Profesora
My first trip to Budda Belly was on a Thursday night when they were having an art event. The place was packed and a corner of the restaurant was set up with food for the art lovers. Despite being crowded with regular customers and the special visitors,the kitchen was able to deliver our food in a very reasonable time. The atmosphere was colorful and positive, with bold paintings on the walls. We had the S. African lamb curry, a turkey burger, and chicken fried rice. The fried rice was above average, the turkey burger was competent, the lamb curry was delicious. I will be checking back soon to try more of the interesting variety and decent prices.
Prior to last night I would have given this restaurant a higher rating. Last night we dined here for the second time, driving more than forty miles from out of town. We could have gone to Mark's downtown or another restaurant, but MT's is convenient to the interstate and we enjoy the ambiance and the food. Our experience was quite disappointing. First, our waiter did not know the wine list. I asked for a recommendation between three wines, and he was unable to give me one, which was not great, but no big deal. What happened next, however, really surprised and angered us. The chef had offered a special consisting of venison steak, along with some kind of cabbage and spaghetti squash. My husband is an avid hunter and a pretty decent cook of venison, which is not the easiest meat to prepare as it is tough and gamey, but can be very good if prepared correctly, so he thought he would like to try the venison steak. However, he also really enjoys the truffle macaroni and cheese and does not like spaghetti squash, so he asked if he could get the venison steak but choose his own sides. As we were not quoted a price on the special, we felt it would be no problem to change sides, and we would have not minded paying more if that was an issue .... although frankly at a restaurant of this caliber it should not be. The first time the waiter returned from asking the chef about the sides, much to my shock and the later shock of my brother and his wife (each of us having worked in the restaurant business, including fine dining, for at least five years), my husband's request was flatly denied. We were told the chef was particular about his sides. Thinking that maybe this was because the chef was concerned that the strong taste of the venison would come as a shock if not paired in a specific way, my husband reiterated to the waiter that we are very accustomed to eating venison, that we would very much like to try the venison steak, and that we were paying the bill, and asked the waiter to convey the request to the chef again. I am not sure whether the waiter simply failed to convey the gravity of the situation, or whether the chef truly is so pretentious that he is unconcerned about accommodating the clientele even when they press the point, but my husband's request was again denied. Because we wanted to enjoy our night and our expensive bottle of wine, my husband simply ordered the prime rib and we finished our meal, but we found this incident to be completely unacceptable, and we will not be coming back to this restaurant any time soon. The hallmark of a fine dining establishment is service. I am paying for an experience and I expect the waitstaff and chef to do whatever it takes, within reason, to make it a positive experience. Last night either the waiter did the worst job of communication in the history of table waiting, or the chef put his ego before our experience. Either way we were disappointed.
I left Sake Cafe with really mixed feelings. The prices were great but the food was not too impressive. I got Sushi and Hibachi style shrimp(not cooked in front of you). The sushi didn't seem fresh but the shrimp was pretty good considering the price. The salads were served in disposable bowls and you get up and select your own dressing.
Bottom line not the place to go if you are looking for great Japanese but not bad considering the price.
Profesora
My first trip to Budda Belly was on a Thursday night when they were having an art event. The place was packed and a corner of the restaurant was set up with food for the art lovers. Despite being crowded with regular customers and the special visitors,the kitchen was able to deliver our food in a very reasonable time. The atmosphere was colorful and positive, with bold paintings on the walls. We had the S. African lamb curry, a turkey burger, and chicken fried rice. The fried rice was above average, the turkey burger was competent, the lamb curry was delicious. I will be checking back soon to try more of the interesting variety and decent prices.
Prior to last night I would have given this restaurant a higher rating. Last night we dined here for the second time, driving more than forty miles from out of town. We could have gone to Mark's downtown or another restaurant, but MT's is convenient to the interstate and we enjoy the ambiance and the food. Our experience was quite disappointing. First, our waiter did not know the wine list. I asked for a recommendation between three wines, and he was unable to give me one, which was not great, but no big deal. What happened next, however, really surprised and angered us. The chef had offered a special consisting of venison steak, along with some kind of cabbage and spaghetti squash. My husband is an avid hunter and a pretty decent cook of venison, which is not the easiest meat to prepare as it is tough and gamey, but can be very good if prepared correctly, so he thought he would like to try the venison steak. However, he also really enjoys the truffle macaroni and cheese and does not like spaghetti squash, so he asked if he could get the venison steak but choose his own sides. As we were not quoted a price on the special, we felt it would be no problem to change sides, and we would have not minded paying more if that was an issue .... although frankly at a restaurant of this caliber it should not be. The first time the waiter returned from asking the chef about the sides, much to my shock and the later shock of my brother and his wife (each of us having worked in the restaurant business, including fine dining, for at least five years), my husband's request was flatly denied. We were told the chef was particular about his sides. Thinking that maybe this was because the chef was concerned that the strong taste of the venison would come as a shock if not paired in a specific way, my husband reiterated to the waiter that we are very accustomed to eating venison, that we would very much like to try the venison steak, and that we were paying the bill, and asked the waiter to convey the request to the chef again. I am not sure whether the waiter simply failed to convey the gravity of the situation, or whether the chef truly is so pretentious that he is unconcerned about accommodating the clientele even when they press the point, but my husband's request was again denied. Because we wanted to enjoy our night and our expensive bottle of wine, my husband simply ordered the prime rib and we finished our meal, but we found this incident to be completely unacceptable, and we will not be coming back to this restaurant any time soon. The hallmark of a fine dining establishment is service. I am paying for an experience and I expect the waitstaff and chef to do whatever it takes, within reason, to make it a positive experience. Last night either the waiter did the worst job of communication in the history of table waiting, or the chef put his ego before our experience. Either way we were disappointed.
I left Sake Cafe with really mixed feelings. The prices were great but the food was not too impressive. I got Sushi and Hibachi style shrimp(not cooked in front of you). The sushi didn't seem fresh but the shrimp was pretty good considering the price. The salads were served in disposable bowls and you get up and select your own dressing.
Bottom line not the place to go if you are looking for great Japanese but not bad considering the price.
I strongly Disagree with HHH, I consider myself a connoisseur of all things buffet, and China Super Buffet is one of the best Asian style buffets in town. Not only do they have the biggest selection of entrées in town, but they have a variety of starter foods like various sushi's, they have allot of desert options like fruits, ice cream, cookies, those weird greasy sugar buns, nuts, puddings, and pastries. China Super Buffet even offers a mongolian bar, where they will cook whatever you choose right there on the spot. And not to mention if you find any dish that you may consider not up to par the staff has no problem replacing it with a fresh batch of whatever. If HHH had a hard time finding "any good food" then he/she must be a very picky and impatient person. Another important thing about Judging a buffet is to try and remember when the last time was that you dined at a "five star" buffet, there just isn't such a thing, unless your in Vegas or the Ritz in Paris. And as far as the staff goes I have never sensed any kind of hostility from the lovely people who work there. China Super Buffet is as good as it gets in the asian buffet world in Gainesville, especially if your a broke college student who is always busy with work and school and very rarely eats anything considered to be a full meal.
I had the lasagne special and garlic knots. They were both finger-lickin goood. Friendly staff and children friendly.