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| - Bleh.
So I had been to Aliante's buffet a few times before, but the last time I was there I would say was about a year ago. In the past it had served its purpose: a cheap way to fill up on a weekend afternoon without having to stray too far from my house. There were always enough vegetarian options to leave me full and tons of desserts to share with my husband.
This past weekend, however, showed me that this buffet had taken a big turn for the worse. There were hardly any veg-friendly items, and what I could find was not good. There were several occasions when I took one bite of something and then left the rest to sit on my plate.
The noticeable trend was that nothing was fresh or made from scratch. The tomatoes in the marinated salad were soft and just a day shy needing to be thrown out. The lettuce at the salad bar tasted like a sweaty foot. I'm pretty sure the mac 'n cheese was made with Velveeta. The hush puppies were completely dried out like they had been sitting under a heat lamp for 6 hours. I looked at the different pastas and sauces and they appeared to have been sitting out for far too long, so I didn't even bother trying any of it out. The vegetables they offered all looked like they had been frozen and then steamed into oblivion. Again, I just didn't bother.
The chow mein was completely inedible. I want to say they used spaghetti noodles (not positive, though) and the noodles were overcooked and just covered in a thick, nasty grease. One bite and I was done.
The only things that were "ok" to me were the pizza, mashed potatoes, and desserts.
The buffet is only $7 for lunch, so I guess you get what you pay for. A year or two ago, I'd walk away feeling full and thinking it was a good value despite the fact that as a vegetarian I can only eat a small portion of what they offer. But after this fiasco, I will be spending my $7 elsewhere.
For all you non-vegetarians, I would say that $7 is still a really good deal....unless they managed to screw up every single item they offer. Which at this point, I would believe to be completely possible.
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