Buffets: Grazing humans

An inside peek to some of Bowling Green's finer buffets.

Welcome to Hunan Buffet. This guy likes it and I know why. Hunan has just about everything you could ask for from a Chinese buffet at a reasonable price. It says on the menu it features over 60 items daily. I didn't count but I wouldn't doubt it.

Hunan is great, and barely $6 for lunch.

Old Town Buffet has a few more options than Hunan, but not many. Old Town offers a Mongolian bar and a few more familiar American foods.

The atmoshphere may be Chinese but the options aren't limited. Featuring everything from Salt and Pepper Squid to Pepperoni Pizza, Crab Legs on Fridays and Saturdays, this place has it all.

You can rent out space for gatherings. Birthdays receive a dance, song and cake. Overall a real comfortable family environment.

Hunan and Old Town buffets looks great, but King buffet's price looks better...

A five dollar lunch and a six dollar lunch ain't nothin. Especially with a 10 percent discount for showing a BGSU student I.D.

King Buffet sure doesn't have as many options.

But does it really matter when it's all you can eat?

Tofurkey

Gobble! Gobble! - The turkey imitation so often uttered in spirit of Thanksgiving. But what sound does imitation turkey make? I've never come across wild Tofu.

Yesterday at my family's Thanksgiving feast, my vegetarian cousin provided the talk of the table. It wasn't the creamy mashed potatoes, the Swiss grits, the stuffing or the delicately carved turkey which sparked conversation. What everyone was talking about, but not necessarily enjoying, was the turkey without the tryptophan: The Tofurkey.

I solute Tofurkey for providing an avenue for vegetarians to remain traditional, but I do not commend it on taste. If you are not a vegetarian there is really no reason to try the Tofurkey since turkey is a pretty lean to begin with. Sure the Tofurkey has it's advantages; low fat, easy to prep and no nap required post consumption, but that all comes at a tasteless price.

The Tofurkey is a rounded log of tofu with a wild-rice-stuffing running through the center. When the Tofurkey is sliced, there is a round disk of Tofurkey with a hole in the middle filled with the wild-rice-stuffing, not a bad presentation. But the Tofurkey really doesn't taste anything like turkey. The texture is chewier than tofu, but still not even close to the texture of real turkey. It really just tastes like Rice-A-Roni pilaf.

My Aunt said she enjoyed it topped with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy - the way most Thanksgiving plates turn out. So if you don't eat the bird on Thanksgiving but want to remain somewhat traditional, eat the soy variation with a lot of other flavorful sides that will mask the bland, monotonous taste of Tofurkey.

Easy Street, more like Meatball Avenue

Latley I have been on a mission which I recieved from a craving. A craving for a giant Meatball Sub. I had trouble finding one that satisfied my hunger last week, but tonight I believe I found exactly what I was looking for.

Easy Street Cafe's Meatball Sub comes with three giant meatballs that are bulging out of a toasted bun, covered with a classic marinara sauce and melted mozerella. It's a classic Meatball Sub and I ate every last bite. But the crux of the sub wasn't really how it was compiled, but how it was served. It comes served in a small casarole dish which my waitress, Lindsay, said it is baked in until the cheese melts and the edges of the bun get dark. I believe a great meatball sub will always be one that requires a fork and knife, and I would hate to see anybody try to pick up one these fat slobs. Lindsay said she has seen some terrible meatball fumbles. The sub was great although I can't say much for the fries that came at an extra charge. They where a bit saturated, comparable to Steak Escape's fries. So I tip my hat to Easy Street and their giant meatball sandwich. Meatball Sandwich - 6.99 Add Fries ----------- 0.95 16 oz Bass ---------- 4.25 Total ----------> $12.23

Reverend Chico's

I did an article on this place before it opened and the owners made it sound great. But who wouldn't talk up their own restaurant? So I decided to check this place out for myself to see if they are all they claimed to be. Based on four categories, Ambiance, Service, Drinks, and Meal, I rated the restaurant. I combined Plating and Taste into one category, Meal, because I wanted to make way for a new category which college students care a little more about than the way their food looks on the plate, booze. Five points can be awarded to each category Ambiance. 5 Reverend Chico's is in the old Cosmos coffee spot. If you remember what Cosmos looked inside, you will understand why I gave Chico's a perfect 5.

With six flat screens, street wall windows and tall tables, Chico's provides a comfortable dim lit atmosphere. This place really looks great. I think they really did a great job at incorporating a Latino theme without going over the top, like a ChiChi's or DonPablo's. It's an overall comfortable, classy environment.

Service. 3

Since all of the food is carefully prepared, such as the papaya is sliced and fried instead of dumped from a bag in the freezer, a little wait is tolerable. Chico's has two service options. You can either order at a window or give your order to a server. This is a good option for customers, but I think it will take a while untill all of the kinks are worked out. Advice; if you sit down at a table, definitely order from a server.

Drinks. 4

I had their house Margarita and a tall Amber Boch. The reason why I chose them is the same reason I scored Chico's drinks a 4 and not a 5, the price. Even though Chico's has great happy hour deals and late night specials, the drinks are a little pricey. So go during happy hour or after 9 for affordable drink specials that wont break your wallet. I heard the house Sangria and "Mo-chico" mojitos are wonderful. The house Margarita is made without sweet and sour mix, instead with a simple syrup and lime juice so that the drink isn't overwhelmingly sour. Word.

Meal. 5

I had the BBQ Pork Tacos and some Plantain Chips, and they where delicious. The pork was sweet and tender and the tortilla hugged them neatly. I have had plantain before but never plantain chips. I would compare them to potato skins but with a hint of something sweet. I was expecting more of a banana presence in the taste, put I was mistaken. I know it's unfair to rank a restaurant on one dish, but I really enjoyed my meal and so did everybody else I asked. Reverend Chico's provides a new exciting flavor to the area that larger Latino restaurant chains can't and is practically just as affordable.

My meal...

• Amber Boch $2.00 happy hour
• House Margarita $2.50 drink special
• Plantain Chips $2.00
• BBQ Pork Tacos (3) $6.00

Total - $12.50 and some change Reverend Chico's final score... 17/20

Doritos got me Blue

A new product has made it's way onto shelves and into the hearts of many Doritos fans, though it has left me feeling a bit indifferent. The Collision combines two flavors in one bag, as if one flavor accidentally ran a red light or vered into oncoming flavors. But Doritos stepped it up a notch by creating brand new flavors that are complementary to one another. The two flavors on shelves as of now are; Hot Wings & Blue Cheese and Zesty Taco & Chipotle Ranch. I have not had the Zesty Taco & Chipotle Ranch, but I have had Hot Wings & Blue Cheese and it left me a little satisfied but mostly frustrated. Being a huge fan of Blue Cheese I knew that I would enjoy the new bag. Blue Cheese is perfect for Hot Wings, its like peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, nothing goes better together. But what about Blue Cheese & Blue Cheese? After a few handfuls I began sifting through the Hot Wings and going directly for the Blue Cheese Doritos. I want a bag of Blue Cheese Doritos with no Hot Wings, but unfortunatly that is impossible since they are only available in the Collision bags. Doritos gave me a gift and then gave me a chore. I would like to see Blue Cheese Doritos in bag all to itself, but in the mean time I am just going to have to find somebody who feels the way I do, but about Hot Wings, and share bag.

Meal Ready-to-Eat, the G.I. treat

The U.S. Army's Meal Ready-to-Eat is the most impressive advances in speedy meal preperation that I've ever seen. Check out this video and see for yourself. http://media.www.bgnews.com/media/storage/paper883/news/2007/09/21/WebMultimedia/M.r-e.Gi.Treat-2982945.shtml

Mosquito Bandito

It seems the most popular treat this week has got to be blood. Bowling Green is one big Blood Buffet.

These damn mosquitoes are eating us alive. If you can show me one person without a bite I will show you a person who hasn't gone outside in a week. I had to stop wearing sandals because my feet and ankles seem to be a delicacy among the mosquitoes. I also have some pretty tasty flesh on the back of my neck, dang skeeters be drilling there like it's Saudi Arabia.

Itching, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis, West Nile, Avian Bird Flu and death.

It's bad enough that Bowling Green is a swamp, a Mosquito cesspool but I've never seen a truck drive around and spray for them at night.

Where I am from, a truck used to come out at night and spray chemicals in the air to manage the swarms of bloodsuckers. According to Kent Reichert, public works supervisor and city worker for 22 and a half years, Bowling Green hasn't sprayed for mosquitoes for quite a while but does use a doughnut type device that gets tossed into standing water when mosquito levels are high. The doughnut defense doesn't seem to be doing a very great job, maybe we should learn from our neighbor, Toledo, and spray for some skeeters.

So if you see me out this weekend, don't ask me what fragrance I'm wearing because the answer is clear. Mosquito repellent baby, a dab behind each ear.

Gator Basket

Yesterday, after watching the Buckeyes beat on Akron, I went over to the Black Swamp Arts Festival to get some lunch from one of the many vendors. As soon as I got there I saw a friend of mine stumbling out of the festival. I told him I was getting some food and he strongly recomended the Gator Basket.

At first, I thought "Oh sweet, I've never had gator before, and how appropriate for the Black Swamp," and then I started having second thoughts, and thought of three solid reasons why I shouldn't get the fried gator bites.

1. I hate alligators. They are cold blooded, cold hearted reptiles that kill people all the time.

2. It probably tastes like a swamp or an aquarium.

3. I am still sour about the Gator's dual NCAA championship victories last year.

And then my good companion opened my eyes. All of the reasons I hade for not eating the gator are the real reasons why I should eat the gator.

I should eat the gator for all the alligator biten victims in the world. I should bite back and not let my prejudices stand in the way of exploring new tastes. So I ordered the Gator Basket.

Sure enough it didn't taste like the Everglades, it was really pretty good. Yeah, most things fried do taste good and I would hate to say it tastes like chicken, but alligator meat really does taste like chicken, chewy chicken.

So eating the gator didn't just taste good, it felt good too.