King Buffet - Nashville, Tennessee

 

 

King Buffet

1051 Murfreesboro Pike

Nashville, TN 37217

                The vacation, visiting with my brother in Tennessee, was coming to an end. A quick trip to Nashville and an overnight stay was in order for me to catch the very early in the morning flight back home. A bit of sightseeing in town done, we checked into our motel and asked the desk clerk where we could get something to eat. He pointed “that-a-way” and said to drive about a mile along the Pike and we would start to see restaurants. As strangers in a big city we were at the mercy of the local’s directions.

                It has been said that all good things must come to an end, so with that in mind one could say that portion of the Murfreesboro Pike and the establishments therein are doing just that.  While there is a smidgeon of rebuilding going on, mostly hotels, but the remainder of the businesses are dated and worn.  You can find the usual fast food eateries, some various ethnic cuisines are offered, a Mediterranean Kebab and a Greek Gyro to name a few  as well as a Mexican market complete with butcher and many smaller places offering fresh Carne Asada tacos.

                We found a rather dated but okay looking Chinese cafeteria and decided to give it a try, we were hungry and well “all you can eat” if it was good food, we won.  The young woman at the front was friendly and soon motioned to a young man at the back to take us to a table.  The décor is nothing fancy, plain table and chairs; separated down the length of the area by a wall with a partial decorative panel on top to offer light and a view out of the window.  A picture or two depicting an oriental motif was on the walls and at the front a smattering of oriental offerings.  There were about 6 self-serve tray lines set up each offering different menu options, but in no particular order. The back wall held the dessert section which had fresh fruit, pies, cakes and puddings.  Here too was found the sushi rolls which I found odd to have placed them there.

                A fresh salad bar offered the usual offerings for a small salad along with fresh fruit; there were two types of hot soup offered, egg drop and their special soup of unknown ingredients, neither of which I tried.  They had steam trays full of small cray fish, steamed shelled small shrimp, what appeared to be muscles topped with a yellow cheese, fried fish with a seasoned corn meal batter, white fish in a tomato type broth to name a few.  You had your usual offerings of all things Chicken, sweet & sour Chicken, Hunan Chicken, Szechuan Chicken, hot and spicy Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Chicken with vegetables and Chicken with mushrooms. 

                They offered tiny beef ribs (1”) Mongolian beef, beef with vegetables and so forth.  You had fried rice, but no white rice, an udon type noodle with seasonings but no broth.  Some fried eggplant coated again with a corn meal type crust.  Dumplings, spring rolls and egg rolls; then not to offend anyone they also offered macaroni and cheese, fried potatoes, taquitos and several other “American” type foods. You are served hot tea, soft drinks or sweet tea and refills are up to you.

                With plate in hand we set off to sample the offerings; some of the chicken dishes had a most familiar taste almost like you could purchase them frozen in your local store.  The Mongolian beef was a bit fatty and tough but had a nice flavor.  The fried white fish with corn meal batter was delicious, lightly seasoned and fried nicely.  The stir fried vegetables were just a bit more al dente that I like but none the less very tasty.  The fried eggplant was also excellent, golden brown and a delicate flavor.

                The egg rolls lacked for a dipping sauce but you got the dipping sauce for the dumplings which I found to be way too sweet.  The noodles were cooked but not mushy and had a nice seasoned coating on them.  I sampled two of the rolls and they were to my surprise very good. Sashimi with salmon and nori, sushi with avocado, white fish, ginger and carrot were both excellent.

                My brother and I both went back for a second plate in order to sample other menu items, when we sat back down I noticed the young man who seated us earlier was standing behind the back wall partition sort of watching our progress and when we were about ¾ done with the second plate he came around and gave us our bill.  This took us by surprise so much so that my brother felt he needed to offer a statement that he was not yet finished and was going back for dessert.  This ruffled my feathers quite a bit since neither one of us had filled our plates to excess, we only took small portions of items in order to taste them.

                So the burning question; would I go back if presented the chance?  I have given many establishments a second chance in the past but unfortunately this will not be the case for King Buffet.  On a scale rating the best at 10, I give them an overall rating of 4, some of the food was mediocre, some greasy and some was delicious but the overall factor in the scoring was the rudeness of the waiter who actually told us by his posturing, “…you go home now!”

Shrimp Salad or Yummy Salad

I found this 1950’s-era, hand-written recipe for Shrimp Salad in my mother’s recipe box. At first glance I thought a joke of some kind since it included shrimp with chicken soup. I asked my brother if he remembered anything like this and he said, “No.” My curiosity was aroused and after thinking about for a time I did some on-line research. I managed to find a similar recipe that called the salad “Yummy.” I surmised that it was a legitimate recipe and after some consideration I decided to give it a try. I have listed my mother’s version as well as the internet version for comparison.
Mother's Version:
1 can condensed chicken noodle soup
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1  3-ounce package lemon gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup each chipped green pepper, chopped green onion and chopped pimento
1 4-ounce can shrimp, drained

Internet Version from Cooks.com:
1 can condensed chicken noodle soup
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1  3-ounce package lemon gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup combined chopped celery, green inion and pimento stuffed green olives
1/2 cup mayonnaise (not salad dressing)
1 4-ounce can shrimp, drained

 

DIRECTIONS: (Yummy specific directions in bold-underline) Heat soup (undiluted) and cream cheese over heat until combined. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water combine mayonnaise in gelatin, stir into soup mixture and cool .Add chopped vegetables and drained shrimp into cooled mixture and pour into 8x8 or 4x4 pan, chill until set.



When warm I could taste the creaminess of the cream cheese blended with the soup and shrimp, it was a harmonious mixture and pleasant to the palette. Once chilled I tried it and was not as impressed, although the mixture is still creamy I don’t care for the texture of chopped celery, onions, peppers adding that crunch and distinctive taste to the bite. Although I did chop them to a small dice perhaps a smaller almost invisible texture would suite my taste better. With an odd noodle here and there you cannot discernibly

find the chicken noodle soup both in appearance and in taste. Upon first bite you find a slight undertone of sweetness from the lemon Jello but it is quickly offset by the crunch and taste of the vegetables and then you come across the shrimp.

These shrimp are the canned salad variety, which are very small and minimal in taste but chewy in texture, taking a random fork full of salad one would not casually spot the shrimp mixed with the chopped vegetables.

When noshing the salad you come across a rather dense mixture of “stuff” which is set apart from the crunchy, creamy salad you think you are eating. The on-line version called for the addition of chopped green olives which in reflection might have been far superior save just the addition of pimentos. The saltiness of the olives would have lightened the sweetness of the gelatin but also add the tang which this salad desperately needs.

Would I try it again with these changes in mind? I really don’t know. First, it is not a cheap salad to make. Secondly, it makes a large pan full, and since it is so rich only a small portion need be taken. So you need either to have a large dinner party or a great liking for this salad to get your money’s worth. I did use a 4-ounce can of shrimp from the pantry to make the salad, extended cost of about $14.75 a pound. If you shop your supermarket seafood section, you usually can find 40-50 shrimp for about $7.00 a pound and the extended price for a 4-ounce purchase would be about $1.75. Planning ahead to make this salad would pay dividends. I think the flavor would be enhanced using fresh shrimp rather than the canned shrimp.

I asked two of my adult children to taste the salad. I didn’t tell them what the ingredients were to help keep an open mind. Here are their first impressions and initial critiques: Frist taster: It tastes good, slightly sweet but I like it, it sort of has a fish taste but can’t make out what type of fish. I would like this on crackers rather than as a salad, but I would eat it again if offered. Second taster: It is really good, perhaps do something about the sweet but otherwise the overall taste is really good. You could use it in a pinwheel roll up or stuffed in celery would also be a nice way to use this salad.

Late Note: In talking long-distance with brother, we have come to the conclusion that we did, in fact, as children, taste this concoction. We are now sure that the green mold salad mother made for festive occasions in a small fish-shaped mold was one-in-the-same as this recipe. For the most part we have no specific recollection save this: Brother asked if the salad had “celery crunch.” He does remember a greenish gelatin dessert or salad that had a pronounced celery crunch that he did not care for. Green gelatin dessert that crunches with celery? This had to be that same salad from sixty plus years ago.

Sand Piper - Idaho Falls, ID

Sand Piper
Idaho Falls, Idaho
February 2, 2011

I have blogged Sandpiper in Pocatello several times and as my readers can attest, it is not my favorite place to dine. Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday and as tradition goes, he got to pick where he wanted to eat. Yes you guessed it, Sandpiper! But this time not the Pocatello restaurant but the sister establishment located in Idaho Falls. A fifty two mile trip down the interstate, the historic district of Idaho Falls and the Sand Piper restaurant are situated alongside the Snake River. It looks exactly like the Pocatello building but that’s where the resemblance stops. Inside we were greeted by eager and friendly staff and quickly seated. Our table was by the window which normally would afford the diners a magnificent view of the river but in winter your view is that of a frozen river, still a fantastic vista.

Our waitress was friendly, informative and eager to please but not overdone, she allowed us ample time to peruse the menu and the wine list. Our pre dinner drinks ordered, we eagerly read over the menu. As soon as our menus were closed she appeared to take our order. Almost as soon as she left she reappeared with fresh hot bread and our salads. My youngest son ordered the Caesar salad and had strips of fresh anchovies; my garden salad was a mixture of greens both mild and peppery. We eagerly ate all of our salads and a second helping of bread.

Sand Piper was having a wine special, so we chose a Cabernet Shiraz blend from Australia which to our great pleasure was a superb pick. Aromatic, smooth it paired well with our entrée selections. My youngest had the rack of lamb, the birthday boy had a sirloin steak our guest had the battered shrimp and I picked the chicken Oscar. I had reservations about the entrée’s since the Pocatello menu offered the same choices but in children’s portions. To our enjoyment, when the dinners arrived we found them more than ample; in fact we all had to go boxes at the end.

The lamb was expertly grilled to the rare ordered, the shrimp cooked through but not overdone. The steak was charred to perfection and my Oscar was tender and the crab meat was the intact claw portions. The baked potatoes were of good size and the steamed vegetables done to a turn. We all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and all attested we would have changed nothing. My youngest son tipped the waitress about his brother’s birthday and she soon appeared offering any dessert item free of charge. He ordered the chocolate turtle dessert, which was a thick and gooey deep chocolate brownie surrounded by scoops of vanilla ice cream and covered in thick dark chocolate sauce.

Reservations are suggested especially for the weekend. They have a separate bar and lounge section and there are steps, a ramp is available but since the lighting is dim caution is suggested. All tables, no booths, but all afford a view of the river and beltway. The prices range from $14.00 to $26.00 with daily specials. A full bar and an excellent wine list pair nicely with the menu items which range from sea food, pasta, beef and your usual salad assortments.