Once a year the lodge at Natural Bridge State Park hosts for the public a buffet of traditional old-time Kentucky eating. It is commonly referred to locally as the buffalo buffet. It is essentially a buffet of game foods.
I was asked in the thread "funny things you've overheard about beer" to provide a review of this buffet. I decided it would be best to put this review here. So here goes.
Items: (the ones I can remember, this thing is HUGE)
Completely stocked and decked out salad bar.
Old fashioned pinto bean soup. (big hunks of ham can be found in it)
Snapping turtle soup (all seven types of meat found in the turtle are used)
Buffalo roast
Buffalo burgers
Buffalo meatloaf
Slow smoked buffalo ribs (complete with homemade bbq sauce)
Venison stew (so thick you scoop it on your plate)
Rabbit stew (just as thick as the Venison stew)
Fried catfish and hushpuppies (the tartar sauce is made from scratch)
Country Ham (baked in a pool of Ale-8-1, a very popular local soda)
Green beans
Mashed potatos
Corn on the cob
Baked potatos
Deserts include:
Apple pie
Peach cobbler
Blackberry cobbler
Baked Alaska
Warm homemade baked banana pudding
Ice cream to top any of your deserts on request.
This buffet is a BIG deal around here. Top tier chefs begin preparing for this buffet weeks in advance. They begin the long process of preparing the meats a few days before the buffet. I know all of this because I struck up a conversation with one of them and got a behind the scenes idea of what goes into pulling this festival of food off.
Everything is delicious. Even the green beans are the best I've ever had. Buffalo is a precious treat, particularly when it is made with such care. It is the leanest beef-like meat you will ever see. For those that have never had buffalo and want to know what it tastes like, I can only give this description: It tastes like realy good beef except its leaner and better than really good beef.
There is a huge line to get in and reservations cannot be made ahead of time. You need to show up, take a number, and wait for your number to be called. Fortunately, there is entertainment provided by a band of local traditional folk musicians. These musicians are world-class quality and listening to them is a wonderful treat in itself. The wait this year was 2 hours. It was worth every minute of it too.
All of this entertainment and the meal will set you back about $20 per adult. Kids under 6 eat for free, and between 6-13 eat for half price. To be honest, I can't take this family to the movies cheaper than this. It's definitely become a family tradition to eat at the once-a-year buffalo dinner at the lodge.
All of this sounds great, but since it is HBT I decided to save the bad news for last. They don't serve anything alcoholic. No beer, wine, nothing. It's a dry county and the local politicians are not allowing it to be served. Perhaps that will change in the future, but for now that is how it is.
I was asked in the thread "funny things you've overheard about beer" to provide a review of this buffet. I decided it would be best to put this review here. So here goes.
Items: (the ones I can remember, this thing is HUGE)
Completely stocked and decked out salad bar.
Old fashioned pinto bean soup. (big hunks of ham can be found in it)
Snapping turtle soup (all seven types of meat found in the turtle are used)
Buffalo roast
Buffalo burgers
Buffalo meatloaf
Slow smoked buffalo ribs (complete with homemade bbq sauce)
Venison stew (so thick you scoop it on your plate)
Rabbit stew (just as thick as the Venison stew)
Fried catfish and hushpuppies (the tartar sauce is made from scratch)
Country Ham (baked in a pool of Ale-8-1, a very popular local soda)
Green beans
Mashed potatos
Corn on the cob
Baked potatos
Deserts include:
Apple pie
Peach cobbler
Blackberry cobbler
Baked Alaska
Warm homemade baked banana pudding
Ice cream to top any of your deserts on request.
This buffet is a BIG deal around here. Top tier chefs begin preparing for this buffet weeks in advance. They begin the long process of preparing the meats a few days before the buffet. I know all of this because I struck up a conversation with one of them and got a behind the scenes idea of what goes into pulling this festival of food off.
Everything is delicious. Even the green beans are the best I've ever had. Buffalo is a precious treat, particularly when it is made with such care. It is the leanest beef-like meat you will ever see. For those that have never had buffalo and want to know what it tastes like, I can only give this description: It tastes like realy good beef except its leaner and better than really good beef.
There is a huge line to get in and reservations cannot be made ahead of time. You need to show up, take a number, and wait for your number to be called. Fortunately, there is entertainment provided by a band of local traditional folk musicians. These musicians are world-class quality and listening to them is a wonderful treat in itself. The wait this year was 2 hours. It was worth every minute of it too.
All of this entertainment and the meal will set you back about $20 per adult. Kids under 6 eat for free, and between 6-13 eat for half price. To be honest, I can't take this family to the movies cheaper than this. It's definitely become a family tradition to eat at the once-a-year buffalo dinner at the lodge.
All of this sounds great, but since it is HBT I decided to save the bad news for last. They don't serve anything alcoholic. No beer, wine, nothing. It's a dry county and the local politicians are not allowing it to be served. Perhaps that will change in the future, but for now that is how it is.
