Bowling Green buffet review takes off gloves

[Robin Garr]

I feel sorry for this little restaurant, and the style of the review is a bit ... homespun.

But I think all of us big-city restaurant critics could take a useful lesson from this recent commentary in <I>The Bowling Green Daily News</i>: Sometimes an eatery performs so badly that the review just doesn't deserve to be dressed up with kind words.

<b>Buffet offers a variety of unappetizing items</b>

agreed, but I did think that this was a clever line for a review of a Chinese buffet:

Unfortunately, this review will be short and sweet (but mostly sour) because eating at the New Century Buffet was not a good experience.

btw, what's up with all of these Chinese buffets having an increasing number of bad american food like pigs in a blanket, potato skins, pizza, etc.? Most of it looks like it came from the frozen food section at Sam's.

[Robin Garr]

btw, what's up with all of these Chinese buffets having an increasing number of bad american food like pigs in a blanket, potato skins, pizza, etc.? Most of it looks like it came from the frozen food section at Sam's.

I think they put them on to satisfy people who don't like Chinese food, and most of those people DO like food from the frozen-food section at Sam's.

btw, what's up with all of these Chinese buffets having an increasing number of bad american food like pigs in a blanket, potato skins, pizza, etc.? Most of it looks like it came from the frozen food section at Sam's.

I think they put them on to satisfy people who don't like Chinese food, and most of those people DO like food from the frozen-food section at Sam's.

Hey now, those fully cooked frozen burgers from Sam's are pretty tasty.

[Robin Garr]

Hey now, those fully cooked frozen burgers from Sam's are pretty tasty.

Point taken! For philosophical reasons, though, I won't shop at Walmart properties. Does Costco have 'em?

btw, what's up with all of these Chinese buffets having an increasing number of bad american food like pigs in a blanket, potato skins, pizza, etc.? Most of it looks like it came from the frozen food section at Sam's.

I think they put them on to satisfy people who don't like Chinese food, and most of those people DO like food from the frozen-food section at Sam's.

Definitely, especially kids. They seem to be the prime partakers of that portion of the bar.

Craig,

Are you serious that the frozen cooked hamburgers are good? Yes, Robin, they also have them at Costco- I believe they are organic or no- antibiotic beef. But I just kept looking at them thinking:"Those have got to taste awful- why buy already cooked hamburgers (unless you don't have a grill) when you can buy the pre-formed patties and quickly grill some nice juicy ones yourself".

But maybe I was wrong..(it does happen sometimes ).

Deb

[Robin Garr]

Are you serious that the frozen cooked hamburgers are good?

I'm with you, Deb. I love to cook, and rarely if ever buy prepared foods. But in this case, I just went with the flow for laughs.

All kidding aside, I think the real reason is that bad American food is cheap stomach fillers . . . I'm amazed at some of these buffets all the people with plates filled with fried potatoes and pre-cooked burgers in buns, but they are a LOT cheaper food costs (and especially cheaper labor costs) than most of the "authentic" options.

Craig,

why buy already cooked hamburgers (unless you don't have a grill) when you can buy the pre-formed patties and quickly grill some nice juicy ones yourself".

But maybe I was wrong..(it does happen sometimes ).

Deb

Believe me, when you're stuck in a motel for a couple of weeks with nothing by a microwave, they provide a mighty fine alternative.

Wow. Talk about a review that peels the paint off the walls of the place. Actually, good for this reviewer. If a restaurant performs this poorly people ought to be made aware of it.

I feel sorry for this little restaurant, and the style of the review is a bit ... homespun.

I find it hard to get beyond the homespun part. The quality of the prose is on par with the reported quality of the restaurant (Pot calling the kettle black?)

In his Australia book, Bill Bryson said that he could not stomach small-town Chinese food without beer; Bowling Green probably qualifies as well.

WOW!!! I 've felt the same way about most "Asian Buffets" that I've sampled around our city as well. (Yeah, I know I'm just as bad as every one else)
After the lunch crowd is over with, stuff just seems to sit there...simmering on a steam table...not refreshed, looked at or cared about.

IMHO... If you want a quick bite of "Asian" food then you are better served by going to any number of local places (that don't offer a buffet as the main focus) and getting it to go...Most "good" dishes are not geared for sitting in a chafing dish for hours on end.

However,(And this is just my observation) If you see one of these places open up in your neck of the woods...The buffet will be pretty good for a couple of weeks or so. They suck you in with what you think is a good cheap meal; and then, the team that opened up the place will move on to the next place they are opening(Lord only knows where). They often seem to leave half of a staff that can't really put out the same quality food. Unfortunatly, what you thought was a good cheap lunch option, most of the time gets bastardized to the point of being inedible.

As someone new to the forum making a first time post, I am happy to be commenting on a thread where I may have some insight. Currently there are 13 replies, and 440 views to this post about a little restaurant that lies off the beaten track even for Bowling Green. Pretty neat.

“ ...review takes off the gloves” as Robin poignantly noted was a bold move for a small town paper. Usually reviews from the Bowling Green Daily News find little to criticize. Perhaps that is one reason why I have been drawn to Louisville Hot Bytes.

As Ruth Reichel noted when she was a NY Times restaurant critic- “You cannot have credibility unless you’re occasionally tough.” Lacking competition in the local publishing arena, and running on a small budget certainly doesn’t bode well for great restaurant reviewing. Still, the small daily newspaper provides a decent service.

Regarding the Chinese buffet operation in question- I say they were busted. However, as any citizen in their right mind should know, a Chinese or any other buffet for that matter is probably not at their best in off hours. Furthermore, most authoritative reviewers usually have the opportunity to visit a restaurant 2-3 times before publishing a review. At any rate the term ‘homespun’ accurate and wincing at the same time does well not to poke fun at the little daily lacking big city resources.

The true equalizer in reviewing of any sort is forums such as this. Giving many people the opportunity to weigh in on subject matter near and dear to their hearts provides a good picture as to the quality of the subject matter. Perhaps the case of the local Chinese buffet is that picture has already been drawn. As most foodies will probably agree few buffets rank at or near the top of of favorite places to eat not just in Bowling Green, but anywhere.

At any rate, I’m truly thrilled to find such a forum filled with people passionate about food, and restaurants. Kudos to all and keep up the good posting!