Louis Joliet Renaissance Center Buffeteria

So I was invited out to lunch at the JJC Renaissance Center buffet, which is actually cooked by its culinary students. I had never been before, and I am so NOT a buffet person, but I decided to give it a go. Boy was I glad that I did! This particular day the food was Americano themed.
There were various dishes such as Yankee pot roast– thinly sliced beef which was pretty damn good I must say, green beans with pecans, and a sweet pecan glaze (yum), pasta salad, tortilla encrusted tilapia (smelled nice, but was a little on the bland side), a roasted loin of pork, and one of my favorites– Buffalo chicken balls!
I had a soup called Cioppino which reminded me of gumbo with fish and shrimp in it. I started my meal with this, and was quite pleased. The herb encrusted tilapia with shellfish tarragon sauce smelled delicious as all get out, but left me disappointed. Very bland. I really wanted to like this one. The mashed horse radish potatoes were very good! I don’t know why all of sudden I started liking horseradish! I’ve always been disgusted by it until 2011! The potatoes were awesome with or without the gravy! Honeyed sautéed pecan green beans– ohhhhhh gurl if all veggies tasted this good I would be in heaven! I wanted to reach across my table and slap my lunch partners those damn beans were so good! I missed a couple of food choices due to the staff not having the food ready. I was a little annoyed that I got there late, and there was so much food not ready to be served yet. I know these are culinary students, but you must know the importance of being on time. #Fail
For desert I tried eclairs which I didn’t care for– they were actually rather gross. The desert tasted like it had been sitting uncovered in a refrigerator. Ewww. The Cherry pie was good, and the cookies were okay.
I was a complete fatass! I will totally check this place out again. The buffet runs every Wednesday with a different theme each week. My only complaints were the food being late, everything was good, BUT. Every thing was kinda Luke warm. I would expect for the food to be hot? I mean it was late and all. I also didn’t like the eclairs.
Until next review…