Off the Beaten Path - When fantasy meets reality...at Shoney's.

Since it was my first time at Shoney's, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I heard good things about their buffet but it wasn't ready when I stopped in there today. I had arrived a little bit early. Other patrons arrived early, too, and they started on the salad bar while waiting for the dinner buffet to start at 5p.

I decided to try something from the menu first: the Kentucky Hot Brown. Sounds like a dirty sex act but it's not and it's actually quite delicious! Turkey and more turkey and more turkey piled up with some tomato slices and cheese and some brown gravy over toast and cooked in a hot skillet. It was quite delightful and very good. Yes I know I've complained about the use of two sauces in a dish before but in this case I didn't care because it was really really good. However, a knife was required to slice through everything and I felt really guilty about using a knife on what looked like a cast iron small skillet. I mean, you're not supposed to right? Couldn't it scratch the metal and ruin the seasoning that you do after you get one before you start cooking with it?

According to their website, they're known for their strawberry pie. In fact they even made the world's largest strawberry pie and it was on some TV morning show. The menu states that it's fresh, made from scratch, and something they're well known for. So naturally, I had to try it to see what all the hype was about. The picture in the menu and table card made it look scrumptuous with strawberries and their special glaze and whipped cream and a flaky crust. One slice, please!

....and then it arrived.
For your convenience, the top is from the table card, the bottom is what arrived at my table.

I don't recall ordering the strawberry soup.

So to recap:

Kentucky Hot Brown - great! order it!

Strawberry Pie - bring a straw.