Pine Mountain State Resort Park hosted their 4th annual “Pioneer night” at the lodge Thursday.

The head chef of five years at Pine Mountain, Ruben Messamore said, “this has always been very successful ever since I started it in spring of 2008. Usually we get between 200 to 250 people each season.”

Pioneer night is only offered twice a year. Messamore says they usually do it in March and then again in October.

“People love to come here and try all the different types of meat,” Messamore says. “The buffet consists of meats such as buffalo chili, elk stew, roast elk, BBQ buffalo, buffalo chili, buffalo meat loaf, frog legs, chicken and catfish.”

Messamore says the elk comes straight from Colorado and the buffalo comes from western Kentucky.

“There is no other place around here where locals can come to try this type of food so everyone seems to really take advantage of it,” Messamore said. “Some people have mixed emotions about trying something different. Everyone’s favorite seems to be the roast elk and the BBQ buffalo.”

Park Manager Stephen Eastin and Messamore want to invite everyone to come enjoy Pioneer Night again in March of 2013.

Messamore added, “another fun night that just happens once a year is our annual Italian Night. This particular night has turned into a big hit because we make a bunch of different pastas from scratch and then you can customize your own Alfredo and add chicken, shrimp and a lot of other options.”