CiCi's Pizza buffet: Yum or yuck?

[davsand]

Poll question: CiCi's Pizza buffet: Yum or yuck?

An all you can eat pizza and salad buffet--is it a dream unrealized or did CiCi's Pizza get it right?

My ten year old has been pointing out the ads--begging us to go. I am reluctant to walk in without some forewarning.


Sound off, dish the dirt, or spew. I want to know what I am walking into and should I take a doggie bag or a vomit bag?



Laura

[texanwitch]

1. The place is OK.

Just order a fresh pizza, any way you want.

I like to go to Pizza Inn.

[Inchworm]

2. Too cool! I've been there!

:rofl:

[Robeson]

3. If you like kid's boogers and snot in your food, I'd say go for it....

...of course I don't even want to talk about the pus in dairy products in this country, but that's a whole different topic....:hi:

[cuke]

4. For me, one word tells the whole story

buffet

[MrScorpio]

5. How do you like your crust...

Paper or plastic?

[SeattleGirl]

6. I have no idea. Never seen a CiCi's around here.

Guess I'll remain in the dark.

[Orsino]

7. Pretty good, and cheap.

Not quite like real pizza, but decent.

[hippywife]

8. If you really like pizza and

want your kid to develop a taste for really good pizza, please, please, please don't eat at CiCi's. We have them all over the place here and they do suck big time.

[triguy46]

9. Perfect for your inner glutton: Cheap and all you can eat.

It is not good pizza by any standard, don't kid yourself. It is a good place to take a group of kids, however.

[yellowdogintexas]

10. good answer; and they do vary from location to location.

It is a Good Deal, especially if you have hungry kids. They are very popular for soccer teams, little league, etc. You can't expect super excellent pizza with that kind of price. And they are really nice about letting groups hold fundraisers. You arrange the fundraiser date with the store manager, then your group comes in and helps out with the table bussing and other minor stuff and you can have a couple of folks at the door to inform customers that there IS a fund raiser ...then you invite everyone you know to show up during that day for your fund raiser...you get a little card or coupon which you give to the cashier when you pay, and they staple it to your ticket or mark the register somehow...and a percentage of all the designated sales goes to your organization. Kind of neat. Think of it this way, say a big kid's soccer league decided to do this and promoted the hell out of it, the store would have a huge wave of business that day and the group would get some money. Neat deal, huh?

And a fresh pizza just brought out to the buffet is pretty good. They do some interesting combinations and around here a pizza with jalapeno peppers is a fixture on the buffet. I like their Veggie Pizza, it does not seem to be greasy at all compared to say Pizza Hut, or other chains

Now I don't go there any more since I started Weight Watchers, because if I am going to blow points on pizza I want to get it from the pretty damn good Mom & Pop shop up the street, not a chain of any kind. Or I might spend those points on some Mighty Fine Mexican Food and forget about pizza entirely .........and go across the street from the Mom and Pop Pizza shop and hit the excellent Mom and Pop Mexican place ...I have good stuff way too close to my house.

[triguy46]

12. Actually, the salad bar is worth the price. Our is always fresh, good selection.

But waaaaaaaayyyyyyyy to many kids. Been there, done that countless times, don't need to repeat.

[JVS]

13. Better or worse than Pizza Hut?

[BulletproofLandshark]

11. Other: It depends on the location

I went to one for the first time in Orlando, and they had some of the better pizza around. The pasta was perfect as well. But the first time I went to the newly opened location near my house (NW Virginia) I wasn't as impressed. The buffet was understocked even though the restaurant was only half full, and the pasta was very undercooked. The next time I went it was better, but it's still a total crapshoot every time I go.

[Blue-Jay]

14. Not bad, for cheap crappy pizza.

[Bossy Monkey]

15. I more or less lived there for 10 years & one thing I noticed: kids always behaved

which would imply that they were really happy with the food. Most (adult) people I know hate it, but I always liked it (hence the living there for 10 years part). I don't think it's very good pizza, but it's pretty good food. As mentioned above, the salad bar is always solid, and I always enjoyed the pasta (best with the red and white sauces combined). I kept visiting after I figured out I'm lactose-intolerant (thank you Lact-Aid) but since recently also finding that I'm sensitive to wheat, my Cici's days have ended. But the minutesomebody markets Wheat-Aid, I'll be back.

[Gonzo Gardener]

16. It's a great place to take a van load of hungry kids.

If you're on the soccer mom taxi rotation and want to go somewhere with a van load of kids that's fast and cheap, where all the kids will find something they like, go to CiCi's. If you're looking for good food, forget it.

[datasuspect]

17. for what it is, not bad

cheap.

[davsand]

18. Have you ever noticed that restaurant reviews often fall into two camps?

There are the places that have REALLY good food and the places you take the soccer team to.

I'll grant you that a pizza buffet is not likely to be a bastion of haute cuisine, but it struck me when I was reading the responses in this thread that SO many of us are delighted to find a restaurant that the kids will not complain about (as long as it doesn't make us violently ill...)

SPeaks volumes about what we expect from "family" restaurants.


Thanks, all, for the feedback!



Laura

[Wapsie B]

19. I like it.

I wish there was one here. With me there is no expectation that it be the best pizza I ever had. It is a decent value and the food's not bad at all. It seems that my high expectations in life are in areas other than eateries.

[alphafemale]

20. They're OK. Good variety of pizza offered.

Haven't been there more than a couple of times, but that's mostly because I'm not "into" buffets.

But as I understand you can also order a whole pizza of your own too.

[unpossibles]

21. if I am broke enough to want to eat their "pissa"

I'd rather go to Taco Hell.