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Proposed lawsuit settlement on Luzerne County Council agenda

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Your view: Minimum-wage laws don’t work

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; I built my day around the buffet.</p><p>Soon after I woke up a few Saturdays ago, I was asked by a co-worker if I wanted to go to a buffet for dinner.</p><p>Um (yum?), yes!</p><p>You see, I have a reputation as a big eater, so I was the right person for the job.</p><p>I immediately started planning my day, which would revolve around my dinner at the Harvest Buffet at East End Center in Wilkes-Barre Township.</p><p>I usually have two hearty meals a day &#8212; the first about noon &#8212; but this day would need to involve a good deal of strategy.</p><p>Instead of a big lunch to get me to a big dinner, I would need a small lunch to get me to a very big dinner.</p><p>So I started with soup and a half-sandwich at home at 11 a.m. and went to work, where I began counting the hours until the food frenzy.</p><p>At 7:45, I got into my car in downtown Wilkes-Barre. At 7:55, I was at the Harvest Buffet, housed in the building formerly occupied by the Old Country Buffet off of Kidder Road.</p><p>The place was packed. I couldn&#8217;t believe that at almost 8 o&#8217;clock on a Saturday night, most of the tables in the 10,000-square-foot restaurant were taken. (The price varies from $11.19 to $15.99, depending on the day and time.)</p><p>I was greeted warmly at the door and shown to my table, a booth near a window. A manager would be visiting with me shortly, I was told, so I said to myself, &#8220;Take your time, I&#8217;ve got lots here to survey before I do any chatting.&#8221;</p><p>Harvest Buffet serves Chinese, Japanese and American cuisines. I looked around, saw the vast offerings, and zeroed in on the Wonton Soup. I love that offering and don&#8217;t eat it often, so I decided it would be my first appetizer.</p><p>I made sure to scoop two pork-filled dumplings out of the cauldron and put them into my cup so that I could get the perfect mixture of wontons and broth.</p><p>I wasn&#8217;t disappointed.</p><p>The dumplings and meat were tender, and the broth was perfect &#8212; just the right amount of salt so that none extra would be needed from the table. The temperature also was spot-on; I don&#8217;t like soup that is too hot or barely warm.</p><p>So, one cup down. But with at least an hour remaining in my <em>assignment</em>, and a plethora of choices in front of me, the soup was so flavorful that I headed up for bowl No. 2.</p><p>By the time I had finished that delicacy, the hostess had checked on me twice. Not in a pestering way, but in a very pleasant, genuine, &#8220;May I get you anything&#8221; manner.</p><p>Co-managers Bing Guo and Mark Matthews then came to my table, welcomed me, and told me that Harvest Buffet had been there since February and generally is packed from 5 to 8 p.m. on weekends. Bing also said he eats there three times a day &#8212; and sometimes a snack &#8212; which is a great sign for diners, showing that he believes in what the restaurant serves.</p><p>Bing and Mark were very friendly and helpful, but my mind was elsewhere &#8212; I was eyeing three food areas and plates galore, and I was on a mission, even though I had plenty of time until the restaurant closed at 10.</p><p>It&#8217;s at this point in my story where the narrative goes on hiatus and the bullet points begin, because when you&#8217;re at a buffet, it&#8217;s all about variety and quality.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Salad</strong>. For me, crisp lettuce (moisture removed, thank goodness), ham bits, cherry tomatoes, eggs (real ones, not processed egg particles), purple onions, fresh mushrooms, ranch dressing.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>More appetizers</strong>. Raw oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, asparagus, egg roles, fried dumplings. All were outstanding.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Main course</strong>: If there is such a thing at a buffet, for me it was New York Strip Steak (served every night and cooked medium rare, always my favorite temperature), lo mein noodles and fresh broccoli. The course was prepared by a chef who manned the main area, and it was served by Bing, who had a smile on his face the entire night. With the steak, I wouldn&#8217;t have been surprised if it were overcooked and underwhelming, but it was as tender, flavorful and perfectly cooked as those served at steakhouses. And the noodles and broccoli? Very pleasing to the palate.</p><p>Overall, I had six plates of food. Not jumbo plates, but plates befitting of a buffet that does it right, including presenting a home-y atmosphere, in which one woman was knitting while her friend was dining.</p><p>As I was finishing my feeding frenzy &#8212; a small piece of chocolate cake for dessert and crab legs after that because I somehow had bypassed them &#8212; a patron walked by and saw I was taking notes.</p><p>&#8220;The place is so good that he&#8217;s writing about it,&#8221; the man said to his dining companion.</p><p>I replied that I was writing a review. He answered not with words, but by patting his belly.</p><p>And so it goes at the Harvest Buffet. It&#8217;s not just the reviewer who was impressed by the place, but the patrons, as evidenced by the full parking lot and large crowds.</p><p>As I was getting up to leave, the hostess, Sharon, asked me if I had been to Harvest Buffet before. I answered &#8220;No.&#8221;</p><p>She gave a warm, genuine smile and replied: &#8220;You&#8217;ll be back.&#8221;</p><p>She&#8217;s right. High-quality cuisine, an abundance of options, clean surroundings and reasonable prices.</p><p>You can&#8217;t beat that.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp are among the offerings at Harvest Buffet. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp are among the offerings at Harvest Buffet. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Traditional American buffet items include mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and broccoli spears. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Traditional American buffet items include mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and broccoli spears. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Harvest Buffet stands where the Old Country Buffet once did. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest4.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Harvest Buffet stands where the Old Country Buffet once did. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Chef Len Chen makes noodles, beef, vegetables and chicken in a teriyaki sauce at the Harvest Buffet in Wilkes-Barre Township. The restaurant offers American, Chinese and Japanese food. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101117Harvest1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Chef Len Chen makes noodles, beef, vegetables and chicken in a teriyaki sauce at the Harvest Buffet in Wilkes-Barre Township. The restaurant offers American, Chinese and Japanese food. (Aimee Dilger | Times Leader)</caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Times Leader Staff</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>HARVEST BUFFET</strong></p><p><strong>Where</strong><em>: </em>26 East End Center, Wilkes-Barre Township</p><p><strong>Info</strong>: 570-208-8888, <a href="http://harvestbuffetwb.com/" target="_blank">harvestbuffetwb.com </a></p></factboxMeta></div>

Distinctive Palate: At the Harvest Buffet, so many choices — and so much time