I had never set foot inside an Izzy’s before. I had no idea I was entering a buffet-style restaurant.

Izzy’s sign, after all, advertises “Grill, Bakery, Salads, Pizza.” Television commercials show thick steaks and juicy salmon fillets sizzling on a grill. That’s hardly the promotional technique of an all-you-can-eat joint. Frankly, for newbies like myself, I find it misleading.

On the other hand, the advertising did inspire me to visit. And every business must search for ways to draw new customers through the front door.

Even though I found a clean, well-maintained restaurant, with a clientele heavily middle-aged and older, I’m not likely to return.

I had two budget-conscious buffet meals: a dinner and a lunch. With the exception of the first-rate salad bar, I found the food to be of mediocre quality. This was especially true of the red meats. The main entree buffet had plenty of starchy foods and chicken four ways, but precious little else. The wine selection (red, white or pink, straight from the box) was appalling.

For me, the saving grace was outstanding service rendered by the head of the wait crew. This young woman repeatedly went the extra mile to make my dining experience more palatable in a less-than-ideal environment. At one point, in fact — when my elderly dinner companion requested that her sirloin be prepared very rare — the server brought her beef on a small plate and offered an apology: “The cooks wouldn’t cook it really rare, so I cooked it myself.”

The same woman seated me when I dined alone for lunch; after that, as the restaurant got busier, I received efficient but unpersonable, slap-dash service from other servers.

Salad bar and entrees

Easily my favorite section of Izzy’s is the fresh salad bar. It offered a half-dozen basic salads, including iceberg and romaine mixes, baby spinach and a wasabi-lime coleslaw with Napa cabbage and dry chow-mein noodles.

There were more than 30 condiment choices: mushrooms and green peppers, slivered beets and baby corns, raisins and sunflower seeds. A range of dressings were offered as well, from a light raspberry vinaigrette to a rich blue cheese.

There are also a couple of soups; on both of my visits, these were a vegetable-rich minestrone and a creamy broccoli cheddar.

At a price of $6.49, I could become a regular customer of Izzy’s salad bar. The standard lunch buffet costs $8.99, the dinner buffet $10.99.

Main courses are not geared for the person counting calories. There’s spaghetti with a marinara sauce. Macaroni and cheese. Roasted potatoes. Mashed potatoes with gravy. Curried rice with bits of chicken. Southern fried chicken. More potatoes. More chicken.

Kernel corn and green beans may well have come from industrial-sized containers. The best dish in this buffet was the fire-roasted vegetables: fresh carrots and squash seasoned with a sprinkle of dried herbs.

Straight from the grill

Izzy’s does one thing that I haven’t noted at other buffet restaurants. It offers several made-to-order items from its grill, included in the price of dinner and delivered to your table by a server, apart from the buffet. There’s an additional $2 charge for the salmon and steak with lunch, although chicken and pork are included at all meals.

In my experience, the orange-glazed salmon is the best of the four. Although there wasn’t a lot in a serving, a fillet slice perhaps an inch wide and a half-inch thick, it was very tasty and only slightly overcooked. The restaurant advertised that the fish is wild Alaskan salmon.

The “mojo-marinated” sirloin was a major disappointment. It clearly had lost its mojo. Very thinly sliced (it was about a quarter-inch thick), it was so fatty and tough as to be nearly inedible. Even though our server had given her best effort and cooked it to my companion’s desired doneness, she wound up leaving most of it.

Hawaiian pork kebabs would have been better had the skewered meat not been quite so fatty. Impaled on thin stakes with chunks of pineapple, green pepper and red onions, it was certainly tender, although a third of the meat was not meat at all.

The grill also offered teriyaki chicken, but the sticky-sweet sauce was not especially good. I preferred the roasted chicken offered in the main buffet line.

Pizza and desserts

Izzy’s can give itself a “bakery” designation, I suppose, because it makes its own bread sticks, pizza dough and desserts.

The bread and a cheese pizza are offered in the main buffet. I didn’t try the bread sticks, but I took a wedge of pizza and found it very thick and doughy.

A separate pizza bar, with a half-dozen different styles of pizza available by the slice, demonstrated more variety. Some were thin and crunchy, like flatbread; others featured creative ingredients, including artichoke hearts. It wasn’t a bad choice for a pizza lover.

Because I don’t have a great sweet tooth, I didn’t dawdle at the dessert bar, but it seemed to have a little of everything. I saw bread pudding, a berry cobbler, cinnamon rolls, three kinds of cookies. I also saw Jell-O dessert, tapioca pudding and soft ice cream with sundae toppings.

Izzy’s was established in 1979 by Fred Jansen and his mother, Isabel “Izzy” Covalt, owner (with her late husband) of Shakey’s Pizza franchises in Albany and Corvallis. Jansen expanded the pizza-parlor concept with a salad bar and additional buffet items.

Today, there are 15 Izzy’s in Oregon and five in Washington, most of them along the Interstate 5 corridor. The Bend Izzy’s (on the north side, where Butler Market Road meets North Business Highway 97) is one of two in Central Oregon; the other is in Redmond.

SMALL BITE

Velvet , a new bar and cafe in downtown Bend, is officially open. A menu of small plates, priced $4, $6 and $8, includes such items as flatbread pizzas, homemade bread-bowl soups, salads and a Boar’s Head meat-and-cheese platter. Guinness will be among six beers on tap; bar manager Dan Keeton, formerly of the Astro Lounge, will mix his specialty Velvet Goldmine cocktail. Owned by Sky Pinnick, Byron Garphe and Frank Costa, Velvet is located in the space formerly held by the Full Throttle Deli. Open 5 p.m. to close Tuesday through Saturday. 805 N.W. Wall St., 541-728-0303.

RECENT REVIEWS

Bend Burger Company (B+): Come for flame-broiled hamburgers (a dozen varieties, priced $8 to $10) and fries, and enjoy them in downtown Bend’s only dedicated burger shop. This breezy, order-at-the-counter establishment has bright decor, big picture windows, and a local theme in decorating. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. 718 N.W. Franklin Ave., Bend; 541-306-6166, www.bend burgercompany.com.

Avery’s Wine Bar and Bistro (B-): A handsome, low-lit cottage with rich wood decor plus deck and patio seating, Avery’s is a classy little spot two blocks from downtown Redmond. The wine selection is good but a menu of small plates is inconsistent. Best of a dozen choices are pan-seared diver sea scallops and the Avery’s salad. Open 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. 427 S.W. Eighth St., Redmond; 541-504-7111.

Flatbread Community Oven (B+): The restaurant’s authentic thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas are tasty, but they are overly oily and toppings are not evenly allocated. Still, the room is warm and spacious, service is prompt and friendly, and prices are moderate. Open 11 a.m. to close every day. 375 S.W. Powerhouse Drive, Suite 130 (The Old Mill District), Bend; 541-728-0600, www.flatbreadpizza.com.

La Rosa (B+): A beautiful new restaurant in Bend’s NorthWest Crossing neighborhood has replaced La Rosa’s original College Way cafe. It remains one of Bend’s better places for Mexican cuisine, although its sauces tend to overpower the nuances of gourmet chicken, beef and seafood dishes. Open 11 a.m. to close every day. 2763 N.W. Crossing Drive, Bend; 541-647-1624, www.larosabend.com.

Izzy’s

Locations: 2940 N. Highway 97, Bend; 810 S.W. 11th St., Redmond

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Price range: Lunch buffet $8.99, dinner buffet $10.99, salad bar $6.49

Credit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Children’s menu: Kids 4 to 12 pay 60 cents per year of age; 3 and under is free

Vegetarian menu: Extensive salad bar plus numerous buffet items

Alcoholic beverages: Wine and beer

Outdoor seating: No

Reservations: Not accepted

Contact: 541-382-2135 (Bend), 541-504-1678 (Redmond), www.izzysonline.com

Scorecard

OVERALL: B-

Food: C. Excellent salad bar, but entree meats are poor quality and the buffet selection is weak.

Service: A-. Superb service from wait-staff lead, but other servers were not nearly as attentive.

Atmosphere: B. As clean and well maintained as a 200-seat buffet restaurant can be.

Value: B+. Good value for diners more concerned with quantity than quality.