Northern Quest 'Releases the Feast' with expanded buffet

SPOKANE - The newly expanded River's Edge Buffet inside Northern Quest Resort & Casino will hold its Grand Opening on Monday.

With a nearly $1 million expansion and remodel, guests dining at River's Edge will notice new menu offerings, reinventions of classic favorites and options for open, private or semi-private dining.

"It's a completely different twist to our previous buffet," says Executive Chef Bryan Franz. "It provides more of a Vegas-style buffet experience, combining amazing food and outstanding service - complimented by a great deal more variety for guests and an attention to detail that is unsurpassed in this region."

With new decor, a private dining room that seats 24 guests and elevated seating in some areas, the River's Edge Buffet will spread out more than 11,000 square feet (an increase of more than 4,500 square feet) and will seat more than 450 guests.

One of the most exciting new additions to the buffet includes a Mt. Adams Stone Hearth Oven, allowing our chefs to create signature thin-crust pizzas.

All pizza crusts, flatbreads and Focaccia breads will be made with locally sourced Shepard's Grain flour, milled in Spokane from wheat crops grown near Reardan, Wash.

The new buffet will also include four "action stations," where chefs will interact with guests while they're making dining selections.

The action stations include a carving station, pizza station, grilling area (for custom omelets at breakfast and brunch and steaks cooked to order in the evenings) and dessert station.

Our chefs have reinvented the buffet dessert list and will include some old favorites as well as some exciting new "single-serve" items arranged in beautiful displays.

In keeping with the "single-serve" trend, guests will be offered traditional buffet-style options, or special smaller-portion entrees created by the chefs and pre-plated with complimentary sides. In addition, guests can peruse a variety of toppings from the salad bar, or select a smaller gourmet salad prepared and plated by the staff at River's Edge.

As with the previous River's Edge, classic home-style food will be available as well as options that celebrate Native American heritage, including items that feature huckleberries, salmon, roasted fresh vegetables and fry bread.

The chefs from River's Edge also work with a local farmer who provides seasonal fruits and vegetables, giving guests a true farm-to-table experience.

"There's a lot of scratch cooking that goes on in the foods we prepare for our buffet," says Franz. "We take pride in what we do and the food we serve, and there is a lot of love and care that goes into it."

The River's Edge Buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The ever-popular Seafood Night will now be held three days a week instead of two - on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Sunday brunch, featuring a chocolate fountain, will be held from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For additional details, please visit northernquest.com.