All-You-Can-Eat Buffets: friend or foe?

[fifi]

I actually dream of the breakfast buffets at the better hotels in Mexico.

We have an Indian restaurant here that has an awesome lunch buffet. The quality and variety are terrific. (What is the name of that place . . . Bombay Bistro?)

The Thanksgiving buffet at The Houston Yacht Club was elegant and well served.

When I find a good one, I will go back. It does take some research, though.

I also have a problem with buffets. I am a light eater. But I also like to sample the variety. That makes for some very strange looking plates of food.

[Jensen]

When I get in line I grab my plate and pass everyone and go straight to the end where the roast and poultry are and work my way back. It pisses a few people off but as a customer this works for me.

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Ah, yes. The Carnivore Plate...

[SobaAddict70]

All About Buffets

[andiesenji]

The brunch buffet at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Nigel is one that I could happily graze on forever. Pricey, though.

I haven't been to any of the buffets in Las Vegas for several years, however at one time the one at Caesars Palace was as good as at the major high-end restaurants.

[chow guy]

I avoid buffets because the food is most always awful.

However, there is an $8.99 Indian buffet that I do enjoy. Food and breads are replentished frequently so they don't dry out and most everything is very good. In fact I only eat the buffet at lunch at this particular place because the prices skyrocket when the same dishes hit the menu for dinner. If you order two entrees, dal, pilaf, assorted breads and chutneys and dessert at dinner... the cost can be higher than $40 per person. Go figure.

[Really Nice!]

"I feel like I learned this from King Ralph ( a John Goodman movie) was this advice featured in this fine cinematic triumph?"

Yes it was familiar to me too...The version I sw featured Martin Krane educating Niles and Frazier about the buffet as a sporting event: 'stay away from your breads and your pastas and your mayonnaised based salads-wait!  that last bit might be mine

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Don't know, didn't see either one. I first started doing this back in the late 70s on a ski trip in the Michigan peninsula. A buffet was part of the weekend package and a bunch of us were standing in line waiting for a person to pick through the rolls looking for god-knows-what. I was still cold and numb from skiing all day and my patience was thin, so I walked around and headed to the end. The guy loaded up my plate with ham and roast beef, and I worked my way back to the same person still picking through the rolls. I've been doing it this way ever since.

[cakewench]

When I read the subject, my immediate reaction was, well, 'ew.' Of course, now that I've read it, I find that I agree with a lot of the semi-positive comments.

I DO like brunch buffets, especially those in nice hotels. It might have more to do with the fact that that sort of big breakfast is usually reserved (in my world, anyway) for vacations. Instead of word association, it's food association! Eggs + bacon + possible waffle = relaxation, where's the beach? I like when there is someone there to make fresh omelettes, crepes, or whatever. Add fresh squeezed OJ and crisp bacon... yum. (and if it's a buffet, well, that means bacon refills. 'nuff said.)

Indian buffets can also be good. There was a place I really liked back in DC (I forget the name) which was a really nice restaurant. They were 'normal' for dinner, but at lunch they did a buffet, presumably to drag in the local working crowd. It was an excellent way to sample their menu, and I did visit a few times for dinner to have the full experience.

[cjs]

other than a higher end brunch, where I can eat croissants, fresh fruit, yogurts and drink lots of champagne and o.j............I hate buffets. Cold food, self service, and I don't have a very big appetite, so I always end up feeling I've over paid for one plate of food.

[Tess]

I'm not crazy about buffets either. I have been to some in Las Vegas that I thought were more or less worth the money, like the Rio seafood buffet a few years ago-- before they jacked up the price and lowered the quality. Some of these make hot food to order and keep cold food well iced. (My usual objection to buffets on culinary grounds is that the temperatures never seem quite right.)

I just can't get over the ambience of buffets; they always seem kind of stressful. Too many people getting in my personal space and I always suspect (or know) that someone's been sticking their fingers in the food.

[NulloModo]

Speaking of buffets -

I went to my favorite indian buffet for lunch today. For only $9 you get your pick of a range of dishes, today there was chicken curry, chicken tandoori (these two are always present), an eggplant curry dish, a spicy chile chicken dish, several soups, several curries I couldn't quite place, a dish featuring indian yogurt cheese, plus several options for rice, naan, and etc. On top of that there is a spread of chutneys, sauces, and pickles. This particular place gets pretty high turnover, so the food isn't left out for too long before needing to be replaced due to dwindling supply, and everything I have had there is fresh and quite tasty. Myself and my dining companion are also usually the only two non-indian people in the restaurant, although it certainly gets its accords, having won 'Best of Delaware - Indian' and 'Best of Delaware - Vegetarian' for the past two years.

The real value here, or in any buffet, is that you can tailor exactly what you get to what you want to eat, or what you can eat. Since I don't do carbs, I can't really go out to a sit-down Indian meal and feel I am getting a decent value, as I am always paying for rice and naan I won't be able to eat. Here, I can just pass on these things and dine on things that I can eat, as well as sample a wide variety of dishes.

[Alex]

I'll add another endorsement of Indian buffet lunch, at least at the one I frequent here in GR. The tandoori chicken and naan are ok, but the palak paneer and chana masala are top-notch, as is the fragrant rice pudding. The food is brought out in small quantities, so it seldom tires out on the steam table.

I still believe that Chinese buffets are evil, the antithesis of what good Chinese food is all about. I must confess, though, that every couple of months I eat lunch at a buffet place that actually is pretty decent if one is selective. The key is arriving at about 11:15, just as they're setting out the first batches of the day. I usually opt for shrimp and onions in a slightly hot red sauce, stir-fried/steamed mixed veggies, and -- minimizing the carbs -- just a bit of rice. By the time I've finished, the nori rolls are ready and calling my name. A few orange slices for dessert, and I'm set for the rest of the day.

[jamiemaw]

article from MSNBC

What is your personal gameplan to maximize the benefits of a buffet? or are there any benefits? If so, what??

Or do you simply avoid them because you feel that you are not "in control" in this type of a food setting? 

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I always brake for buffets.

But not necessarily because I want to eat from them. If I do, I follow a variation of Really Nices' protocol, but instead of eating back to front, we simply eat the cheap fillers (salad, a roll) while we're moving through the line. Then we present our clean, empty plates to the chap sawing the prime-rib. Demand the the King Farouk cut.

But I really brake to see the microcosm of the human condition that buffets so wittlessly present:

1. Gluttony/Greed: On a cruise ship last summer we watched a man transport a heaped platter of bacon back to his appreciative family. When they waddled out later, his track pants looked like a couple of grizzly bears arguing under a carpet.

2. Anger: Same cruise ship, different problem: Walker Rage. A cotton-top got all all hissy (see "Pride", below) at me.

3. Pride: (aka Cheating the System): Eating the cheap stuff first. Or standing by the orange juice beakers to continuously refill your thimble-sized glass. Undertipping is also a prideful act, usually rationalized with the remark, "All she did was bring coffee."

4. Envy: "I'm just going to get some bacon," as I've been known to say to my daughter.

5. Lust: I'm sure that you've noticed an inordinate amount of tush-grabbing in buffeteria line-ups, especially at weddings. Occasionally it may even be the backside of the person you arrived with. And last Easter, at a Greek buffet, I suffered from animal lust--waiting for the two spit-roasted lambs.

6. Sloth: "While you're up, could you get me some more bacon?" as I've been known to say to my daughter. Or there's the time honoured art of queue-jumping, where the extended family of 14 butts into line with Gramps leading the charge.

Buffets I Have Known And Loved

1. The Seymour Buffet, sixth floor at The Hudson's Bay Company, Vancouver. Childhood memories of a roast lunch and cubed Jell-O with whipped cream.

2. The Christmas Buffet at The Vancouver Club. Unlimited amounts of devilishly fresh, hand-picked local shrimp and Dungenesss crab.

3. The everyday lunch buffet at Maurya on West Broadway. Excellent Indian at Scottish prices.

4. The restaurant at Xerox Center, Leesburg, Virginia. The best institutional food; excellent roasts; tush-groping.

Edited January 16, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

But I really brake to see the microcosm of the human condition that buffets so wittlessly present:

1. Gluttony/Greed: On a cruise ship last summer we watched a man transport a heaped platter of bacon back to his appreciative family. When they waddled out later, his track pants looked like a couple of grizzly bears arguing under a carpet.

2. Anger: Same cruise ship, different problem: Walker Rage. A cotton-top got all all hissy (see "Pride", below) at me.

3. Pride: (aka Cheating the System): Eating the cheap stuff first. Or standing by the orange juice beakers to continuously refill your thimble-sized glass. Undertipping is also a prideful act, usually rationalized with the remark, "All she did was bring coffee." 

4. Envy: "I'm just going to get some bacon," as I've been known to say to my daughter.

5. Lust: I'm sure that you've noticed an inordinate amount of tush-grabbing in buffeteria line-ups, especially at weddings. Occasionally it may even be the backside of the person you arrived with. And last Easter, at a Greek buffet, I suffered from animal lust--waiting for the two spit-roasted lambs.

6. Sloth: "While you're up, could you get me some more bacon?" as I've been known to say to my daughter. Or there's the time honoured art of queue-jumping, where the extended family of 14 butts into line with Gramps leading the charge.

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Thanks for this highly creative and well thought out deep analysis as usual, jamiemaw!

Insight of this sort always leaves me breathless!! You certainly have nailed the "Buffet Personality" at its very core!

[Toliver]

I think I said this on a previous buffet thread:

No beverages and no bread (both are fillers).

And bring a heavy jacket because most buffet places crank up the A/C so you'll get cold and leave sooner rather than later.

[Gifted Gourmet]

No beverages and no bread (both are fillers).

And bring a heavy jacket because most buffet places crank up the A/C so you'll get cold and leave sooner rather than later. 

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I know about the beverage and bread fillers .. also salad and vegetables ..

but the A/C is a new one! Thanks, Toliver, what a (forgive me for this!) cool idea!

[ghostrider]

When I saw the thread title, my first thought was, "Is she talking about Warren or Jimmy?"

Of course it's actually much more interesting than that.

[NulloModo]

I always brake for buffets.

Undertipping is also a prideful act, usually rationalized with the remark, "All she did was bring coffee." 

Since you bring it up: What is the appropriate tip for the water/coffee/plate-cleaner people at buffets? Certainly it doesn't warrant a full 15% tip that a fully functional waitperson would get, but I feel as if I should leave something.

Generally when at a buffet we do the everyone chip ina buck thing, which seems fair, gives the server/busperson (usually one in the same) something, and because most buffets are priced at under $10 a head anyway, the tip comes out being over 10%.

[EdS]

Here is my list of benefits of a buffet:

[ratgirlny]

People here have mentioned buffets at home - always good in my opinion, and in restaurants (chain buffets are bad, Indian buffets are good).

But no one has mentioned buffets in another context : weddings (and catered events in general). Here, buffets are always a good thing. Given that wedding food is always abysmal (except at Chinese weddings), at least a buffet gives guests a pretense of choice, lets them avoid the 45 minute wait to be served, and gives them something to do during those interminable breaks-between-courses-for-dancing. By the way, Chinese weddings are the best - all food, no dancing!

[CaliPoutine]

For the most part I think buffets are vile. However, the best buffet I've ever had( and I waited in line for 3hrs) was The Buffett at the Belagio.

I avoid chinese food buffets and the like at all costs. I will eat Indian food buffets though. I would NEVER eat at those " country type" buffetts. Been there, done that.

I could eat 4 bites of food and Id still feel like I was pumped full of salt and preservatives. The quality of ingredients are so poor and most everything is breaded and fried.

As a side note: When I was still living in California and my partner came to visit me from Canada, she wanted to eat at one of those country type places. She had a craving for fried chicken. We went, I suffered and she said " wow, this is the first place in California I' ve seen overweight people". I never noticed that before, but she was right.

I used to enjoy Soup Plantation and those salad bar type places but now I avoid those places as well.

[Gifted Gourmet]

But no one has mentioned buffets in another context : weddings (and catered events in general). Here, buffets are always a good thing. Given that wedding food is always abysmal (except at Chinese weddings), Chinese weddings are the best - all food, no dancing!

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Thanks for this cool tip, ratgirlny (don't you have a little better name for yourself? ) ....

I do need to 'broaden' my social horizons ... up to now, mostly Jewish weddings ... which are not really all that bad ... Chopped liver in a variety of 'cutesy' shapes ...

[wattacetti]

Good buffets… there was this place in Taipei that had maguro sashimi, free-range black bone chickens, goose, oysters on the half-shell, fresh bamboo shoots, and shark fin soup among its selection of 175 items.

I would also do breakfast buffet at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport or the Inter-Continental Hotel in Montreal or London UK. Fresh pineapple, beautiful smoked salmon (sockeye in YVR, Scottish and Norwegian Atlantic in the other two), smoked sturgeon, and always some guy who can make a decent omelette. What's great about them is that no one nitpicks the expense report afterwards since it's actually one of the affordable breakfast choices.

Bad buffets are generally mostly everything else in the US and Canada, though sometimes useful if you:

a) are into those cautionary tales sort of things, or

b) have to entertain certain American refrigerated products packaging specialists from Pennsylvania (sad but true).

[bottomlesspit]

I rarely buffet, but if I do, it's my only meal of the day with a few fresh fruits and vegetables and glasses of water thrown in sometime thereafter to keep the system in check. So yes, I do sometimes gorge, but it all seems to balance out this way.

[Tess]

I'd forgotten Hawaiian luaus . Most of those are at least somewhat in a buffet format. I have enjoyed those although I don't really care for the roast pig. They seem less nasty than mainland buffets, perhaps because they are outdoors. I do like the ability to have just a little bit of lots of stuff like poi and haupia that I would not want to eat a whole serving of.

Wedding buffets are OK but not if you have to go through the line just to get the same piece of meat and two vegetables that you would get if it was served to you. Without variety, there's no point in my opinion.

[Andrew Fenton]

I've never really understood the "skip the starches, head for the meat" buffet mentality. It's not like most of us are starved for protein, and at a ten-dollar meal, it's not like you really need to worry about great value. Is it just the thrill of trying to pull a fast one on the restaurant?

In general, I'm a buffet-skeptic. But there are exceptions: the eGullet NJ pig roast in the fall was a pot luck buffet, after all, and it was great. Wedding buffets have been mentioned, and I've enjoyed some of those. But the only commercial buffet I hit with any regularity is the Lady and Sons in Savannah. The food there (mac and cheese, greens, black-eyed peas, etc.) stands up well to a buffet, and the restaurant is so crowded, with such high turnover, that fried chicken and other more delicate foods are continually being replaced. But that's definitely an exception to the otherwise sorry, sorry world of buffets.