Greenhouse Cafe Taco Tuesday Buffet

A conversation over Facebook got us talking about Taco Tuesday and the lack of local places to celebrate such and important day. That naturally lead us to discussing one of the few places locally that does recognize this important day, The Greenhouse Café in Burlington. So, with this conversation working its way through my brain today came along and I got the urge to take a taco Tuesday tour. Four friends agreed to join me, although their devotion to tacos ranged from hell no to they’re ok. In fact, I was the only one of the five that went for the actual Taco Tuesday all you can eat buffet, although two more did order the Baja fish tacos, which were not available on the buffet.

Taco Buffet Review

This review will specifically address the taco buffet, and in no way should be a consideration of the Greenhouse Café overall. At first, I wasn’t going to review it at all. I really didn’t take any photos, as a taco buffet line is not that photogenic nor were my taco creations. But after thinking it over, I figured photos or not, people might want to get a feel for this taco buffet.

Buffet Lineup

At the time of this review, the taco buffet was $14.95. For that you could make tacos from three different meats, shredded chicken, pulled pork and ground beef. There was rice and beans, a flatbread selection and a good variety of taco toppings. The soft taco shells were in a covered serving tray, which made them stick together, and resulted in a challenge on occasion to separate them. But at least they were still soft and hadn’t turned stiff like a soft taco can if it sets out too long. The three meats were unremarkable. Not overly flavorful or spicy, but an acceptable base to cover with all the toppings. The toppings were really the stars of the taco bar. All were fresh and tasty, crisp lettuce, fresh diced tomatoes, pickled onions, regular onions, jalapeno and olive slices, shredded cheese, nice size bowls of sour cream, guacamole and salsa. The hardest part was being able to fit all the good toppings on the meat and still be able to eat it like a taco. Just ask for a lot of extra napkins. As mentioned earlier, they also put out rice and beans, which is interesting because they don’t offer it as a side on the menu. The flatbread varies, which when one gets low, they bring out a new one that is different. The one that was there when I was at the buffet looked like it was made of taco toppings, minus the meat. After I was finished, they brought out another one which looked like it was ground beef or taco meat covered. As usual my timing was off.

Not Great, But Worth a Visit

As a tribute to Taco Tuesday, this buffet is fair. If you are like me and believe there is almost no such thing as a bad taco and especially when they are all you can eat, then this is worth going to. You will not be wowed by anything on the buffet. But if you have a craving to get your fill of tacos, want better than Taco Bell and don’t want to drive too far away, then this will suffice. Oh and $5 margaritas don’t hurt either.