Horseshoe Casino, Near Louisville, Adds Paula Deen !

Over the past several years I have made negative comments about the food-service, and especially about the poor Buffet operated in the Hotel-Casino complex near my home. It was operated by Caesar's and the Bally's before being taken over by the "Horseshoe" Casino Chain. The most recent of these negative reports happened when TTM visited and decided to spend an evening playing Poker at the Casino. Jan and I met him there for a Buffet dinner that was a disaster. The place reeked of stale smokers after-smell. The food was very substandard, and the service was sloppy and "less than friendly" to be kind. Plus the place was filthy. I told you folks about this when it happened, and resolved that we would not return to this place again, even if it is less than 15 minutes from my home.
 
Well, a short time ago I heard from family that the new management of the Horseshoe Casino had "cleaned up it's act" and was making real progress at improving the food (and other operations) at it's Louisville location. Then they announced that early in September the Buffet restaurant would change hands and become part of the Paula Deen Franchise chain that operates in several of their Casinos around the country.
 
Despite some negative comments by other RF members, our experience with Paula Deen's "Lady and Son's" restaurant in Savannah,GA, has been very positive. We enjoyed our visit to the place, and will go again if the opportunity returns. So today we decided to try the Sunday Brunch offered at the local Casino/Riverboat. We arrived at about 1 PM and found the place pretty busy, with a 10-15 minute wait for payment and seating.
As with most large Buffets there are various 'sub-sets' or stations along the serving area to break up the appearance of long waiting lines.
Deen's stations include-
Soul-food with Mac & Cheese, Greens, Smothered Pork Chops, Meat Loaf, and other menu items common to that venue.  There are two Huge Carving Sections with what looked like a 250 lb Round of Beef being sliced to order, and another part had Huge hams and Turkey (whole) again being sliced to order. The traditional Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing and a bunch of the usual veggies filled out that section. 
    Then there was a smaller BBQ section- with Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork, Chicken quarters and pieces, and some BBQ shrimp. They also served the breakfast stuff at this section...Omelets, Bacon, Sausage, and related stuff.
The BBQ was served sauced with Paula's sweet sauce. I happen to like that flavor, so it agreed with me very much. Others who prefer the hotter, or more vinegary sauce may want to play with the sauces a bit to find their favorite.
     There was a small kiosk for Hoe-Cakes and Cheese Biscuits. Fresh out of the oven every few minutes, this was a source of good stuff for Jan and I!
    Then came the Seafood. Shrimp and Grits, Raw Oysters on the half-shell, Grilled Oysters in the shell with cheese and other toppings, Peel n Eat Shrimp, and some wonderful stuffed Flounder, filled with crab-stuffing! Jan got a couple of Eggs Benedict muffins. The sauce on them was great, and the 'stack' included a slice of fried green tomato under the egg! Here is where I made the visit profitable for "Me" ! I downed 1.5 dozen raw and one dozen of the Grilled Oysters  as my main entree item.
   I won't get into the dessert section, except to say they had the usual cakes, pies, cheesecakes and tarts, but they also serve Graeter's ice cream !!! Thats a Cincinnati-based premium Ice Cream maker and finding it in the Casino was a jackpot in itself !!!
 
    So to sum up. I am a convert ! Previous poor quality seems to have been repaired. Even the attitude of the employees has really improved. Smiles were everywhere. Folks greeted us at every station and really went out of their way to see that our 'wishes' were fulfilled. Even the Valet Parker took the time to remind me that I was under the quarter-tank level when I reclaimed my truck! I don't expect much from Buffet-service, but our waitress kept the drinks full and inquired several times if there was anything we needed.  That's a big change from previous visits!
 
So Show me as accepting that Paula Deen's Organization can run a Buffet. We will try it on a Friday evening soon, for the Seafood Special, to see if the quality continues on the non-Sunday brunch program!
I give it an 8.5 on a 10 Scale. A real Improvement over previous visits !
TTM and BB, We may have to find time to include this on your next Louisville visit!!

After our positive experience last week, Jan and I decided to see if things were remaing 'good' at Deen's new Buffet at the nearby Casino.
We decided to go on Friday evening to visit the "Seafood Specialty" night. Prices are up a bit for that evening,($28.00) and we wanted to see if the extra charge was warrented. They do serve Prime Rib on that buffet, as opposed to the large Rounds of Roast Beef on other nights.
 
We knew it would be a good night when we had the luck of the new customer strike as we entered. Without so much as a quarter invested in a Slot Machine, Janet got a 'comp-dinner' coupon at the entrance! That cut our dinner cost by 50% and gave us a good outlook for the evening !
 
We arrived early anticipating a large Friday night crowd. It was pretty calm when we got there, but by the time we left the place was full.
First stop was the Salad area. Clean and fresh, and basically ignored by the Hoosier Carnivores! It offered some nice fresh veggies.
 


 
Next stop for me was at the Beef Carving Table. The young fellow doing the work had a smile and a good attitude. He sliced two healthy pieces of Prime Rib for me. Pink and tender It was excellent Beef.
 


 
I picked up just one Pork Rib from the BBQ section this time. I found it to be too soft for my tastes. I like to have a little chew left in the meat when I 'do a rib'. These were tasty, but fell apart quickly with no effort at all.
 

 
On the seafood table, in addition to the cold Oysters and Shrimp there were grilled cheesie Oysters and Frog Legs, large butterlied fried shrimp, steamed Clams and Mussells, and tons of Crab Leg Clusters. In between was a tray of fried pickle slices.

 
Here is my plate of mixed Oysters...Grilled and Raw... With the Rib Sample riding along.

 
AND  My two slices of Prime Rib.  This was really good Beef. I used a table knife on it, but could have cut it with my fork, it was that tender ! Great Flavor too.
 

 
So my dinner looked like this. Obviously I didn't make many trips back to the supply lines !!!

 
Janet did fetch some desserts for the two of us. I enjoyed ONE slice of the Red Velet Cake !

 
Overall we really liked the dinner and service was very good too. I think I can safely say that this was one of the best buffet dinners we've ever enjoyed. I second my previous vote for a very positve endorsement.

Wow.  That looks like a serious upgrade over the one time we all went for dinner.  While I can be pretty confident that Ms. Deen is not in the kitchen whipping up any specialties, perhaps she is not one to attach her name to something of lesser quality.

TTM
I spoke to a couple of employees about what we considered the major upgrade in service, cleanliness, and food quality. They told me the Deen organization really pushed the improvements to achieve the level they felt was what thier organization would approve. The employees attended several days of training to improve attitudes and 'style' of service.  whatever they did it seems to be working. next time you're in the area, we may try it again.

Sounds good to me.  Look for a possible visit sometime in early December, if the parole board lets me travel out of state.

The Travelin Man


Sounds good to me.  Look for a possible visit sometime in early December, if the parole board lets me travel out of state.

#1 Son
 
Let e know when you get up here sounds like a trip worth taking to see yall again

Don, We'll keep you posted on this trip. Not sure the kid will have his Community Service Hours done by then, but if he does, and the girl turns out to be at least 15 (Indiana Marriage Minimum), we may have a reason to celebrate !!
 

After visiting some of the private schools around here, I am pretty well sure that whatever fetish men have for young girls in school outfits goes wayyyy beyond creepy.
 
So, in short, all of the charges of which you speak were dropped.

Wow! this all looks great to me!
Thanks for the post with so many great descriptions and wonderful photos.
I'm not much of a casino gal, but if I get down that way, we may have to make a stop.
 

TTM-
  The Judge may be satisfied, but I'd keep an eye out for an old green Chevy 4x4 Pick-Up, with Alabama Tags,...I don't think her Daddy is too happy with the verdict. We'll sit with our backs to the wall in the Deadwood Room of Paula's Buffet !
 
Iris, Thanks for the comment. My main reason for doing two write-up was to emphasize the improvement in the quality of the food and service since the change in ownership. I sure hope the new level of quality holds up over time.

Al, great write-up and pics!  I'm not usually a buffet kind of guy, but this looks like one I could get behind.  Thanks.

Looks like my trip to Louisville got derailed before it got off the ground.  I may still try to get up that way, but it may have to be on my own dime!  

Not to worry, Son. Dad's working on a 'Comp' for you.

wow, looks like, i might of missed something of interest ........ i was planning on playing poker  at the hotel/casino  the early part of the month http://www.wsop.com/tourn...etails.asp?groupID=773 .......... i bailed out the last minute ,cause, i was reading that the hotel was a mess ................ reading poker blog's and forums . well most of the negative i had read, most turn up untrue ......... i was watching to see when the paula deen deal was going to open........ my loss for this year , if the tour heads there next year, i'll have something to look forward too . thanks looks good...............

That Prime Rib looks great!
 
Does Jack Binon have anything to do w/ this Horseshoe? He had great food at the Tunica and Bossier City locations before he sold out to Harra's.
Joe

PapaJoe8

Does Jack Binon have anything to do w/ this Horseshoe? He had great food at the Tunica and Bossier City locations before he sold out to Harra's.
Joe

 
PapaJoe8, I thought you didn't drink, smoke, cus or gamble?
 

Wow, what a shock this is seeing after the buffet from Hell we had when it was Caesar's!  We don't gamble much, but the buffet we had was enough to switch to Belterra (or however it's spelled).
 
The buffet we had when it was Caesar's was like a line of canned vegetables and mystery meat.  Yes, it was that bad.
We might have to give it a try again.
 
Andrea

Joe, hmmm? Have you read my thread on Benny Binion's chili lately? Hey, two outa 5s not bad.  But, I never inhale. :~) My first and only Bear Steak, and my first Fried Rattler, were complaments of Benny.
 
Jack's prime rib at the Tunica Miss. buffet looked much like the above.
Joe