PETTISVILLE — What’s not to love about a buffet?

I suspect that’s what attracts most diners to Das Essen Haus, in Pettisville, Ohio. The aroma of mashed potatoes and other dishes certainly gets your stomach urging you to grab a plate and pile some on.    

For $8.99 to $14.99, depending on the day, you have a great variety of food from which to choose. And the dishes all look delicious, from the ruby red of the stewed tomatoes to the fresh, crisp veggies at the salad bar with a wide selection of dressings, plus stuffing and mashed potatoes, Salisbury steak, sweet rice, and noodles with pork. There’s a lot there to sate your appetite and then some. 

It all tastes fine, especially the Salisbury steak, but at my table, opinions were mixed. The three younger people found the stuffing and mashed potatoes watery and the gravy pasty, and they didn’t go back for seconds. Of course, the youngest was 6 years old, and I don’t know a 6-year-old who would give a thumbs-up to anything not shaped in a nugget and that didn’t come out of a box.

Bill of Fare

Pizza stars at the Distillery in South Toledo

The 6-year-old did, however, love the chocolate milk. 

I and my friend, older and so much wiser, were easier to please, although I was a bit disappointed: Everything smelled so good and looked so good I expected an explosion of savory tastes and good old German food. The food tasted as if my mother made it. Nothing wrong with that, but when I go out to eat, I want something that tastes different from home-cooking — something that I wouldn’t find at home.

But that might not be Das Essen Haus’ fault. Most buffets I visit are disappointing. Sure, you can mix all sorts of stuff that most restaurants would frown on, but all the food kind of tastes the same. 

And at an ordinary restaurant I have at least a chance at portion control. The server sets my plate down, and, unless I want to order and pay for a second meal that would be both embarrassing and expensive, I can’t go back for seconds.

All bets are off at a buffet.

The salad I put together at Das Essen Haus was excellent. The lettuce was crispy and fresh, as were the veggies including green peas, onions, green peppers, and more. Dressings were plentiful, but I didn’t see a low-cal version. I guess who cares when all that food is front of you?

I loaded up on Salisbury steak atop sweet rice, and added noodles and pork and stuffing, the only disappointment. My younger friends thought the consistency too watery, but I just found no flavor to savor. The Salisbury steak was delicious, as were the sweet rice and noodles and pork. 

Bill of Fare

Savory entrees, sweet cheesecakes impress at Porkbelly BBQ

In the name of research, I went back a second time and sampled the chicken pot pie and the mashed potatoes. Neither tasted as good as they looked, though my friend in my age range loved everything, including the bread pudding. The bite I tried tasted good and cinnamony. Again, in an effort to sample everything for a thorough review, I tried the brownie and pronounced it more than satisfactory, although I should have sampled a couple more pieces to be certain, this time adding the whipped cream. 

It is apparent the buffet is so popular that the rest of the menu lists standard sandwiches and burgers served with chips, various salads you don’t have to fix yourself, and soup.  There is a dinner menu if you can’t find anything on the buffet to satisfy you, and the breakfast menu is tantalizing. 

On my next visit for breakfast I tried the egg casserole, which was fluffy scrambled eggs loaded with what I like: mushrooms, onions, bread cubes, American cheese, and ham for $6.99. My friend enjoyed a beautiful looking, two-egg breakfast with perfectly fried potatoes and ham for $7.49.

Both times we visited the restaurant was not busy, although there were more people in the afternoon. Our waitress was the same on both trips, and she was pleasant and efficient, keeping an eye on us and quickly refilling our beverages. 

The restaurant is charming in an old-fashioned way. Becky Rhodes, one of the co-owners with Brandon Rhodes, worked at the restaurant with Esther Diener, the original owner with her husband, Edward, and in interviews, said she still had Diener’s hand-written recipes. So why mess with success?

Plus, if you’re a fan of the Voice-winning band, Girl Named Tom, Das Essen Haus sells T-shirts that honor Pettisville’s hometown heroes. 

While Pettisville is not exactly next door to Toledo — it’s about 25 miles away — if you’re out and about in Fulton County and want a home-cooked, substantial meal, try Das Essen Haus. There’s plenty of food to get you full and satisfied, just like mom wants you to be.

First Published June 29, 2023, 1:00 p.m.