The Texas Buffet Locals Swear By For Classic Comfort Foods

It goes without saying that the biggest appeal of an affordable, all-you-can-eat buffet is knowing you'll never leave hungry. You can pile your plate high with different mains and endless sides, unbutton your pants and then sample every dessert without any fear of judgment. It's unpretentious, budget-friendly dining with something for everyone, which is exactly what Mama Jack's in Kountze, Texas has been doing for over forty years. And for many locals, it's also the place that does it the best.

Founded by Barbara and Jerry Jackson in the early 1980s, this local establishment has a dedicated menu with items like burgers, pizzas, and steaks. Now run by a new family, the Holyfields, since 2024, the road house restaurant is still best known for its daily breakfast and lunch buffets, as well as a popular seafood buffet on Fridays and Saturdays. With a lineup of classic Southern comfort foods, customers can enjoy everything from grits and banana pudding to biscuits and gravy and chicken-fried steak, which some would also argue is the most Texan food out there. 

While high price tags can be one of the most annoying things about buffets, that's not something you have to worry about at Mama Jack's, where it's $9.99 for breakfast, $13.85 for lunch, and a very reasonable $35.95 for the seafood buffet. So, it's no surprise the bargain pricing is one reason why people keep coming back, with one TripAdvisor reviewer saying, "I eat there for lunch at least once a week. For the money there's no better place I've found that has that many options."

Aside from being incredible value, Mama Jack's has remained a local favorite thanks to its freshly made food, with other TripAdvisor users saying they visited based on local recommendations. Meanwhile, a Yelper wrote that their family enjoys the food so much that they've "been going since they were babies," while another patron said it's "unbelievably cheap for food this good so close to home." It's not just locals who rave about this place, as a visiting TripAdvisor user went so far as to praise Mama Jack's for being "the best of the best homestyle cooking brought forward from the last century."

Another thing that's frequently mentioned is the friendly and helpful staff, as one customer said that "if you want some down home country cooking with down-home country manners [then this is] amazing." Additionally, a reviewer wrote that they've "never had bad service or food" at Mama Jack's.

Needless to say, Mama Jack's is a Kountze institution for a reason. That said, if you can't make it to Texas right now, you can still check out our list of the best affordable buffets in the U.S. Just remember to have Mama Jack's as one of your travel stops for the next time you find yourself in the Lone Star State, so you can eat like the locals do.