The Best Time To Go To Golden Corral For A Cheaper Meal

There's a certain empowering satisfaction to successfully beating the system, even when the system is a regional chain restaurant that only charges $1.50 for fountain soda. Golden Corral diners, like all true buffet heads, have their theories and strategies about getting their money's worth. Some people approach the buffet with the intensity of endurance athletes, carbo-loading mountains of mashed potatoes before the competition. Others have it down to an actuarial science: Pound for pound, ounce for ounce, which tray contains the highest return on investment? While some of these ideas are more subjective and philosophical, there is a brass tacks answer to when the cheapest Golden Corral meal can be obtained. According to Golden Corral's current pricing structure, it's breakfast.

Dinner is off the table in this quandary, coming in at $16.99.With tax and tip (and yes, you can and should tip at a buffet), the total sits closer to $20. Technically, lunch has the lowest advertised sticker price, $11.49, compared to breakfast's $12.99. But, when you read the fine print, the reason breakfast is still the better deal is that it includes beverages, while lunch and dinner charge separately for drinks. Once you factor in your soda, coffee, or iced tea, breakfast gives you more bang for your buck. Although if you only drink water, you can keep the lunch cost low. Another factor to consider is that breakfast foods are disproportionately more expensive to prepare at home right now. With skyrocketing inflation and the unfortunate truth about the price volatility of eggs as of late, a simple scramble starts to seem like a speculative commodity.

Golden Corral's breakfast leans into abundance, with heaping steam trays piled high of all the traditional American country breakfast stuff, such as scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes, biscuits, and gravy. It also offers cold club classics like yogurt and cereal, and some of the finer things in life, like pastries, fruit, and made-to-order omelets. If you like a sweet start to the day, you'll be happy to hear the ice cream machine is running, and the early bird gets the DIY ultimate hot fudge sundae.

If your goal is maximum monetary efficiency, the oldest trick in the buffet book still applies: Prioritize protein. A plate of bacon and eggs has more nutrients and economic density than fancy-looking-but-cheap-to-make carb-based options like the pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. Of course, be guided by reasonable limits of your own healthy appetite; consuming 18 strips of bacon might be a financial victory, but it may lead to new and exciting medical expenses in the future. Buffet economics are delicate like that, and sometimes winning isn't worth it.

Joining the restaurant's Good as Gold Club and Golden Corral Rewards programs can keep prices down even more by unlocking free drinks, coupons, and birthday offers, as well as location-specific discounts. Some franchises also offer special pricing for seniors and military, and occasional promotional specials. There are company-owned Golden Corral locations, but many are independent franchises, so participation varies. You can check Golden Corral's website, but we recommend going old-school and calling ahead to your local spot to see what's on offer. Even if your food budget is comfortable, and you aren't consciously calculating the nutrient-to-dollar ratio at the carving station, some small part of your brain is. Getting a great deal makes the meal taste even better.