For a couple years, in the midst of COVID-19, the Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet vanished. It was a victim of both concern about how the virus was spread (we eventually came to understand that there was no need to pick up our mail with rubber gloves), and our hesitation to dine out at all — especially in dining halls that hold dozens, even hundreds of customers.
There actually were several buffets that tried to deal with these problems by offering a limited menu of buffet food as a takeout option.
One notable buffet tried getting around the unfortunate tendency for the food to arrive hopelessly overcooked, by undercooking their dishes before sending them off for delivery. Unfortunately, the delivery drivers weren’t swift enough, traffic in SoCal being what it is. And, by the time the food arrived, it was reduced to car temperature mush.
The idea was abandoned, and the restaurant’s owners decided to close until the pandemic came to an end — which it did, fortunately, but the restaurant never returned.
Others have returned, most notably a massive buffet which sits in a sprawling Sherman Way shopping mall, next to La Fiesta Swap Meet and El Super Mercado, not far from a 99 Cents Only store. It’s a mall where locals go seeking value for their dollar.
At Gourmet City, they definitely get their money’s worth; the weekday lunch buffet is $17.99, weekday dinner is $24.99, the all-day weekend lunch and dinner is $25.99. Kids under 10 are a fraction of that. Seniors get 10 percent off.
A sign says you’re limited to two hours of feeding. Two hours at this buffet would leave me in a coma. Though the many big screens that surround the dining room do make it tempting to stick around.
During my visit, the Dodgers were playing — and they were winning, too. But still … one can consume only so many overflowing plates of stir-fried beef with broccoli, Cajun shrimp, steamed clams with crispy bell peppers and so much more. Like the buffets I’ve been to in Las…
Read the full article here