Valentino's is about to lose its home at 13th and Q. Good riddance to that location I say. The to-go location always feels dirty, cramped, and cold. Beyond that, it's an embarrassing reminder of a time when Lincolnites and visitors sought out the sugary-sweet red sauce.on floppy white dough. Not any more. Valentino's continued existence owes far more to nostalgia than to quality.
Wouldn't it be nice if the folks behind Valentino's took this opportunity to pause and reflect on the state of their art, and perhaps come up with a vision for a contemporary Valentino's downtown location that actually causes folks to want to dine there? That'd be quaint, wouldn't it?
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What, the Sysco Showcase that is the Valentino’s Buffet doesn’t make you want to come back for seconds or thirds?
The takeout quality is edible, but the whole “buffet” experience is downright miserable. Whenever my family from central Nebraska is in town, 9 times out of 10 we end up at the South 70th street buffet. Lukewarm pizza, empty pasta, and dried out bread sticks, not to mention the BBQ & fried chicken.
Keeping them alive. If you want them to change, quit going there.
What really pisses me off about Val’s is the hike in prices for their to-go “value” lunches. To take my kids just to get some pasta, 1 breadstick, and a tiny drink is more than $5. There can’t be more than a dime’s worth of pasta in the container. We get it without sauce - that’s got to be about 80-90% profit. That’s a meal that should come in at about $2.99.
You guys are being a BIT hard on Val’s! “Embarrassing reminder”? Yikes. I can’t say they’re my favorite, but I will say that the buffet is a good place for large groups, and the Express Lunch is cheap: A slice of pizza, a ginormous breadstick (sometimes 2!) & unlimited refills for $3.59? That’s pretty good. And when I’m not burned out on it due to too many company lunches, I still enjoy their hamburger pizza & garlic breadsticks.
However, I will agree that Val’s -esp. downtown- likely owes a lot of business to nostalgia, and that its “Italian” buffet is more like a “Sysco Showcase”.
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