Dining Out

So, I do a lot of dining out in conjunction with my recipes website. My big pull at CopyKat.com is recreating restaurant recipes at home. So yesterday I went somewhere I had not been in, in at least 10 years. I went to the Golden Coral. They have done a lot of advertising lately, so I had hoped their food at improved since they have pretty much moved to a buffet only mode. I used to enjoy their inexpensive steaks.

My first impression was their musak style music being beamed all over the place. Yes, folks were humming along to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. I stepped into the door and the smell of meat being over grilled was so heavy in the air. I wondered where I had smelled that before, Astroworld’s medieval cafe. Yep, their cafe where season ticket holders ate because the discount was large, and well you were eating at an amusement park so the food didn’t need to be tasty, just salty.

Now the food, honestly, it is all over the place. The grill master was a little over concerned with overcooking beef, if it was made of hamburger, that meant it had to be charred to a crisp on the outside. While wonderful for keeping down any danger of food poisoning through undercooked hamburger meat. The vegetables were honestly tasty, and reminded me of what I would make a home. I found that many of their vegetables to be quite tasty. I enjoyed their take on the famous green been casserole that is served for the holidays. I loved their addition of chopped onions into the mix and they added some smokey country ham as well.

Now their baked goods, if they simply closed the restaurant and simply opened bakeries that would be the way to go. They made wonderful yeast rolls, cookies, pies, and so much more. For me, this was the most solid part of their food offerings. Their chocolate chip cookies, while they weren’t made of butter were tasty. They do their own version of the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, but their biscuits are more dense, and a little less garlicy.

I found my experience to be full of contrasts. Meat, isn’t something I found particularly good here, but it came in ample supply, live and onions, fried livers, fish in a variety of forms, grilled meats, and so much more. They had tasty vegetables, and wonderful baked goods. Would I go back? I think this would be a great breakfast spot or even a decent lunch spot. If you are going to go, bring your sweet tooth.