Restaurants in Waco

With more than 90 buffet dishes including 30–35 hot entrees and more than 10 varieties of sushi, it’s no surprise that Buffet Palace's Austin location has been voted best buffet 12 times by Austin Chronicle readers. The similarly well-stocked Killeen location looks like a grounded spaceship from the outside, complete with a cylindrical metal cage, a Saturn-style ring, and two alien-like statues.

At each location, a modern 350-seat dining room vaunts sleek countertops and high ceilings as well as a buffet so long visiting Lilliputians regularly land planes on it. Items range from Korean-style salads and Japanese sushi to more than 30 primarily Chinese hot dishes such as sesame chicken and crab legs.

In addition to these made-from-scratch items, a chef cooks Asian pancakes and dumplings. Before departure, diners can also stock a plate full of the buffet’s housemade desserts, which include cakes, cookies, and fruit so fresh it often gets smacked by older, wiser side dishes.

Chef Grady Spears has authored numerous cookbooks and showcased his skills on Good Morning America and the Today show, yet he still doesn't identify with the term chef. He's a cowboy cook—a long, tall Texan who made a living punching and selling cattle until a freak happenstance involving a quitting chef landed him in the grill-pilot seat. Patrons at Grady's Line Camp Steakhouse won't find any polished bamboo floors; instead, gritty hardwood and log-cabin-style seating complement the hearty menu, responsible for the restaurant's placement on Texas Monthly magazine's list of the 38 best steak houses in the Lone Star State. Patrons can snuggle up to grilled steaks and southwestern-style stuffed peppers after enjoying a beer-battered and fried appetizer or can clink longnecks to live music on the weekends for a rowdy evening without regretting trying to tip over a snoozing cowboy.