The Golder Corral is an all-you-can-eat buffet and grill restaurant that you might find in a lot of cities down South. It’s been around since 1973, and there are almost 500 locations spread out all over the US.

Going here is a no-brainer, but what should you order when you get there? With the long daily lines that tend to form in a typical Golden Corral, you better know what to order so you don’t waste your time and money. So, to help you out, here are our recommendations. 

Build Your Own Burger

This is a terrific place to start—who doesn’t find a burger appealing? It’s great for those with atypical food requirements. If you’re lactose intolerant, you can skip the cheese. 

The patties are fresh and not frozen, and they sprinkle on some seasoning before grilling. Five minutes later, you have a well-done burger that’s thick and tasty. Serve it on some warm yeast rolls, and then top it with onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and you’re good to go. 

Steak with Mashed Potatoes

Visit around 15 minutes past 4pm, and you may just get the first sirloin steak of the day. The marinated steaks are extremely tender, and when prepared medium-rare, they sure taste great. 

The mashed potatoes are fantastic, too. It goes well with the gravy, which can be either the poultry or “brown” version. Whichever option you pick, you’ll find it quite good. 

Smoked Pit Ham with Shrimp Scampi

The shrimp is supposed to be an entrée, but each shrimp is tiny at about the size of a nickel. But it tastes great as a topping for the smoked pit ham, and it does make the whole dining experience feel a lot more special. 

The ham is carved to order, which is great. With the heat lamps here, being carved to order keeps the meat from drying out. 

Fried Chicken with Chocolate

Yes, it sounds weird. But then again, buffets are great places to try new things, right? This looks like something that may seem strange but might actually be good. 

No, we didn’t run the fried chicken through the chocolate fountain. We’re not barbarians, thank you very much. We just got a bowl and put some chocolate in it, and the we dipped the fried chicken on the chocolate. And wouldn’t you know it, the fried chicken and chocolate combo is surprisingly nice. 

Aunt B’s Fried Chicken

We don’t know who Aunt B is, and we didn’t ask (in case of Covid bad news). But she ought to be congratulated, as this fried chicken version is excellent. Eat it while it’s fresh from the fryer, and it’s juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. 

Smoky Chicken

As you may have imagined, there are plenty of chicken options here in Golden Corral. The smoky chicken is another option you have to try, as it’s as good as the fried chicken here. The bits of skin are gorgeously crispy, and the meat is so tender that they seemingly pull apart all by themselves. 

Carrots

Who goes to a buffet for healthy dishes? Certainly not us, but then we thought of our readers and made an effort to order a veggie side dish. 

Of all the veggies here in Golden Corral, the carrots are certainly among the best picks. Each carrot is more than an inch in diameter, and they’re all buttery and crisp. They taste great and they’re actually healthy, and they’re not even all that filling. So, it’s a win-win-win all around. 

24-Karat Carrot Cake

When you think you’re done, you still have dessert.  The 24-Karat Carrot Cake is one of the more popular dessert options here at Golden Corral, and it’s not hard to understand why. You get huge shreds of carrot along with the cream cheese frosting that’s just the right level of sweetness. 

Apple Cobbler

Now, you might think that you ought to top things off with the traditional apple pie, but that would be a mistake. Not that the apple pie is bad (it’s actually decent), but the apple cobbler is a much better option. In fact, it’s probably the best apple dessert you should go with here. 

Bread Pudding

This option actually rivals the terrific carrot cake, in our opinion. Try to get it warm, like we did. The icing on the pudding gives you a taste of what paradise must feel like. It’s gooey, warm, and nicely sweet. 

Freshly Spun Cotton Candy

You get this as you go. No meal at Golden Corral is complete without a bag of the cotton candy. It even keeps until the next day!