<p>I personally cannot stand buffets. It’s not only the overeating and watching others gorge themselves, but when I go out to dinner with a group, I want to carry on a conversation. At a buffet, it’s up, down, up, down. Your fellow diners are constantly leaving the table get a little more of this or that.</p>
<p>I also avoid all you can eat buffets at all costs. It’s mass produced food of poor quality & usually lacks flavor. I’ve heard that the Grand Coral restaurants are decent. </p>
<p>Are there really many buffets out there anymore? I really don’t know if I can name more than one in our area anymore…unless it’s like a special brunch buffet or something.</p>
<p>I am not a buffet person. Prefer food that is cooked to order and hasn’t been sitting out. Most of what I like to eat wouldn’t tolerate the process of being cooked ahead of time. Not surprised that quality frequently suffers in this scenario. Also have seen some less than appetizing behavior in the lines and that decreases the appeal further. </p>
<p>I haven’t been to one in decades, but there’s a Hometown Buffet near us. Yuck. Other places have Golden Corral. Some ethnic restaurants are buffets. There are several Indian buffets here. </p>
<p>I haven’t been to Vegas in 10 years, but their buffets were pretty good for breakfast with made to order omelets and lots of nice fresh fruit. </p>
<p>TatinG; yes, watching people create a mountain range on their plates is dreadful. I often shake my head at them, even though I occasionally have a second helping (or more) myself. LOL.</p>
<p>NewHaven mom, I think you mean the “Golden Corral.” That place actually is OK but on my visits to the south (few of them in my area) I have seen just terrible wastes of food at that chain.</p>
<p>Abasket, most of the buffets in my area are Chinese restaurants. Curiously, those places always have fries and pizza etc. at the steam table.</p>
<p>Omg, that’s a little bit hilarious! Pizza and fries at a Chinese place!!! We did have one of those Chinese restaurants, not sure if it still exists - never went there! </p>
<p>We have Home Town Buffet, 3 or 4 Asian buffets. And there are AYCE Buffets at the casinos which I completely forgot about until just now. They are pretty good. And yes, the prime rib is to die for! Lol I’ve been to Nordic Lodge in RI, many years ago. It was great! Incredibly over priced in my opinion. I believe it’s $90/person. How much can one really eat for 90 bucks? </p>
<p>I should have said “Asian” buffets instead of Chinese, as every such place I have dined at is operated by Korean families. Had a conversation once with one such owner who was candid about his costs/prices.</p>
<p>Some of our Indian restaurants have very good lunch buffets, but they definitely make money on me. One not-overloaded-plate, mostly vegetarian, and I’m done.</p>
<p>My late uncle loved the Golden Coral; we took him there when we found that his D wasn’t really giving him meals, and I still remember how much he liked it even though he was blind and I needed to describe the dishes. I wonder if those who lived through the Great Depression and then WWII had a different view of these buffets?</p>
<p>I love Indian buffets and fancy brunch buffets at hotels. I also like them at weddings/catered parties, because at plated events I’m always given way too much of some things.</p>
<p>I confess that I love college dining halls, too. I always have. I try to go to the dining hall for a meal at all my college visits. Too many schools want to roll out the red carpet when groups of counselors visit, and they give us a catered event with the college president, etc. They do a great job on the events, but I miss out on the opportunity to learn so much about the feel of the college. The bravest schools just give us cafeteria tickets and let us barge in at random student tables if we want. THAT is informative. Seeing the food offerings and their popularity tells you about student culture, too: how many vegans, how many meat and potatoes folks, etc. I tried teff porridge for the first time at breakfast at Beloit this fall. Not something you see everywhere.</p>
<p>The only “buffet restaurants” I’ve been recently to were breakfast buffets at Marriott and Fairmont hotels and our celebratory brunch at Salty’s. The Hook and Plow restaurant at the Marriott downtown (the one below the Market) serves a mean breakfast with organic, locally sourced ingredients. The Fairmont Orchid in Hawaii has a wonderful breakfast buffet with amazing selection of local fruit and made to order omelettes. The killer buffet at Salty’s is where people go determined to touch only all you can eat fresh crab and oysters to get their $55 worth, but when they see the rest of the food, their plans fall apart. :)</p>
<p>Oh now Hanna, I have never been to a wedding were they dished out TOO MUCH food. LOL.</p>
<p>Enthusiastically agree with you about college dinning halls. When Lake Jr. and I visited WPI for the admissions tour I had to temper my delight at the menu there so as not to unduly influence Jr.'s deliberations. LOL.</p>
<p>“I have never been to a wedding were they dished out TOO MUCH food. LOL.”</p>
<p>Overcooked filet and dry chicken breast have been in heavy supply at many of the ones I’ve been to. I’m all about side dishes and dessert, especially under those circumstances.</p>
<p>My father-in-law LOVED Hometown Buffet. We are not fans of any kind of buffet but always took him there when we visited. Our kids liked it when they were young because they got to pick whatever they wanted to eat, get up and down during dinner, and get their own ice cream with toppings. I never felt like I was getting my money’s worth because I never ate much- mostly salad. I don’t want to eat food that has been sitting out, been sneezed on by those too short to be above the sneeze guard, and possibly touched by other patrons. I know my growing son (even though he is a sophomore in college he continues to grow…) and his friends like it because they can eat, and eat, and eat…I’m sure no buffet owner would be happy to see his group coming through the door!</p>
<p>One big reason to go back to Disneyworld is the dinner buffet at Boma in Animal Kingdom. I enjoy being able to sample an array of flavors. </p>
<p>I once stopped at a place called CiCi’s in Ohio with my oldest, AYCE pizza buffet. Not very good pizza but a winner of the pennies-per-calorie competition.</p>
<p>The graduation party (at one of the local beach clubs) where dh teaches has a wonderful buffet with plenty to eat followed by a meal of overcooked beef and chicken. You can totally fill up on the appetizers which are fresh and very good, lots of stuff cooked on the spot. </p>
<p>We have a terrible Asian buffet in town - it probably has French Fries too. </p>
<p>I’ve never had a bad Indian buffet. They usually don’t overdo the quanty of offerings or try even try to provide things for people who don’t like Indian food.</p>
<p>I’m OK with buffets, which I attend mostly for parties. It’s an easy way for a lot of people to be served pretty quickly. The prices tend to be slightly lower than a comparable meal that has table service. Prefer table service over buffets whenever I am making the plans for our meals, but for large groups, buffets are easier for more folks to get food at the same time (or close to it). I’m always sad when I see a lot of the food unused/uncomsumed at the buffet.</p>