Pondergrossa

[tonyo]

So, our 5 year old daughter decided that she wanted to experience a buffet.  I tried to tell her that buffet was French for "large amounts of awful food served trough style".  Unfortunately, sitting at the red light at Tafts Corners gave her a birdseye view of the apparently happy grazers at Pondergrossa.  A lesson was about to be taught.

First, any restaurant that uses the phrase "put on your eatin' pants" as a marketing tool tells you all you really need to know.  Judging from the crowd that  Sunday afternoon, they had just come from Walmart where they had picked up a pair of sweats to allow their swollen waistlines to expand a bit further. 

The "food" was almost surreal in it's level of awfulness.  I mean how many ways can you serve chicken ?  It was like a TV dinner on steroids.

This really is all that is wrong with food in America.  To me, this is even worse than fast
food because it encourages people to over eat.  Like most of us, I could afford to drop a few pounds, but looking around, the average person chowing down was very obese, including the children.

We left, $28.00 lighter, and bewildered.  I asked my daughter what she thought, to which she replied "gross". 

Lesson learned indeed.................

[Undead Molly]

Oh. My. God. Now I have to go there for anthropological reasons.

I wonder if all the staff have to be trained in CPR? Places like that must have above-average numbers of choking and/or heart attack incidents.

[Alice Levitt]

First of all, buffets don't have to be awful. Maybe as a treat, you should take your daughter to Sunday brunch at The Essex or here. Or maybe you don't want to create a buffet monster, as my parents did by regularly taking me to Indian lunches and here.

But on to Ponderosa. I kind of like it, in a horrible way. I haven't been in a few years, but if you want an ironic meal, it can be fun. The people-watching alone is worth it. I have never seen so many wheelchairs and oxygen tanks outside a hospital.

There are a couple of dishes that I legitimately like, too. The fried chicken is crispy and surprisingly well-seasoned. My mom likes the meatloaf so much, she has ordered catering trays, which she freezes and takes out a slice as necessary. I think it adds up to less than a dollar a meal.

And there are so many different colors of Jell-O! It reminds me of one of my favorite vacation spots, Pigeon Forge, TN. Plus, you can't go wrong with self-serve soft-serve.

[tonyo]

I agree that some buffets can be truly wonderful as shown in your link or a trip to Vegas (where they actually sell t-shirts that say "Where's the Buffet").  Such places seem to be the exception from my experience.  Take a stroll through the line at Orchid East and the shear horror of Asian cuisine gone wrong will fill your nightmares for weeks !   Thanks for sharing the link to the spot in Montreal!

[bigfatty]

After laughing myself silly reading about Pondergrossa, I thought about several memorable buffets I've had the pleasure of feasting at.  Most recently (and recurrently) the Le Montrealais Mediterranean Brunch at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal comes to mind.  There is a axiom that states you don't dine at a hotel restaurant if you're not a guest there, especially in a gastrotown like Montreal.
Le Montrealais is the exception, defining what a upscale, totally outrageous buffet complete with harpist  is all about.  $31.00 buys you a carving station with Lamb, Roast Beef, & Turkey, a salad bar that has amazing compound salads, sliced european meats including parma procuitto, chilled salmons, shrimps, and various antipasti elements, a Crepe station that provides Crepes Suzette and homemade waffles with all the goodies.  That's just getting started!  Add a Gaspacho, calamari, mussels with lemongrass, cannelloni with a rosee sauce, penne with smoked salmon and procuitto, a chef prepared pasta and omelette station, roast of mahi mahi, oh my!!!
Then, if that isn't enough, add Provencal style tomato, Two-toned zucchini with olive oil and parsley,
Pan-fried pimentos with basil, Small grelot potatoes with sage butter, and Polenta with sun-dried tomatoes and gorgonzola.  Finally there is a dessert bar, prepared by the chefs of the Beaver Club, that defies description. You have to see for yourself.  There are 2 seatings that are packed so make reservations.

[Alice Levitt]

Thanks for the recommendation, bigfatty, sounds excellent!