Restaurant Review: Picnic Garden, Flushing, Queens, NY

While I know it's not cool for a foodie to admit this, I love buffets, particularly Asian buffets. There's just something fun about being able to stuff oneself on a wide variety of food every now and again, even if the quality is usually somewhat lacking. So, when I heard about a Korean buffet in Flushing, Queens called Picnic Garden, I knew I had to give it a try.

Picnic Garden is not your typical Asian buffet. Upon perusal of the buffet, we found a few cooked dishes, dumplings and kim chee - and piles and piles of raw meat. Yes, raw meat. Of all different varieties, including typical Korean favorites like bulgogi, short ribs and tripe, plus chicken thighs and gizzards, Italian sausages, pork belly and plenty of other things I couldn't identify if I wanted to. Mmm meat! As a devoted carnivore, I was in (hog) heaven!

So, what on earth do you do with all this raw meat? You cook it yourself, of course! Each table at Picnic Garden is outfitted with a grill and vent, and you choose the meats you want and throw them on the grill yourself. Servers will come around to your table and help you turn and cut your meat, but you can wave them off if you prefer to take care of things yourself. Just make sure you practice your chopstick skills before you come, because there is not a fork in sight at Picnic Garden. Also, the grills at Picnic Garden are on the small side, so if you have more than 4 people in your party, you'd be wise to split up and sit at two tables, or it will take forever to cook everyone's food. We were only two and we found the grill size perfect for our needs.

As for the quality of the food - well, like all buffets, Picnic Garden is about quantity, so the meat isn't what I'd call prime. However, it is much better than what you'd find at your average Asian buffet, and getting to cook it yourself means that you have ultimate control over the degree of doneness. Also, Picnic Garden's marinades are delicious and would tenderize even the toughest cuts. We sampled all of the meats we could identify (except the tripe), and all of them were excellent, particularly the marinated short ribs and the spicy beef. The only thing I didn't want seconds of was the pork belly, simply because it was a little bland in comparison to all of the other choices. If you like Korean spices and you know how to cook meat, you will love the food at Picnic Garden!

You will leave Picnic Garden smelling like smoky fried meat, but who cares? The fun factor of cooking yourself can't be beat. All of this meaty goodness doesn't come cheap - Picnic Garden charges $12 for weekday lunch and $17 on the weekends. Dinner is $22. However, the average Chinese buffet in New York City charges only a few dollars less, so Picnic Garden is well worth the price. If you ever find yourself looking for a filling meal in Flushing, go to Picnic Garden!

Address: 14742 Northern Blvd. (parking available behind restaurant)
Phone: 718-358-5959
Hours: Daily 11am-11pm
Price Range: $12-17 lunch, $22 dinner