Restaurant Review: Pizza Ranch of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells may not only be the waterpark capital of the world but the buffet capital too. There are breakfast buffets, pizza buffets, seafood buffets, salad buffets and so on. One cannot turn a corner without encountering yet another "All-U-Can-Eat".

I don't often go to food buffets, but with so many buffets in the Wisconsin Dells area, there was bound to be something which finally caught my interest. While out with my brother-in-law recently, we both stumbled upon a place called the Pizza Ranch.

Pizza Ranch is actually a chain restaurant, with locations in several states including Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and my home state of Wisconsin. There are several restaurants located in each state, with six alone in Wisconsin.

The Pizza Ranch of Wisconsin Dells was located in a building that resembles a circus big top, which is kind of odd considering that the place is a "ranch". Still, we were not deterred and walked inside. The place was outfitted with central tables and booths lining the walls. Evidence of steaming buffets could be seen to our left; at least two medium-sized bars sported various pizzas and other items.

Our maitre d' seated us quickly and we were provided with menus and water glasses almost instantaneously. I checked out the offerings, which obviously included the buffets (at $7.99/person on weekdays and $8.99/person on weekends). There were also off-the-buffet offerings like whole pizzas: one could order the Roundup (topped with beef, pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms, and black olives), the Texan (topped with beef, lettuce, tomato, two cheeses, taco sauce, onions, and taco chips), the Bronco (topped with beef, Italian sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and bacon pieces), and so on. Whole meals were also offered: the Pizza Pack (any medium pizza and choice of 2 sides for $17.99), the Chicken Pack (8 pieces of chicken, potatoes, and choice of 2 sides for $18.99), and the Combo Pack (any medium pizza, 8 pieces of chicken, potatoes, and choice of 2 sides for $27.99).