Far more than an excuse to wear your most forgiving pants, New England’s top all-you-can-eat dining experiences showcase the region’s abundance and inspire diners to interact with food in unexpected ways. Taste-test dishes you’d never order from a menu. Photograph the plates you arrange. Chat with chefs, eat dessert first, play with pairings. Open up to new ways of thinking about food, and you’ll expand your mind — not just your waistline.
The Best 5 All-You-Can-Eat Feasts
Harraseeket InnFreeport, ME
Known for its hearty daily breakfast buffet, which always includes a lobster Benedict–caliber surprise ($16.95), and for an over-the-top Sunday brunch that features heaps of chilled local lobster ($39.95), this family-run inn also serves an all-you-can-eat lunch Monday through Saturday that flies a bit under the radar ($17.95). Conceived as a speedy, healthy meal for local employees of Freeport’s retail and outlet stores, lunch in the inn’s Broad Arrow Tavern has evolved into a foodie’s delight. This is the laboratory of Troy Mains, the Maine Restaurant Association’s 2018 chef of the year, and you’ve never been a happier guinea pig. From soup to salads to desserts like macadamia-encrusted chocolate coconut banana cream cake, each noontime’s a new adventure. harraseeketinn.com
Hot Pot BuffetBoston, MA
In the shadow of Boston’s ornate Chinatown gate, you’ll find the city’s best endless-dining deal. It’s a meal you create, ingredient by ingredient, swirling colors together in the broth of your choice as it bubbles and steams on your cooktop table. Out come the tantalizing platters of raw materials you selected from a checklist of 60-plus items. Into the cauldron go the reds: thin-sliced sirloin, rib-eye, pork, mini sausages, crawfish. Opalescent scallops and fish.Pale dumplings, gray-shelled clams, speckled quail eggs. Mushrooms in a rainbow of neutrals. Bright green spinach, Chinese broccoli, and winter melon. Some tasty morsels cook in seconds; others require a few minutes of patience before you plate them with chopsticks in your own artful way. All-you-can-eat lunch is $16 per person until 4 p.m.; dinner is $24. Phone: 617-338-0808
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Nordic LodgeCharlestown, RI
No, you haven’t departed this earthly world. But New England’s ultimate destination for overindulging sure feels like some gustatory nirvana. Unlimited Maine lobsters, jumbo co*cktail shrimp, slow-cooked prime rib, grilled-to-order filet mignon, fried scallops, butter-bathed steamers, Watch Hill oysters shucked as fast as you can slurp — these surf-and-turf superstars are supported by a cast of freshly prepared salads, soups, sides, desserts, and custom-made ice cream creations every bit as worthy of tummy space. The $98, attentive-service-included price tag doesn’t deter diners from traveling hours to get here (or from making this family-run spot a habit). It buys admission to an outdoor paradise, too, where farm animals graze, fire pits glow, bands play on summer Fridays and Sundays, and pondside hammocks offer the perfect spot for sleeping off your food coma. nordiclodge.com
Seasons Buffet at Mohegan SunUncasville, CT
Hit this 200-item, three-meals-a-day casino jackpot just right (hint: before 11 a.m.), and you can sample your choice of about 400 different dishes in the transition from breakfast to lunch. Plus, you’ll pay the $12.50 breakfast price (lunch is $21, dinner $25). That’s a winning deal, particularly when you consider how entertaining it is to observe a small army of chefs and cooks stir frying, grilling, sautéing, carving, and deep-frying much of the lineup before your eyes. To keep diners from feeling overwhelmed, the buffet is divided into stations, including one devoted to New England classics such as baked cod, clam strips, and chowder. Gobble up seafood plucked from local waters and Connecticut-grown fruits and vegetables, too. The 30-foot-long dessert display is the biggest station of all. mohegansun.com
Southern Maine Community College Oceanview Dining HallSouth Portland, ME
When it comes to panoramic views, Maine’s finest waterside restaurants have nothing on this windowed dining hall and patio overlooking Casco Bay and Portland Head Light. Lucky students and faculty, right? Here’s a little secret: You can relive your battle with the “Freshman 15” whenever school or summer camp is in session. All the made-from-scratch food and scoop-your-own ice cream you care to eat is just $5 at breakfast, $6 during lunch and late-night hours, or $7 at dinner; kids’ meals are half price. Stick to the salad bar and “mindful” selections including vegan entrées built with Maine-grown produce, or fill up on home-style dishes, pizza, pasta, deli-made sandwiches, grilled burgers and dogs, and just-baked pastries. You might find sushi or Korean tacos at the chef-staffed action station, which changes weekly. You’ll always find a walk on Willard Beach — right outside — an ideal way to burn calories. smccme.sodexomyway.com
Kim Knox Beckius is a Connecticut-based travel writer and photographer whose passion for New England inspires everything she does, whether it’s riding a giant inflatable lobster in her wedding gown, naming her daughter so she shares initials with L.L. Bean or sending free fall leaves in the mail to autumn lovers around the world. The author of six travel books on New England and New York state, Kim is also the New England travel expert for About.com.
