Editor’s Note:
Wes Hennings never met a meal he walked away from and is an opinionated eater! Each Thursday he shares the results of a business lunch he’s had with a colleague as a way to advise our business community on the good, bad, and tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let ABD or the restaurant know where he is going and his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he visits on a 1-5 scale with “5” being outstanding. We call this our “Real Business Lunch Review”.
Food Quality: 4
Service: 4
Business Meeting: 3
Value: 4
Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Ever since my excursion to a Chinese buffet a month ago, the question has haunted me: Is there a quality Chinese cuisine spot in town anymore?
I need a spot where I can get crab Rangoon and chicken on a stick in unlimited supply. So I crossed town and fought mall traffic to find another spot on Wrightsboro Road which claims to be the biggest Chinese buffet in town: Great Chow.
I guess my headline is – still not impressed. Maybe it’s me. Maybe with the influx of fast casual Chinese like P.F. Chang’s and even Panda Express, I expect a bit more quality than you can get from chicken drowning in the sauce for several hours before you eat it. So, view this from the lens that maybe I’m just over an Asian buffet, which is a little sad for me.
Great Chow has likely the biggest buffet I’ve seen, with nine bars as well as a hibachi chef and sushi station. But instead of being exciting, it can make the whole experience a bit overwhelming.
Lunch is pared down a bit from their dinner offering which apparently even includes things like roast beef and a better seafood selection. Lunch does come at a better rate where the meal and drink will be around $15. The dinner options would run you more than $20.
The highlight of the meal was likely the fried shrimp. Lowlights included the wonton soup which lacked saltiness – and any other seasoning – and several of the chicken dishes which just didn’t hit the mark. There was a bacon-wrapped pork medallion which was tasty, even if it didn’t fit the theme.
I also attempted the sushi bar, but one bite let me know that this was not my preferred stop for uncooked fish.
The service was what you’d expect. The waitress circled by a few times to refill drinks and ask if things were OK. She did have more of the feel of a down-home restaurant in the way she called people ‘hun’ and seemed to know several of the regulars. Perhaps, that’s why this buffet seems to also have a few dishes that lean more toward Sunday dinner than Asian cuisine.
For those of you who now think this is only a Chinese buffet rating column, don’t worry, I’m done for a while. There are a few spots on Washington Road and downtown that will be up next on the list. But I’m sticking with my story that Chinese buffets just aren’t what they used to be, and you need to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy them. I suppose that frame of mind is the quantity of food over quality.
Maybe it’s time to accept my mom and dad’s invite to senior hours at the Golden Corral to see if the golden standard of buffet lines still lives up to the hype.
Great Chow
3435 Wrightsboro Rd #1128
greatchowbuffet.com
