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

[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.

[NutBrnHair]

I think the last time I went to a Ryan's/Golden Corral/Western Sizzler type place was 20 years ago in Milledgeville, GA. I went to lunch with two of my grad school professors. After witnessing one of my professors wiping her soup bowl clean so she could fill up the same bowl with dessert....I had had enough. Oh, but there was more. She asked me if I was going to eat any of the dinner rolls. I said, "no," and she proceeded to stuff the rolls in the plastic bag which had been wrapped around her silverware!

[pbear19]

I worked at a Ponderosa for three years in college, and trust me when I say that the overweight to healthy weight ratio was no different inside the restaurant than anywhere else I've seen in America - including at the gym! There are some very uninformed posts in this thread about buffet restaurants and overweight people. As a matter of fact, my customers who ate the most were athletic younger guys. Generally people who really piled food on their plates left most of it when they were done. I cannot tell you how much food gets thrown away at a buffet!

The only buffet restaurants I personally eat at are Sweet Tomatoes and a local Indian restaurant. But I'm not so much of a snob that I would say (or imply) that all people who frequent buffet restaurants like Ponderosa and Golden Corral are fat country folk. That's incredibly far from the truth as I've witnessed it.