Marketplace

December 13, 2010

I have always been a fan of Tryyaki's little sushi drive through on 23rd street, so based on a number of mini-reviews on Twitter, my wife and I decided to try out their new location and buffet.

The atmosphere was great. Lots of bright colors on the walls with upbeat, but well curated pop music playing. The chairs and tables all looked to be new and were well spaced to provide seating options for just one couple, all the way up to larger parties.

The service was excellent. Quickly seated, water refilled when needed, but without constant interruptions. Check was provided at the ideal time. Very pleasant service.

The food was roughly divided into four buffet style serving stations:

Prepared hot food Soup prep station Sushi Desserts

The prepared hot food was the most disappointing station. It largely included Chinese style hot dishes. I thought the quality of these dishes was lower than you would find at every other Chinese food focused buffet in Lawrence. The flavors were average, but the texture of the food never seemed to hit the mark. It could be because these dishes has set out longer as the other parts of the the buffet are the stars.

The soup prep station is much more elaborate than it sounds. The staff explained to us that we could put whatever ingredients we wanted in the provided metal bowls and then take them to a small window in the back where the food would be cooked. You could request either beef or chicken broth . I believe that their were four meats offered. I remember that beef, chicken and shrimp were offered. Six different noodles were offered as well as tofu. That combined with a number of vegetables made for plenty of customization. The soup itself was excellent. There isn't a lot of seasoning with just the broth, so I suggest adding the paste they offer or adding some Sriracha which is on all the tables.

The sushi offered was the best I have had at a buffet in Lawrence. A dozen different types were offered. My only suggestion would be better labeling of what each roll was (I don't believe any were labeled).

Finally desserts. I don't usually expect a lot of dessert quality in Asian food focused buffets, but I tried two different pieces of cake, and they were both excellent.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and the price of 8.99 was more than fair for the quality of food and level of service.