Russ' Culinary Adventures: Golden Corral

(The photos above were taken with an iPhone 6s+)

I have been waiting a while for this particular Golden Corral to open since I saw it was under construction in the early Summer of 2018. Seems it was being considered since at least April 2018 but it took them until the Christmas season of 2018 to open... so today (Jan 2, 2019), I decided to go for lunch to check it out.

I had been to another Golden Corral several times in Gurnee (near Six Flags - Great America), but I always thought the food was a bit sub-par. I wanted to see if they were going to do the same at this new restaurant.

The Golden Corral in Arlington Heights, IL takes over the space previously occupied by Old Country Buffet. While the tables, chairs and food stations are all new, the layout is quite similar to how it was laid out at the former Old Country Buffet! It's near identical in fact!

Being new, it was definitely nice looking and clean. Waitstaff and cashiers were friendly and helpful. My waitress came by at least 3 times... once to say hello and get me some water (I did not order the additional soft drink option). Later, she stopped by to see how I was doing and to ask if I'd like a second cup of water. Finally, she was by again asking if I wanted coffee (I don't drink coffee so I kindly declined.). There are no stations for you to get your own drinks (even water), so you must rely on the waitstaff to get it for you.

The food was very typical. I've included a lot of photos on this post so you can see what is offered for lunch. While there were plenty of things to get, I ended up getting basically the same kinds of foods I would have gotten at Old Country Buffet or at the Gurnee version of Golden Corral. Fried chicken, baked chicken, popcorn shrimp, beef stew (tender, but a bit dry, as I expected), Mac & Cheese, potato salad, deviled egg, macaroni salad, pulled pork (surprisingly good, but I suspect perhaps liquid smoke? I don't really know), corn, potatoes with cheese, tuna salad, steamed fish, pie, a cookie and ice cream.

All were actually pretty decent, but nothing that I'd say stuck out as spectacular. Still, for the $9.99 lunch price, I thought it was good. I didn't eat as much as I know I can put away. I am still on a diet after all. :)

I would say that the selections might be a bit more at the Gurnee location but I prefer the clean look of this new restaurant. Foods I did not get include carved ham, cheese burgers, pizza (didn't look too good... just the typical buffet pizza), salad and a bunch of other foods I'd consider fillers like mashed potatoes, fries, various versions of rice, stuffing, spaghetti, tacos (although I do like tacos!). While it looks like there are lots of choices offered, really there isn't if you consider a whole food station is almost dedicated to the various ingredients to make one typical salad. The "real" food comes down to a variety of chicken options, the pot roast, the pulled pork, two versions of fish, the ham and not much else. It would be nice if there were some more beef or pork options.

By the way, Golden Corral is known for their fountain of chocolate for you to dip things into. You can see it by the dessert area in the photos above. I've always wondered about this thing. Do they change out the chocolate every day? And who knows what gets dipped into that thing from other guests? No thanks. Perhaps the cotton candy that is cellophane wrapped on the wall is a better choice for the kids!

Dinner is $15.49 per person. I don't know what they offer for that extra $5.50, but I probably will not go for dinner since it's likely to be similar with a few more items at best. The best value is likely to be lunch for $9.99.

I will go back for lunches. While buffet restaurants are not known to offer great food, the food here seemed typical, but relatively decent in quality.
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Update: I went back on Jan 10 for lunch. A lot more people there! I guess the word is out that they are now open. But really, the food was pretty much the same. Very basic items. The best thing this time was probably the fried chicken, but hey... it's just fried chicken! I made sure to get a taco this time and also the clam chowder. No big deal on the clam chowder, but the taco was ok.

The beef stew was good this time. I think the addition of the gravy helped it out. The meat loaf was typical. Tater tots were hard. The pie was very good again. I think it was the same chocolate pie. The fudge tasted a bit strange though.

I got to try out my new camera on these two shots... a Canon G7x Mk II. The photos the first time I went here was taken with my iPhone 6s+. YouTubers tend to use the Canon camera for blogging, but I wanted it because it's an advanced point and shoot camera that I can carry with me in a small case on my belt. Its size makes it less conspicuous than a big DSLR, but it has all the features I need to set things manually if I want. It has great low light ability with a high ISO of 12,800 and an f1.8 maximum aperture at full wide angle. With a full frame equivalent lens of 24-100mm and a variable aperture of f1.8 to f2.8, it should make it easy to shoot a variety of situtations. I also used a Manfrotto Pixi Mini tripod which was very easy to use to get a nice lower angle shot of the plate.

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Update: I went back one more time to Golden Coral on January 21, 2019. This time, the place was totally packed! It was a National Holiday - Martin Luther King Day, so kids were out of school. You could see that people were probably missing the Old Country Buffet that used to be at this location and were glad there was a replacement buffet!

I ate pretty much the same things as the menu doesn't really change all that much. They added a couple of basic dishes but nothing really extraordinary. The old staples of pot roast, fried chicken, pulled pork (I still wonder how theirs taste so smokey for a buffet), corn, breading, pies (yes, I had the same chocolate pie and it's still good). The waitress was really friendly too, but the report card she left on my table was already filled out before I could do it! Not sure if she accidentally left me a filled out card from another guest or if she pre-filled it out! ;)

(The photos below were taken with the Canon G7xMkII point and shoot camera)

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Went back to the buffet with my future son-in-law on Jan 27 for the Sunday Brunch. I was surprised they had steak, so I had to have two of them! Apparently the steaks (and hot wings) are available daily after 4 PM (dinner) or after 11 AM on Sundays. I assume they charge dinner rates after 11 AM on Sundays? We arrived at 10:45 AM, so we must have beat the dinner prices.

Typical breakfast items were included this time... bacon, scrambled eggs, omelets, and breakfast sausages. I took a photo of the grill master making the steak. It wasn't too bad! Price was $9.99 for this brunch but I had an online coupon for free soft drinks by signing up on their website. Later in the day, I got an email coupon for $2 off lunch buffets for the coming week, Monday - Friday.

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1-31-19: I had been cooped up inside all week, especially since Chicago had its coldest days this week as low as -25 degrees, so I decided to go out for lunch... back to Golden Corral. Why I keep coming here, I don't know, but it was probably because they had emailed a $2 lunch discount coupon to me. Because the price isn't too expensive ($8.89 with tax this time) and I get a variety of foods at the same time and don't need to wait, it's an easy thing to come here for lunch.

I seem to get the same things over and over... fried chicken thighs, pot roast (a bit salty this time), pulled chicken, corn, seafood salad, stuffing, taco, potato salad, steamed fish, fried catfish, Spanish rice, the same chocolate pie, carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies and a swirl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

I sat next to a table of restaurant workers who were having their lunch. It was interesting to see that they ate quite a bit of the same foods I did. At least they eat what they serve and didn't order out! ;)

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2-4-19: One more time. Yup... same stuff... fried chicken, meatloaf, fried ravioli, popcorn shrimp, potato salad, seafood salad, corn, taco, fried catfish, scrambled eggs... but they added cheeseburgers, so I tried one. While the bread was a bit stale from being out there for a while it was grilled up because you could taste it and see it on the bun. Overall, it wasn't too bad. Like I said before, the food here is just everyday basic food. But with a $2 emailed discount lunch coupon (again), the cost was only $8.89 with tax. It isn't bad if you want a lot to eat, want some variety and want dessert as well. I had chocolate/vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, pecan pie and of course, the chocolate pie! The photos below was taken with my iPhone 6s+.