Buffets ruining good food

[GagHalfrunt]

"Anyone that would order a Waygu burger is proving his own ignorance of food."

Anyone who says that is proving their own ignorance generally. I'm not a fan of Wagyu burgers generally, it's the only kind they had, what sounded best, and is an incredibly good burger.

And ya, Wagyu is generally a misused/overused/false/obnoxious term.

And real Wagyu would have no place in a burger.

Yet a Wagyu steak tends to be $150-$250, this burger $18. If it's a great burger, it's a great burger.

You can use whatever mental gymnastics you want to rationalize it. No matter how expensive a cut of beef is, if you grind it then it's hamburger, period. A person that knows anything about food would not order a Waygu burger and a person that knows anything about food would not put a Waygu burger on a menu unless he was trying to rip off suckers. And most importantly, any person that looks at a menu and thinks a Waygu burger is the best thing on it should get the fuck up, walk out the door and go to McDonald's. That's where you belong. You paid $18 for a burger made with shitty high fat ground beef and you're proud of yourself. So we're going to keep laughing at you.

 

[NetWareHead]

I decided to go to an "asian" buffet after so many years and it was truly disappointing. Asian buffets were my mainstays in high school and college years. Cheap abundant food and thats it. More than a decade later, happened to be a few weeks ago, I went in on a whim and it was disgusting. Everything is drowned in sauce which is either too salty or too oily. Fried food like general tsos or sesame chicken have been sitting in the steaming dish for too long and the breading falls off. pepper steak which is dry and floppy veggies. The only decent thing was pork fried rice, lo mein and some sort of stir fried string beans. Even the soup sucked.

I didnt dare try the sushi. I lifted the salmon off of the rice and realized it had been out for hours; a dried cuticle had formed on the salmon exposed to air. And then we have the "american" food buffet. Gray meatloaf with some motor oil looking gravy. French fries and onion rings.

The desert buffet was disgusting. Various single serving cakes and cookies. You could do a better job at home with a convenience store package of betty crocker cake mix and value frosting. Chopped bananas in a wierd red pudding. The jello seemed like it was made with double the amount of gelatin powder so it was very "chewy" jello. The fruit was decent but I stayed away from the tapioca and chocolate pudding. Even the soft serve iced cream tasted adulterated, like they cheapened out on the ice cream flavor. Very bland ice cream.

I try not to be a food snob and can enjoy food from all walks of life. Street food to high end. But your typical buffet is just bullshit and barely tries to make anything palatable. In the end I felt bad for wasting so much food. A few half hearted bites and I just couldnt stomach more... It didnt hit the wallet too badly but in all what a waste of 45 minutes and 16 dollars.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Missing the point though. Ruining foods like mac and cheese shouldn't happen even for a cheap buffet.

And you're missing the point. Anyone that orders Waygu burgers can't differentiate between good mac and cheese and awful mac and cheese. You might as well have a giant "overcharge me for garbage, I don't know any better" tattoo on your forehead.

Let me help you in your quest to find better food.

1) Don't go to cheap buffets, the only stuff they serve belongs on cheap buffets
2) Don't eat where there are Waygu burgers on the menu.

There, two really helpful eating tips and two things you clearly didn't know before today. You're welcome.

 

[Red Squirrel]

There's a couple places that do buffet here, never really had an issue. Though I prefer being able to order something and be served vs having to go wait in line. The issue with buffets is not everyone is eating at same time so you end up with a situation where by the time everyone is finally settled in at the table, half of them are done eating. I guess it really depends on outing/situation, if you're just there for the food or want to actually have a dinner and sit down with family or whoever else is with you.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Ugh. This.

I was raised here, but my mom was from the east coast. I know I can cook - if I leave out the flavors, everybody likes it. But if I make it the way it's supposed to be, all I get are slow chewing, blank stares, requests for water, and lots of leftovers.

But at least if I make a curry, or anything with roasted garlic in it, I know it will be there for lunch tomorrow.

Buffet restaurants in the midwest are a crime against humanity. Old Country Buffet literally smells like fat people sweat and boiled vegetables. The Chinese places are the only exception - some of them are pretty good.

This, god. We had someone bring in cookies with some cayenne in them (tiny, tiny amount. I've had spicier rice) and there were people that just couldn't handle it. Too much spice.

Even aside from stuff with actual 'spicy' in it, I've run into so many people that just refused to eat entire groups of food, like Indian, because 'it's too spicy'.

 

[NetWareHead]

Ugh. This.

I was raised here, but my mom was from the east coast. I know I can cook - if I leave out the flavors, everybody likes it. But if I make it the way it's supposed to be, all I get are slow chewing, blank stares, requests for water, and lots of leftovers.

But at least if I make a curry, or anything with roasted garlic in it, I know it will be there for lunch tomorrow.

Buffet restaurants in the midwest are a crime against humanity. Old Country Buffet literally smells like fat people sweat and boiled vegetables. The Chinese places are the only exception - some of them are pretty good.

I work with a bunch of wasp-y people and notice the same thing about their cuisine. They talk about their family get togethers and I once heard a lady describe a dish she made for her family: a "boiled dinner". All it is is a chunk of pot roast, or corned beef or some similar meat boiled together with vegetables until soggy. No spices, no aromatics, no nothing. I kept waiting for her to continue on with the recipe, mention additional ingredients but nothing else. She talked it up like it deserved to be on a 5 star hotel menu. Just boiled meat and veggies, mainly root veggies. And they throw away the water. What could have been the beginning of a nice soup... Some people have no food taste. Im sure it tasted acceptable but it sounds bland and boring as shit.

This, god. We had someone bring in cookies with some cayenne in them (tiny, tiny amount. I've had spicier rice) and there were people that just couldn't handle it. Too much spice.

Even aside from stuff with actual 'spicy' in it, I've run into so many people that just refused to eat entire groups of food, like Indian, because 'it's too spicy'.

At my office, we also have a good amount of foreigners, Indians, Chinese etc... and sometimes they bring in "ethnic" food to share in the cafeteria. A plate of donuts or a platter of mac and cheese and its gone in 30 minutes. Something foreign and it gets ignored by the majority and left to spoil. I always help myself to great food and make sure to put it in the fridge so I can have some more the next day. As well as thank the person who brought it in. It must be such a let down to bring something in to share and then have nobody touch it. I want them to know at least somebody enjoyed it

 

[zerocool84]

This, god. We had someone bring in cookies with some cayenne in them (tiny, tiny amount. I've had spicier rice) and there were people that just couldn't handle it. Too much spice.

Even aside from stuff with actual 'spicy' in it, I've run into so many people that just refused to eat entire groups of food, like Indian, because 'it's too spicy'.

I like Indian food but it's no joke, they have some serious spicy stuff that you can get. Just like Thai and Chinese. So much spicier than stuff from South America.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I like Indian food but it's no joke, they have some serious spicy stuff that you can get. Just like Thai and Chinese. So much spicier than stuff from South America.

I guarantee you, the people I'm referencing don't get it spicy. They order mild, because adding grated cheese to mashed potatoes is living on the edge.

Like most cuisine, it's only spicy if you make it that way. There's some traditional dishes in a few nationalities that *should* be spicy coming out of the pot, but generally americanized everything will start very mild (if flavorful) and work its way up. I think I've been to maybe two places that served a dish that was actually spicy enough that I had issues enjoying it, everything else dialed up to 11 just tastes good.

 

[NetWareHead]

I like Indian food but it's no joke, they have some serious spicy stuff that you can get. Just like Thai and Chinese. So much spicier than stuff from South America.

Ive seen people try one spoonful of indian rice (biryani) and turn their noses at it. No spicy in it at all, this is not a "hot" dish. But it is loaded with flavors in the form of spices, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, saffron, clove, turmeric etc... Very fragrant but too much for some people.

Its a shame because you go into an ethnic restaurant and I have to pick through the dishes avoiding the ones that are Americanized.

 

[Craig234]

You can use whatever mental gymnastics you want to rationalize it. No matter how expensive a cut of beef is, if you grind it then it's hamburger, period. A person that knows anything about food would not order a Waygu burger and a person that knows anything about food would not put a Waygu burger on a menu unless he was trying to rip off suckers. And most importantly, any person that looks at a menu and thinks a Waygu burger is the best thing on it should get the fuck up, walk out the door and go to McDonald's. That's where you belong. You paid $18 for a burger made with shitty high fat ground beef and you're proud of yourself. So we're going to keep laughing at you.

We'll stick with you are ignorant.

 

[Craig234]

The good restaurant:

https://ww2.kqed.org/checkplease/2014/04/10/paradiso-restaurant-info/

 

[Red Storm]

Buffet or no, you get what you pay for.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Restaurants, especially "Comfort Food" buffets, have to cater to the absolute lowest common denominator as far as taste goes. Moving to the Midwest, I've found that people here don't like any sort of spice or seasoning at all.

Minnesotans have a pathological fear of spice.

 

[Craig234]

Buffet or no, you get what you pay for.

Not necessarily. It varies widely.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Minnesotans have a pathological fear of spice.

WI is worse.

 

[Rifter]

I work with a bunch of wasp-y people and notice the same thing about their cuisine. They talk about their family get togethers and I once heard a lady describe a dish she made for her family: a "boiled dinner". All it is is a chunk of pot roast, or corned beef or some similar meat boiled together with vegetables until soggy. No spices, no aromatics, no nothing. I kept waiting for her to continue on with the recipe, mention additional ingredients but nothing else. She talked it up like it deserved to be on a 5 star hotel menu. Just boiled meat and veggies, mainly root veggies. And they throw away the water. What could have been the beginning of a nice soup... Some people have no food taste. Im sure it tasted acceptable but it sounds bland and boring as shit.



At my office, we also have a good amount of foreigners, Indians, Chinese etc... and sometimes they bring in "ethnic" food to share in the cafeteria. A plate of donuts or a platter of mac and cheese and its gone in 30 minutes. Something foreign and it gets ignored by the majority and left to spoil. I always help myself to great food and make sure to put it in the fridge so I can have some more the next day. As well as thank the person who brought it in. It must be such a let down to bring something in to share and then have nobody touch it. I want them to know at least somebody enjoyed it

I find the same around here, a lot of people dont like spice for some reason i dont understand. Im as white as a tic tac but very much enjoy spicy ethnic foods, always have, my main issue is getting the restaurants to make it spicy enough as to many foods have been americanized into flavorlessness.

I remember last summer we had a potluck lunch at work, small office, maybe 25-30 people. I brought in some chicken wings, they were spicy but not over the top, they all got eaten, i find even people who dont like spice will still eat spicy chicken wings for some odd reason. One of the Customer service reps brought in some butter chicken and home made roti and nann, it was some of the best i had ever eaten. It was way way spicy but more than that it was very aromatic and you could taste alot of flavors at work, She said she mostly used her families garam masala spice to flavor it, the recipe for this spice had been in her family for hundreds of years. It was so good i spent 2 hours in the lunch room with her eating it, we finished it almost just between the two of us because no one else would touch it, probably 6-8 portions we polished off between the two of us. Everyone else came in ripped off a piece of nann, tried the sauce, made a weird face, and grabbed some other food and left, they all wanted to try it because it smelled so good but other than me and her no one seemed able to stomach it. Seemed so weird to me as it was by far the best butter chicken i have had in my life.

 

[kwalkingcraze]

Fiesta Rancho resort buffet at Las Vegas is the cheapest in whole city.

 

[lxskllr]

I like Indian food but it's no joke, they have some serious spicy stuff that you can get. Just like Thai and Chinese. So much spicier than stuff from South America.

I wish I could find firey Indian food. When the local place first opened I could get vegetable jalfrezi that would scorch steel, but now I can't get it hot enough. Either they changed chefs and/or the server doesn't take me seriously. I always get a laugh when I ask for heat level 20(out of 10). I'm fuckin' serious. Add peppers, add some more peppers, think to yourself no one can eat this, then add some more peppers. I don't understand the issue. I've had it before so I know it can be done...

Regarding foreigners bringing food to work... That sounds amazing. I'm not a foodie by any stretch, but I love trying stuff from around the world(within reason. Not too keen on weird stuff).

 

[BUTCH1]

LOL, +10 for the giant emoticon but seriously, you have to remember GC is only asking $10-12 price range, that's just a tic above what you pay for fast-food these days so for what you pay I'd say it's a decent value. Of course one cannot expect gourmet quality at that price level but if I had the choice between GC or McDonald's I'd go with GC. At least you can have some veggies for a balanced meal vs a bag of soggy fries.

 

[Chaotic42]

Minnesotans have a pathological fear of spice.

My old boss, who was a big Vikings fan, has a great truism: You can always judge how good a place is to live by the quality of its Mexican food.

Saint Louis has good BBQ and frozen custard. Culinarily, everything else here is a war crime.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

My old boss, who was a big Vikings fan, has a great truism: You can always judge how good a place is to live by the quality of its Mexican food.

Saint Louis has good BBQ and frozen custard. Culinarily, everything else here is a war crime.

No love for gumbo?

 

[Chaotic42]

No love for gumbo?

Oh I love gumbo, but I haven't found even passable Cajun/Creole food outside of the Gulf Coast.

 

[Craig234]

My old boss, who was a big Vikings fan, has a great truism: You can always judge how good a place is to live by the quality of its Mexican food.

Saint Louis has good BBQ and frozen custard. Culinarily, everything else here is a war crime.

How about $55 for a tin of popcorn:

http://www.poptionspopcorn.com/

 

[snoopy7548]

Damn. For $55 I'd expect a 50 gallon Rubbermaid storage container of popcorn.

 

[Chaotic42]

How about $55 for a tin of popcorn:

http://www.poptionspopcorn.com/

Wow. That's in a "ritzy" part of town, but that's still absurd. What really sucks around here is the price of produce. Living on the coast spoiled me for fresh food.