Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 7, 1993 TAG: 9305070198
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOLORES KOSTELNI
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Sunday buffets make everyone happy; they've become an American institution, a social and cultural custom that preserves the spirit of the day. Because they're a grand way of celebrating Mother's Day, I've visited a dozen of the area's most popular Sunday buffets.
For the most part, normal Sunday buffets feature an abundance of specially prepared foods. On Mother's Day they will be embellished even more with distinctive drinks, additional roasts, a more lavish display of desserts, plus gardens of vegetables and forests of salads.
Oscar's at the Sheraton
Perhaps the classiest of all the buffets. Even the background music is superb with a pianist gently tickling the ivories while you're dining. Not only is the food top-drawer, everything is nicely presented on several carefully decorated islands.
At the omelet station, a chef entertains while deftly preparing your order. After several air-borne flips, my Western omelet emerged puffy and succulent.
Roast beef and ham, both tender and of excellent flavor, are carved to your specifications. A vast assortment of salads, seafoods, fresh vegetables and other entree specialties tempt and seduce. It's all of excellent quality, and I highly recommend this buffet.
I-581 and Hershberger Road, Roanoke. 362-4500.
Lily's in the Roanoke Marriott
Tasty vegetable medleys and an assortment of seafood and fish dishes dominate the tables and more than compensate for other shortcomings. An ocean of spicy, steamed shrimp surround an enormous and delicious baked whitefish, all accompanied with several sauces.
Huge chafing dishes along the center of the room contain a cornucopia of side-dish and entree delights. The handles of the serving utensils are thoughtfully wrapped in napkins, making it comfortable for you to help yourself.
The dishwasher produces spotted, cloudy glasses (I exchanged three) and the food has its faults. Roast beef and baked ham require too much chewing, and then there's no guarantee it can be swallowed. Biscuits are picture-pretty, large and too crumbly. Big, beautiful Belgian waffles would not soften even when drenched with lakes of melted butter and oceans of warm syrup.
Fresh fruits and tempting desserts are welcomed endings to a meal enhanced by beautiful music from the piano.
Exit 3 west off I-581, Roanoke. 563-9300.i
Starkey's Bistro at The Holiday Inn, Tanglewood
Each of the Holiday Inns has its own style, hospitality and quality of food. Starkey's has the best food and the most professional service personnel.
Among the hot items, I especially enjoyed the tender, succulent roast pork and the expertly prepared fried chicken breast served with an unusual chutney-style sauce. My favorite cold dishes included the steamed shrimp surrounded with the dice and blackened halibut, the raw vegetables and the fresh fruit salad. There is an abundance of everything, and it's all attractively presented.
774-4400.
Ziggy's at the Civic Center Holiday Inn
A friendly, attentive staff made this one of the most pleasant meals, despite the ordinary food. I delighted in the huge pieces of fried chicken with crispy skin and the vibrant, dewy fresh fruit salad of strawberries, honeydew, cantaloupe and seedless grapes. Tender roast beef and ham were carved to order and served with appropriate sauces. If you enjoy puddings, they reign supreme on the dessert table along with frosted sheet cakes.
342-8961.
Fox Hunt Restaurant at the Airport Holiday Inn
Although the hostess was welcoming and warm, the service personnel were barely attentive to my needs. Several raw vegetables in the salad bar department and a few more hot and cold dishes plus a greater assortment of desserts comprise the differences between this and the Civic Center Holiday Inn.
366-8861.
Belle's at the Central Holiday Inn
If it hadn't been for the perfect Western omelet that I had here, this would have been a forgettable experience. Cooked "dry" to order, the omelet was still moist and fluffy and lavishly speckled with a myriad of colorful, tasty chopped ingredients. The cold salad bar contained fresh, attractive makings, crunchy go-alongs with my omelet.
Nine hot buffet items weren't worth the calories, and I lost my appetite when I saw one of the staff replenishing the dessert table while wearing a very food-stained apron.
343-0121.
Hunan Garden
An 11-item buffet embraces several popular Chinese dishes: an excellent General Tso's chicken but lackluster shrimp with vegetables and beef with vegetables; a tasteless lo mein and dull fried rice. The high spot was the fresh fruit plate of orange and pineapple slices. Hunan can do much better than this for a Sunday buffet. They should also consider cleaning their carpet.
2923 Franklin Road, Roanoke. 342-5343.
Szechuan
In my not-so-humble opinion, this is the best of all the Chinese Sunday buffets I attended. Unquestionably fresh food with definite levels of seasonings, a scrupulously clean dining room and attentive personnel make this a recommended place. Nowhere else do green beans taste so exciting.
5207 Barnard Drive, Roanoke. 989-7947.
The Home Place
One of the most popular places ever. Definitely not a buffet but a served meal, and they say you can have as much as you want for the single base price. Their family-style meal features favorite regional dishes including the ever-present fried chicken.
It's a known fact that all chicken breasts are not created equal, but here they tend to get smaller with each request for more, and there are variations at the same table even in the sizes of the first servings.
4968 Catawba Valley Drive (Virginia 311), Catawba. 384-7252.
Traditions at the Radisson Patrick Henry Hotel
Although the Mother's Day grand buffet will be held in the Jefferson Ballroom, I found an impressive-looking array of food in their quiet dining room. Of special note were the pork chops with an abundance of shiitake mushrooms. Although the meat was tender, the exotic mushrooms were curiously tough and still had their woody stems attached.
But I'd come a hundred miles for the chef's incredible Western omelet, a bowlful of the colorful mesclun salad mix and the light, luscious triple-layered fresh coconut cake.
South Jefferson Street, downtown Roanoke. 342-7552.
Fiji Island
Although this place has been here for a long time, its 11-item Sunday buffet is woebegone. It's a mish-mash of Americanized pan-Asian ingredients. Even the egg roll is unfortunate: a thick, heavy clunker.
627 Townside Road, Roanoke. 343-2552, 343-6151.
Shoney's
The old reliable offers a 40-item buffet of filling, popular, familiar foods that covers the whole nine yards. Prices are right, service personnel are attentive and friendly, food wells are scrupulously maintained and the dining room is clean. On Mother's Day be sure to pick up your coupon for the free strawberry pie and fill out the chance for the Caribbean trip.
3865 Electric Road, Roanoke. 989-3533.
Dolores Kostelni has been a restaurant consultant, manager and chef.
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