A Sizzling Buffet?

A week ago, I decided to visit Sizzler and sample the food from their all-you-can-eat buffet. I knew they ran a bunch of $10 promotions that gave you access to their buffet, but I never really took them up on their offer. I know a lot of people have a rap against Sizzler - it's allegedly not the best steakhouse out there - but I generally insist on trying these things for myself. Tastes vary.

Besides, anyone with my appetite tends to favor quantity over quality. But getting both together would be the best of both worlds! I have yet to visit an affordable buffet that really does provide both. And, no, I don't consider a buffet that charges $30 to be a budget experience!

Sizzler provides a quiet, clean ambiance. I enjoyed being able to sit at my table and eat in peace. The plate policy of the location I visited in San Bernardino was annoying however; I could not revisit the endless buffet until I received a new plate from the waiter. I was told that it was a health code violation. Maybe it's a San Bernardino thing.... I don't know, but it slowed me down. I resolved the problem by walking over to the kitchen and switching my dirty plates for new, shiny, clean ones.

When you have a stomach to fill, you just can't wait to get more grub.

As for the food.... it's decent. Some of it is average quality, some of it is quite good. There aren't many meat products on the buffet unless you count the heavily-dressed seafood salads or the taco bar. Green salads are the big star. Desserts are limited. Bread is plentiful. Fried foods are there for the taking.

I think I ate a respectable amount of food that day:

  

Green peas
Creamed Brocolli
Salsa.

The salsa was hot as hell in places (thank you, jalapenos), but the creamy broccoli really hit the spot. It had a smooth taste that hid the famous sulfurous burn.

 My second plate was the actual meal I ordered: 6 oz steak with a baked potato. I didn't think the steak was all that bad! I liked it, but I wouldn't have spent $10 on it. There must be some reason they thrown in a buffet ticket with this meal, right?

The bread was scrumptious, but maybe buttered a bit much for my taste. I would have preferred something with whole wheat in it.

Plate 3: Beef nachos with guacamole and dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets.

It's never too late to revisit your childhood, but McDonald's does a better job on the fried pieces of chicken. I appreciated the dinosaur shapes.




Plate 4 featured a generous helping of imitation crab salad, along with macaroni salad and green beans. Even when you eat like a madman, you still gotta get your greens in! I liked them, as they weren't too salty.

The crab salad was VERY meaty. The crab-sticks probably accounted for most of the entire item's volume. It had a balanced flavor between the fish and the globs of dressing thrown all over it.

On Plate 5, I went for the "American" food section and loaded up on spaghetti and macaroni (OK, maybe those foods have Italian origins). I customized my noodles with marinara sauce and taco meat. I thought the taco meat looked better than the meatballs, frankly. The taste was outstanding. I could have eaten plates of this pasta! The Mac'n'cheese didn't disappoint either. It was better than most of the instant or boxed
stuff I'd eaten in past years. Salty, yes, but absolutely palatable.

Plate 6 = potato salad, fried zucchini (my first time), onion rings, tuna salad, and corn.

The potato salad was as good as the stuff you get in the supermarket. the rest was rather mediocre, except the onion rings, which had a sweet and crunchy balance going on. I would go back for more.

Plate 7 was a sweet plate, pulled from the outer edge of the buffet. Strawberry yogurt, cottage cheese, chocolate pudding, and chocolate mousse... with a single peach slice thrown in.

They make some good chocolate mousse at Sizzler. The rest of the stuff was pretty standard.

Plate 8 featured more onion rings, pound cake, strawberry jello, chocolate pudding with whipping cream (and pound cake underneath). I also threw in a small dish of vanilla soft serve. I think the pound cake was the star of this dish. Moist, sweet, and thick, it had everything I ask for in a cake dessert. I just wish they put out more of it at one time!

Plate 9 brought me back to savory foods. Beef nachos again, more chicken nuggets, a chicken wing, and sweet potato fries... I threw in a cup full of chocolate pudding and mousse on the side.

The chicken was juicy, but mostly fat. I would not recommend getting your wing fix at Sizzler!

Plate 10..... a cup full of soft serve, and a pudding cup with pound cake.
The cake really was that good! And a make a point of eating a lot of soft serve at the end of a meal. I find that my tolerance for it can be high.





Plate 11: Chocolate soft serve and pound cake with chocolate syrup.
You now I must have enjoyed these sweets to keep going back for them. They were a decent way of capping off a gargantuan feast. I recommend that you all do the same! The sweet stuff really helps balance out the salty taste from all the savory items.


Overall, I enjoyed my buffet experience. The food wasn't stellar. But, there was a lot to choose from and it changes the pace from the fare I typically get from Hometown Buffet.

The buffet didn't sizzle, but it certainly delivered.