Sweet Mac-atoes

Americans love food.  Americans love eating out.  What is the best way to capitalize on our mid-lines?  The buffet!  There is nothing quite like a buffet restaurant.  Warming trays of food, as varied as can be protected by sneeze guards going on for 50 feet... before you even see the dessert island.  While here on the west coast, buffet restaurants aren't as popular as they used to be, entrepreneurs have made a shift towards a "healthier" buffet based around salads.  What could go wrong with a salad buffet?  Leafy greens and cheese and croutons and bacon bits and more cheese and some ranch dressing. Oh look, 800 calories!  But we're not here to talk about how I make salads...

While the focus of these restaurants is the salad line, they offer breads, soups and some pasta dishes, including our specialty, macaroni and cheese.  Every time I'm at the local salad buffet, I see kids eating up the mac n' cheese.  Hopefully I find it as tasty as they do.

The Review

Restaurant:

Sweet Tomatoes (also known as souplantation in some parts of the coutry)



I wouldn't know if the tomatoes are actually sweet.  I don't really like tomatoes.  I guess that means you'll have to take it on good measure that their tomatoes are sweet, or take it up with their lawyers.

Price:
Varies by location and time.  When we went it was $9.29 per person, all you can eat.

See that little slider under the Salad and soup buffet?  They slide it and the price magically changes depending on the time of day. A low tech solution for a high tech world. 

Preparation:
*Make your way to the restaurant.  We drove, but you could ride a bike, walk, or even get a pony ride.  Up to you!
*Hope that you didn't show up during a lunch or dinner rush.  When the line is as long as the buffet, you know you're going to be in a wait, not only to load up on food, but to get a table.
*Get your tray down the aisle, loading up on salad, but making sure to leave room on the tray for your eventual stop at the pasta station around the corner from the salad bar.  We all know why we're really here.

Well that was easy enough to find.

*Find one of the bowls and scoop up some of the recently made (or freshly made) pasta.

Oh look!  I found the pasta bar.  Forget that thing with the veggies on the left, we're here for the cheese!

*If you're lucky you will see one of the chefs whipping up a fresh batch.  They scoop in some of that cheese sauce and add pasta and boom, mac n' cheese.

That's right everyone, this is where the magic happens.  Avert your children's eyes unless you're ready to answer those tough questions about where those little elbow noodles REALLY come from.

*Find your way to your table and forget that salad.  It's starch time!

It's a bit more golden than this picture shows.  I was next to a very big window and the light took away much of the that golden luster I was trying to capture.

*Commence with the nomming!

Taste:
I've had this many times over the years and this stuff has really run the gamut.  From cheesy and tasty, to bland and a waste of calories.  This trip?  The noodles were very overcooked.  The sauce was bland and flavorless.   

Final Score:
I completely understand that when you go to a buffet, the food is only as good as it is fresh.  Getting something that's sat around for a while is never good eats.  My local Sweet Tomatoes is very popular and always busy when we go so I'm not worried about food like this mac n' cheese having sat too long.  What I suggest if you're set on getting the Sweet Tomatoes mac is to watch and go up right after they've prepared a fresh batch.  My best macs have always come after a new batch was put out.  Also, remember that this is a buffet.  Pace yourself and don't just load up a dish or three of the stuff.  Get a dish, put a small amount in and then take it back to the table and test it before you go whole hog.  You may save yourself many unnecessary calories.

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size 1 cup
Servings Per Container: N/A

Calories  330  Calories From Fat 41%
Total Fat 15g
Saturated Fat 5g
Trans Fat 0g 
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 980mg
Total Carbohydrates 40g 
Dietary Fiber 0g 
Sugar 3g
Protein 9g