Whether you're trying to stretch your food dollar, expand your limited palate, or just enjoy pigging out every once in a while, the all-you-can-eat buffet offers something for everyone. It's enticing because it presents a challenge to the diner: either you leave proud, but with intense gastrointestinal distress, or you eat just one plate's worth and end up feeling ashamed, knowing that the buffet has been victorious, and you overpaid.
The all-you-can-eat buffet is now more commonly referred to as just a "buffet," a term that dates back to 18th century France, indicating the way in which the food was served - on a buffet table or sideboard - instead of the quantity consumed. The first all-you-can-eat buffet was introduced in the mid-1940's by a hotel manager in (shocker) Las Vegas. By the 1960's and 70's buffet chains like Ponderosa and Golden Corral had spread across the country. But as any true buffet aficionado will tell you, the best buffet foods are found at local establishments, and Rochester has plenty to offer. From the upscale to diner fare; from foreign food to American cuisine; from brunch to lunch to dinner, local buffets provide smorgasbords to please even the pickiest of eaters.
The good life
Though Rochester is more than 2000 miles away from Las Vegas, a short trip to Farmington provides an experience somewhat akin to the neon city. The Vineyard Buffet, tucked inside the Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack (5857 Route 96, 924-3232; $13.95 lunch and brunch, $17.95 dinner), offers both the wide selection and quantity of a Sin City buffet, replete with "cha-ching" noises as you dine, courtesy of the slot machines just outside the restaurant. The buffet is deceptively small, offering a carving station with two meats, a wide array of seafood, and Southwestern and Italian dishes. But the icing on the cake is the giant dessert buffet in the middle of the room, serving homemade cakes, brownies, cookies, éclairs, and an ice cream sundae bar with all the fixings.
With breathtaking views of Rochester accompanying high-class dishes, Horizons Restaurant at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa (199 Woodcliff Dr, 248-4825; $22 adults, $11 children), offers a singular Sunday brunch experience that changes each week. The spread always includes a carving station, an omelet bar, at least three to four entrees specially prepared by chef Steve Wilkinson, a wide selection of desserts by pastry chef Michelle Carlson, and some more exotic dishes like Israeli cous cous salad and blintzes.
For an experience that will please adults and children alike, head to the beach - Crescent Beach (1372 Edgemere Dr, 227-3600; $18.99 adults, $8.99 children) - for the Sunday Champagne brunch. While adults can enjoy the all-you-can-eat crab, prime rib, and, of course, the champagne (after noon), kids will enjoy watching donuts being made fresh and then moving down a conveyor belt, ready for the picking.
Mario's Italian Steakhouse (2740 Monroe Ave, 271-1111; $21.95 adults, $12.95 children) has also been offering upscale fair at its Sunday brunch for the past 12 years. The restaurant features more than 70 different items each week. The piece de resistance is the pasta wheel, a giant wheel of parmesan crafted into a bowl with piping-hot pasta tossed in, which melts the cheese and flavors the pasta concurrently. Considering one giant wheel of parmesan costs more than a $1000, the dish is rarely imitated. Diners can finish off their meal (if there's room) by dipping fresh fruit into Mario's chocolate and caramel fountains.
Bring on the comfort food
Enjoying oodles of posh food certainly has its appeal, but sometimes there's nothing better than a belly full of comfort food, and Patty's Pantry (2485 Dewey Ave, 621-2010; $8.95) offers a Sunday brunch that fits the bill. Mounds of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits may be standard brunch buffet fare, but Patty's also offers some more unusual selections, like orange blossom-infused French toast, or its most popular buffet item, potato bake, a breakfast casserole loaded with potatoes, bacon, and cheese.
With at least a dozen different Chinese buffet restaurants and a handful of Indian buffets, foreign cuisine is possibly the most common buffet type in Rochester. While there are many to choose from, one Chinese buffet is a standout among the rest. China Buffet (376 Jefferson Rd, 427-0240; price varies) offers three full aisles of Chinese food, with favorites like General Tso's chicken, fried rice and lo mein, as well as sushi, a made-to-order stir fry bar, and a salad bar. Just up the road in Henrietta is Thali of India (3259 South Winton Rd, 427-8030; $8.99 lunch, $10.99 dinner), offering both a lunch buffet on weekdays and a dinner buffet every Monday night.
Once you've had your fill of foreign cuisine, you may want to dine on something a bit more local. Martino's (1742 Long Pond Rd, 247-5030; $8.99 adults, $4.50 children) offers a truly Western New York-style buffet: all-you-can-eat Buffalo wings. Formerly known as Tano's, this pizza-and-wing joint puts out a dozen different flavors of chicken wings, cheesy bread, and, of course, celery and blue cheese every Wednesday night. And if you can't dream of eating wings without pizza, you can stop by Dandrea's Pizza and Pasta (750 Ridge Rd W, 730-8180; $6.99) for its Tuesday-night pizza buffet. Expect three types of pizza, plus an appetizer bar with items like wings, mozzarella sticks, and battered mushrooms.
And, finally, bringing the buffet full circle to its French origins, the downtown location of Simply Crêpes (114 South Ave, in the Monroe County Central Library, 428-8300; $15.99 adults, $10.99 children) offers a Sunday crêpe brunch for people who are more specific in their buffet cravings. You can sample a variety of the eatery's most popular brunch dishes, including crêpes Benedict, turkey gouda, and oatmeal crème brulée.
With a vast assortment of all-you-can-eat buffets to please every mood, taste, and wallet size, Rochester can surely say, "With God as our witness, we will never be hungry again!"