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Good value for dollar has always been a concern for restaurant customers, but getting the most bang for your buck is a particularly pressing priority in this era of inflation. The fear of getting ripped off accounts for the rising popularity of an old standard: the buffet restaurant. Buffets not only make hungry guests feel like they’re getting their money’s worth, but they put control in the hands of the customer, allowing people to choose exactly what they want to eat while skipping any unappreciated side dishes or accoutrements.
While buffet chains like Bonanza and Ponderosa were all the rage in the ’80s, modern buffet culture has become the domain of casinos, hotel brunches or various Asian cuisines. A new spot called ELYMI (Eat Like You Mean It) is re-establishing the standalone Western-style buffet as part of Calgary’s culinary scene.
Owner Shawn Nguyen has been in the buffet game for a while, having opened restaurants in communities like Fort McMurray, Lloydminster and Prince Albert, previously focusing on Asian cuisines which is a natural fit for the buffet format with so many dishes meant to be served family-style in the first place. Nguyen tested out a Western buffet concept in Regina and it proved to be so popular he extended the idea to Calgary.
The name is fun and a cheeky play on boastful eaters trying to rise to the challenge of “beating the buffet” (i.e. eating a volume of food that exceeds the price of admission), and as a bonus, the bold lettering can easily be spotted by cars speeding by on Barlow Trail. The interior of ELYMI – located in a completely renovated Tony Roma’s location – is bright and welcoming. The 190-seat restaurant is fitted with modern wooden accents and bright yellow booths, with a series of inviting buffet tables located in the central part of the restaurant.
The biggest question, of course, is the food, which has evolved well beyond those cheesy ’70s all-you-can-eat steak houses. To ensure variety, each week is split into a variety of theme nights, with things like a pub night on Wednesdays, a Mediterranean spread on Thursdays, the very popular surf and turf dinners on Fridays and Saturdays, and a weekend brunch. Admission is priced accordingly, with weekday lunches at $22.95 for adults and kids over 14, most dinners at $32.95, and the surf and turf nights at $42.95, with a sliding scale for children based on age. What makes ELYMI unique, however, is that the food is fresh, with ample room for creativity within the kitchen.
“The concept was always to cook from scratch every day,” Nguyen says. “I don’t set the menu – I encourage the chefs that work here to experiment with different dishes. They have the freedom to go in there and cook what they want.”
As a result, at any given service the buffet will be filled with an array of fresh salads and suitable desserts as well as Mexican dishes, pastas, and various proteins. A recent Wednesday lunch saw the hot buffet tables stacked with breaded fish, chicken wings, herb and garlic chicken, meatballs, and less-expected selections like goat curry, steamed sea bass in tomato broth, and Jamaican oxtail stew. The idea is not just to make sure everyone can find something tasty and familiar, but to also give guests a chance to try dishes outside their regular wheelhouse should they be so inclined.
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Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.