"All you can EAT!" A regional/state thing?

[KSUViolet06]

Where I live (northern OH), the only buffets are Chinese food ones. Weird.

[PANTHERTEKE]

These kinds of places are usually in suburban areas where there are a lot of overweight/obese people who love getting full for a cheap price.

Not too many of these where I'm at, although there is a Picadilly's near my house (cafeteria style but not "all you can eat").

All the Ponderosas in Miami are closed by now. There's a Golden Corral about 15 minutes from my house in a very suburban suburb and sure enough the few times I've visited most of the people there are of the *larger* crowd.

Just speaking the truth.

[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

I don't think there's too many all-you-can-eat buffet places around here. The only ones I can think of are a Chinese buffet, an Old Country Buffet, and a Japanese buffet. I go to the Japanese buffet once in a while. I prefer going to regular Japanese restaurants (better sashimi, more special rolls) but it can get quite pricey.

I don't go to the Old Country Buffet. And I've only been to the Chinese buffet once. The food was meh.

[Elephant Walk]

I love KFC buffet.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

I love KFC buffet.

I never knew that KFC had a buffet until I saw one in Arkansas. I have to say, that KFC there is tastier than around here. Even at the one here, there's something about that secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices that makes my mouth water...

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

I've been posting and lurking on internet discussion boards for over five years. I've read numerous threads about restaurants. Mostly about favorite ones and recommendations. I've noticed in these threads, that buffets or restaurants that have reputations for cheap large quantities of food are almost never mentioned. Restaurants are usually noted for its superior service, atmosphere, quality of food, and/or creative recipes.

However, the people I know in real life, how much food you get on your plate is a restaurant's biggest selling point. An example, I overheard some people in the mall deciding on where they wanted to go to dinner. The choice was between a fancy lounge with live perfomances and well-prepared food, and a couple of other restaurants in the same area. Well, they decided to go to PONDEROSA! They wanted to get full and not spend too much money. Going by their appearance, mannerisms, and things they purchased in the store...they were NOT poor, though. So that reason was ruled out.

I've interacted with all kinds of people within the last 10 years of my life...people who were financially well off, poor people from the inner city, country people from rural areas, Greeks, hipster kids, people of different races and ethnicities, you name it. They all have one thing in common, they all (well, in general) are fond of Applebee's, Culpepper's, fast food, Ponderosa, Old Country Buffet, Golden Corral...or any other place you get a lot of food for cheap. And most of these people are from Missouri or Illinois.

What I'm trying to say is that I notice there's a HUGE difference in restaurant preferences, between the people I see online (many who are from the east or west coast) and people I see in real life. I just wonder if this is a regional thing. I think so, but I don't really know, since I've never been on either coast.

you should hang out with less fat people

your internet friends are cooler than your real life ones

[ASTalumna06]

I grew up in New England, and there really aren't that many buffet-styled restaurants around there. And if there are, I never found them.

Between college, and now 2 years following that, I've lived in Pennsylvania for about 6 years, and buffet-styled restaurants are everywhere. Golden Corral, Ponderosa, Old Country Buffet, etc. As to whether or not people PREFER to eat there, I don't know.

I've also traveled up and down the east coast, from Maine to Florida, and a whole bunch of places in between, and I've never run across any of these restaurants that I've seen in PA.

Maybe it's a middle-of-the-country kind of thing

[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Maybe it's a middle-of-the-country kind of thing

Quite possibly. They closed the Ponderosa around here YEARS ago. It was right by the King of Prussia mall and they were trying to make that area more upscale. Now, the steakhouses in and around the mall are Morton's, Sullivan's, and Ruth's Chris.

Since I hadn't seen any Ponderosa's for several years, I thought they had gone out of business until I went up to Penn State and saw one there.


We also no longer have Denny's or Friendly's around here, but we do have tons and tons of TGIFriday's, Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, and Chili's.

[summer_gphib]

The last time I ate at a Golden Corral I got food poisioning so bad I could barely move for a week. (I must say I did lose 11 lbs. though.)

We don't go to all-you-can-eat places often, because here they are just okay. We usually go because I'm a salad fanatic, and there are precious few places around here that have salad bars. (Ruby Tuesdays is pretty good and Sonnys.) We usually save upscale places for special occasions.

[AnchorAlumna]

In my little city, we have Mama Blues (owned by the Barnhills, the folks who started the old Barnhill's AYCE chain), and Ryan's, briefly known as Fire Mountain, which used to be a steak place that turned itself into an AYCE place.

I call these places "troughs," because you go to the feeding trough to fill your plate. It's always fun to count the ENORMOUS people bellying up to the buffet. They're usually eating when we arrive and still eating when we leave.

Nevertheless, there are reasons to go to these places (which are NOT cheap!). First, you have kids, who are hungry and have to eat RIGHT NOW. Second, you have a large number of people who each want something different. Third, you're in a hurry and want to eat RIGHT NOW. Fourth, you're sick of fast food and want a salad and/or some veggies.

FWIW, our Applebee's used to be grim, but they have a new cook and the food has greatly improved.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

I call these places "troughs," because you go to the feeding trough to fill your plate. It's always fun to count the ENORMOUS people bellying up to the buffet. They're usually eating when we arrive and still eating when we leave.

Nevertheless, there are reasons to go to these places (which are NOT cheap!). First, you have kids, who are hungry and have to eat RIGHT NOW. Second, you have a large number of people who each want something different. Third, you're in a hurry and want to eat RIGHT NOW. Fourth, you're sick of fast food and want a salad and/or some veggies.

I've been known to call Golden Corral "the hog trough" in my days, because that's EXACTLY what it is. The hometown fatties love it.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I grew up in New England, and there really aren't that many buffet-styled restaurants around there. And if there are, I never found them.

Between college, and now 2 years following that, I've lived in Pennsylvania for about 6 years, and buffet-styled restaurants are everywhere. Golden Corral, Ponderosa, Old Country Buffet, etc. As to whether or not people PREFER to eat there, I don't know.

I've also traveled up and down the east coast, from Maine to Florida, and a whole bunch of places in between, and I've never run across any of these restaurants that I've seen in PA.

Did you ever go to Imperial China Buffet on upper Peach? When I was in undergrad (at the same time as you), my friends and I would go there almost every Sunday morning (which was really afternoon) - we thought it was the best hangover food we'd ever have. It's either taken a huge downturn or our palettes have matured because we tried going there once this summer after a bachelorette party and most of us hated the food and ended up sick by the end of the day - how did we eat that crap???

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

However, the people I know in real life, how much food you get on your plate is a restaurant's biggest selling point.

So typical of Americans.

I avoid the all-you-can-eat buffets. I much prefer a locally-owned restaurant with unique food and smaller portions -- and so do 90% of my friends.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Buffets usually aren't my thing. The only time I'll really eat at a buffet is breakfast/brunch...they don't make me nervous the way dinner buffets do. We have Old Country Buffet around here, but I've never been to one. Other than that, the only buffets I can think of around here are chinese food and sushi buffets, the sushi buffets being very popular. The one buffet that is AWESOME is weekend brunch at Salty's in Seattle, which is gourmet fancy shmancy (http://www.saltys.com/food_wine/best_brunch.asp)

[ComradesTrue]

As someone who has lived in 2 of the fattest states in the union (TN and TX) and someone who lived in the #2 fattest city in America (Dallas) I have certainly seen a buffet restaurant or two in my time.

Loved reading the stories about Pancho's. Haven't been there since I was a kid, but raising the flag was always a highlight.

I do avoid the Golden Corral type places, but have ventured into some of the "better" (relative term) Chinese buffets. This is not because I want some huge portion, but rather I enjoy a "sampler" platter. Just a few bites of many different menu offerings.

Because I have a toddler, we do find ourselves regularly in a Cici's. Keeps him happy and I have had worse. (the key here is to ask for a specific type of pizza, which they are happy to make special for you. Then no one else has sneezed on it, touched it, etc.)

Dallas had a decent all you can eat Sushi place, and they also had Fogo de Chao which is a nice Brazillian meat fest with locations in larger cities across the US. So I won't paint all buffets/all you can eats with the same brush.

What really makes me ill are watching the people in the all-U-can-eat lines on Cruises... they are a breed all their own and really do personify the "fat and lazy American." Observing those cows is far worse than anything that I have seen at the Chinese buffet or Cici's, and that is saying a LOT!