I absolutely love Golden Corral. Always have!
Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been over the years to enjoy their dinner buffet, and it’s held up surprisingly well over the years.
But of course, the world is changing, and as buffets (and restaurants, for that matter) are under pressure, more and more have upped their game.
There are now even some whose fans would claim they’re better than Golden Corral…
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Are they right?
Well, that’s for you to decide.
But here are twelve who have a reasonable case to make, starting with:
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Where you’ll find them: There are about 20 Ponderosas left, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
All about the buffet: I’m leaving aside their steaks here, but they’re also great. My favorite thing from their buffet is the fried chicken, but the chicken biscuit pie is fun and the pizza is solid. You can easily get a great meal for not a whole lot of money.
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Where you’ll find them: Sizzler’s a West Coast chain, so you won’t find one east of Albuquerque. (Except in Puerto Rico.)
All about the buffet: My personal favorite part of the Sizzler buffet is the unlimited wings. It’s like game day, every day. (You’ll also enjoy their taco bar, and unlimited soft serve to finish it off!)
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Where you’ll find them: Sprinkled throughout the South and Midwest, there are a ton of Shoney’s in eastern Tennessee, but they’re as far north as Pittsburgh and as far west as Oklahoma.
All about the buffet: I think Shoney’s is probably the best breakfast buffet I’ve ever had at a chain restaurant? The French toast sticks, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns (plus some jello for dessert) pretty much covers all the bases for me.
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Where you’ll find them: Texas de Brazil is in 23 states, plus several foreign countries (especially in the Middle East – UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia).
All about the buffet: Texas de Brazil has a delicious and extensive salad buffet with lots of delicious cheese…but the real main event is the staff carrying skewers of meats around, then carving off bits table-side at your request. They bring the best parts of the buffet straight to you!
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Where you’ll find them: Big Boy is in five states – Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Nevada, and California.
All about the buffet: Big Boy runs straightforward breakfast and dinner buffets every day, with great quality food and tons of it. Some of them even have a seafood buffet on Friday nights – plus, kids under age 5 eat free with an adult buffet purchase, so there’s lot of great options, especially for anyone looking to spend carefully.
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Where you’ll find them: Cici’s is in 22 states, with most locations in the South (especially Texas) but outposts sprinkled throughout the Midwest.
All about the buffet: Some may turn their noses at this one, but the buffet is a good combo of traditional pizza favorites (pepperoni, cheese, sausage, cheesy bread) and really innovative stuff (pizza topped with macaroni, apple cinnamon dessert pizza, etc.). Plus, you get access to their unlimited salad and pasta bars too!
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Where you’ll find them: Pizza Hut is pretty much everywhere in the USA, although buffets are somewhat less common.
All about the buffet: Probably my favorite pizza buffet? It’s just like Pizza Hut delivery, but instead of picking a couple of pizzas, you can try them all, and it’s all hot!
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Where you’ll find them: Fogo de Chao is in 25 states (including DC) and has several locations in Brazil and Mexico.
All about the buffet: It’s a lot like Texas de Brazil – just a little bit better! At Fogo you can load up on tons of great food at the buffet, and they’ll bring cuts of freshly grilled meat to your table for you to sample at will.
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Where you’ll find them: Pizza Ranch is all over “flyover country” in the middle of the USA – think lots of locations in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. (It’s also in growth mode, with five more locations planned in the immediate future.)
All about the buffet: My favorite thing about Pizza Ranch is that they work to give you the best of both worlds. You can do a “buffet your way” and ask for any pizza to be added to the buffet…and not only will they make it, they’ll deliver the first slice to you, too. How’s that for service?
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Where you’ll find them: Like Pizza Ranch, HuHot is a Midwestern staple, with loads of locations in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota. They’re in 17 states total, mostly in the middle of the USA.
All about the buffet: I love me a good stiry fry. And what stir fry is better than the one you make for yourself? HuHot gives you all the ingredients at the buffet, and then you can pile up your dish. It’s one of my favorite options any time I’m visiting family in Nebraska.
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Where you’ll find them: Pancho’s used to be in several states, but they’ve gradually declined and only have a couple locations left in Texas.
All about the buffet: Pancho’s is really dedicated to the buffet concept; they only have half a dozen food options that aren’t on the buffet menu.
It’s all the junk Mexican food you could want. Imagine unlimited enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas, taquitos, guac, and more.
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Where you’ll find them: Idaho and Utah, with about a dozen locations total.
All about the buffet: It’s a great balance of American comfort foods. Fried chicken, ham, turkey, roast beef, fries, mac & cheese, soups and salads (including pasta salad and fruit salad), and the best dessert bar I’ve seen. Bread pudding, apple crisp, carrot cake, lava cake (!), rice pudding, oreo cake…it’s all there.
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I couldn’t leave without giving Golden Corral its due. After all, there’s a reason it’s the standard everyone compares themselves to!
Where you’ll find them: Golden Corral has locations in 39 states plus Puerto Rico.
All about the buffet: Steak and shrimp, baked potato, fudge brownies, and fruit cobbler – what more could you want for dinner? Fried chicken? Bourbon Street chicken? Stuffing, cinnamon apples, maybe soft serve ice cream with hot fudge? Great. You can get it all at Golden Corral.
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So there you have it – twelve buffets whose fans would definitely claim they’re better than Golden Corral.
Obviously they’re all a little different from each other, but the one thing they all have in common is great buffet food.
Of course, that begs the real question:
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What do YOU think?
Is Golden Corral still #1, or has one of these beaten it?
Or is there a different buffet you love even more?
Let us know in the comments!
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