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10/22/08
Best Food in the Midwest
by Teacheroftruth at Citysearch
King Arthur had his quest for the Holy Grail. Christians flock to the Holy Land. Muslims pilgrimage to Mecca. Ahab had the white whale. Khan even had his ?dish that was best served cold?. But for those who love food, there is only one obsession: The Back 40 Junction in Decatur, Indiana.
For the past 15 years, I have driven 1 ? 2 hours each way just for the opportunity to feast upon the buffet offered up by the Back 40. Anytime I stop there you can count numerous cars from Ohio and even Michigan. It is worth the drive. Their rolls are so tdelicious with homemade cinamon butter and turkey is so moist and so tender it literally melts in you mouth. Yeah, that?s right ?turkey that melts in your mouth. Salad bar, fresh fruit, a desert table that comes in 3 parts, a cheese table with the best smoked gouda this side of Amish country, a meat buffet with prime rib, shrimp, meatballs, fish, fried chicken, brisket and BBQ ribs! There is no end.
Make no mistake. This is a buffet?If you?re looking for a fancy, city type of restaurant that offers bairly enough food for a small appetite for the price of an arm and a leg ? this isn?t it. But as for quality and quantity, it doesn?t get any better. I have taken 2 groups of hungry high school students to the Back 40 as part of a field trip, and they rave continually. (They ate so much shrimp it should have been illegal!)
The Back 40 is $15.45 plus drink except on Fridays when it is a couple dollars more because they have unlimited crab legs. The price is totally worth it. This isn?t some Golden Corral or Ryan?s or Old Home Buffet, this is better quality in a great setting. Friday night is great for crablegs but expect a long wait. Sunday afternoon is best - no wait and no congestion. Enough food to last for several meals.
- Pros: Great setting & decoartion. High quality home cooked food. Plenty of it.
- Cons: None
09/10/08
Would not recommend. Got sick from food.
by Not4back40 at Citysearch
On a trip to Michigan for a family reunion my family and I were excited to stop by a restaurant for something other than fast food. After waiting a few minutes to be seated, we were told it was a buffet bar that included seafood, cheeses, hot food salad and desserts. It sounded good until we heard the high price of $18.95 each plus the cost of your drink. We went for it anyway. My daughter and I ate the seafood bar, shrimp only, and the salad bar. The cheese area had huge chunks of cheese that were warm and just sitting out, so we did not think it was a good choice to eat the cheese. I tried the sliced turkey from the buffet person who was doing the slicing, it was greasy and tasteless. Let's try again...The salad bar looked fresh and pristine, as if it was just brought out. I choose that after the greasy turkey and topped it off with some fried chicken pieces to put on my salad. I was not thrilled with the desert bar as it was in an open area and had flies buzzing all over the place and the food. It was gross. After eating a minimal amount of food, we left and arrived at our destination about two hours later. About 5 minutes after arriving at a relatives house, my 9 year old daughter began throwing up. As I helped her I too began getting sick about 15 minutes after she did. We threw up off and on for five hours. I ended up driving to the pharmacy at 3 a.m. to get Pepto Bismal to stop the stomach pain. Conclusion: We had HORRIBLE food sickness. Needless to say the weekend was a bit of a bust. We will continue to go visit family, but we will not recommend the Back 40 or stop by again EVER. My guess is MSG, a food preservative, may have been used to preserve some of this food sitting out for such a long period of time. Overall rating: VERY BAD EXPERIENCE.
