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Best All You Can Eat Buffets In Minnesota

Oh, buffets, the epitome of American gluttony. The variety. The endless portions. When you can't choose what you want to eat, it's your privilege and your right to head to a buffet and have a plethora of options laid out before you. But even if quantity is the name of the game, we still want quality. Here are the best buffets to try next time you're feeling extra hungry.
Pad Thai
(credit: Thinkstock)

Ruam Mit Thai
475 St Peter St
St Paul, MN 55102
(651) 222-7871
www.ruammitthai.com

Quietly one of the best places for Thai food in St. Paul, the lunch buffet here lets you enjoy green curry, rice and noodles, changing entrees, salad, fruits and more in endless supply. If you're not as familiar with Thai cuisine (which is rare in a city like St. Paul), this is a great place to try it out. After exploring the lunch buffet, you'll be ready to come back for dinner.

Christo's
214 4th St E
St Paul, MN 55101
(651) 224-6000
www.christos.com

Two locations means lunch in either of the Twin Cities isn't far away. Greek food galore is featured here, with classic Mediterranean dishes and some crossover, like EVOO pizzas. And don't forget to load up with some truly delicious tzatziki. It's a lighter, cleaner-eating alternative to the often greasy buffets that populate most city centers, and it's a wonderful option to have for lunch hour any given day. If you're at the St. Paul location, dining inside the restored, historic Union Depot is a treat in and of itself.

Gorkha Palace
(credit: gorkhapalace.com)

Gorkha Palace
23 4th St NE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 886-3451
www.gorkhapalace.com

A hidden gem in the Twin Cities, Gorkha Palace's immense selection of fresh Nepali, Indian and Tibetan food is worth traveling to the Northeast neighborhood to find any day of the week. But if you wait until Friday, you can get the full experience and more taking part in their fantastic lunch buffet. The soups especially (like the Daal, a lentil soup that is impossibly savory and delicious) are something you won't be able to get enough of. Added bonus: while the recipes come from thousands of miles away, the ingredients are typically all local, and all of the spices are ground in-house.

Related:  Best Lunch Spots For Twin Cities Jurors

Leo's Chow Mein
1059 Hudson Road
St Paul, MN 55106
(651) 771-0305
www.facebook.com/Leos-Chow-Mein

Forgive the nondescript exterior and step inside for one of the more interesting and unique ways to do buffet. Here, you don't even have to get up from your chair to fill your plate; just sit back and relax while the food is brought to you. It's tasty Chinese food at incredibly low prices in a place that understands that if you want to squeeze in just a little bit more, you might not want to get up to do so.

Mexican Food
(credit: Thinkstock)

Boca Chica
11 Cesar Chavez St
St Paul, MN 55107
(651) 222-8499
bocachicarestaurant.com

For 50 years, Boca Chica has provided Minnesotans with some of the best tacos this far north of the border. If you love Mexican food and don't want to settle between the enchiladas or the tacos, and you also might want some menudo on the side (and possibly a salad) then this is the buffet for you. There are always a few different authentic entrees to choose from, and you can load up on all of the soup and salad, and of course enchiladas, that you can handle.

Related: Best Mexican Restaurants In Minnesota

Adrian Schramm is a resident Saint Paul writer with a passion for all things local. Through his work with Saint Paul Almanac and Minneapolis Examiner at Examiner.com, as well as in the kitchens of bars and restaurants around town, he has discovered what truly makes the Twin Cities tick.
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