Buffets

Brian F. wrote:
>
> Yeah, some like the *buffet* thing.  But a DECENT buffet thing and not
> a cheapo, "I'm nauseous after 5 greasy bites" thing.

I've only had the expensive Sunday buffet thing ($35 more or less, the ice sculptures, the flowing champagne, prime rib carved on your plate, etc.) a few times, the good buffet thing (once on a cruise ship, or like the lunch buffet at Amber or Sue's Indian restaurants) a little more often, and the cheap buffet thing ($7 -- like a Fresh Choice or something) once or twice, and there's a few things I dislike like about all of them.

I've never had the Japanese sushi buffets, although I'm curious. And I must admit, I enjoy the Butter Chicken at Amber enough to go there pretty often for lunch.

With any buffet thing, [you may stand in line and] you get your plate and your food, and look at mounds of food, walk around the serving tables, choose a few samplings, take your food back, eat it. Perhaps, go get more food, or a different choice, etc. In other words, you serve yourself. I don't get the appeal of that part of serving yourself when dining out.

With the cheaper buffet things, the other patrons seem to pig out and it's kinda gross. The other night, I went to Fresh Choice and I saw two people consume enough food for a family of four for a week. They had brought reading material, a lap top, and had a big table for four for the two of them. They had an all-you-can-eat glazed look in their eyes and were going to camp out for a few hours. Food was piled high on plates everywhere you could see. People walking back and forth to the serving stations. Kids dropping muffins on the floor. Like that. I don't get that part, unless you're a high school kid in football training and need to consume 5,000 calories in one meal.

Plus, with the more expensive buffets, I feel I just eat too much. I mean, the food is so good and I want to sample all of it -- eggs benedict, shrimp this and that, etc. -- I just feel blimped out for the rest of the day. And, at that price, I feel like it's justified to over-eat. I always go back for just a little teensy bit more Butter Chicken at Amber, and regret it all afternoon. Don't like that feeling.

With cheapest buffets, the food has been sitting there for a long time. Getting warm. People serving themselves with their unsanitary hands. Big industrial buckets of jello, green salad, and whatever. I'd rather order an item off the menu for the same price as the buffet, if possible.

So, I guess these are some reasons I don't choose buffets over the service kind of restaurants. I know buffets are very popular, and I'm probably the only one who has a negative thing to say about one.

Karen