I didn’t take a picture of the outside, and I don’t know that I’ll be trying to send y’all to this place anyway. Mine. Go away. Well, no, also because it’s far from any public transportation, and when you see what I ate… well… yeah.
Headed over to spend time with my family recently, and I was greeted with “We’re going to Old Country Buffet, yee-yee!” when I walked in the door. Ok, off we go in the car – I don’t even know how to get there, to be honest – and arrived at a ridiculous line. But we waited, and eventually we were seated… at a southern food buffet. Guys, did you read that? SOUTHERN FOOD. ALL YOU CAN EAT.
Help.
My first plate basically said “get what you like, because you know what you’ll be eating next!” so I got my standards of “whatever strikes your fancy” – some salad just because, some seafood salad even more just because, mac&cheese, fried pieces of fish, fried potato slices, tartar sauce, and of course… tortilla chips with liquid cheese. Liquid cheese, you complete me… and fill in my arteries with your gooey goodness. So far: the fish wasn’t that good. The mac&cheese was pretty good. And the chips were as expected. I’m not going to talk about the other stuff. Ugh.
My next plate was the star of the show, the fried chicken: a thigh and a drumstick, and some mashed potatoes with both kinds of gravy – country and regular brown. I like country gravy. The brown was too salty and too… heavy. Obviously I liked the mac&cheese as I got more. And the chicken? Solidly delicious, artery solidifying. Seriously good stuff. It tasted like homemade, and I mean that in a good way – it wasn’t amazing, but it was just like I’d make at home. YUM. Juicy, moist interior, and crisp skin on the exterior. I was sold. Nothing else needed to be eaten for the rest of the meal.
Ah, right, she-who-shall-not-be-named told me the chicken was really good with the cole slaw. This is southern cole slaw: chopped fine, lots of mayo and lots of sugar. Sweet and very creamy. Yeah, it cuts through the grease of the chicken… ahem.
So my next plate was two chickem thighs and um… that’s a bowl of chicken/country gravy. Yes, yes I did. I took pieces of the skin, of the chicken, sometimes together, sometimes not, and dipped it in the gravy and ate it like that. I don’t wonder the reason I can’t lose weight. I know. And its name is GRAVY.
The aftermath. Are you grossed out right now? Cuz I’m not. I’m just hungry. Hahaha.
So, yes, I had four pieces of fried chicken and more food. You should see what FeistyMom ate…
Some fruit once I was stuffed completely on fried chicken and needed to relax a bit.
And once I’d relaxed enough, I had some soft serve swirl in a cone. That’s right. That’s how I do.
Even better? She-who-shall-not-be-named mentioned how good the chocolate chip cookies are when they first come out. Every time I walked by, there were none to be had, though I saw them behind the counter of desserts, just waiting to be made, waiting to be served. Damn. But just as I was about to leave, I wandered by and saw that a whole tray had come out. I grabbed two, and my brother-in-law grabbed two for his wife, and we munched happily on the still piping hot cookies – so hot that we smushed them a little by accident – as we walked out into the very chilly night.
I guess the best part would be the price: it’s about $10 an adult for dinner. Yeah, seriously.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother going to places in Manhattan…
…then I remember all the variety and the likelihood of me being 300+ lbs. if I lived closer to Old Country Buffet.
Yvo says: Great bang for your buck, undoubtedly, and many options from which to choose. The fried chicken and gravy combo, however, is definitely the one I’ll return to again and again and again… sigh. /swoon – wait, that was actually my heart stopping.
recommended
TT says
“she-who-shall-not-be-named”- hahahaha
seafood salad at a buffet place? that is pretty risky.
at least the fried chicken looked pretty good.
FBM REPRESENT!
Monique says
DAMN! so impressive!
i always talk shit about how much i can eat but i eat more with my eyes!
so proud of you! and that is a great bang for your buck
T.C. says
Yours? Go away? LOL. So possesive. Haha. I was suppose to go months ago but didn’t get to gorge there yet.
Around $10? DAMN. What a good buffet deal.
I want to go but I don’t want to be 300+ lbs either.
Mmm COOKIES!! lol.
alvin says
My kids and I like the fried chicken at that Old Country Buffet too. When it gets too crowded though, we’ll go to Zorn’s for their Skinless Sounthern Fried Chicken instead. Not quite as wallet friendly but it beats waiting in a line 20 deep on a cold Sunday night!
BlindBakerNYC says
Wow, you sure got your $10 worth! You had me at mac and cheese even though I shake my fist at the universe every day for bestowing upon me the curse of lactose sensitivity.
LawandFood says
Another place worth considering as long as you don’t mind trekking to Harlem is Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken. Hear the AYCE lunch buffet is very good, especially the fried chicken when it comes out fresh from the kitchen. Have yet to go myself, but it’s at the top of my list of places to visit.
Feisty Foodie says
Beat you to it: http://feistyfoodie.com/2010/04/06/charles-country-pan-fried-chicken/
🙂
skippymom says
Our OCB had the best.damn.yeast.rolls.ever. I could eat them all day long. We used to go on Sundays after church – until they closed.
I almost fainted when I found out that their fines/infractions were so high that they were forced to close. Gross – but it was in VA.