How American Is the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet?
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 12. 2023
- Weird History Food is grabbing an extra plate to show you the History of Buffets. The term "Buffet" may bring back memories of going to your local restaurant and gorging yourself while creating cooky culinary concoctions. But where did the buffet start? Was it even in America? Well, good thing you've come here because we'll uncover the history as well as how buffets even stay in business. Bring your appetite for this smorgasbord of a video.
#buffet #allyoucaneat #weirdhistoryfood - Zábava
I was born in 1991 in Sonora, Mexico; and a tradition that was at least once or twice a year as I was growing up was to go get our passports and cross the border to Tucson, Arizona and go for a shopping spree, and included in that trip was always dining to the HomeTown Buffet at least once, that would also be the first place I would get to see images of Norman Rockwell's iconic Americana paintings. That tradition kept happening until these started to close for us around 2011 -- not to mention as we became adults we all parted ways and we made these trips less often -- and I only felt a bit sad ever since.
When I was a kid I would always eat way too many Rice Krispies treats, and binge on pink lemonade and/or chocolate milk. What can I say, it was a place of no restraints.
These days I rarely go back there now, but sometimes I've been going to Golden Corral and it feels like something from my past comes back.
Loved reading this. Thank you for sharing
Great memory and Americana moment. Thanks for sharing
I will always miss when the Pizza Hut buffet was a common find. We didn't know how good we had it
Yeah member when pizza places were called pizza parlors and you could actually sit down and eat the pizza inside?
I remember, and miss, the Wendy's Salad bar :)
You remember you could get like 3 pizzas for 5 dollars each, and on top of that you had the salad bar and all the appetitizer buffets. You could literally stuff your family and take leftovers home for like 20 dollars.
omg that was soo good! how many in the usa are there?
There’s still a sit down Pizza Hut by my house but it’s definitely not the same I remember as a kid. We still have Cici’s pizza bar though
I haven't been to a buffet in ages.
Of course, they're more of a bargain when you're 19 and your stomach is like a satchel in a video game that can hold hundreds of times what its size would suggest.
At 40 when you're tapping out in the middle of your second plate: less so.
The most annoying thing about buffets when I was a kid is my dad would INSIST we have a salad first.
Like, you paid for all this Chinese food and you're gonna make us fill up on _LETTUCE?_ Dude!!!
Nothing against a nice salad, but I can and often _do_ make one at home. A dinner of ten different kinds of stir fries and sushi and crab rangoons? A trifle less feasible for a home cook.
100%, buffets were great when I had a teenage metabolism, now, Im good with just one GOOD plate from a more traditional spot
😂😂
Really good adivce there then again the pandemic killed that lifestyle along with high costs.
2 things on getting more for you money at a buffet: (both I've learned from competitive or binge eaters)
1. Try to not eat before going. If you have an empty stomach, the more you can eat.
2. Eating a lot takes practice. If you expand your stomach, you can eat more. Like eat 2 bag of salad for 1 meal.
*I'm 44, and can still eat 3 to 4 plates at a buffet. It's because I use these 2 rules.
@@jer103another advice, don't get swayed by eating carbs first, save for later; buffet often place them in more noticeable place to lure & make you feel full faster.
as a kid, getting my own ice cream was the absolute highlight lol.
I love all of the tile and brass of the 80's salad bar. We used to get the salad bar at Ponderosa Steakhouse when I was kid. Me and my two sisters would load up plates of chocolate pudding, cheese and those tiny little ham cubes that we would skewer up the tines of our forks. The soft serve machine was also self serve and we would create huge monstrosities of hot fudge, sprinkes and whipped cream.
I miss the Ponderosa. My husband and I would go there for dinner often.
Points for using the word "tines".
80's kid here, we did the same at ponderosa
love all the old interior design of resturaunts, actually felt nice to eat there and not like your visiting a corporate complex
My number 1 rule when eating at a buffet is: stick to mostly red meats & sea food, avoid chicken (bc I always eat chicken on the daily), also avoid fillers like breads &pasta. Always save a lil room for a sample of the deserts 😁
Nowadays, more and more people treat Buffet like a Banquet where they hang out and chill with friends,
catching up with everyone life story.
and instead of trying to maximize their money worth, they just eat anything they want to their heart content,
while hanging out and talking with friends.
it's more about variety, because there are so many variety of food that if you try to match and order every individual food from non buffet place,
it'll easily cost you $200-500, but because this is buffet, with only $20 you can sample as many food as you want
and i think this is the healthiest way to approach Buffet, like,
how come you spend way more, like $40 on McDonalds and think that they really deserved that $40 for only a handful of food,
while at buffet, it cost you $20, and you get unlimited food, but you think that they're not deserve your money, and trying to make them Bankrupt as fast as possible.
and worst, they wear that poor attitude with a pride, not knowing that people often see their behavior as vulgar and shameful
and that kind of Maximizing your money attitude often come from people with low income demographic,
they're the worst customer, bad behavior and poor attitude,
they make the experience worst for everyone.
My strategy is for the first plate, always take a little bit of everything. Basically the equivalent of one bite, or even ½ a bite on something that you're unsure about. And fill up your plate with a tiny bit of absolutely everything. You then eat & evaluate, and figure out what you enjoyed the most. And then you go back for those dishes, and ignore the rest you didn't care for.
@@jensenraylight8011 LOL so we have one subtle racist who manages a buffet, you tell em, Karen
And don’t drink too much lol they be refilling them drinks fast af tryna get you full off liquids
@@jensenraylight8011I think it's cheap people not poor people who are gluttonous. I've seen well off people stuff their faces too
I never had the McDonalds or Wendys buffet. But in the 1980s, Pizza hut buffet was god tier for your family. You could get cheap large pizzas for 5 dollars, and they'd bring out in the pan, and on top of that you had an open salad and appetizer bar. Great times
I've been going to buffets since the 1980s, having lived in 3 different parts of the country. I have been to Sizzler, Old Country Buffet, Ponderosa and Golden Corral.
I did notice that sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s that the quality of the food declined noticeably at Old Country Buffet. The company declared bankruptcy in 2008 and it may have been due to people noticing the same thing and going elsewhere. The latest bankruptcy was not the first time. Old Country or various parent company ownership groups have filed for bankruptcy FOUR TIMES( 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021). Sizzler has also gone bankrupt multiple times and during the 2006 bankruptcy the location in my area closed.
I have lived in the south since 2005 and in my last two locations, Golden Corrals were nearby. Even today, more than 15 years later, the food remains high quality and though it is not "cheap" any more, the portions and the the freedom to get what I want rather than being constrained by a menu beats the Under Portioned Over Priced experience at almost every sit down restaurant.
The quality of food went downhill everywhere by 2000
I used to LOVE buffets as a kid. We only went as a treat. Unlimited anything I wanted??? It was truly amazing back then. I haven’t been to one in a few years bc of food quality and health reasons and they also just aren’t a value to me anymore… but I’ve considered going to Golden Corral to see how it’s changed/bring on the nostalgia
8:11 Can we all just appreciate the shout out to the Old Country Buffet carving guy? He's a legend right up there with Wendy's "Grill Skills" and "Chili Can Be Served With Cheese" along with "Pizza Hut Training video 1988."
"Did you catch the game last night?"
@@djackmanson "Have you tried the lasagna? It's my favorite."
Ohh chili can be served with cheese
Do you like hot fudge Sundays?
"How's the weather out there?"
I used to love Old Country Buffet in the early 2000s. I'd go with either my dad or girlfriend and we'd have a great time. Favorite food was the baked fish.
Golden Coral was definitely of my favorites as a kid.
Anyone from Texas remember “Pancho’s all you can eat Mexican buffet”? That’s what I’m talking about
1 in Houston, and 3 in the dfw area.
@ Corpus Christi in the 1980’s. 👍
Raise the flag!
I’m glad you mentioned Shady Maple. As a semi local, I usually don’t go unless I’m invited or it’s for a special event. People come from all over for the experience.
Well don't forget that it's free on your birthday.
-signed another semilocal.
My go to buffet items are eggs, prime ribs, fish, fruits, and sometimes desserts. I stay away from foods that fill you up quickly like bread and pasta.
I remember Hometown Buffet, the one near my house closed and became a bakery now
I was a baker at Old Crunchy buffet in high school. I still dream about those yummy little frozen cookie hockey pucks.
Me and my best friend were bussers and dishwashers together during highschool. It lasted a year, but did we have fun!
The fish on Saturday was way better than it should have been.
Anyone remember Hometown Buffet? My high school graduation breakfast was held there; most of our celebration dinners there too. Now, my go to favorite is coconut shrimp at the local Chinese buffet.
I remember the bbq ribs and their great bread pudding. Simply the best!
hell yeah hometown buffet in lancaster Ca💪
@@Chlamydia69 The one next to that Toys R Us? Haha. I haven't lived there in ages. Wonder if it's still around.
@@cantrespawn1460 yessir😭😭💪unfortunately i think the hometown buffet shut down ages ago but i might be wrong tho too
Another thing that important to the globalization of buffet styled restaurants is cruise ships. Cruise ships love buffets that on most modern day cruise ships you can find at least 2-3 of them on the same ship mixed in with traditional restaurants.
It isa way to offer variety incl pasta meat gelato pizza etc. nobody has to eat like its the last food on earth. Suits certain people. Or you can just have toast and coffee.
Not a buffet person necessarily, but Shady Maple is truly a wild experience
It’s funny. Felt like dozens of people mentioned to me how great that place is, and these mentions happened in only a few months. Unfortunately for me, this news happened when I’m in rehab facility/nursing home. My feasting days are over. 😂😂
@kwamesmith3214 you're not missing much. People hype it up but with lunch at least it's mostly typical buffet fare. Fried foods and salad bar....it's not PA Dutch homecooking like a lot of people claim
Growing up Furr's was my familys buffet. It was always the place we went for birthdays and to get something special. It closed in 2020, I miss it every time we pass the old building.
Maaan, I miss Old Country Buffet. Best Mac n cheese ever!
Just seeing this video reminds me of all the times I went to Old Country Buffet with my parents and sister as a kid. Such good memories I wish I could revisit 😔 As a kid, nothing beats the chocolate milk dispenser for when you got dessert 😎
I agree with the buffet idea. Hygiene does play a huge role in the one I go to. Mostly we do not attend the cheaper ones. We ve been sick in Vegas before so that has always had a way of getting us to avoid buffets!
Yeah it really is going too much used to also been to those buffets when I was younger and before the pandemic hit also stuffed myself till I got sick too and even been to Las Vegas a couple of times too I think either in the 90s and sometime again in I think early 2000's.
We avoid buffets outside of nearly 100% white zip codes. It takes a high trust society for a buffet to remain clean and good value.
@@lookoutforchris That's also something to know and interesting.
As someone who grew up very lower-middle class in NYC ,in the late 90's/early 2000s, going to a Chinese buffet was always one of my highlights since it was saved for special occasions. Now as an adult I look forward to sushi and Korean bbq buffets!
My family goes to Shady Maple once or twice a year for birthdays. Had no idea it was basically the largest in America. If any of you come out to this part of PA, be careful of the Amish buggy, they are everywhere.
Glad to see my country Sweden getting attention for the creation of the buffet!
First meal this way was at four years old when we went to Perry Brothers Smorgasbord in Santa Cruz CA! Later there were King's Table in the suburbs! I did used to enjoy Sizzler's salad bar options - although I always thought the offerings were like cheap wedding reception foods! Haha!
Ah, the all-you-eat buffet! Another Weird History Sunday ❤ Going to buffets, my favorites to get were seafood, mac n cheese, and of course desserts.
I didn't know McDonald's, Wendy's, and others had buffets of their own too
I still remember going to a KFC all-you-can-eat buffet here in Australia a long time ago. The KFC it was in still exists but the all-you-can-eat is long gone.
It was in '92 during our vacation to Florida that I first experienced a Chinese buffet. Prior to that the buffet had been pretty much exclusively an experience aboard cruises on the Baltic sea.
Some of the best Chinese buffets in Florida are in Orlando and there are two pretty good ones in Broward county between Miami and Fort Lauderdale
That’s a Barf-fay, I tell the family as we drive by.
Don't forget to mention Rax and Ponderosa! I think Bonanza also may have had a buffet. I haven't been to Ruby Tuesday in some time, but they always had a great salad bar.
And, of course, all the places you mentioned were either historic or else chains. That leaves out various local places that have buffets.
As for the ones you mentioned that still have one at some locations (Pizza Hut & KFC).... I don't know of any Pizza Huts that *don't* have a buffet. All of the ones I've gone to in recent years (mostly all around Ohio have them. KFC buffet is more rare in my experience, but I know that Upper Sandusky, OH has a good one - and Celina, OH did, too, although I don't know if it's still open post-pandemic.
I am a Pennsylvania native. Shady Maple is legendary. All you can eat home cooked food.
I remember when buffets didn’t even have sneeze guards!
Eeww!
@@jenniferlonnes7420 I live in Florida and most of the Chinese buffets and even Golden Corral doesn't have them....
You have to remember this is coming from a state where the Florida Surgeon General who says cigarettes don't cause cancer and agreed with the woman from Texas who said that demons cause infertility and he supports Medicaid covering exorcisms.....
Jonesin for a buffet right about now!
We cherish the fact that we live near Shady Maple. Thankfully not toooo close, or we’d be filled to the brim with scrapple
In Brazil this kind of restaurant is even more popular, we called "quilão" because you can pay a price for whenever you can eat or by weight.
They have Brazilian buffets in South Florida, we have quite a few good Rodizios and Churrascaria, with several of them being on the very high end.
Nothing was better in the 90’s then getting stickers for your Book It pin and eating at the buffet at Pizza Hut. 🍕🍕🍕🍕
I do recall, as a child, those salad bars popping up and it was always an add-on, and eventually the battle started and that was free...and the rest is history!
Me and my homies would sneak into Old Country Buffet in Waterford, Michigan when we were in our early teens. Old Country Buffet had some good cinnamon rolls and also baked fish 🐠
I was once forcibly removed from a Japanese restaurants "all you can eat" sushi buffet. They said I ate too much.
You sir, do not sound like a man who has had all he could eat!
I can see Shaggy and Scooby Doo getting thrown out as well! 😂
We had a local Asian restaurant that used to sell single trips to the buffet in a to-go container. Guess they didn't like how much people loaded up into those Styrofoam clamshells because they started weighing them at the register and charging extra. Needless to say, customers weren't thrilled about that and the restaurant stopped weighing them shortly after.
You here FOUR HOUR! YOU GO HOME NOW!
@@seeingeyegod That's exactly what I thought of too!
Wendy’s Superbar was the greatest buffet. Dirt cheap and pretty tasty. For a buffet.
In Poland food served as a buffet is called "szwedzki stół" which translates to "Swedish table"
I miss my Hometown buffet in my city. My family would celebrate anything and would head over there. The last time I remember having the Hometown buffet was a to-go order of mashed potatoes, meatloaf, mac & Cheese, and a mix of vegetables. To this day the sign that says Hometown Buffet is still on top of the other signs from the other business.
Hopefully your hometown buffet was better than where I went in Florida, they catered to senior citizens so basically everything was cooked almost to the consistency of baby food and beyond bland.
@@joecmillerify Dam, I feel really bad for you man. Did they a least have the ice cream and the icee machine?
@@MexicanNuke It was soft serve and broken quite a bit and God knows when they cleaned it. Sodas were very watered down (a lot of times out of various sodas). We didn't have an icee or slush puppy machine.
Mostly what the had was very watery coffee and very watery iced tea.
The only redeeming quality is before HomeTown buffet and Duff's smorgasbord died is they tried to modernize their menu, added seasoning again and the old people started bitching because they started adding seasoning and put in a carving station complaining that it was hard to chew the steaks and complained that hometown started advertising on campus. Old people actually complained "We don't want college kids at our restaurant".
Hometown and Duff's actually had a good weekend breakfast buffet But it was too late because they wanted their food to taste like generic nursing home food for the old people who came in with senior citizen discounts and half off coupons and of course you can't run a business like that.
Also because the food was so bland nobody under the age of 100 would go there especially for a couple of dollars more you could go to Golden Corral or the same price a Chinese buffet that had a lot more flavor.
The bread pudding was the best!
@@stevesutton3996 our hometown buffet had a few desserts, it was mostly soft serve ice cream when it was working, Jello, vanilla pudding and chocolate pudding, sometimes rice pudding and a couple of cakes that was your generic chocolate cake and generic yellow cake and maybe a pound cake or angel food cake. They didn't have the bread pudding very often..
You have to remember the demographic of the two they had in Broward and the one Duff's they had in Broward, the average age of the people who went in there was death.
The old people literally bitched at management when they started advertising on our college campus because we weren't going in for the early bird special or using senior citizen discount and senior citizen coupons.
They literally told management "We don't want college kids in our restaurant" oh and also we tipped better, now of course this was way before vending machines asking for a tip or an elevator asking for a tip via QR code (yes those are a thing).
As a Pennsylvanian, love the Shady Maple shoutout! It is delicious! I miss the Pizza Hut buffet for sure!
I miss the Old Country Buffet. That was the first place I tried fried Okra and Cornbread.
Other than one local Chinese joint, the only all you can eat buffet anywhere near me is Golden Corral, and it's 80 miles away.
Now look at all of us. Starving
Sadly after Covid , Las Vegas buffets which were common at every casino has shrunk to a baker’s dozen. Downtown has only one buffet.
I miss Old Country Buffet.
The only one in my town closed doown more than a few years back and now there's only a chinese place left to fill the void.
Several times in my childhood I remember being scolded to get more than just ham and red jello.
So many good memories.
I miss old country buffet,I haven't seen one for years
Thanks for useful and valuable video as always ❤❤❤❤❤❤
I grew up in the state of Georgia and my parents rarely took us out to eat. When they did, it was usually to Shoney's on Wednesday nights, when kids eat free. My dad would let me order a hot fudge cake and it's still one of my favorites today (Shoney's is still around as I've found out!). Whenever we traveled we would always eat breakfast at Shoney's breakfast buffet.
Now that I live in New Mexico I really only get to eat Shoney's when I'm driving to my parent's house in Georgia. There's a Shoney's in Henryetta, OK that I stop at both on the way to Georgia and back home. I have a lot of good memories associated with Shoney's!
Its a pity all-you-can-eat joints (at least those that aren't the super expensive super fancy kind that you might find at a casino or high-end hotel or something) have mostly vanished in Australia.
I suspect the pandemic killed most of the cheap all-you-can-eat places that still existed (it certainly killed what was left of the Australian incarnation of Sizzler) because they were forced to close for so long (or stop offering self-serve all-you-can-eat)
Pizza hut richmond nsw still has all you can eat as an option. Not a cheap one
Point of order: Marty did not kiss his mom, she kissed him. He clearly did not expect it.
I love the Shady Maple!
A+ video!
LOVE IT! Fascinating topic and history!
RIP John Pinette
RIP John Pinette 😢
The Sweden House on Plainfield in Grand Rapids MI in the 80's. Yeah baby!
0:22 The buffet becomes the very essence of America. One part variety, one part abundance, and one part endless opportunity... You also forgot: one part Gluttony.
For me, all parts gluttony and maybe one kernel of regret 😊😊😂😂🤣🤣
This brought back memories of going to Sveden House Smorgasboard in the 70’s. It was such a treat!
Man,, I love buffets! My family and I used to go to Ponderosa when I was a kid (not sure how far they were located, I'm from NY state). We still have a couple Chinese buffets around, but all the other chain restaurants like Golden Coral, Sizzler, etc are long gone in my area.
Both of my mother's parents came from Sweden. At Christmas my Mormor would make smorgasbord. My Morfar would make "glugg". This is a traditional drink in Morfar's village. You start with fresh wine in a big crock. Add spices like cinnamon sticks,fresh fruit,etc..At Christmas you filter the fermented beverage. Put it back in the crock. Add "aqvavit" (family made moonshine) to strengthen the beverage. It called glugg because thats the sound you make when you drink it. In my Morfar's village you tie a fork to one hand and a mug to the other and wander around going house to house eating snd drinking. People pass out eventually. They put a blanket on you.
My go to buffet plate? Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies and a dinner roll.
I used to go to a smorgasbord all you can eat restaurant. It went out of business in the late 80s. It served a large salad bar with assorted jello and pudding. I tried a Saurkraut salad. Saurkraut drained sweetened with brown sugar, cinnamon, and plump juicey rasians. There were asian, european, Mediterranen, Italian, carribean, Indian, cajun,and American dishes. Shrimp was available on Fridays and crawfish was available on weekends when crawfish was in season.😊
Old Country Buffet will forever be the GOAT
Man do I miss Sizzler and Ponderosa/Bonanza. They had the best steaks. Golden Corral is okay but the nearest one is 2 hours away
Kaiten Sushi (the sushi conveyor belt sushi) as a topic please
In the 1970s the only buffet I remember was Morrison's Cafeteria, which we ate at just a couple times on our road trips to the south, when my grandmother lived in Greensboro, NC. I believe Morrison's was in Greensboro. Sometime in the 80s I think, we started eating a lot at Sizzler, Ponderosa, and Bonanza, all of which ended up having nice big salad bars, which I loved. Then I remember Wendy's coming out with the Superbar, which was a salad bar, but also a baked potato bar. But it also had chili, and you could build your own tacos and burritos, and probably more. I ultimately stopped getting burgers at Wendy's, and would order just the Superbar. It was so good. Sometime in late 90s or early 2000s we got an Old Country Buffet here in South Jersey. I liked it a lot. Then it closed, and then a Golden Corral opened up not far from there. I liked that even more. But it didn't survive the Covid shutdowns, and never reopened. There is still a Chinese buffet in the area that we go to on occasion. There used to be two of them, about 20 miles apart. I don't know what happened to the other one. On a different note, I was in Denver one time, in late 1997 I think, and my friend took me to an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. It was either in Denver or Golden. I'm not sure now. It simply had pizza pans under lights where they put out slices of any type of pizza you could think of. That was the only pizza buffet I ever saw. Oh, something else I remembered. Years ago the local Marriott resort was famous for its Sunday Brunch, while a nearby non-chain restaurant also had one. both were excellent. Marriott left that resort in 2009 or 10, and it hasn't been the same since. So I'm not sure if either place still has a Sunday Brunch. I always heard that the casinos in Atlantic City had good Sunday brunches, but we never went.
I haven't seen a buffet in a very long time. At Old Country Buffet you could pay for lunch near the change over to dinner and chill and get dinner for the price of lunch. Really helped with the munchies, lol.
Man I remember the days when my family and I would go to buffets together but now with my dietary restrictions I can't. I have to admit buffets are one of the things I miss eating
I'm close to Shady Maple. Outstanding establishment. Great food and a fantastic gift shop also.
Thank you for bringing back the regular narrator!
Pizza Hut's buffet is definitely worth seeking out!
I miss our golden corral. As kids we went to ponderosa for special occasions 30 miles away
My first job was Pizza Hut. We had breakfast pizza buffet, and dessert pizza buffet. Long gone in this area, and sadly missed
SMORGASBORD!!!!!! As a kid in Chicagoland 1960s these were still around. loved them, love buffets still.
I remember old country buffet from my childhood. I could pig out without my parents getting mad at me. Every time we went they would encourage me to eat more.
I've always loved buffets.
I love buffets,too.😋
RIP Ponderosa.
I think I remember a Wendy's buffet in Texas as late as 2008.
The pizza buffet at my local Pizza Hut was still going before they remodeled the store. It was scheduled for lunch on Fridays and was still quite the draw, to the point where it took forever to get the pizza I ordered, because the kitchen was too busy stocking the buffet. I haven't been there on a Friday recently to see if they still do the buffet.
Love Shady Maple.. I'm 45 minutes from Lancaster, Pa and travel there once or twice per year... They also have a wonderful bakery and farmers market....
good video
I loved Vegas buffets. I travel internationally and am looking forward to trying a world famous buffet. That has food from around the world.
I love buffets! I have nostalgic memories of Golden Corral's Chocolate Waterfall [mmm mmm delicous], and Shoney's blueberry muffins [though their best item is the Hot Fudge Cake IMO]. While the Golden Corral near me is still open, my local Shoney's has sadly closed this year. I'm gonna miss them, and I'll especially miss the Shoney Bear mascot, he was super cute and the plush toys are HUGE nostalgia for me. Thankfully, I still have a Mr.Gatti's near me, and they have the BEST pizza buffet ever! The chocolate dessert pizza is AMAZING! Not a buffet chain, but I would like a video on Burger Chef. They invented a lot of things other restaurants would "be inspired" by. The Burger Chef Fun Meal was the OG Happy Meal and it's unfair how Mcdonald's got away with stealing the idea. Burger Chef also had a cast of animated mascots. Burger Chef himself was first voiced by Paul Winchell, best known as Tigger, and ironically also the voice for the 1970s version of Jack from Jack In The Box restaurants [as seen in animated commercials], and then later by Hal Smith. Jeff was voiced by Lionel Wilson, voice of Terrytoons character Tom Terrific, as well as Eustace from Courage the Cowardly Dog. Sadly, Hardee's bought the chain and it now only exists in memories. I'm a 2000s person, therefore never having been able to grow up with the chain, and I still think what happened to Burger Chef is unfair!
The buffet is pretty much the Nevada State Food. Many small town casinos have them. I avoid them in Las Vegas, because too much turn over of tourists decreases quality.
You get what you pay for, so I plunk down the cash for the one at the Atlantis in Reno. Absolutely enormous, at least 50 yards long, with very fresh food. Carving table, taco bar, Mongolian bbq, pizza variety, Chinese, soup bar, comfort food, fresh seafood, ginormous fruit & salad bar, a dessert bar that makes kids' eyes pop out, bottomless mimosas on Sunday.
A bit pricey, depending on day of the week, brunch or dinner, senior, club member, etc. I wish I had found it decades ago when I could do 7 plates at a buffet, but now I'm down to 3 and just breaking even.
Regardless of where it started, Las Vegas has more buffets per linear mile than anywhere else in the world.
There is a Chinese buffet not far from where I live and work in SE Florida; I generally go there once a week. There used to be a Golden Corral and Hometown Buffet, each a short bus ride away, but neither still exists. Likewise s Sweet Tomatoes, long gone and deeply missed.
I know the Golden Corral you're talking about on Pines lol.
And the problem with HomeTown buffet and Duff's buffet before they died is they decided to cater to a senior citizen and snowbird demographic.
The menu went to hell and everything basically tasted like boiled vegetables including the chicken which is a shame.
At the very end they tried to revamp their menu some with a carving station and adding some flavor to the foods but the damage was already done with the reputation of all the food being bland.
This was in the early 2000s when I was in college.
Also sweet tomatoes was in big trouble way before the pandemic, they declared bankruptcy once in 2016. The problem is their pricing killed them....
I love fresh fruit and vegetables and some pasta and some good soup but the problem is their prices were the same price as Golden Corral at the time and more expensive than hometown buffet and most of your Chinese buffets in the area (the one between Sheridan and Sterling off of 95)
So most of sweet tomatoes clientele when we used to go in was an older demographic that went in with half off coupons or BOGO coupons and you can't sustain a business model on coupons like that. (early 2010s).
And the hometown buffet that I used to go to at Diplomat Mall once in great while when they had their breakfast buffet, It's now a Five Below store.
Bury me in the golden corral 🤠
In a mountain of mashed potatoes 🥔
We used to have lots of Buffet Fastfood Restruants here in the Imperial Valley, but they're long gone.
The only thing you won't find in a American buffet is a portion of self control.
My first real buffet experience was in Las Vegas, NV (pretty much every hotel/casino had it). And then Antelope Valley in CA got an Old Country Buffet, and the rest is history for me.
But as an adult, it's the biggest ripoff since I always gravitate to what I'm craving (fried chicken, pizza, etc.), and realize it was cheaper to just to order it at a dedicated restaurant. 🤷🏻♂
I love me some Shady Maple. Love ❤️ from PA
There are buffets in Pennsylvania still called smorgasbords.
My family went to HTB all the time growing up it’s pretty underrated no one really talks about them
Haven't been to a buffet in a long, long time... and that last time was actually Shady Maple! It was actually kinda overwhelming.
From personal experience, Chuck-a-Rama here in Utah is a lot better than Golden Corral but that’s just me
Ryans brings back such memories for me. Me and my grandparents use to go there all the time and sometimes my close friend would tag along. I always thought it was a nice treat then. I wouldnt say im above buffets now but I dont seek them out and much less think there good like I use to then
I had to scroll so far to see Ryan's mentioned! They were always our go-to on Sundays because I think kids ate for free or really cheap. We would go with my parents and Granmother. They had great food. I think our local one closed in 2006.
Growing up was the "salad bar" @ Sizzler. I vaguely remember a time before the salad bar.
I remember when the salad bars started to show up at the Sizzlers.
My Dad would load up a plate... I mean freaking mountain of food. When I was a teenager I tease my Dad... " You know... You can go back for more..." as croutons, corn, or cheese would run off his plate...
Now I'm hungry.