Hometown Buffet and Sizzler: Fancy Dining in 1995

Let me tell you about my favorite restaurants in 1995: their names are Hometown Buffet and Sizzler. I just read Aaron some Junie B Jones and that last sentence was a very Junie B thing to say. I also AM Junie B. Jones. 

Anyway, Hometown Buffet was a magical place. There was an entire salad bar. I'd always make a big salad and then add a bunch of not salad salads like potato salad and a crab/seafood salad (there is nothing more terrifying to me in 2022 than eating a seafood salad from a buffet). THEN there was a whole table with a make your own taco station. Do you know how much I love tacos? Do you know how much I loved assembling my own tacos with every topping as a child? There were other things too if I had enough room in my stomach. The best part of all was that there was a whole dessert section. They had soft serve, cakes, some kind of chocolate mousse, and no grown ups ever told me I couldn't get more than one dessert. 

We often went to Hometown Buffet when we were having a sleepover at my grandparents house or for one of our birthdays. So, besides the many desserts and seafood salad (again, WHY), it was special for those reasons too!

Sizzler was exciting in it's own way. There was a salad bar, not nearly as extensive as Hometown Buffet's whole buffet, but they had salad, soup, and make your own tacos. All the essentials. And also they had cottage cheese and pre-Kelli who has to curl up in the fetal position after eating cheese because her stomach is so mad just loved cottage cheese. Sizzler was also special because it was a sit down restaurant. Grown ups could order like a steak and a salad bar or shrimp and a salad bar. Or steak AND shrimp and a salad bar. They gave you the salad bar plates like right away, but usually our parents made us wait a little for the cheese bread to come before we could do the salad bar. The cheese bread is just the best bread ever. It's like texas toast with cheese broiled on it? It is one of their specialties. I think there was a kids meal, but I never got it. Because I was pretty big into salad bars. 

My dad worked at Sizzler for a minute and I can't tell you how proud we were to go to Sizzler when he was working. I told every other staff person THAT IS MY DAD WORKING BY YOU. Like he was a celebrity. 

Now that Sizzler is closed and has been a Fuddrucker's and a Hooters and some place with excellent breadsticks. It's something else now but I can't remember what. Basically, nothing has had the longevity like Sizzler has had in that spot.  

One time me and my friend JR went to a Sizzler when we were in college because he also loved Sizzler as a kid, and you know what? It was still as good as I remembered. I haven't been to one since then, but I'm going to hang on to those special memories.