I really like buffets. Not so much because they provide diners with the opportunity to gorge themselves on food for one single price....actually, I don't like that aspect at all. I love buffets because they allow me to sample a little bit of a lot of different dishes. When it comes to ethnic cuisines, the buffet format is an excellent way to get a much broader idea of what makes that cuisine unique (or not so unique), as well as affording me the chance to sample some more exotic dishes - or dishes with unappealing or boring descriptions - without feeling committed to purchasing a large bowl or platter of it or feeling like I'm taking a risk. It comes down to a matter of economy. While I might pass up paying for a plate of stinky tofu or "special meat with good sauce" from a menu, I'll definitely try some on a buffet....that is to say, a good buffet. While some buffets can be a great catalyst for exploring a new cuisine, many can paint a pretty grim picture of a cuisine and can offer a diner an unfortunate first impression. Imagine if your first experience with Chinese cuisine was at a $6.99 All-u-can-eat in Hialeah? Or if your initial foray into Japanese cuisine was picking at a dried-out and grey-colored tuna nigiri at a Chinese-owned sushi buffet? A buffet can teeter on the edge of a finely sharped knife - one side offering a good representation of a culture's cuisine and the other offering nothing but disgrace to that culture...and possible food poisoning.
The important thing to remember about a buffet is that no matter the quality, it will never be as good as having a dish made to order for you. A buffet will always be - regardless of price or opulence - about economy. Whether you're at a $6.99 Chinese buffet or an elegant $150 brunch buffet, the whole point of a buffet is to get the most bang for your buck...or at least feeling like you did. That being said, if you like a dish you sampled at a buffet, try ordering it from the menu either at that restaurant or perhaps at another restaurant. Nine times out of ten, you won't be disappointed.
Now onto the buffets....
The first one I've completely fallen in love with and has become almost a sinful indulgence with John and me is Bombay Grill, a cavernous restaurant with a full bar, a private event room, and at least 4 flat screen televisions airing Bollywood music videos. Supposedly they have an à la carte menu, but I've never been offered one, and I've never seen any of the numerous Indian families that dine here ever order from one. With a South Asian buffet as extensive as that of Bombay Grill, I don't think there is need to order from a menu. This buffet has to be the largest South Asian buffet that I've been to in the United States - bigger and more diverse than any buffet I've been to in NYC (and I always go to an Indian buffet when I'm in The Big Apple). Saturdays and Sundays seem to be the best days to go, and if you choose to go, you'll be dining with ladies dressed in the finest shalwar kameez and saris, for a meal at Bombay Grill is a pretty big deal, despite the $14.95 price tag. On any given weekend, there will be an offering of pani puris, masala dosa and idli from southern India, a vegetarian (usually South Indian sambhar) and a non-vegetarian soup, pakodas, samosas, and the quintessential Bombay street dish of pav bhaji...and those are just some of the appetizers. There is usually a selection of three types of bread - naan, paratha, and usually a chickpea flour (besan) bathura - along with a huge steamer of fragrant basmati rice scented with whole spices and clarified butter (ghee). There is chicken tikka, chicken boti, chicken malai, biryani, several dal (beans and lentils) dishes that can include tadka dal and dal makhni, a meat curry and several vegetable curries that often include kadi pakoda, a dish of fritters in a tangy yogurt sauce. There are usually two desserts - kheer (rice pudding) and gulab jamuns - as well as a tank of hot masala chai.
Most of the food at Bombay Grill is good, and dishes are changed and replenished fairly often. For an Indian cuisine newbie, this a great place to get a first taste. The connoisseur will be aware of having sampled better interpretations of a few of the dishes, but I've yet to find anything wrong with anything that they've served. Like I mentioned before, if you're fond of a particular dish, try ordering it the next time you're at an Indian restaurant and see how it is when it's made fresh for you.
I rarely like to dine at a Chinese buffet. Some of them have begun serving siu mai and potstickers, and I usually stick to those selections as I can never seem to enjoy the gloppy and soggy entrée selections at most Chinese buffets. Additionally, after having sampled true Chinese cuisine - the food that actual Chinese (or more correctly, Cantonese) people eat - Chinese American food seems just too heavy and quite boring. That being said, it was a great pleasure to discover Dragon Buffet located on University Drive just north of The 595 expressway for they actually offer a decent selection of authentic Chinese dishes in addition to Chinese American standards, sushi, and a tepenyaki mongolian barbecue type station for around $17. John and I have only been there once this past Friday but we definitely plan on going back.
General Tso's chicken, beef and broccoli, and moo goo gai pan were the same as those that you find anywhere and not worth trying. I'm convinced they were just there to satisfy diners who were either too squeamish or ignorant to sample their selection of nearly 10 different types of dim sum, salt and pepper frog's legs, roasted duck, or clams in black bean sauce. I immediately gravitated to a platter of char sui bao (baked pork buns), a personal favorite of mine that were soft and overflowing with bits of sweet pork. Steamed leak dumplings, siu mai, har gow dumplings, and potstickers were all very good. Crispy fried salt and pepper frogs legs were tender and flavorful. Thai-style pork chops were also very good, as was their selection of sushi rolls that included hand rolls, stuffed bean curd skins, and gorgeous pickled persimmon nigiri topped with a dollop of smelt roe. The dessert section cheap red bean ice cream (pass on it) as well as almond grass jelly, rice past cakes, Chinese angel food cake rolls, and lychees.
I tend to shy away from shellfish at a buffet, so I did not try selections from their raw bar except for a piece of frozen-solid stone crab claw. There were also steamed mussels, king crab claws, and raw oysters. I guess they're okay as there were many tables going through mounds of them, but I believe that the real draw of Dragon Buffet is the selection of authentic dishes.
No comments:
Post a Comment