New Theater has top notch theater and food

New Theater has top notch theater and acting with food to match. There is not a bad seat in the house even near the top. The plays are excellent (Jamie Farr from Mash comes at least once a year) and with meals make a great deal. The meals vary but they are always above the regular fare from appetizers to entrees. One trip might be enough for most but it is all you eat until the grub is “no more”. But even myself 2.5 trips satisfied even my appetite. I can’t remember what I had (it was a couple years ago) but there is almost always various delectable versions of pasta , chicken, beef, fish, appetizers, sides (mash potatoes, rice etc) desserts. Usually 1 or 2 the entrees give a great choice. The food is never boring and either are the plays. I remember the chicken was absolutely delicious either roasted with a cream sauce.
It’s a great night for food and fun. I love the food, the plays and more.
Just wish we could go more.

(Have you tried New Theater? How you liked the food and plays?)

Restaurants I hope to try someday (RIHTTS) : not Wai Wai as it is part of the Thai place chain

If this place is one of the "Thai place local chain" restaurants I most likely will not try it but we shall see.


Another new one I need to try for sure is this one which seems very new.
La Bodega, KC’s first authentic Spanish tapas bar, serves up one fantastic happy hour. I've peeked inside but have never been here though.
50 percent off tapas, sangria, wines by the glass, well drinks, draft beer and domestic bottles. More >>
From 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, the restaurant offers half-price tapas and drink specials, including sangria by the pitcher or glass, wines by the glass, cervezas and premium well drinks. La Bodega also serves outside on its lovely sidewalk. Inside and out, the music is surprisingly good; one recent evening, we heard a mix that included Devo, Pet Shop Boys, Bowie, the Clash and the Cure.

* Best Of 2009: Best Happy Hour
* Best Of 2005: Best Martini
* Best Of 2005: Best Small Plates
* Best Of 2001: Best Tapas
The Tapas is great along with the best Mexican food in Kansas City I hear. Sangria seems good too.

I passed on this buffet in Shawnee, Kansas because...

I was in the area and ducked in here to see if I wanted to eat . I looked around. It was very much like the one that I really like but that is near Lawrence Jin Shan Buffet (that is one of my favorites). Apparently this place was a Mongolian buffet or at least offered it but it did not seem up and running. I looked over all the items. There were differences. I chose not to eat here . There are 4 difference soups which has 2 more then the one in Lawrence. That was good. The had the salad items on one table which bulks up the total number but really should be counted in the buffet. There were appetizers but no really good salmon like in Lawrence. There was no duck or special crab dishes and few other ones like in Lawrence. There were many of the other skewered beef, crab rangoon, green beans, steamed red bugs (otherwise known as , chicken and ordinary chinese fare on most chinese buffets . Sushi was offered here but not the variety in Lawrence. I believe they have crab legs at night and weekends for extra. However all in all I was disappointed that did not seem to be any higher level “satori- aha” food. Don’t get me wrong. Most people will like this buffet. But I decided to pass to find places with higher level fare.

Restaurant Review : Old-Country-Buffet-Shawnee-Mission

This buffet has been around for many years. We were here awhile back but not lately. If I frequent a buffet I usually go to one of my favorite like Cinzettis or if I try a regular all you eat buffet, Golden Corral (Olathe). I usually like to sample many items but usually have one to three that are “killer items” that are reasons to return. I remembered that the food at this Shawnee Mission location and I wanted to see how it fared since then. I should have taken a cue from one of the words in the title (Old) though and gone elsewhere as it just is not to par with the other buffets in terms of taste, quality or quantity of items and "bang for your buck". I am sorry to say it does not “stack” up to the others that are in the same vein (Ryan’s, Old Country etc). The first thing I noticed is that the price ($11) includes the drink. A little more pricey then Golden Corral (I usually just get water) but I was “still game”. The food is bountiful but there are not as many selections compared to the other buffets. The only “killer” item was the saucy, sweet tomato Beef ribs which were meaty and excellent. I did try the salads and other items but nothing really thrilled me. The tastes just were not there. The desserts well the bread pudding (which I love and make my own) was a little runny and did not have a much flavor as I thought. I did however try a root beer float as did my wife . The Barque’s root beer was creamy and we tried the soft vanilla ice cream with it. We both agreed that hard ice cream is better with a root beer float. We also both agreed that there was not enough notable dishes on this spread for us to come back. Nice try but next time it will be one of my favorite buffets or a new one with a few more items that take eating to a different level of gusto.

Here is more about this root beer adventure, additional information from another posting which included some history about root beers, links to other pieces of interesting information and more.
http://cpmputergourmet.blogspot.com/2009/04/food-finds-root-beer-and-w-root-beer.html

Culinary Explorations - I was not in Kansas but in Providence

I came out East last week to watch my son play a recital for his senior year at Juliard Music School in New York City. Before that happened , I flew back into Providence, to visit family and sampled several of its great restaurants in and around Providence. There were new places to try and one from last year that I only found out last year Apsara Palace.

I love Apsara Palace.There are several reasons for me to come back to a restaurant: reasonable prices, food that is a level above your ordinary fare, varied menu, good service and ambiance. This place meets all of those criteria points and we love it.

For the second time, my good friends from Newton, Mass met us for another memorable feast. The food is so good and the menu so expansive, its just a lovely place to tantalize your taste buds. So why not because they love it too.
We had crispy vegetarian spring rolls, vegetarian There is a little art to making your food for these little duck sandwiches so I photographed each step with information at this link. (I will post a link soon)

There are quite a few eateries on Hope Street from Wickeden Street (near my brother's store Atomic Appliances and Flescher Furniture) and goes North towards the
On Hope Street restaurant row, I ducked into this gourmet food shop and bought a spicy condiment that I had never heard of make primary from spicy plum and other spices. It is a national condiment and called Tkemal. It comes in yellow, bright green and a darker hue. All give a real plum sour taste. Well spoken for, I had to buy it and try it. It is great on chicken, vegetarian burgers and more . It's great.




I had tried Cambodian recipes and I wanted to discover what it had for lunch.


I was looking for a more authentic Cambodian dish.A rather small but personable place, very intimate looking with nice tones inside. I decided to do take out. I spied the menu to decide which dish to take. The lemon grass- basil chicken seemed a good bet as I did not want to try a curry dish at this time. I love basil and this might have a different twist on its theme with the red pepper and lemongrass. I love the delicate flavor of lemongrass.
The green jalapeno gave the dish a little heat which stayed on my lips. The lemon grass flavored the chicken well. The big basil leaves did not add much to the dish but there was a subtle flavor.

When I came to Providence my brother mentioned this place.I knew of the restaurant India a few blocks away but I did not see dishes that I thought were unusual.
I wanted someplace to lunch on Sunday.

I had passed Chef Pascal. It is rated very highly. I might try it someday but not now. The fare is not my usual style and its more fine dining with a high price tag to match . Still maybe someday. But I headed for the Indian restaurant just over the line in Pawtucket.



I had never seen as Rasoi as it is tucked a little ways from the street, clustered in the middle of a vegetarian restaurant and a BBQ place and a pizza place. I am glad my brother mentioned this place because it has some fine dishes on the buffet. What better way to try a number of dishes? I really like to find and eat new and different ethnic cuisine and this place handled that assignment eloquently.

The inside has this azure blue coloration on the floors with more muted tones on the walls.

The buffet rims the side window near the front door and has quite a few tasty dishes. Going clockwise, I passed on the regular salad greens and went for the mushroom soup and then the entrees.

There were quite a few so I actually had to make another pass to get the others I missed going clockwise. I quickly found that the entrees had all types of flavors and textures, colors and were from different regions of Indian as it seemed. I have sought out and sampled Indian food at restaurants New England, Washington DC, the West Coast and many other places, besides making my own dishes at home, but this creative restaurant offered several entrees I had never heard about.

I spooned some mushroom soup into my cup. It was very interesting because it was actually mushroom - chicken soup. The chicken soup added a more velvety and smooth flavor to the soup. My young nephew loved it too. I will have to find some recipes for this mushroom soup refinement. Onward to the entrees.
There was the regular Naan bread which we loved (left). At another table we spied another more cracker like bread that does not come with this buffet (maybe we will try this in the future).

That big white object (on the right bottom) is a big hard boiled egg that sits in the middle of the egg curry.
A winner was also the potato vegetarian dish with its intricate flavors.The curry was also excellent. There was also a shrimp dish too.

I could not pass on the yellowish bread pudding (I loved bread pudding- top right hand corner). What made it unusual was the yellowish hue on the top that made it a butter bread pudding. Smooth it caped off a memorable buffet and Sunday brunch.
The service was efficient and they constantly filled our glasses so I could clean my thirst and palate.

I can see that quite a few people have already frequented this place. The price ($12) was very reasonable for the amount and excellent quality. Plus the dishes some like the potato dish and egg curry were different then I had ever seen and. When a place offers offers food "a level above ordinary (Indian) fare well I am impressed. I rate this places very high and will come back. I believe the dishes rotate so next time I will sample more and write about them again.



Going down Hope Street again , I ducked into Blaze to see what it was all about . Quite an eclectic menu with items from different parts of the world. My mother has eaten Salmon here and liked the meal. This place is a combination bar and cafe restaurant. I talked with the waitress, looked over the menu and decided on a small snack to go. I love jerk spiced items and there was a fried jerk chicken with a coconut sauce that seemed unusual The chicken were mildly crisped and not too overally fried, which was good. I was surprised that instead of a whitish sauce it was muddy brown. I dunked the chicken into it and tasted it. It was more like a tamarind type sauce with a slightly tangy lemony flavor.

I then headed down to Wayland Square to check out some of the other restaurants for future reference. La Laiterie at Farmstead had good reviews (but it would have to wait for the future for sampling). People like the authentic Asian fare at Hakura East. I can see why. It has sushi, Japanese and other Asian items. I would like to try this pricey bistro or at least one item sometime in the future too.
Also there was>, a breakfast shop with mostly American breakfast menu. I see that is has won several awards and my mother she has been here. Its quaint and maybe someday for breakfast. But my target was a Vietnamese restaurant I heard about.




I heard a lot about Pho Horn'. Last but not least, Vietnamese was on the menu before I left for Kansas. I had found that this Vietnamese restaurant was near where many years ago, I did weekend bowling. Now there is a little strip mall just West. Instead of defunct Chinese Buffet nearby there is a thriving and well spoken for Vietnamese restaurant which for all indications should be around for for along time. Here's why!

Upon entering this small area, one can't but notice the nice tropical aquarium with a huge carp or is it a goldfish? A constant stream of people constantly shuttled in to sample the Asian food, Vietnamese flavors transform chicken, beef and more into flavor nevertheless and packs good flavor, many different then regular Chinese fare. I was particularly interested in finding different Vietnamese entrees, soups etc that might be a little different from the great restaurant in Kansas City near Westport, MO and downtown. My main intent was to not to Kansas City restaurants or food but find different entrees in this case Vietnamese/ Asian fare. I am always looking for different flavors. I am also always searching for different recipes to try at home too and find other resources. In quest of tastes that cause me to say "aha" called "satori (japanese).

From the reviews this place seemed to tell me that my mother and I would like this restaurant as the Phoenix RI magazine has reviewed it favorably. The menu has plenty to choose from for myself and my mother.

I tried the marinated chicken wings with the pink colored duck sauce. The 8 wings were lightly fried has a pink duck sweet sauce with it . I finished the wings while I waited for the soup and entrees.

The unusual sweet and sour soup has to be something that I had to try. I chose the salmon.Huge chunks of the salmon swam in the pineapple sweetened and red pepper spicy soup broth. There was also bean sprouts, basil and more .

The salmon was succulent with many small bits intermingled with beansprouts, vegetables and more. I added rice to the little bowls. The broth was sweet but had a hint of heat which lingered on my lips. It was a little sweeter then I thought (maybe due to the pineapple) but it was good and very different.

My mother decided on the fried whole flounder. The one thing we should have done was ask how much it was going to be ($24).

Nevertheless, it was delicious and we feasted on almost all of it! The slightly sweet brown sauce melded well with the fish. We had to pick through the bones which was a chore but it was worth it.

I liked chewing on the fried bones and much of the rest of the fish, besides the flesh which was rather crunchy. There were tomatoes and more to go with it. Pancakes would be been good to stuff with the fish and would have made it even better.
We were stuffed so no dessert for us. Another memorable meal.

Now where can I find the recipes?
I passed by the Blue Cottage which I might try in the future for breakfast. Then it was time to head to New York City.

Fire Wok buffet has some superb enterees

I've been here several times with friends. Have not been here for awhile but it is one of the better chinese buffets. It is only certain times and days (when I was here last. The buffet has some really superb entree and very different ones . The rest are very good to good. I think you, like others, will like this buffet.

Another one goes down this time Amor de Brazil

CLOSED:

I was really surprised when Copeland was let go to make this new Brazilian restaurant. I was surprised because I thought Copelands was consistently good. We had been there at least once or twice a year since it opened. The meals were always cajun, well prepared and the place seemed hopping and full. It shutting down makes me wonder about the state of the food industry sometimes- what makes a restaurant keep on going and others to shut down.
I also wanted to come to a place like this Brazilian place when I first saw that they had these steak places in Texas . But at $33 a head plus tip, we are talking $40 before you do anything else , for one meal. I can really put it away but I have a hard time "stomaching" $33 for one meal no matter how good it is (more about that later in another part of my blog). A special ad was for $19 for like a lunch but it did not include all the meat or the salad bar. I looked at the salad bar, having gone once inside to check it out. It did not look better or as great as I thought it would be compared to the salad bar at Cinzettis in Overland Park, KS or one of my latest favorites, the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays, which I consider once of the tastiest and flavorful salad bars.
I have never seen this place really packed. Usually there are no more then maybe 6 cars in the parking lot as I go by weekly after working out or going to work out.
Now someone else says they are closed. I went by and took a picture. It sure is shut down with the sign on the door (next to the window). Quite possibly the other restaurant like this in Kansas City and the new one on the Kansas City Plaza( that is like the one I know of in Texas and other places) was the fatal blow. I mean how many all you can eat Brazilian restaurants can you have around in this area. Apparently one less.

I was here at Piccadilly-Cafeteria for the Cajun buffet

I have only been here once. I heard that they were going to have an all you can eat Cajun buffet. I love Cajun so I went. It was great. All the dishes were excellent from the gumbo, the salmon croquette and many other items. Very fresh and very good. I would sure go again if this this buffet special came back again.

China Buffet- some hits, some misses but some tasty entrees and more

 The newly opened restaurant, China Buffet, doesn’t have a fancy name. I’ve seen this restaurant before and ducked into once but never ate as it did not look interesting. However when I saw the place boasted about having the largest buffet in the Kansas City area (a re-opening?), I thought I would check out whether this buffet lives up to its billing and how good the food was.

Entering the building, I could hear soft nice music. The serving area was smaller then I thought it would be. One area had the tables with the food but surely it did not look like the biggest buffet around. Maybe its a PR move and in a way it is. I looked at the menu and the big seafood part of the buffet (crab legs and more ) were for the night. Plus items are changed frequently so all the items are not there for lunch or dinner but these are still counted So the sum of the parts might equal the largest buffet. No matter tasting the food is the real public relations test.

There were quite a lot of dishes. But the largest moniker titling probably includes the dessert items, condiments, and items listed. I started with hot and sour soup. It had a nice distinctive flavor but not too spicy or sweet/sour but it did have a distinctive heat spiciness which i liked and was different. I am not an egg drop soup “fan” but I felt it was one of the best ones I have ever tasted. Thicker then usual it was nice and yellow with a very silky taste. I also liked the softwonton noodles soup. Wonton means “ swallowing the cloud} . Like a thin skin ravioli, it is made with a trailed noodle which floats in the soup liked “trailing clouds. You know I like something when I have to find a little information about its history.

I decided to do a tapas- like approach and savor the main dishes I wanted (I skipped several Pork dishes). The best were: coconut shrimp (white soft delectable balls of shrimp with a curious white coating); crab rangoon ( typical but good fried correctly); three different fresh tasting types of sushi (with green wasabi paste and pickled reddish ginger ). The rice pudding was creamy and excellent (for all I know it comes out of can/jar), The I spied some green like long items near the sushi and tasted it. Looked stringy but it was soft with little strands of carrots with a slight salty spicy taste. I asked even though I surmised) is was seed weed. It was sweeter and really good then I had tastedpreviouslyy at a restaurant in Overland Park that no longer exists.


The items that I sampled but were not as good and were okay were 3 types of egg rolls (meat, vegetable and another) which were fried but did not taste that great; chicken and broccoli; special chicken (not so special!); Marley chicken was not that spicy or have any particular specific flavor (I’ve had this at other restaurants and it has better flavor there); honey chicken chicken (too sweet and I have better at other places); egg food young ( did not have a good onion and egg flavor that I expected as other buffets); mushroom chicken did not have a meaty- buttery type taste I usually get from entrees like this); beef on stick ( little stringy); chicken wings (not spicy and did not have much flavor.

To top it off I sampled strawberry cheesecake ice cream I sampled had a lot of flavor (Baskin & Robbins like).

There were also different dishes that were not Chinese/. Asian meant to be part of the buffet that I did not touch like the regular salad bar items, baked potatoes
The soup were winners It has a big menu so you can also try other dishes not on the buffets. There are house specialties, all day comb specials. While it might not have been the largest set of items at the time, I visited, there was much that was good.

All in all for me, and possibly others, to come back to a restaurant, there are several factors . The price for lunch was right ($7.25). I thought the soups were special. Several has different textures, colors but above all tasted different then the normal and were a “level above” what I deem “average”. For overall consistency-wise, I prefer two places all you can eat places in Lawrence and Olathe.But I like a place that pulls a few surprises, has different flavors and has a " different take on foods " that I have not tasted before. I could see coming back here and seeing whether there are some entrees I missed.

Great , great buffet with really taste food

I was blown away when we got here around noon one weekend. The place was packed. We dug in and found all the food to be very tasty. The pot roast was melt in the mouth, the fried chicken sweet and crunchy. The vegetable , and sides were excellent. Sweet potato and other vegetables has just the right spicy, sweetness and more. Basicly you come up and keep getting more and sit down. If you want a real site down place try the Peachtree buffet. For me I will take this anytime. Price is right and and it will " feed your soul"!

great prices, very mediocre pizza, great buns though

 We have eaten at this place and the one in Overland Park. When we want a quick pizza fix once every couple of months, and have one of those couple coupons, we go here. We don't come for the pizza though. The salads are very bland. The chicken soup is very salty. There is all you can eat pizza, pasta noodles and sauces and desserts/ pizzas (more about that soon).
The chicken buffalo type bbq pizza is not bad but the chicken pieces are so tiny you can't even taste it. The white cheese pizzas are probably the best as well as couple of others but most of the other pieces (the hamburger etc ) are reallymediocree nothing special at all. But when you are finished with your drink and meal, you come to the best: theCinnamonn buns.
They are hot,gooeyy and to die for. They are that good and I think rival any cinnamon buns I have eaten. I think they are that good. Try for yourself and see what you think. Also compare the pizza and the rest of the stuff. But it is the buns you will lick your lips for when you think about this place.

Teller's :tried it once - I won't "bank" here again

 My former business partner was in Lawrence and we wanted to meet them for brunch. He suggested Tellers. Hey this place really is gorgeous inside. It was once a bank and the inside well looks like it. The buffet/brunch is nice but it is on the expensive side and it food did not really get me excited at all. It was good it just wasn't what I thought it would be for brunch. I thought the food would be better. Lots of salads, egg dishes, some pasta dishes and lots of others. But I was not really impressed to tell you the truth.. I had seen the menu once and it is very expensive for what I call regular Italian fare. I wondered why there weren't more pasta type dishes or Italian fare because this place is listed as Italian. I know a lot of people like it for the ambiance. But for me if I want Italian, I won't "bank" here again. My money is on other places for the most part.

New face lift but the food inside Peking Taste is still very good

 We have gone here many times before the places new "face lift". It was an affordable place to get good Chinese/ Asian food. The buffet is not the biggest in the world but what they have is very tasty and there are quite few dishes to try anyway. The hot and sour soup is quite good with that little extra sour " note" to it. The tiny shrimp in mild tomato sauce is addictive. The rest of the buffet from beef, chicken, noodles and more is always good and well prepared. The price has risen since the place's "newface liftt". For the price it is still affordable. But if you want more entrees on the the buffet, there are a few more in town to try that might be better suited but it all is a matter of taste.

Panda is a cute animal and this restaurant is quite nice too

Panda is one of my favorite restaurants in Lawrence. It does not have the ordinary Chinese / Asian fare so it is "right up my alley". It does not have the biggest buffets but for me it has one of the tastiest buffets and Asian type fare. It has more authentic dishes on the buffet compared to its sister restaurant on 23rd street to the south. (They are both good). We have been here many times with my wife and children mostly on Sundays for brunch. The food has always been excellent. Their menu is impressively long and the items for the buffet come from entrees that are usually given during regular meals. You won't see Kung Pao chicken usually on the buffet which is great because that means there is more room for less fried stuff. They sometimes change things around but their are always exquisite noodles, dumplings, steamed buns, and other entrees.You can change the regular meals for spiciness so they can be modified to your taste. For the buffet the only thing I might do however is a little soy sauce. The hot and sour soup, I think my favorite hot and sour soup I have ever tasted , is very unusual as it has a little yellow white color instead of the ordinary brownish color and has a very nice too sour like taste with nice aroma finish.The chicken, beef and fish dishes are all excellent. There is sometimes duck on the buffet which is not greasy and succulent. Also one option we have not tried is the Super Seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. I think this a great find. The buffet is one you should check it out.

All you can eat is is not great here at El Grande Mexican Buffet

I was near this restaurant and decided to take the plunge. Sorry I did. You can load up but there is little taste to what you eat. The food was unremarkable and there was nothing really good or tasty. I tried the menudo (tripe stewed etc) and it was, as I surmised , not to my liking at all (disgusting is the word if you want to be exact). I won't go here again. I am still looking for a good Mexican buffet. The last one that I thought was excellent was the Annie Sante Fe years ago which had a fabulous, tasty and versatile Sunday or lunch buffet. ( I miss that place)

There is the good and the bad at Corona Gardens in Olathe, KS

Corona Gardens

This restaurant has been here for several years. I had never seen them doing much of a business especially with Mexican restaurant competition very close by. But I decided to give it a try. I've been here a couple time with my wife and once without her. The buffet is all you can eat which is the good thing. The bad is that most of the food is horribly fried. The best are the real good chicken and beef fajita. This you can all you want and that is what I have focused on. Wrapped in tortillas, you can make a meal of just this entree at a good price. The tacos and the meat are fine but how badly can you ruin tacos (well there was one place over in Missouri that did). I had them at a luncheon for staff at one of the schools and it was not bad fare. The enchiladas and the other dishes are average at best and fried so that you can hardly taste anything. There are other Mexican specialties but they are not really goo . There are sopapillias, condiments and other stuff do not really make the buffet tastier. They are just fillers for your belly. There are several Mexican restaurants nearby that much better and are just as reasonably priced. I will go elsewhere for Mexican next time unless I want all you can eat fajitas.

China Star Super Buffet

We have been several times with kids and friends. But I am not a fan of this place at all. It's food is BORING. Yeah there is lots of food (hey its a buffet!) but there is little spice and flavor on most of the dishes.One of two tasty dishes but that's it. It's like a Perkins Chinese- looks good but no flavor (except Perkins does have real good pies). Its been in business for awhile so people go here for some reason. But its not for me and I will never go here again.

Bankok Pavilion : Tired thai?

We love BP before lightning destroyed the place. The buffet was fantastic with good tasting and flavor abundant food.The soups, curry and rices were very good. We tried the entrees during dinner times and all were good (duck, beef, chicken). It was our favorite Thai place and it was our favorite Thai place. Then lightning struck. I came back after the reopening (1.5 years later?) to check out the buffet and their food now. The Pad Thai is a tired recipe, the green curry was a solid puddle and the rest of the dishes were not inspiring anymore to me. So we have not back for dinner (non buffet) but may do so soon. I hope the flare is back otherwise our next time will be last time too.

Big eats

These were features on the Travel Channel.
I have not been to this big buffet
http://www.broadmoor.com/lake-terrace.php
I have been to this famous restaurant in Las Vegas the Bellagio in Las Vegas. I still can't believe that some friends too us out to an absolutely horrendous restaurant with old cars on a wall and dreadful food instead of this places restaurant.
http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/the-buffet.aspx?CMP=KNC-Google-Bellagio-Corp
Biggest burger (10.5 lbs) is a monster and even could not eat the whole thing (people are given 4 hours!) ! However there is a bigger one for 123 lbs!
http://www.dennysbeerbarrelpub.com/
Castaway buffet has an amazing overlook and food looks good too.
http://www.castawaysriverside.com/banquet.html
Brazilian BBQ (there is now several here in the Kansas City area starting at $38 dinner or $19 for lunch)
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/35816157/glendale_ca/gaucho_s_village_brazilian_churrascaria_steak_house_.html

But I love the Japanese chinese buffet in Lawrence, Kansas with their all your can eat sushi and very good asian salmon and other asian fare.

As for the best Italian, some people disagree with me but I think there is not a better place for Italian food then Cinzzettis
http://www.cinzzettis.com/indexKansas.php

When I want good food at a good price and great variety we try Cinzetti's in Overland Park, KS.
Just look at the menu of offerings

http://www.cinzzettis.com/ourMenu.php
(some are not available at lunch)
When we really want to go for Italian fare, we take our kids and guests here. Not only is there an amazing variety of choices but the quality is amazing. When we took out my brother-in-law he could not believe the variety but then exclaimed " and you get that you want to choose from the desserts too for the same price?". I usually start with awesome calamari, tomato soup, salad and then the spedini and everything else. I usually do tapas and go around starting with salads and then sampling all different types.

Song Son Vietnames restaurant Kansas City review

I had heard about this place. But when I heard that this place had opened a new buffet and noodle bar for lunch, I had to go and check it out. I had heard that the Vietnamese food was bland. It was especially at recent place I tried in Kansas City but to my delight, not at this place. I had tried Vietnamese food in other parts of the country and I knew Vietnamese food was better then this bland restaurant before. But here at this new buffet and noodle bar, you can see immediately the character and what Vietnamese food really tastes like.
When I entered, I chose 1 of 11 different noodle type soups, made to order by one of the cooks ( noodles with either tofu, beef and others). While that was being prepared fresh, I sampled the buffet area.
The dishes were not really spicy but well seasoned. The best was the slightly spicy sweet tomato tofu. The spicy yellow curry chicken was excellent and was thick and spicy sweet not spicy hot and was very good. The beef stew in a nice brown broth and vegetables was excellent too and had a lot of flavor. The non fried spring rolls had a lot of vegetables and was very good in the hot sour sauce or the peanut like sauce. The crab rangoon was okay and the Goi Ga chicken salad was bland. The chinese General t'sao was surprisingly good , not too sweet, moist and not burnt to a crisp. Hunan chicken and the Moo Go Gai Pan chicken were better then I had expected. One of the premier ones I heard of the tempura like sweet potatoes were mushy and not very good.But it was the noodle soup I wanted to find out about. I ordered the meatball version s I heard about it. It came with vermicelli, vegetables and jalapeno strips in a clear tasty broth. The beef ball was actually cut into little strips. It was little chewy and did not have much flavor. The owner and staff were very cordial. I definitely will come back with my wife and my son is interested too.