Buffet Style

One of the main reasons we don't do more things as a family is that it's really hard to come up with activities that appeal to two girls and one boy between the ages of 7 and 12. (Well, in truth, Julie is pretty easy to please; Steph and Pete are the ones who can never agree.) Pete doesn't do girly movies, and Steph doesn't do scary ones. Pete likes to be active; Steph doesn't. We even have to alternate pizza places when we order out, because they disagree on that too—Steph's favorite is Bill's, and Pete's is 4-Corners. (For those of you who think that "4-Corners" is a strange name for a pizza place, it's the name of the busy intersection where the shop is located, not a description of the shape of the pizza.) Julie's favorite kind of pizza is next-day leftovers, regardless of where it came from. Go figure.

Today the girls wanted to the go to the aquarium, but Pete didn't—and it ends up costing about $100 when all is said and done, so we don't go unless everyone is jazzed about the idea. Same goes for the Museum of Science. (We used to have memberships at both, but we don't go often enough to make that worthwhile anymore.) There was talk of bowling, or skating, or rock-climbing, or going to the mall, or a million other things, but no consensus could be reached.

Even a simple, "Why don't we go out to lunch?" was met with endless discussion. We finally decided on Minado, a ginormous all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet place in Natick that only Andy had been to. But Pete was not happy about this; he had his heart set on pancakes. It seemed kind of dumb to drag a kid to an all-you-can-eat place if he doesn't want to eat anything, so he and Andy went to Joan and Ed's (in the same strip mall) for pancakes, while the girls and I went to Minado. (For the record, the girls like Joan and Ed's too, but they had gotten excited about the idea of Minado and wouldn't be dissuaded.)

Wow. Minado is huge, with row after row of buffet tables containing every possible Japanese delicacy you can imagine, including tons of seafood. There was everything from fried rice to shrimp tempura to beef teriyaki to pork gyoza and on and on.... Then there's a whole line of sushi guys making all kinds of things for people who like sushi (not us), and I'm told it's some of the very best-quality sushi around.

I told the girls that they should take a little bit of anything that looked interesting, because they could just taste it and not worry about whether they didn't like it. And they did! I was very impressed that my picky eaters were trying crab cakes and yam tempura and cucumber-sesame salad! And, indeed, one bite was enough of some things, but they went back for seconds on plenty of others. As for me, I loved everything I tried.

For dessert, they offer a buffet of Jell-o cubes, melon slices, petit-fours, and tiny cups of vanilla or green tea soft-serve ice cream. Sometimes just a few bites of something cold and refreshing is all I want after a meal, so I think this is a great idea.

It's not cheap (lunch price is $20 for adults and $10 for kids over 4' tall), but it was very filling, and it's a great way to get kids (and adults!) to try new things without committing to a plateful of something potentially icky.

I wish there were other good buffet-style restaurants around. Many years ago, I visited a friend in California; I went with her family to a kid-friendly chain restaurant that offered lots of salads and pasta dishes—I can't recall the name, but it's a great idea. I wonder why buffet restaurants aren't more common—I would think that they would be cheaper and easier to operate than regular restaurants. Anyone know?

Comments

[Tonya]

Wow, Minado sounds absolutely wonderful — my son and I especially love Japanese food (and sushi!). In fact, he's 1/4 Japanese with a Japanese grandmother so he's grown up with the wonders of that food. (And sushi!) Wish they had one of those around here. We do have a favorite sushi bar we order from now and then. There are some Chinese buffets, but I've not been very impressed with them. And of course, "Old Country Buffet" with all the comfort foods you can waddle away with. The best buffets tend to be the Indian casinos with their nummy seafood buffets at a pretty moderate price. I AM SO HUNGRY.

[Margaret]

That does sound like a fabulous place. I would love to try all those dishes! Eating together for us was always tricky too because of Alison's gymnastics schedule and Ashley being vegan. I think buffets aren't common for several reasons--making a profit given the American habit of extreme overindulgence, keeping the food fresh and not tampered with(touched by dirty hands, etc...) Parents and employees have to be extremely vigilant with little kids around, since some will stick their fingers in anything. I've seen it happen at Old country buffet!

[Nancy]

Buffets/smorgasbords were always my family's first choice when I was growing up, and I'm still a pushover for displays of over-the-top abundance and variety. In my parents' later years, when they were still well enough to go out, we'd occasionally go to Soup Plantation*--the chain you remember?--and gorge ourselves for about $10 each...less with the senior discount.

*It's called Sweet Tomatoes in Northern California.

[Kathy]

Buffets are VERY common around here in the south- chinese, pizza, salad and good old country buffets with meats and veggies - although I don't know of any japanese ones - that one in Natick sounds great - might have to try it when I am home this summer (my parents aren't too far from Natick).

[Susan]

We still have lots of buffets here in Las Vegas but I rarely go to any on the strip. The local casino has a nice brunch buffet that we get 2 for 1 coupons for. I love the custom made omelets.

[Laura]

Now I'm STARVING! lol Seriously, $20 for lunch??? For one person? I'd have to stay in there all day and eat three meals with breaks in between to justify spending that much on myself at one place! Yikes!

[Karen]

Yes, this was definitely a special treat! We rarely go out to eat these days, so I didn't mind splurging.

[Emily P]

Making another pitch for Minado, the sushi is FABULOUS, and really fresh. My first response when a friend described it to me was 'eeew - sushi sitting there growing god-knows-what at a buffet?!?' But they don't make huge amounts of the sushi at one time, so it's constantly being refreshed. And considering how much you can spend at a sushi restaurant, $20 is actually quite reasonable. Anytime you want to go there again karen, do let me know...

[MorethanMommy]

It's pricey, but maybe your kids would agree on a visit to the chocolate buffet at the Langham Hotel. The menu changes each year, but this year you'll find chocolate bread pudding (the favorite at our table), whoopie pies, crepes, creme brulee, cookies, brownies, cheese cake, truffles and the list goes on. Yum.