Buffets - Great Deal or Paying for Crap?
 

Some people always talk about buffets as God's gift to the impoverished and hungry. But whenever I find myself in a buffet, I think it's just endless tubs of crappy food. There are some exceptions, but they're so pricey, you might as well eat at a restuarant.

Unless I specifically want to go somewhere where I can eat as many different types of food as I can, I usually stay away from buffets. Granted, I like the fact that the have a lot of choices and that you can eay as much as you want, but most of the I figure why do it when most of the food tastes like crap. The only exception is the desserts, which I almost eat as much of as I eat food, just because it's usually the only thing that is good.

But yeah, you can usually get just as full at a good restaurant for about the same price. Other than the limited menu, regular restaurants are way better than buffets. You basically are paying for crap, but it is still kind of a good deal, especially for the variety.

It is mostly about the variety they offer at buffets. You have tons of choices, unlimited plates, and it's all for a set price also. Can't really complain about that.

I don't usually eat at buffets, but I do like the variety. I eat as much food at a buffet as I would at a normal restaurant. Normally, the buffets I eat at are Japanese or Chinese, since I find the others lack selection.

That also... But I haven't really seen any other buffets around my area that aren't Chinese or Japanese... I've been to a couple, but as Rydia said, they lack the amount of variety and good food that Chinese/Japanese buffets have.

Buffets I hardly ever go to. The only good buffet, from my experience is at a pizzeria-type place. The food they chug out seems to always be good quality. There's a place about a mile from here that I went to in high school a few times. Damned good buffet. I should try it again sometime...

Golden Corral is a big buffet place around here. You used to be able to order an individual meal or pick buffet. It is all buffet now, and every time a friend goes there, they get food poisoning. I am not touching that restaurant ever again. Ever o__O

I don't go to buffets often, but when I do, I like positive feedback about a place. Yes, I've been to buffets where the selection was terrible, and I would have been better going off to a non-buffet place. Whenever I do go to a buffet place, and I do like it, I definitely eat much, much more than I would at non-buffet places.

One thing I never understood about the buffets is the drinks. Most of the buffets I've been to make you pay like $8.00 or something for the food, but then you have to pay an additional $1.50 or something for the drinks. They know no one is gonna come in there and not order a drink, so why not just add it on to the price of the meal?

Yeah, it's mostly crap food. But it's cheap unlimited crap food as opposed to $32 for one mouthful of slightly less crap food at a fancy restaurant.

The meal is a set price. You might want more than one drink. Unless they are offering free refils with that drink, they get to make a few extra bucks from you that way.

That's the thing though: you get free refills once you do buy the drink. That's why I find it pretty stupid.

I usually find it's certain buffets that have crappy food. For instance, Old Country Buffet is played into the ground with my family and I. We're sick of the place. The food is uninteresting and it seems like they have the SAME food no matter what day we'd go. Now we eat at Golden Corral every once in awhile.

I've tried other buffets, like Chinese ones, but it didn't work out too well. It seemed like every time I went to one of them, I was either really sick when I got home or I threw up the minute I exited the building (and no I didn't eat a whole lot).

See, I like Old Country Buffet, albeit only occasionally, a lot better than Golden Corral. They're a little pricey, but the food is tasty, and they actually have good desserts. Why is it that Chinese buffets have the worst dessert food, like stale cookies and cakes?

You can't expect buffet food to be as great as something ordered off the menu. It has to sit out all day, instead of being prepared more or less fresh for one person. The best time to go to a buffet is right when it opens, so they've just put the food out.

There's a buffet chain in Baltimore called Cactus Willie's, whose gimmick is all you can eat steak. It's not bad, but their cookies are delectable.

At a place like Western Sizzlin' or Golden Corral that specializes in buffets, it's wonderful. At other places, however, some of the food is lacking. In the end, though, it really depends on how much I feel like eating. I would only order a buffet if I were hungry. Otherwise, it isn't worth the price.

I don't think they really expect for anyone to eat it. I meant, granted it's stale for a reason, nobody wants it. Every time I've gone to a Chinese buffet, I hardly ever eat their dessert. I don't see very many people doing it either.

The chinese buffet near me has the absolute best soft-serve ice cream I've ever had. I have no idea why it's so good, but every time I go there I wind up eating two or three bowls of the stuff (with fixins) after already gorging myself on two or three plates of food. Of course, I'm always hungry again by bedtime. :(

The best buffet I've heard of is this Brazilian beef buffet near me at school. I haven't been there myself (spending $30+ on a meal is a little tough for me as a student), but it's all you can eat steak. My suitemate went there and said it was the best moment of his life when they asked, "Would you like another filet mignon wrapped in bacon, sir?" Apparently at some of them they serve the meat off of swords, too.

Man I totally agree. All those buffets that tote ALL THE STEAK YOU CAN EAT, have obviously never eaten their poorly prepared cardboard tasting steaks. I try to avoid buffets but when I am at one, I tend to eat all their shrimp cocktail and ice cream, since there's no way to do bad on either. Also usually I find the sushi buffets the better of. Since I don't have much of a discerning palette when it comes to Japanese food, I find it all tastes the same. Probably the same of all ethnic foods but damned if I was ever at a Mexican buffet.

I never eat enough at a buffet to justify the price so it does make more sense to go to a decent resturant.

I tend to go to Chinese buffets more often than others. I'm not quite sure why. :p There's this really nice one about half an hour away from my home that serves tasty food. Of course, it's more expensive than the ordinary Chinese buffets that can be found anywhere, but it's worth it. However, the food is still pretty greasy, so I try not to go there (or any other buffet) too often. The fact that it's all-you-can-eat really makes me go overboard, so I end up eating way too much.

We go to a chinese buffet every once in a while... but real chinese food is always way better, if a bit weird sometimes O_o

There's a local Chinese buffet I go to every so often. The food's good enough, and it's a hell of a lot more reasonable than most restaurants.

There's a Jap buffet too, but it's a bit more expensive, so I don't eat there very often.

As for Golden Corral, my dad got food poisoning there, and we've talked to others with the same issue. I think it's a nationwide problem or something.

I think the Chinese Buffet I go to offers a great deal. There is a wide range of food to select and a nice dessert table as well. Most of the food if fresh since they replace the trays whenever they're finished. Lunch is only $7 (including drinks too) even on a Saturday!

Soup plantation!!!!

They have alright salad and their clam chowder is soooo goood!! They have a lot of breads/bakery goods too give it a try.

There are only a few buffets in my area. Cactus Willie's is where all of the old people (or people who love cardboard anything) go to eat. As a bonus, green stuff comes out of the steaks. Trust me, I've seen it.

China Queen Buffet and Grand Buffet are both similar. I think the food at both places is good, but Grand has food that's actually warm once I get it, and doesn't have Light FM on (I heard enough of it back in middle school, and was about to go insane). There's also China King Buffet, which, from what I heard, is owned by the same people who own China Queen. I've never really been there, so I can't judge it.

Well... I pretty much only have two buffets I go to regularly, and there is one other one I go to.

Soup Plantation
Good food, not as much variety but good stuff. It's cheap too!

Todai
My favorite place to go, all you can eat sushi, that is pretty reasonable. That and crab legs, lobster and clams. Yay, I win at this place.

Goofy's Kitchen
The most expensive place ever at Disneyland. I think it's like 28 a person. They have good prime rib that's all you can eat though, so for me it's worth it. I only go there once like every year though.

I go to a chinese buffet near work once or twice a week. It's fairly decent, especially at $5.99. It is not the best chinese food that I have ever had, but the General Tso's chicken and sweet/sour chicken are tough to screw up, so that's typically what I fill my plate with. As for other types of buffets, sometimes I will go to this locally owned pizza place that does buffet lunch, and it's fairly good. The woman who runs the place will come out and ask us what kind of pizzas we like, so she can toss one in the oven for us. Pretty cool. For any other kind of buffet, I am more than a little apprehensive about going to them. Either the food is really bad, the selection is really bad, or both {often times both}.

i once went to a cheap buffet in china town (london) and it was horrible; there was little choice and everything was full of onions x.x but once i went to a buffet in hong kong at a hotel and the selection was huge and the quality so much better; there was european chefs to make whatever you wanted, sushi chefs making sushi on demand, salad bar, drinks bar, a huge range of ice-cream. though i guess it was due to the price as well and the fact this was new years ^^;

sometimes i prefer buffets, since you can eat more of what you want and decide the portions and what order. in restaurants it tends to be set what you get first and last and less variety; they tend to focus on one type of cuisine.

I think it is pointless to order the buffet at some Chinese places becsause they put MSG in their food.

You do realize that practically any boxed foodstuffs you get at the supermarket will have MSG in it, right?

So don't buy said boxed foodstuffs.

I have to admit, I love a buffet. Salad Bars. Anything of the sort, really. It's not so much that I'm a fat ass (I'm not), I just like the variety. My ideal salad is a giant bowl of every plant in the universe - not lettuce, tomato and a slice of chicken for 8 dollars.

I'm a buffet fuckin master. I have Hometown Buffet menus in my wallet and now have a GIANT MAP OF THE USA SHOWING ME WHERE EVERY ONE OF THEM IS.

My only problem with doing the Hometown action is that my friends stay for an hour - I want to make a day of it. I want to start my morning with chicken fried steak and end it with 8 helpings of ham.

I wonder if there are any laws governing all you can eat buffets. Like, when are they allowed to kick you out? Can you sue them for false advertising if they do?

Hometown only has one rule posted - don't take food out of the place.

I mean like, official laws. Like, when can they call the cops over to "escort" you from the premises?

The multicultural buffets around here are basically cleaner places to eat according to some local inspections (due to probably the scrunity of citizenship mostly)

not to mention the variety is great and NO WAIT TIME!

I only go to chinese buffets. The ones I go to are neat and a wide variety of food all around. And its fancy lookin. I consider going to a buffet a special occasion ^_^ yum

All depends on:
1. Where you go
2. When you go
3. What you like to eat

1. If you go to a Chinese buffet (like Mandarin), most of the food there is pretty good even though its cheap stuff, it'll satisfy your taste buds! Tucker's Marketplace is also quite good.

2. Dinner is ALWAYS better than breakfast/brunch/lunch because thats when they bring out the good stuff: shrimp, lobster, brabs etc. - but all of that is only good if you like seafood :D. This brings me to my next point:

3. If you like seafood - go crazy and gorge out on fish, shrimp, crap etc.etc. because that stuff is usually pretty expensive so it'd be a good deal. But if you're into fries and chicken wings - it doesn't really matter where you go because no matter what you do you'll get ripped off. I'd never pay 15 bucks to eat fries and chicken wings, it doesn't seem sensible if you can go to KFC and get it for 5 bucks. (BTW - I don't think i'd ever eat fries and chicken wings from KFC - heard the oil in the fryer gets changed once ever 2-3 years)