Has anyone been to the Paula Deen's buffet at the new Harrah's in Tunica??

Question

How much is it? What did you like or dislike about it. Would you take your mother there??

Answer 1

The 400 or so people who turned out to see Paula Deen at the pre-opening party of the Paula Deen Buffet at Harrah's Casino in Tunica on Thursday night weren't disappointed. Before the doors officially opened, she danced with her television producer, Gordon Elliott, on the front porch, hammed it up with the crowd and then got down to business.

"Harrah's has spent $45 million in property renovation in a time when they're saying the 'R' word," she said. "I'm almost unable to say how important that is to a state, because these kind of projects aren't going on just everywhere."

When she was finished thanking everyone, she mistakenly called Harrah's CFO Jonathan Halkyard the company's CEO. Someone corrected her and told her that "CFO" stands for chief financial officer.

"I know," she shot back, drawing laughter from her fans. "I got one!"

Soon after, the doors to the restaurant opened and the real business began: Eating.

The buffet is divided by stations. There's The Lady and Sons, named after Deen's flagship restaurant in Savannah, Ga., which features home- cooking staples: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese and so forth. At Captain Michael's Smokehouse, named after her husband, harbor pilot Michael Groover, smoked meats and backyard foods are heaped high.

Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, named after the restaurant Deen owns with her brother, serves up seafood. The salad bar is Granny Paul's Garden, there's a hoe cake and biscuit station, and the extensive dessert bar is named for Deen's grandson: It's Little Jack's Corner.

And that's where the signature bread pudding is.

"It is the best bread pudding I have ever tasted," said Tammy Goff of DeSoto County. "It's better than my mother's, and the coconut pie tastes just like my mother's."

Goff, like many of the guests, knew Deen's family from the Food Network shows. Sightings of Deen's sons, Bobby and Jamie; her husband, Michael; her Aunt Peggy; her brother, Bubba; and her good friend, Dora, had people pointing and exclaiming.

Ricky Busey, the assistant general manager of Harrah's, believes her connection with her family is part of what makes Deen so popular.

"Her family is her," he said. "Think back to the old days when people operated family businesses. That's what they're doing, everyone together."

Like Deen, he hopes the Paula Deen Buffet in Tunica is the first one for Harrah's, not the only one.

"We do want to expand, but clearly, we want to get this one right and learn from it," he said.

The concept was born 18 months ago, and since then a great deal of work from the Harrah's staff and Deen's staff has gone into development.

"My staff worked closely with people here in Tunica," Deen said. "My kitchen manager came here, and the kitchen manager from here went to Savannah to train."

"Of all the projects I've worked on over the years, this was the most collaborative," Busey said.

The outside of the restaurant, on the second floor of the remodeled casino that was until recently still labeled The Grand, is modeled on Deen's home in Savannah, from the pea-gravel walkways to the shutters, the wide front porch and the wicker furniture.

"And of course, the food inside of it is, too," Deen said. "For some of the recipes, they relied on my cookbooks, and they may have even gotten some from the magazines."

Besides the buffet, which is the cornerstone of the renovation, Harrah's has given the gaming floor an overhaul that includes a center bar with live music and go-go dancers on weekends, a hotel renovation, and a new fine-dining restaurant called '37 to go along with the existing spa, golf course, kid's center, hunting and sporting clays center.

As to why Deen would choose to open her first restaurant outside of Savannah in a casino -- well, that's simple: She loves to gamble. She'll be playing in the slots tournament this weekend and is a big fan of the $25 slot machines. Her largest single-win jackpot was $40,000.

"The more expensive the play, the bigger the pot," she said. "But I try to stay away from the $100 machines. I don't want to get hooked on those.

"I'm a slot s**t."

Answer 2

I answer this so I can follow up on it, and get some opinions.

My wife and I are going in June for our anniversary.  She thinks the sun rises over Paula.  I'm giving up Merle Haggard tickets for this!

I did search Paula Deen Tunica and got some basic info.

Answer 3

yes i have it was pretty expensive and what i didn't like was the grilled shrimp they made it like dirty dan's seem like the perfect buffet. i can't answer the third question because my momsy already went there.0_0