One of the best things pre-pandemic was the all you cna eat buffet. It went dark for the pandemic and now it's coming back with a force. People are enjoying their favorites in large quantities in a fun place.
Kim Severson wrote about this in today's New York Times Food section.Buffets have been taking hit in th e last years but they're coming back. People want a good value for their meal and they want flavor and choice. Lily Jan, a food and beverage lecturer at Cornell University calls it the Cheesecake Factory effect . She says Americans want the consistency because they are afraid to takes risks with their dollars as it trlates to food.They want to go somewhere with the kids where everyone can have what they want at a good price. They don't have to break the bank to make it an experience. Yet the pandemic helped to winnow out the weakrer,less popular ones. Fresh Acquisitions which owned Hometown Buffet and Oldtown Buffet along with another went bankrupt. They cited that some of their restaurants couldn';t meet the seventy-five per cent capacity to keep them going and ruen a profit.It also symbolized an end to those cheap Las Vegas buffets. Only eight remain out of the original sixteen.
Yet diners jkeep coming and enjoying their offerings, expecially in Las Vegas. The buffet was born there as a way to keep gamblers from leaving the casinos. That may be true now as well but many go for the vast array of choices. Sheri Orner who mananged buffets for Station Casinos where they had to close for the pandemic now works at the very popular Wicked SPoon at the Cosmpopilitan Casino. It reopned in June 2020, On a busy day they serve 1,800 (!) diners at a pricry $49 dollars a head. The price shoots up to $75 if diners want alcohol. These buffets would be unrecognizable to Frank Sinatra or other headliners of Vegas' Golden Era. There are Korean spiced chicken wings and a deep purple horchata, a milky cinnamon spiked Mexican drink. Diners can try a black garlic ramen made for order. Yes there's those gleaming piles of lobster and crab claws that are always a draw. Other buffets all over the country are following the Vegas ones. Gen Xers' who grew up in the golden age of buffets in the early 2000 's are embracing them, heading to local Chines e buffets , the Sizzler and even Pizza Hut.For many immigrant kids like professional pianist Choo Choo Hu this was the first taste of America. Kids were told no noodles and no rice. , their parents wanting them to eat the best of what the buffet had to offer. They offer newcomers American food while offering American a chance to have a culinary travel trip.
Buffets are here to stay. They;re a fun escape, full of interesitng and tasty dishes.People want them .
Posts
