Dosa (a type of pancake) is brought around by the waitstaff, and it was less enjoyable than it could have been because it had a cracker-like consistency.
  • The rice ball was dense and very dry. You’ll need a lot of sauce to get through it.
  • The spices in the biryani ($14.95 with chicken) are very fragrant, but unfortunately, the well-seasoned chicken wasn’t juicy at all.

20171027_122329That said, you will find some better-prepared items:

  • Mysore bonda is a fried dumpling with no meat or veggies inside. It has a hint of flavor from the scallions and its doughiness absorbs sauces well.
  • Tandoori bhaji is like a fritter. OM’s version is heavy on the breading and contains a soft slice of plantain (instead of the traditional onion). It would have been better with a side of mint chutney.
  • The curry goat is tender and has a hint of heat. Watch out for the bits of bone in the goat or you’ll likely crack a tooth.
  • The curry chicken also is tender, though the sauce seemed milder than the goat version.
  • The pongal ($9.95), made of mashed rice, ghee, ginger, cumin and lentils, was more flavorful than it appears. Still, I’m glad I tried it as part of the buffet ($10.95), because it’s overpriced as a menu item.
  • The arrabita spaghetti ($13.95), part of the fusion portion of the menu, surprised me as a menu item. However, I really enjoyed it, as it’s noodles tossed with chili flakes (and some oil, it seemed) with a tiny bit of tomato sauce.

OM Indian Fusion Cuisine is open Wednesday-Monday for lunch and dinner. It also has a bar area, though OM doesn’t seem like a place you would have a drink.

OM Indian Fusion Cuisine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pizza Ranch

Sunday, October 16th, 2016

20161007_175359Is good pizza worth an annoying restaurant setup? That’s your dilemma when you go to Pizza Ranch, which opened another location in the Madison area, this time in Verona.

The buffet ($11.37 for adults) includes fountain soda and dessert (soft-serve ice cream and dessert pizza).

Great variety of pizza. The lengthy list includes BBQ pork, the Trailblazer (pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, green peppers), BLT, the Bronco (meat lovers), buffalo chicken, taco and my particular favorite, the steak and onion.

  • The flavors for the pizzas were true to their names, and each had plenty of toppings. The crust had a nice chew.
  • You also can order a custom pizza while dining in, a seemingly odd choice at a buffet (though I saw plenty of tables do so).

20161007_180036Besides pizza, Pizza Ranch promotes its fried chicken as the Country’s Best Chicken. And actually, I thought it was the star of the buffet. The meat was very moist, and it was coated in a perfectly crispy, semi-salty skin.

Also worth noting: the fried fish was surprisingly acceptable, having a good fish-to-breading ratio. (If you need tartar sauce, you are out of luck.) Meanwhile, the clam chowder was mainly slices of potato, and the cheese stick was oddly flavorless (it’s basically cheese pizza, isn’t it?).

Lots of drawbacks. There’s always a line to get into Pizza Ranch, and it’s not because of its popularity.

  • Plates and tables are not cleared quickly. This is a double-negative, since the restaurant is seat-yourself, and it’s hard to discern if people have left a table since their plates aren’t removed in a timely manner. That’s why you see so many would-be diners hover near tables, which is quite annoying for everyone. A host would easily solve this issue.
  • No condiments at tables. For example, if you want ketchup, you need to grab individual packets in the buffet line.
  • Pizza could be brought out more quickly. I think diners could be in and out more quickly if they didn’t have to wait so long for food to be replenished.

Pizza Ranch is open every day for lunch and dinner.

Pizza Ranch Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Journey Sushi & Seafood Buffet

Sunday, May 3rd, 2015

I don’t recall ever hearing so many people rave about a buffet, but the word on the street is that The Journey Sushi & Seafood Buffet (formerly known as The Journal Buffet & Grill) is legit. After about 18 months since its opening, I finally checked it out. While the restaurant has some good qualities–like a large sushi selection–it’s not much different than any other Chinese buffet.

Let’s look at the sushi first. It was pleasing to see sushi other than California rolls. Here, you can find Dragon rolls, Alaskan rolls and salmon nigri, among a selection of about a dozen, depending on the time and day. I was fond of the seaweed and rice stuffed inside fried tofu for its combination of tastes and textures as well as its uniqueness. For buffet sushi, Journey’s was good and worth the price of the meal ($8.45 lunch, $12.95 dinner).

Similar to World Buffet, Journey has a large selection, including the standard items–pepper steak, hot & sour soup, lo mein (I’m happy that it wasn’t overloaded with vegetables) and potstickers. Although I’m a fan of General Tso’s chicken, Journey’s version is so heavily breaded that it’s hard to taste any chicken. Otherwise, there weren’t many other disappointments (though there wasn’t much to rave about, either).

Some items not generally found elsewhere include full fish fillets (tender and flaky), kimchi (not too spicy or sour), chicken balls (tasted just like a pork meatball) and stuffed crab shells (unfortunately, stuffed with imitation crab). There’s also a carving station and stir fry station. I appreciated that there was an employee on a radio regularly updating the kitchen on what needed to be refilled.

One last thing to mention: the layout was better than other buffets. It didn’t seem like there were any seats too far or disconnected from the centrally located buffet.

The Journey Sushi & Seafood Buffet is open every day for lunch, dinner and even carryout (pay per pound).

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