I’ve got some really sad news to report to all-you-can eat buffet lovers:  The International Food House Buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th has turned into a pay for what it weighs, by the lb. buffet.  Considering the current economic state, this isn’t too surprising, but it is still depressing on many levels.  1) Serving up a wide range of Latin food, it was one of the only two or three non-Indian all you can eat buffets in Midtown.  2) It was a shockingly cheap $8.95. 3) By the pound buffets are a big kick in the pants to fat guys everywhere… especially when you’re serving heavy food like rice, beans, plantains, and stewed meats.  For $5.95 a pound, the price can get up there pretty quickly.

Unable to turn away from their massive selection, I decided to see how I would fare under this new format.  In the process I came up with a few suggestions for anybody looking to brave the *new* International Food House Buffet.

I think it’s pretty safe to say it would be impossible to like the new incarnation of this buffet as much as the old.  The by the lb. buffet format adds a level of fear and trepidation you don’t experience in the all you can eat format.  How heavy is this?  Am i taking too much?  How much is this going to end up weighing?

Here are two tips to get you through it partially intact:

1.  Normally at a by the lb. buffet I warn against heavy starches… but you can’t eat Latin food without rice, beans and plantains, so just take a little less than you normally would.  I would also recommend one of the rice/bean mixtures instead of taking them separately.  With something like arroz con gandules, a lot of the moisture has been boiled away so it should be lighter than rice and beans taken separately.  There is no science to back this up, but it just feels right.  If you’re worried about the rice being dry, just put your stewed meats over the rice and beans, and the juices from that will be more than enough to moisten up your rice.

2. Normally at a by the lb. buffet I warn against taking meat with the bone still in… but there are too many tasty bone-in meats on this buffet.  The good thing is, most of the meats are fall of the bone tender- so when you take them with your tongs, help them “fall off the bone” accidentally (leaving the heaviest part of the dish still in the steam table.) This tactic worked well with the baked chicken on my visit. I feel a little guilty about doing this one, but times are tough and you gotta do what you gotta do.

3.  And finally… stick with the “big money items” as much as possible.  Meats.  Fish.  Meats.  Did I mention meats?  I saw people with huuuge scoops of cold potato-salad-looking-stuff piled high on their plate, and just shook my head in shame.  They must have spent $10 plus. I guess if that’s what you like… go for it.  But man that is a lot of money to spend on potato salad.

Here’s what I ended up with:

Clockwise from the upper left hand corner: bone in fried chicken bits (sometimes called chicharrones), boneless fried chicken (sadly the heavier bone-in chicken was better),  plantains (gotta do it), stewed steak, fried fish, some sort of pork stew (everything is mis-labeled at this buffet, so you have to be careful), the roasted chicken (pulled off the bone), and roast pork (once again… gotta do it.) And underneath it all- arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas).

Came out to about $6.50.  Not bad, pretty filling, and cheaper than Sophie’s Cuban… plus you get more of a variety. The downside is I forced myself to hold back a little, plus the potential of a big surprise during the weigh-in phase of your lunch will always be there.  If you don’t want to risk it, they do have a take out option: $7.95 gets you a meat, rice, beans, plantains, potato salad… pretty much whatever- but you have to order it over the phone in advance (they also deliver.)

International Food House Restaurant and Buffet, 240 W. 35th Street (btw. 7+8th), 212-564-7444

Situated in a long and thin, oddly antiseptic storefront on 35th btw. 7+8th, there is still a lot to like about Norimaki. You order from a counter, but they have a number of tables, and a long bar with stools for you to eat your sushi at. They have pre-made rolls, or you can order your food to be assembled fresh, and everything is sold in very small portions (mostly 3 pieces) so you can mix and match for optimum variety.   

With variety being one of the most important things I look for in a lunch, the concept at Norimaki (for me) is pure genius. Whenever I buy pre packaged sushi from a generic Midtown deli, I always have difficulty finding that perfect combo- which for me is spicy tuna, bbq eel (ideally with avocado), and some other non-california fish filled roll. At Norimaki, because every roll is sold in 3 pieces, you can create your own perfect combo, and at around $1.99 each, you can get 15 pieces for around $10.

3 full sushi rolls (18-24 pieces) is my ideal lunch, but I’m willing to compromise if I can make my own perfect take out sushi box. I ended up going with 4 rolls (I wanted the tempura roll, which is $2.55 so I had to go with the $1.55 giant shumai to keep me at $10), but was pretty disappointed with the size when my plate arrived.

$2 for 3 pieces is not exactly a bargain, and they’re pretty skimpy with the portions. It could have been forgivable if the sushi was the best ever, but I had a few problems with what I ordered. The shrimp tempura, despite being “made to order”, was totally soggy (the crunch is the whole reason to get it!), and while I enjoyed the “special” giant shumai, it was nearly giant enough to be worth the $1.50. (Keep in mind these photos are close-ups!)

That being said, the sushi was of a slightly better quality then you get at the takeout counter of some Midtown delis, but the serving size is not really big enough for you to taste the fish anyway. They do have a pre-set lunch with 3 pre-set lunches for $8 and under, which give you 12 pieces plus a house salad or miso soup.  I ended up hitting up the Fuji Bakery next door, for a “fill you up after a light lunch”, custard bun (75 cents).

In retrospect, I probably should have gone for the lunch set, and maybe added one more $1.99 roll to my order. It’s clearly the way to go, even though you forfeit the right to choose exactly what you want (one of the biggest plusses of the place).

One of things people will probably find most comforting is their proudly displayed “Golden Apple Award”. Placed on an ironically colored yellow paper (that’s the color of the Dept. of Healthy closure stickers), the Golden Apple is awarded by the DOH to restaraunts that pass their inspections with flying colors.  Norimaki claims to be the only Japanese restaurant to receive the award in all of New York City, and I’m sure it’s one of the few in Midtown to ever get it as well- although, I’m only taking into account the dirty places I lunch in. (I’m sure the Cafe Metro you eat in is spotless!)

All in all, if you work near Norimaki, it’s probably one of the better cheap sushi options in the area, but if you’re in another part of Midtown, it’s not worth the extra walk.  And certainly not a place for fat guys… but then again few sushi places are.

The +

• The serve their sushi in 3 piece orders, so you can mix and match the perfect roll for yourself
• They have little cards you can fill out, and take to the register, to make ordering quicker
• The won the Golden Apple award from the Department of Health (meaning, the place is clean)
• It’s not a sit down place, but they will make your sushi to order

THE -

• The portions are pretty small (especially for the price)
• There are other take out places you could get a much bigger portion, for less money
• My shrimp tempura roll was soggy. :-(
• Did I mention the portions are too small?

Norimaki, 224 W. 35th St. (btw. 7+8th Ave.), 212-967-8177

Search for IHOP in the Yahoo white pages (and on Citysearch and various other sites) and… you’ll find a listing on 240 W. 35th Street [which doesn't exist as an IHOP]. We know this because we tried to go there once and instead of being greeted by a Rooty Tooty Fresh ’N Fruity we found, of all things, the International Food House and Buffet, an all-you-can-eat Latin spot.

WHA?!?! All You Can Eat?  Latin food?  International Food House & Buffet?!?!  Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the exciting part of the story?  Who cares about an IHOP in Midtown.  I want to hear more about the buffet!

Well, yesterday I trekked down to 35th St. to find this fake IHOP that had disappointed so many, but was about to make me the happiest lunch’er in all of Midtown.

All the buffet-tastic glory, after the jump…

There are certain places you just walk into, and you know immediately- this is going to be awesome.  All you can eat + Latin Food + $8.95 = happy fat man.  With a fairly long line of options, the buffet quickly goes from a small selection of fruit and salad, through the rice, beans & plantains, into soups and ends up in a meat explosion of epic proportions.  I didn’t even have to taste one bite.  I knew I had found my new favorite Midtown Lunch.

With prices at Margon hovering around $8 and Sophie’s raising their prices to the $9 range, one cannot afford to ignore the economics of a $9 Latin buffet.  Most Indian buffets are more expensive than a lunch at Minar or Joy Curry & Tandoor.  But when a buffet ends up being practically the same price as the take out places with the same offerings, it doesn’t matter how much you can eat.  You have got to go with the buffet.

First Plate:

It’s tough not to load up on carbs at a Latin Food Buffet, but what’s roast pork without rice, beans and plantains to wash it down?   I started slow, adding a BBQ rib, popcorn chicken and a Cuban style chicharron (those little on the bone fried chicken nubs) to my morros, plantains and roast pork.  I also got something that was labeled “goat”, but I’m pretty sure it was chicken- which is actually one of the few problems with the buffet.  A lot of things are mislabeled… but that only becomes a problem if you don’t eat everything.  I don’t have that issue.

The popcorn chicken was a little dry, and I literally choked on my first bite- but I have to say, it probably had to do more with my initial buffet excitement, then through any fault of the chicken.  Can you imagine the irony of my choking to death at a Midtown all you can eat buffet?  In my dream scenario, it is always how imagined going…

The stewed meats fared a little better in the buffet format.  The BBQ ribs were tender, and sweet, and the stewed “goat” (which was actually chicken) was incredibly tender, and tasty.  The food is all way to heavy, and there were two many options to do a significant double dip with the things I had liked from the first go around.

Plate #2:

With my second plate, I tried the BBQ chicken, the fried fish, a roasted rib (with no sauce), a dish that I’m pretty sure was the actual goat (even though it was labeled “spaghetti”), a scoop of this eggplant dish, and of course- morros, plantains and pork.  The sauce-less rib was considerably more dry than the BBQ rib and not as good, but everything else was pretty tasty.

There were three soups (chicken, tripe & a Dominican soup) that I didn’t have enough room to try, but will be perfect for the winter.  There was also a strange selection of pastas, which I guess is why they call it “International” Food House rather than just “Latin Food Buffet”.  Needless to say, I wasn’t there for the lasagna- but if you are into that stuff, there were more than a few choices.  There also was a dessert fridge, but those cost extra.

Nothing on the buffet was really exceptional, but it was *good enough* and by that I mean, more than worth the $8.95 when you consider the variety, cleanliness of the restaurant and the fact that you can stuff your face beyond the point of what is humanly acceptable.  And in the end, that’s all I could ever ask for.  That, and not to choke and die on a Midtown Lunch… despite how funny it would be for you people.

THE +

• Um… it’s a buffet!  (Is there any greater plus?)
• All you can eat latin food at practically the same price as Sophie’s Cuban & Margon
• Great selection
• It’s a nicer interior than you would expect for a $9 latin buffet in Midtown
• The day we were there, the fried plantains were perfectly ripe and exceptional
• Buffets are a great way to have a sit down meal, in less time.  You just walk in, find a table sit down and start eating.  A waitress will take your drink order, and then you pay when you leave.
• Did I mention it is all you can eat?

THE – (What someone who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I don’t like meat.  And if you don’t eat meat, it’s not worth it
• A lot of the things on the buffet are dry
• A lot of things were mislabeled so you had to figure out some items on your own
• We got there at 1:30 and the place was pretty full (but we still got a seat).  I would imagine, the IFHR&B is a madhouse between Noon and 1pm… and you may not be able to get a table.
• As my fellow diner Mike said… “it’s a lot of brown”.  Not too many vegetable options, and a lot of stewed latin meats taste the same.
• With nap time not considered a socially acceptable work activity, the rest of afternoon on the job is pretty tough after an all you can eat Latin buffet.

International Food House Restaurant & Buffet, 240 W. 35th St. (btw. 7+8th), 212-564-7444