An ode to Golden Corral and the long-lost all you can eat buffet

Because of the pandemic, unfortunately the all you can eat buffet is largely a thing of the past…the long lost past when things were indeed simpler. Maybe in the end I’m looking a tad too far back but forgive me, I so often do when I look back there… a wee bit of trap if you will.

The all you can eat buffet was a love I shared with my late grandmother. She marveled at just how many people would flock there. She also marveled at the unbeatable price per person, and just how good the food so often was—depending on the location of course.

The first time I entered an establishment such as this, it was Chinese cuisine on the menu, and it was love at first sight dear readers. Chinese cuisine and I have had a relationship all these long years, and admittedly, I have my grandmother to thank for that particular culinary infatuation.

But as I stated above, the all you can eat buffet certainly took a hit during the pandemic…many of the Chinese food buffets in my native Montreal, as well as the international cuisine variants, took a serious hit during that time and closed their doors.

Got an appreciation for the all you can eat buffet? Read on to discover which chain is still offering loads of great food…

One of which I was very fond was Buffet Vichy, where—get this, now—if you went at lunch, which as a writer I often did, my schedule pretty much up to me, you could eat for 8.95$ and not just any old plate of food, but if you drank water…you could fill your plate up as much as you wanted!

Now I did mention I was a writer, so yeah, filling up on one meal was often a way to get my nutrition in and pretty much work for the rest of the day, which is what I often did. Those prices would help many these days, with groceries being so expensive, I’m sure, but Buffet Vichy would also close their doors during the pandemic.

And it isn’t just Montreal. Sadly many buffet style restaurants closed their doors all over North America, but there is one old standby that is still around, and that’s Golden Corral. Myself, being from Montreal, I need to travel pretty far. The closest one’s about six hours away in New York, and hey, New York and I aren’t at all strangers, but I can’t necessarily go all that often.

I do when my writing career takes me there, and believe me when I tell you that I’m counting the days until I get an assignment to go down to the gorgeous city.

But of Golden Corral, those that live near the all you can eat buffet, take advantage, trust me. As the expression goes, ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone,’ right?

Okay…cue the sappy, sad, and emotional after school movie music now…. I’ll get over it, I guess, but really I won’t.

As for Golden Corral, it’s been around since 1973; actually on January 3rd, Golden Corral will be turning 50! Aha…a perfect occasion to stop on by. The New York Knicks play the Phoenix Suns on the second…. Maybe I’ll cover it!

Anyways…Golden Corral has been serving its clientele an assortment of great food for those almost fifty years and yes, many of them (the locations) survived the aforementioned pandemic, and thankfully so. Believe it or not, an interesting fact about Golden Corral: They started out as a steakhouse.

There are a few things you need to know however if you do live far like yours truly, and that is that they have a breakfast buffet. Now if that doesn’t get you moving, I don’t know what will.

Yes, dear readers and Guilty Eaters alike…loads and loads of bacon…scrambled eggs, waffles; you name it folks, it’s there and it’s all mouth watering. Oh yes, and there is an omelet section!

There’s a pretty renowned chocolate fountain for you sweet-toothed individuals out there, and really the sky is the limit with this menu, which you can check out here…Golden Corral Menu…you know, in case you feel like seriously gassing up the car, or charging the electric vehicle of your choosing, and even packing a few bags—maybe just an overnighter.

The meatloaf alone is enough to convince me. Maybe I’ll see you there, dear readers. I’ll be sure not to cut in front of you in line, and hey…if there’s only one slice of meatloaf left, it’s all yours. Besides, they refill pretty quickly.

What are some of your favorite all you can eat buffet locations? And what items do you absolutely need to hit when you visit your local Golden Corral?