{"id":253460,"date":"2026-07-28T03:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T03:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/253460\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T03:33:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T03:33:21","slug":"pennsylvania-claims-2-of-nations-best-buffets-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/253460\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania claims 2 of nation\u2019s best buffets: USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Shady<\/p>\n

Shady Maple Smorgasbord, located in East Earl, was recently named the No. 1 best buffet restaurant in the nation by USA Today readers.<\/p>\n

Provided by Shady Maple<\/p>\n

Two Pennsylvania buffets were recently named among the top three best in the nation by USA Today readers.<\/p>\n

The USA Today Readers\u2019 Choice Awards for \u201cBest Buffet Restaurant (2026)<\/a>,\u201d published June 24, named Shady Maple Smorgasbord No. 1, while Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord landed in the No. 3 spot.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about visiting the nationally recognized buffet restaurants in the Keystone State.<\/p>\n

Shady Maple Smorgasbord<\/p>\n

Shady Maple Smorgasbord<\/a> is the nation\u2019s \u201clargest smorgasbord\u201d featuring Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. The buffet restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

Popular breakfast options include eggs, omelets, pancakes, sausage, ham and French toast, while the lunch menu offers fried shrimp, smoked beef brisket, a large salad bar, soups, cheeses and more. At dinnertime, check out the meats, soups, homemade breads and rolls, pies and a sundae bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly honored to be recognized as the No. 1 buffet in the USA Today 10Best Readers\u2019 Choice Awards. This recognition belongs just as much to our guests as it does to our team. For generations, families have made Shady Maple Smorgasbord part of their celebrations, traditions, vacations, and everyday meals, and their support made this achievement possible,\u201d Shady Maple Companies marketing director Jared Witman said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sincerely grateful to everyone who took the time to vote for us. This recognition reflects the dedication of our entire team, who work every day to provide outstanding food, genuine hospitality, and an experience that keeps guests coming back. We are honored by this recognition and remain committed to serving our guests with the same care and quality that have defined Shady Maple for generations,\u201d Witman said.<\/p>\n

Location: 129 Toddy Dr. in East Earl, Pa.<\/p>\n

Hours: Monday through Friday: 7 to 10 a.m. breakfast, 10:45 to 3:15 lunch and 4 to 7:30 p.m. (last seating) dinner. Saturday: 7 to 10:30 a.m. breakfast, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. \u201cearly bird\u201d and 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (last seating) \u201cgrand menu.\u201d The buffet stays open until 45 minutes after the last seating.<\/p>\n

Pricing: Varies by meal and day of the week; generally ranges from $14.99 to $31.99, with discounts available for children, seniors and members of the military. Special holiday pricing may apply.<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord<\/a> is a family owned restaurant offering made-from-scratch dishes, with a history going back to 1929<\/a>. The establishment is known for its traditional smorgasbord dinner, soup, salad and bread smorgasbord and special buffet menus for Mother\u2019s Day, Easter and Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly honored to be recognized again by USA TODAY 10Best readers,\u201d Tabetha Carbaugh, General Manager of Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord, said in an emailed statement. \u201cThis award means so much because it reflects the support of our guests \u2014 local families, longtime visitors and travelers who make Miller\u2019s part of their Lancaster County tradition. Our team takes great pride in preparing the Pennsylvania Dutch dishes and fresh-baked desserts people come here to enjoy, from golden fried chicken and carved meats to buttered noodles, shoofly pie and so many heritage favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

The traditional buffet at Miller\u2019s features a wide selection of appetizers, signature soups, a salad and bread bar, a carving station with three different meats, hot entr\u00e9es, sides, desserts and more.<\/p>\n

\"The The traditional \u201call-you-care-to-eat\u201d smorgasbord menu at Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord features Anna\u2019s Miller\u2019s Chicken & Waffles, golden fried chicken, baked cabbage in cream sauce and many other options. Provided by Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord \"Soup Soup options at Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord include seafood bisque, Lancaster County chicken corn soup, vegetarian vegetable soup, cream of potato and more. Provided by Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be ranked among the best buffet restaurants in America for four consecutive years \u2014 and to remain in the top three every year \u2014 is a tremendous honor,\u201d Tom Neely, CEO of Thomas E. Strauss, Inc., the family-owned hospitality group that operates Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord, said in an emailed statement. \u201cMiller\u2019s has always been about more than a meal. It is about hospitality, tradition and giving guests a genuine taste of Lancaster County. We are grateful to USA TODAY 10Best, to everyone who voted, and especially to the dedicated Miller\u2019s team members who make this kind of recognition possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Location: 2811 Lincoln Highway East (Route 30) in Ronks, Pa.<\/p>\n

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday<\/p>\n

Pricing: $31.99 per person age 13 and older, $15.99 for children age 10 to 12, $12.99 for children age 4 to 9 and free for children age 3 and younger<\/p>\n

Top 10 best buffets<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the nation\u2019s top 10 best buffets compared, according to the 2026 USA Today Readers\u2019 Choice Awards:<\/p>\n

Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, Pa.Der Dutchman in Sarasota, Fla.Miller\u2019s Smorgasbord in Ronks, Pa.Brooks Shaw\u2019s Old Country Store in Jackson, Tenn.Jeong Won BBQ Buffet in San DiegoTerra Mediterranean in Fort Worth, TexasMrs. Yoder\u2019s Kitchen in Mt. Hope, OhioMichie Tavern in Charlottesville, Va.Tomato Caf\u00e9 in Albuquerque, N.M.Cinzzetti\u2019s Italian Feast in Overland Park, Kan.
\n Related Stories from Centre Daily Times<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Meredith Howard<\/a><\/p>\n

Belleville News-Democrat<\/p>\n

Meredith Howard is a service journalist with the Belleville News-Democrat. She is a Baylor University graduate and has previously freelanced with the Illinois Times and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
\n Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shady Maple Smorgasbord, located in East Earl, was recently named the No. 1 best buffet restaurant in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-253460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}