The service here is really good. I was here 4 years ago and remember the service and the food,…read morewhich is also good. We got the steak with fries and the buffet.

ALL! FOOD. SERVICE. AMBIANCE! LOVE ME SOME PONDEROSA! AT LEAST THIS ONE IN VANDALIA!…read more THERES NOT TOO MANY PLACES IN THIS TOWN THAT I CAN SAY THAT ABOUT ... OR RECOMMEND! But the food here is delish! They even have a DRIVE-UP window that at lunchtime (i'm not for sure about dinner time) but at lunchtime, you can roll thru the drive-up window, throw them a $10 bill and tell them which meat you prefer ... (usually meatloaf, turkey, fish on fridays and then there are other choices but i'm drawing a mind blank right now) and they give you a pretty large styrofoam container FULL OF FOOD! usually on the side it's mashed potatoes, corn or green beans, and ALWAYS A ROLL! and man it is better than a home cooked meal! I LOVE IT! and I haven't ran into a rude employee yet! They are ALL so nice in there! I love the food and i love all the employees there too! THEY ROCK!! ((next time i go there, ill take a picture of the awesome food they give ya for that ten dollar bill!)) ~ THANK YOU PONDEROSA!!!

Super cheap! Good choice for only $12.99 and they have amazing cookies. Sometimes the fried chicken…read moreis dry but ask for fresh and they'll do so. Also, the waiters are nice and quick. Totally recommend going here if ur on a budget.

Well I thought this was a hard to rate kind o place. It's in an old school cafeteria so the dining…read morearea is either nostalgic or dreary depending on your school experience. We arrived on a Tuesday about 11:40. There was only one other customer. While we were there 4 groups of 2 did come in. I noticed most everyone else was ordering the daily specials - a beef sandwich or tenderloin sandwich. The buffet had a lot of food. Couldn't figure out the economics of so much food for so few people. There is a hot buffet that had fried chicken and 4 or 5 other entrees. The fried chicken didn't seem quite done to me, but the chef assured me it was and I was just seeing coloring from the marinade. I think the only thing on the hot buffet either of us liked were the au gratin potatoes, the was also a large salad bar and an extremely wide selection of desserts. I'd say it was ok, probably not as good as Bonnie Cafe at the airport. They do seem to do a good job of marketing and their specials must attract a lot of local interest.

So this is not a food destination but for being in the middle of nowhere and having very low…read moreexpectations, this place rocked. Food wasn't bad, prices were great and the people running the place were even better. Big shout out to Candy at the bar!

From the owner: Made fresh country style cooking. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast and dinner buffet…read moreon Select days. Beer, wine, and spirits. gaming in a seperate room. Stay in our motel with eight rooms near the beach, boat access, and Marina. It's all good all the time.

Great place to eat! Lots of selection and attentive service! Very clean and lots of tasty…read moreselections. Only thing I would ding them on is food is not always really hot! Today was good but, times the food has just slightly over warm. Good food at a good price! Very nice place for dinner!

I wanted to be fair, so I have intentionally waited until we have been here three visits. We have…read moregone for lunch each time. The first was while in a hotel when we first arrived in June to move into our "forever home" in Staunton (about 10 miles away). We went again a month or so after moving in. We went today (Sunday lunch) because we wanted to pick up a few things at Walmart. Understand where I (we) are coming from. My wife spent her childhood in Hawaii, and her father is Japanese. I am an Army veteran, and have been to plenty of Asian restaurants around the world. I do have a tough standard. I am sincerely not trying to punch down. I want this place to be good, it would be better for my retirement years for it to be good. It is the closest option for buffet. Our Staunton option is a menu only, and it is also not a good option, at all. I understand that a place needs to cater to its patrons to be profitable. I am not saying they don't try, I'm not saying they don't care. I do understand that americanized and (bland) is what they need to lean into. Our lunch today was $40 and we both left unsatisfied. I am willing to eat anything and have the girth to prove it. My wife is a bit more particular, but certainly has the ability to provide a decent value judgement on the things she chooses. There just are not consistently good choices to be had here. The "sushi" for example is marginal at best. There are more breaded/fried items than truly exist in Asian menus at other places I have been. The other items almost always have a sauce that is salt and sugar forward. There are very few spices/textures that I would expect from a Chinese menu. It is relatively clean, the people working here do try to do a good job. I appreciate the effort required to put all this together for us. It has the standard Chinese restaurant decorations (I think there is a kit that can be ordered from somewhere), but they haven't overdone it. I do understand and accept that people like this place, and appreciate the offerings. I am in no way looking down on their preference, [To each their Own] and please continue to enjoy it. If you are however, just passing through, it may not be the best stop for good Chinese food, okay "food" sure, but not on par with other options I have enjoyed.

Golden Corral all you can eat breakfast buffet is my husband and I's guilty pleasure. Only…read moreavailable Friday - Sunday (open at 7:30 am those days). Discounted rate for senior citizens. Piping hot coffee, all the breakfast favorites. Plus, the salad bar and dessert bar is open. Chef will make you a custom omelet. My favorites are the banana bread French toast and the fried potatoes/onions. Can't get enough of either. It is usually pretty crowded on a Saturday morning. There is service staff that clears your plates and keeps your coffee filled. Family atmosphere. Clean.

Reminds me of my father and I. We would go there all the time .It's nice to have a place to eat and…read morehave some good comfort food.

Amazing can't say anything bad, food amazing great portions and staff amazing, very friendly,…read moredecor simple very clean, didn't disappoint.

Been here many times and always great food and service. We usually do the Buffett. Fresh food,…read moreclean restaurant. Never a long wait. Highly recommend, very large parking lot. Fair prices. Will definitely return.

Didn't realize that it was a buffet thing when I went. But I had a small sirloin, and it really was…read moregood. The waitress was great. Over all I had a very good experience. The only reason I took off one star, was because 3 or 4 of the employees were swirling around talking about how to do their "preclose" and how to get out on time. I was at least an hour away from closing time, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

We've eaten here a few times. It's a typical buffet. The salad bar selection is very good and…read morefresh. The fried chicken is good. Wish they had baked potatoes on the food bar. The breakfast bar on the weekend is very good. The lady at the omelet station is very friendly and accommodating.

Everything on the buffet is very delicious. They replenish the buffet quite often, and sometimes…read morehave different choices. The servers are very attentive and refills drinks often. The restaurant is very clean and well maintained. We like coming here because of the variety! Fried chicken, Catfish, salads, fried mushrooms.... everything you'd want!

I was enamored by the existence of a smorgasbord after taking the scenic route and ending up in…read moreChester. After running around to all the Popeye statues we worked up an appetite, so we were ready to eat! The food was nothing to write home about, but it was tasty, home-style food. The meatloaf was a highlight for us. The only bad thing was the cornbread muffins were awfully stale. Our server was super sweet and bubbly. The place definitely looks like it hasn't been updated since the 90's, but I think it adds to the charm.

A must try effingham staple…read more Eat on the salad bar or diner side and enjoy a hometown style meal or the spring rolls! Every time we visit this town we try to get in a meal or at least take home one of their handmade pies or cookies. They rotate staff a lot but the food is always the same so it's a good bet you will have a good meal. Don't forget they do a great job catering!

Passed through Effingham IL again and decided to commence my 30 minutes + off duty break here…read more Low-Key truck stop next door to Niemerg's Steakhouse is the Speedway; the startegy is park your rig there and walk over to this landmark. Haven't not been inside this restaurant ever, i kept an open mind I didn't know what to expect. Theres apparently three dine in area options. You have a whiskey, bar lounge that probably the likes of General MacArthur would patronize for food and cigars like at the Historical Manila Hotel in Manila Philippines. Then you have the open dining room where you seat yourself and it was reminiscent to an Army Chow Hall...sort of with retro 80s decor. And lastly, I chose the Salad Bar room with a booth seating. Server Jessica was fantastic! Went through the standard protocols with me; I was really enjoying the vibes at this place. It's very Mahogany, 1960s - 1980s feeling, almost like that steakhouse Warren Buffet likes to go to in Omaha Nebraska. Very community family oriented, quiet, really quite different than any restaurant or diner you patronize in a city like Los Angeles. A lot of retired folk here and truly, you feel like you been thrown back in time to the 80s and early 90s in some sense. So anyways on to the food. I'm going to state my opinion straight up, the salad bar hot food bar is the star of the show. In fact everything from the soup to the oven potatoes to the COLESLAW (Best Coleslaw Ever), reminded me of that once upon a time Soup Plantation that died during Covid....and the best part is the Cold and hot bar is all-inclusive with your main entree order. Yes you heard that right, you buy the resort tickets, and you enjoy your stay with unlimited cocktails at Cancun...I mean Neimergs... Now to the Iowa Premium Rib Eye Steak. To the kitchen staff: 2 minutes on the top side, 2 minutes on the bottom side. Bake in oven 1 minute on both sides. Done. Medium Rare. A perfectly good steak was destroyed because it came out well done. To future passerbys, skip the baked potato loaded if you decide to dine in at the hot and cold bar room. Last thoughts. I want to give the steak a 3 stars but the overall ambiance, the grandpappy grandma vibes and that overall feel like your dining at someone's home in farm country really elevated the entire experience. Plus the servers are all working their tails off. So I've rated this place a 4 stars. Think anyone on a road trip, or just driving their rig through town should give this historical site a visit. 1978 right? Or something like that. This place also has some of the freshest greens.

This place was never great, but okay. Now, no more. We use…read moreto love this place. Wife from Hawaii really enjoyed her Asian food here. Last time, my wife said no more. Service is good. Inside is okay. Plenty parking.

Service was good. Food was okay. My rice was barely room temp…read more The veggie sushi roll I had was my favorite. They didn't have much for desert. The melons tasted crispy not fresh It wasn't too busy at the time. Once we sat it started to become busier. Overall wasn't horrible.