Okay, people. Let me set the stage. Mom is 86 and lives independently in a retirement community. It's a very nice place with all conveniences located right there on site. There are several nice dining rooms where residents and guests can have sit down meals with real china and silverware. Guests have to pay about $21.00 for their meal. Not too bad for an all-you-can-eat, formal buffet.

Anyway, Mom has been living at Riderwood for the last 8 years and we have spent most Thanksgivings eating there, so she wanted to "go out" to eat on Thanksgiving day. So she called my brother and told him that she wanted to go to Old Country Buffet because their buffet would be less expensive. (Mom grew up during the depression and has never forgotten it.) I objected, but my brother said that's what she wanted, so that's what we would do.

We got to the restaurant at around 2:00 PM. The line was to the door. Okay, I expected as much, so we wait patiently to get to the cashier to pay. In front of us is a party of 9 claiming they had made reservations through a church group. The manager had no notice of this and tried to explain that in order to accomodate them, they would have to pay up front. They just stood there and held up the line for about 5 minutes. Finally they were asked to step aside so the line could move.

We get a table and of course, everybody and his brother was crowding the steam tables, and kids were running around under foot and generally being a nuisance. But it's Thanksgiving and I'm trying to keep myself civil.

I must say in general, the food was not bad. I mean it wasn't 5-star quality, but it was seasoned pretty well and seemed to be freshly cooked and not sitting in a pan somewhere for days.

Anyway, the highlight was when the place started to really get crowded around 3:00-3:30. Line was out the door and the place was getting really loud. The manager or whomever must have started getting a little frazzled because all of a sudden she gets on the mike and shouts, "ALL SERVERS RAISE YO HANDS AND LEMME KNOW WHERE YO EMPTY TABLES IS." I guess they didn't respond fast enough because a minute later, "SERVERS! RAISE YO HANDS! WHERE YO TABLES?! My brother blurted out, "Well, that pretty much sums up why they call it Old Country Buffet." I hollared. Knocked my damn milk all over the table. The people around our table were cracking up.

Then one of the servers starts pushing this cart full of dirty dishes and uneaten food up the aisle right next to us damn hear knocking my mom out of her chair. My brother pipes, "Oh, now here comes the slop bucket!" I'm done. By this time I can hardly breathe, I'm laughing so hard.

At least we provided tableside entertainment for our fellow diners.

So all-in-all, it wasn't horrible. I have to give OCB props though. The food ain't bad, and it is a bargain at $9.99 for a buffet.

Okay, any OCB execs out there? How bout a coupla free meals for my nice words?

Oh my! Now, that's one for the ages.

I'd be scurrrred to eat a $9.99 Thanksgiving buffet. Glad it wasn't too bad. You do KNOW this will be your new annual tradition, right?

I would'a never thought about going to one of those places for Thanksgiving. Never ever crossed my mind. If I had to guess, I would'a bet that the joint would be empty or closed since everyone would be "cooking at home".

Thanks for the eye-opener.

I take it neither you nor your brother like to cook?

My family had planned on going to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving, but I knew it would be more trouble than it was worth, so I decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at my place. They were quite pleased that I did this.

Before my mom started using a walker, I always did the whole nine with the turkey and all the trimmings and enjoyed doing it. Now Mom can't do steps. In order to get into either of our houses, she would have to climb numerous steps, which she cannot do, not even one and neither of us has wheelchair access; consequently, she hasn't been to visit either of our houses in at least 2 years.

My brother? I think he might have cooked ONE dinner for us as a family, but that was when Daddy was alive and he's been dead 9 years. And that dinner was not a Thanksgiving dinner, but a regular Saturday night supper. He made what he thought was "the bomb" and his signature dish. However, I have a thing about food color. He fixed this chicken dish, but that stuff turned out PINK. I mean the chicken was done, but this sauce he had made (I think it was supposed be something like a curry sauce) was PINK. I couldn't eat that shit and begged off, claiming I wasn't hungry.

Lawddeeeeeeeeee Ron and I have been dragged to the Ole' Cunttttreeeeee booofayyyyy more than once by his family.

I will wreck that ice cream bar tho.

johnart said:

Lawddeeeeeeeeee Ron and I have been dragged to the Ole' Cunttttreeeeee booofayyyyy more than once by his family.

I will wreck that ice cream bar tho.

I 'm not big on sweets, so I rarely get dessert, but I will put a hurtin on their fried chicken!

Shyra said:

johnart said:

Lawddeeeeeeeeee Ron and I have been dragged to the Ole' Cunttttreeeeee booofayyyyy more than once by his family.

I will wreck that ice cream bar tho.

I 'm not big on sweets, so I rarely get dessert, but I will put a hurtin on their fried chicken!

I'm not always a sweets person but I can get into some ice cream now and then.

I gotta say, they're no frills but I never left there hungry or not being able to find something to over-eat either.

I'm surprised a thread about a buffet has been around for even a mere few hours without someone posting "I wouldn't feed that to my dog"...

That said, I don't mind Old Country Buffet, especially when everyone I'm with wants something different to eat, making it hard to reach a consensus.

FauxReal said:

I'm surprised a thread about a buffet has been around for even a mere few hours without someone posting "I wouldn't feed that to my dog"...

That said, I don't mind Old Country Buffet, especially when everyone I'm with wants something different to eat, making it hard to reach a consensus.

You know, that's what I thought about the place BEFORE I had ever tried it. I figured a buffet for $9.99 would be all canned and processed food. Yeah, the veggies are canned, corn, beans, etc., but some of the dishes are surprisingly not bad.

Shyra said:

Before my mom started using a walker, I always did the whole nine with the turkey and all the trimmings and enjoyed doing it. Now Mom can't do steps. In order to get into either of our houses, she would have to climb numerous steps, which she cannot do, not even one and neither of us has wheelchair access; consequently, she hasn't been to visit either of our houses in at least 2 years.

My brother? I think he might have cooked ONE dinner for us as a family, but that was when Daddy was alive and he's been dead 9 years. And that dinner was not a Thanksgiving dinner, but a regular Saturday night supper. He made what he thought was "the bomb" and his signature dish. However, I have a thing about food color. He fixed this chicken dish, but that stuff turned out PINK. I mean the chicken was done, but this sauce he had made (I think it was supposed be something like a curry sauce) was PINK. I couldn't eat that shit and begged off, claiming I wasn't hungry.

That must be horrible. I sometimes think about the day when my own parents get to that (my dad already limps up & down the stairs...won't be long before his osteoporosis gets him to THAT stage!).

The important part is that you are together.

As a side note; there's an Old Country Buffet about 20 mins from me. Never thought about going there, until one day my daughter (who's a buffet queen) begged us to go. I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. I mean, it wasn't spectacular (and a bit dirty/messy), but all-&-all for the price it was a good deal. We all walked out of there bursting at the seams.

And yeah, their fried chicken was good!

PurpleJedi said:

Shyra said:

Before my mom started using a walker, I always did the whole nine with the turkey and all the trimmings and enjoyed doing it. Now Mom can't do steps. In order to get into either of our houses, she would have to climb numerous steps, which she cannot do, not even one and neither of us has wheelchair access; consequently, she hasn't been to visit either of our houses in at least 2 years.

My brother? I think he might have cooked ONE dinner for us as a family, but that was when Daddy was alive and he's been dead 9 years. And that dinner was not a Thanksgiving dinner, but a regular Saturday night supper. He made what he thought was "the bomb" and his signature dish. However, I have a thing about food color. He fixed this chicken dish, but that stuff turned out PINK. I mean the chicken was done, but this sauce he had made (I think it was supposed be something like a curry sauce) was PINK. I couldn't eat that shit and begged off, claiming I wasn't hungry.

That must be horrible. I sometimes think about the day when my own parents get to that (my dad already limps up & down the stairs...won't be long before his osteoporosis gets him to THAT stage!).

The important part is that you are together.

As a side note; there's an Old Country Buffet about 20 mins from me. Never thought about going there, until one day my daughter (who's a buffet queen) begged us to go. I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. I mean, it wasn't spectacular (and a bit dirty/messy), but all-&-all for the price it was a good deal. We all walked out of there bursting at the seams.

And yeah, their fried chicken was good!

Thanks, dear. Watching your parents age is difficult. It's almost like they're slowly reverting to childhood and infancy, and it brings one to the relization of their own inevitable.

But getting back to OCB, I've found that they can vary in degrees of cleanliness based on location. Most of them are located in "strip malls" or at least near a mall. I remember when the one near me opened a few years ago; it was spanking brand new. I went in just to check it out. I didn't stay for a meal, I just wanted to see what it looked like and what type of food they were serving. I had never been to one before and wanted to see if it would be something I could eat. Well the place was packed; kids were running wild and food and debris was on the floor. I immediately left swearing never to return. Then someone took be to one in Virginia. It was completely different. It was clean, quiet and they even had the ladies picking up your dirty dishes after you'd finished. So it depends on demograhics I guess.

Shyra said:

PurpleJedi said:

That must be horrible. I sometimes think about the day when my own parents get to that (my dad already limps up & down the stairs...won't be long before his osteoporosis gets him to THAT stage!).

The important part is that you are together.

As a side note; there's an Old Country Buffet about 20 mins from me. Never thought about going there, until one day my daughter (who's a buffet queen) begged us to go. I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. I mean, it wasn't spectacular (and a bit dirty/messy), but all-&-all for the price it was a good deal. We all walked out of there bursting at the seams.

And yeah, their fried chicken was good!

Thanks, dear. Watching your parents age is difficult. It's almost like they're slowly reverting to childhood and infancy, and it brings one to the relization of their own inevitable.

But getting back to OCB, I've found that they can vary in degrees of cleanliness based on location. Most of them are located in "strip malls" or at least near a mall. I remember when the one near me opened a few years ago; it was spanking brand new. I went in just to check it out. I didn't stay for a meal, I just wanted to see what it looked like and what type of food they were serving. I had never been to one before and wanted to see if it would be something I could eat. Well the place was packed; kids were running wild and food and debris was on the floor. I immediately left swearing never to return. Then someone took be to one in Virginia. It was completely different. It was clean, quiet and they even had the ladies picking up your dirty dishes after you'd finished. So it depends on demograhics I guess.

Next year, take her to the Golden Corral!

GURL!!

I will be taking the family to Golden Corral for Christmas this year. I'm done.

I'd bought a whole bunch of extra stuff for Christmas cooking so I wouldn't have to spend more and carry more. Why did I buy 8 bags of cheese (large bags) and my niece decided she wanted to help cook and used 6 1/2 bags (and 1/4 box velveeta). Then decided to lay around all morning and not finish up her cooking. Then wanted to bitch because we went ahead and put in the oven instead of waiting on her ass.

It was good, but still....why use everything to excess instead of thinking? Especially when you have no job to contribute anything.

For $10 I will see if there is a Old Country Buffet near me.

I'm done!!

BklynBabe said:

GURL!!

I will be taking the family to Golden Corral for Christmas this year. I'm done.

I'd bought a whole bunch of extra stuff for Christmas cooking so I wouldn't have to spend more and carry more. Why did I buy 8 bags of cheese (large bags) and my niece decided she wanted to help cook and used 6 1/2 bags (and 1/4 box velveeta). Then decided to lay around all morning and not finish up her cooking. Then wanted to bitch because we went ahead and put in the oven instead of waiting on her ass.

It was good, but still....why use everything to excess instead of thinking? Especially when you have no job to contribute anything.

For $10 I will see if there is a Old Country Buffet near me.

I'm done!!

I thought Golden Corral and Old Country Buffet were one and the same, but they are not. I checked Golden Corral's menu, and their's seem to be a bit more "upscale," shall we say, with steaks and scallops and such. What's the price for their buffet? I didn't see it on the website.

Shyra said:

BklynBabe said:

GURL!!

I will be taking the family to Golden Corral for Christmas this year. I'm done.

I'd bought a whole bunch of extra stuff for Christmas cooking so I wouldn't have to spend more and carry more. Why did I buy 8 bags of cheese (large bags) and my niece decided she wanted to help cook and used 6 1/2 bags (and 1/4 box velveeta). Then decided to lay around all morning and not finish up her cooking. Then wanted to bitch because we went ahead and put in the oven instead of waiting on her ass.

It was good, but still....why use everything to excess instead of thinking? Especially when you have no job to contribute anything.

For $10 I will see if there is a Old Country Buffet near me.

I'm done!!

I thought Golden Corral and Old Country Buffet were one and the same, but they are not. I checked Golden Corral's menu, and their's seem to be a bit more "upscale," shall we say, with steaks and scallops and such. What's the price for their buffet? I didn't see it on the website.

I think that they're pricier (not by much) but I remember from the one or two times that I've been there (down in Florida) that the food was good AND they have a bakery with all types of fresh-baked rolls & stuff.

My daughter wants to go to Golden Corral for her birthday (the nearest one is like a 2hr drive from Long Island to New Jersey!!!). Anything for my princess though!