If you take out the buffet and jack up the food quality several notches at the Hometown Buffet, you end up with Homefire Grill, an immensely more agreeable pilot restaurant on Sports Arena that could potentially start sprouting like radishes.

Since opening about seven months ago, the family-style eatery has taken root by those who could stand a break from the sordid smorgasbords of the world. At quick glance, the Homefire Grill appears like a Denny’s turned Souplantation. Customers bunch in line to order from a counter, fetch their own silverware and plunk down in spacious dining rooms tailor-made for gaggles of shoppers from the nearby Kobey’s Swap Meet. Just hook your numbered order card onto a metal stem at the table and the servers deliver your food faster than you can puff out a napkin.

The rapid service equates to meal congestion, however. With five in my party, and some of us destined first for soups and salads, the entire gamut of what we ordered appeared within a five-minute stretch.

Baskets of warm, triangular-shaped “bread bits” brushed in garlic would have been better savored with more time allotted. They’re included with a variety of “signature dishes” such as the 10-ounce Tri-Tip, Half Rotisserie Chicken, Barbecue Back Ribs and Salmon, all flame broiled to a tasty finish.

A bowl of decent Tomato-Basil Soup along with a so-so Caesar Salad signaled the pileup that occurred. From the “sandwiches” category, we cleared a path for the Tri-Tip French Dip; the meat sliced thinly enough to offset this sometimes tough cut of beef. Stacked on a satisfying grilled French roll, the sandwich would have been more memorable if served with a richer au jus and sturdier horseradish sauce.

More impressive was an expertly constructed Rotisserie Chicken Wrap held intact with jumbo red tortillas. The filling effervesced with chopped romaine, sautéed onions and bell peppers, Parmesan cheese and a subtle measure of Caesar dressing.

One of my companions opted for the regular-sized Cobb Salad as her main entrée, a bountiful heap of greens layered with all the usual suspects except for turkey. Instead, chicken breast is paired with the bacon, avocado and hardboiled eggs. It was too big to finish.

Willing to get down and dirty with the so-called “messy” back ribs, we hardly needed our Wet Naps after polishing them off. Despite their dry appearance, the ribs pulled apart easily and successfully sucked in the barbecue sauce during the grilling process, which I’m guessing occurs well ahead of time given the fact they arrived so quickly.

But investigating such matters became problematic. After asking two different staffers when the ribs were cooked, or whether gas or charcoal fuels the grill, I might as well have requested the engine specs for the space shuttle. Neither knew the answer. And when I inquired if the tri-tip is lean and sliced thin, the girl taking our order at the counter wasn’t too sure what “lean” meant.

If the partnership that owns Homefire Grill hopes to expand their venture, educating the floor staff about kitchen operations will help brand the eatery’s name into the higher order that it deserves, given that the food is a cut above expectation. The dining areas and partially exposed kitchen are clean and bright. And the atmosphere remains comfortably quiet even as the place fills up with customers. There seems to be potential here.

The menu caters to many appetites, with colorful salads of various ethnic origins, pizzas and pasta dishes, hot sandwiches and, of course, several meat entrées that I later discovered are flamed on a gas grill.

Desserts are made in-house and worth every calorie. The chocolate cake is dense and dreamy, and the Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting is chunky and super-moist in the middle.

If you’re looking for a family grill house with full wait service, stick to Outback or Black Angus. But if you’re longing for something a heck of a lot better than Denny’s, Coco’s or cheap buffets, the Homefire Grill duly fills the niche.