But how does buffet stand up against other city offerings?

A5

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t-bone's is located in the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 1005 Main St. The restaurant offers up lunch and supper as well as a buffet. For more info, call 853-5283.

Husky E's verdict:

The Two Fat Guys classed it up for a second straight week. We visited the swanky t-bone's restaurant, located in the lobby of Moncton's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

We stopped by recently after Heavy T heard about its lunch buffet. He immediately thought of me. How sweet.

As you would expect from a restaurant inside one of the city's more classier hotels, t-bone's is a stylish spot and appeared to cater to a professional clientele. But they also let us in.

We took our seats in a nice, half-circle comfy booth and checked out the menu. I came for the buffet, but the clubhouse sandwich with French fries that was delivered to the table beside us looked delicious.

I couldn't let Heavy down, though, so I went with the lunch buffet ($11.99) and started the marathon meal.

The first thing I noticed was that there wasn't all that much selection of food. This is definitely not the 'grand buffet' at Ponderosa Steakhouse, but then again, nothing quite compares to Ponderosa.

There were plenty of salads "" potato, mushroom, Caesar, Greek and vegetable. The main item of the buffet was roast beef and there were also mashed potatoes, steamed mussels, stir fry vegetables and rolls.

The reason I love buffets so much is not just because they are all-you-can-eat, but also because of the variety of choices. So I was a little disappointed here, to say the least.

But on to the food: I'm not a big fan of roast beef - I just don't eat it that often - but the roast beef here was delightful. The slices were big and thick, and a type of spice made the taste just right. The mashed potatoes and gravy were also a welcome addition and a nice substitute for the French fries I normally order.

I was thrilled to see steamed mussels as part of the buffet. It's not everyday you see them offered and they're just so good. Alas, this was disappointing as they weren't very warm and I couldn't find any melted butter, almost a requirement, to go with them. (There might have been butter, but I certainly didn't see it.)

The mushroom salad was a good find and not something you come across often.

The buffet also included a few desserts. The apple crisp was just okay, but I had a delicious square - I wasn't even sure of the kind - that was probably the best item of the meal.

This is a tough one. I left this meal very full and the food I did have, for the most part, was very good. But at the price, I found the selection lacking.

I give t-bone's a 7.5 out of 10.

Heavy T 's Verdict:

It's already been noted that Husky has an odd and unhealthy obsession with Ponderosa, but it's still a bit odd for him to be mentioning it in the same breath as this buffet. Granted, there isn't near the amount of food at t-bone's buffet as there is at Ponderosa, but the food is actually quality.

It's not the type of buffet where you should just order it blindly and assume you'll find something you like "" rather, you should check out the offerings on the day you are there and decide if it's something you're interested in. A better way to describe this as opposed to a buffet would be 'all you can eat XXX,' with XXX being whatever they happen to have on that day (what did you think it stood for, perverts???). I'm told the buffet offering changes everyday and I would assume that it's similar to the day we visited "" that there is two or three 'main' things offered each day, alongside the additional items like salads and deserts.

Husky already mentioned most of the food and since I went with the buffet as well, our reviews won't differ substantially. I found the roast beef deliciously tender and that alone could have filled me up. I think I ate my recommended yearly intake of roast beef within the span of 20 minutes. The mashed potatoes were also quite good with just the right consistency. The gravy was kind of a watery and light one as opposed to a thick and dark gravy. It still did the trick though.

The mixed vegetables were nothing special and I was also disappointed with the mussels, simply because I thought they didn't have much taste. I wasn't irate like Husky was that we couldn't find any melted butter, I had just hoped the mussels could stand on their own and had been cooked and seasoned in a way that would carry over some taste. I didn't find that to be the case.

Overall though I left this meal satisfied and would definitely return to this buffet.

I give t-bone's an 8 out of 10.

Question? Comment? Suggestion? E-mail: thetwofatguys@gmail.com