The Golden Corral, or “Golden Pig Trough” as I like to call it, is a favorite feeding place of mine. The restaurant near the Benbrook Traffic Circle has an excellent salad bar, with fresh spinach and tasty bell peppers, tuna salad, broccoli, onions, cheese, macaroni salad, and all the other side toppings, including ham and turkey. Great stuff at a low price.
Sure, the Corral’s entrees and veggies ain’t much to write home about. I usually avoid them and stick with the salad.
But now the Corral’s restaurant owner has filed for bankruptcy after being sued by a former employee. Whether this shutters the restaurant chain remains to be seen, but I’m scouting around for a fall-back feed trough just in case, with heavy emphasis on fresh salad.
Someone introduced me to Zorro’s Buffet on I-35 near Seminary Drive. It’s similar to the Corral concept of dining, which is to waddle in and gorge your belly in an endless and bottomless buffet line. Of course, when you’re gorging on spinach and broccoli it’s not so bad.
After several visits, I’ve decided Zorro’s meats and veggies taste better than the Corral’s, and their enchiladas are actually damn good. But it’s fresh produce I’m seeking and the Zorro’s salad bar isn’t as good as the Corral’s. If they’d freshen up their produce and add higher quality pasta side dishes, Zorro’s could own my soul.
Central Market probably has the best salad bar around, but by the time I load up a man-size portion and weight it, the damn thing costs $10. Add a drink and — who wants to pay $12 or $13 for a lunch salad?
If anybody knows of a fresh salad bar priced at $8 or less and preferably near the downtown area, please advise. I’m getting hungry.
Jason’s Deli has a pretty good salad bar…
Jeff – don’t be cheap! Central Market is the way to go … fresh produce and a much more pleasant experience. Well worth it! Golden Corral … ugh!
you can always look for a Souper Salad they have great salad bars good food too. i know for a fact there is one on hulen but lots in the area just look it up on the web.
Thanks for the suggestions. The Souper Salad on Hulen was a favorite spot for a long long time but they closed down about two years ago and left me high and dry. The only other one I know of in Fort Worth is way down on the South Loop.
Jason’s is a pretty good salad bar but the one on Camp Bowie near my office is packed every day at lunch with soccer moms toting around a bunch of screaming kids and the chaotic and noisy atmosphere isn’t very relaxing at all. Still, I might have to give them another try.
And Susan, what can I say? I hate paying more than $10 for rabbit food.
Souper Salad closed? When? I just went there about a week ago. Off I-20 & Hulen, NW corner, a few doors down from Olive Garden and Friday’s.
I was talking about the Souper Salad that was on Hulen but much further north, closer to I-30 than I-20. It closed a while back but I didn’t realize another one was down at I-20. Still, driving all the way to 20 is kind of far from dowtown just to get a lunch salad.