Valentine’s Day with my sisters

This has been the first time that I went out with my sisters and it fell on Valentine’s Day. Trying to avoid the evening Valentine’s dinner crowd we decided to go to lunch at the River’s Casino in Rosemont. Their buffet restaurant is called Canopy.

Am not a big fan of buffets. If the food is great am willing to pay the price but most of them are mediocre at most if not sub par which in that case they are not worth it.

My sister has been eyeing to try the Canopy. Last time I discouraged her because the reviews I read were not impressive so instead we went to my favorite Chinese place – Chef Ping. But when you are asked the second time and she’s paying the bill (for her birthday treat), you’ve got to give in.

At first I was impressed. Small in size compared to the Las Vegas buffets but the decoration is modern. The buffet table was long and there are several stations – seafood, Asian, Southern, Italian, American, salad bar and a huge array of desserts. I was ready to concede that it’s better than the Chinese buffets we’ve been going to.

But not too quick. I love seafood and the salad, smoked salmon and steamed cod were average. The fried perch was very salty though, so was the Asian barbecued wings and the fried chicken, I hardly ate it. My sisters raved about the ribs but I want my barbecue to be tender and juicy, theirs was very dry. There were many dishes I didn’t try, even the prime rib and I love a great steak. It wasn’t appetizing enough for me.

The mesclun mix salad needed some seasoning. The crème brulee didn’t have any flavor. But okay, the mango gelato saved the day!

In the end, we all decided for $20 per person, the Canopy is not worth the trip unless you are there for the casino. There are other restaurants in the vicinity where you can get your money’s worth like the Brazilian steak house – Fogo de Chao and the Mediterranean Rosewood. In-house they have Hugo’s Frog House.

For sisters’ bonding time, it was good though. We were there early enough before the crowd came and the service was very good. And they have a covered parking attached to the casino.

Even though I go to the Chinese buffets only when invited, I must say that the salt and pepper shrimps and the Manila clams are better value for the money than the Canopy.