With the strong Canadian Dollar these days, everything in the US seems like a bargain. Just a couple of weeks ago, we found cheap airfares from Bellingham to Las Vegas (and Reno). We tried booking tickets from the website but to our dismay, they wanted to charge something like $60 in total for convenience fees. However, if we were to buy the tickets from the ticketing counter in the Bellingham airport, we will save the $60 bucks. So, being so stingy that we are, we decided to take a short drive down Bellingham to get the tickets and at the same time pop by our favourite buffet … the Old Country Buffet at the Bellis Fair Mall.
We had eaten here countless times the past few years. We like this place a lot. It’s clean, efficient and the food is quite OK. Arkensen and Nanzaro loves this place because they can eat all the fries, fried chicken and spaghetti they want. I know … they still haven’t gotten the idea of going for the right stuff yet.
If I recall correctly, it was much cheaper the last few times we were here. Now, they have what they call “Saturday and Sunday, Dinner Whole Day”. That means that they charge the full dinner price no matter what time you’re there. Arkensen and Nanzaro has to pay full adult price … and that adds up to almost CAD$50 including tips.
Here are some of the stuff Suanne and I had between the two of us …
Suanne and I always try to grab a plate from different stations and share between the two of us. That way, we get to try a smaller bit of everything.
From the “Meat” station, we had the carved roast beef which was really tender and succulent. There is also ham, baked chicken, corn beef hash and fried fish cutlet.
From the “Entree” station, we had the fried chicken. We love their fried chicken — they were large, and very crispy. We also had some baked fish.
From the “Vegetables” station, we tried some spaghetti, fried shrimp, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, and some cheesy spinach.
This is the best part of the buffet … huge BBQ Ribs. We had several.
The pizzas and bread sticks were nothing to shout about.
Some salsa and chips.
I still have not figured out a clean way to eat tacos … not sure how to pile it in and how to bite into it without it splintering and the filling fall out from the ends. And … I just hate the taste of the mashed beans!
Here is some stuff from the “Salad” station. We are not big fans of salads, actually.
Some desserts … chocolate brownies …
… home style cheesecake, Suanne’s favourite …
… frozen yogurts …
… and ice-cream. Nanzaro had so much he, well, barfed in the washroom!!
9 out of 10 times we are here, we ended up regretting eating buffets. We had so much food, it is a torture! ๐ BTW, we did feel very thirsty after the meal. I think these guys used a lot of MSG in their food … what do you think?
BTW, we’re gonna be in Las Vegas next week. That’s the buffet capital of the world. We planned to hit the best’est Buffet when we’re there. Speaking to friends, most people said that the best is at Belaggio’s where they have Kobe Beef. Any recommendation?
Oh … for our American readers, Happy Independence Day!
Urgh.. I wished we had these places here.. I want to eat ice cream till I get sick too! I like the beans by the way. A mexican colleague made them once for me, but mexicans don’t like Holland.. no were to buy..
Buffet is definitely a must when visiting Las Vegas.
But, Bellagio (IMHO) is highly overrated!
Our favorite is actually the buffet at Paris Las Vegas Hotel and for us, no visit to LV is complete without a visit to Paris Hotel for a meal.
http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/paris-las-vegas/restaurants-dining/le-village-buffet-detail.html
We’ve had the breakfast, lunch and dinner and we have always left with a smile.
On the last visit, we arrived to the buffet at 1030 for breakfast and while we were enjoying our breakfast food, the buffetline changed from breakfast to lunch. Hence, we also got to taste their lunch buffet. Completely unintentional tho, but hey, maybe that’s a good tip for everyone ๐
With Bellagio, we left feeling slightly cheated! Quality was just average at best and for sure highly overpriced for what we got. But maybe we got there on a bad day?
Have fun in LV! We always do!
oooops! The name of that Paris Hotel buffet is “Le Village Buffet”. I think I forgot to mention it in my previous posting. ๐
the Kobe beef and king crab legs at the Bellagio buffet are excellent. I would recommmend the buffet at the Rio hotel, that’s my favorite one.
The last time I was in LV, I went to the buffet at the Aladdin hotel (I think it is now the Planet Hollywood Hotel). Their unique selling point is that they have food from different countries & cultures so you get quite a variety.
However, I’m not sure if it still there after the change to the Planet Hollywood hotel. Let me know if you end up trying it!
I beg to differ with Chrystal’s comment. I’d prefer there werenรขโฌโขt many buffets here in the capital. Not only does the food look unappetizing and very random, it’s not well-presented too for obvious reasons. Everything about buffets seems rather classless, and who knows whether the other customers’ hands are clean or not. All-you-can-eat buffet restaurants, though not the cause, can aid obesity. Since they are popular in USA, they’re normally associated with American culture and therefore helps reinforce the negative American stereotype upheld by non-Americans. On a lighter note, the brownie looks good…
Happy Independence Day 2007 to all the US American readers!
๐
Woah.. Sorry.. I love to eat and the sight of tables with alot of different dishes. I prefer dimsum & tapas over my-dish-your-dish any time. And we are use to “daai sik wui’s” at home. I believe this is called potluck in English? not sure..
There are quite a lot of all-you-can-eat restaurants in Hong Kong and they are quite succesfull. I do not think buffets are typical American. But then a lot of the time the all you can eat places in HK is ‘interactive’. Like BBQ your own food, or use hot pot.
You must try the Japanese buffet on Flamingo and Decatur. It is called Makino and it is a sushi/sashimi/ pigout! They also have a wonderful assortment of hot foods.
I highly recommend it, give it a try. It is not too far from the strip, maybe a 10-15 minute cab ride.
I’ll be in Vegas next week as well, but with the hot weather, we don’t plan to venture out too often especially without a car. I’ve tried many Vegas buffets before and I think I like the one in Orleans. There is lots of variety and it’s cheap, but you’ll need to take a free shuttle there from the Strip if you don’t plan to drive.
I live just outside of Bellingham! Well, all I can say is I’m not too impressed with the Ole Country Buffet, but I hear Lychee’s Chinese Buffet on Lakeway is good. I am going to go hopefully soon so I’ll be posting a review in my blog.
Let me know if you ever want to meet up if you come down south!
We pass by this eatery very often when we are in Bellingham and never have we been tempted to stop by. But your blog on this place made it so tempting that we decided to check it out. What a surprise… it was really not too bad. For USD11 this was really quite a good deal. I liked the fried chicken. Lord knows how many I had ๐ Thanks for your blog. We’d never have stepped foot into Old Country Buffet had it not been for you ๐
Now we have 2 places to eat in Bellingham and not just our usual Pastazz. Goody! Love your blog! Have a good trip to LV. And can’t wait for your review.
This is the first time I’ve read your blog, I really enjoyed it. Love the pictures too. We also share your take on getting most yummy food for your dollar. I just like to say that we love OCB! We have three kids under 4 and its awesome to be able to take them somewhere with decent food, that fast and clean! We would love to hit more hk cafes and all the good ol’ chinese “diamonds in the rough” but lets face it they are far from being “family friendly”. We live in Surrey and head down to OCB just for dinners sometimes especially thur-sun cause they’ve got their steak nites. Recently we even took a three day road trip in which my husband planned it that we lived in a affordable motel minutes from an OCB. Unlike most canadian buffets, we can pull in late right before closing and they still have plenty of hot food available.
Call me a tourist, but I actually enjoy the dinner buffet at Excalibur.
I love the country buffet in Bellingham also!!! my parents live out in maple falls (on the Mt. Baker Hiway) and drive into town every Saturday to eat breakfast/lunch there.
the staff is very friendly & helpful & the place is always clean. The food is one of the best buffet restaurants in the state. it’s always on my list of things to do when I visit my parents….
We used to go to King’s Table years ago.
i work for a major produce company we deliver to a lot of the old country buffets in the nation. we also deliver to the golden corals too. the golden corals buffet is ten times better than the old country buffets and the prices are cheaper too. the golden corals are some what new they are not every where yet, but they are expanding quickly. check them out.