Bad Food

[Simon Tan]

These are Nu-Twinkies. The Twinkie Classic had only 15 day lifes.!

[Rocky Davis]

I never did like Golden Corral, but my former unit contracted with them to feed us all many times because of our lack of a Mess Section. Out of the many, many times they did that, I think I ate there once or twice with my unit. More often than not, I would drink a glass of tea while my soldiers ate "all they could eat." This is a link to recent bad behavior by just one Golden Corral (in Florida), but I still feel that my refusing to eat there (when the government had paid for our meals) was the right thing to do.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/golden-corral-dumpster_n_3560786.html?@food123

[Mr King]

I hate mega buffets like Golden Corral. The food tends to be trash, the patrons tend to be trash, and they tend to be filthy inside.

[Rocky Davis]

They also tend to attract the obese and those of gluttony. I swear, I've seen people hearly start a fight over who got in a particular food serving line before the other. I've seen people completely pack a tray with all kinds of foods that don't normally go together (like some massive school lunch menu . . . "OK, I'll have some of that Chow Mein over there, a slice of pizza, a bowl of chili, some of those English peas . . ."), sit down at a table and hurredly eat it all so that a return trip or two to the serving line is just moments away. Some of their patrons act as if, if they don't eat a huge serving of foods now and get back to the serving line for seconds (thirds or whatever), the food will suddenly sprout legs and run away and therre won't be anymore.

 

Reminds me of a dog - a dog never gets "full." It eats until it throws up, then eats the throw up.

[Rocky Davis]

Speaking of All You Can Eat Buffets, I love pizza and try and treat myself to a noontime pizza buffet about once a month or so. But, each time I go, I see the same behavior that irritates the dogshit out of me (usually exhibited by construction workers on their lunch hour). The establishment will have a number of pizzas set out for people to get slices as they wish. The newer ones are piping hot and the rest, well, some of those pizzas are anywhere from lukewarm to cold. So, the person that irritates me gets a plate and gets two or three pieces of pizza from three or four different pizzas, then goes back to the table to eat those 8 or 9 slices he just got, which are usually stacked and looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. So, as he starts eating the ones at the top, the ones at the bottom of the stack are getting cold. Halfway through eating the stack, he sees the establishment set out two or three brand new piping hot pizzas. He RUNS up to the serving line, gets a new plate and loads it up with new, hot pizza, even though he's got 4 or so still back at his table. Meanwhile, regular customers get the leftovers (if there are any - as a group of these type of people in the restaurant at the same time can wipe out pizzas faster than a swarm of locusts can wipe out vegetation). I usually get two or three pieces to start and eat them slowly. Then, I go back and get two more slices and eat them slowly. Then, I go back and get two and, after slowly eating those, I'm usually too full to continue eating anymore. If you take small servings and eat slowly, usually a new hot pizza is set out on the line about at the time you have an empty plate.

 

Has anybody else seen this "hoarding" behavior at buffets?

Edited July 10, 2013 by Rocky Davis

[Rick]

Go to one of these places about once a year. While I have not noticed the pizza locust behavior Rocky mentioned I still remember walking past a table where a woman was popping a zit on her boyfriend's arm while he was eating and yes, it did go forward toward the slop on the plate. Mr. King is correct.

[Rick]

While I have never liked hotdogs or coconut, at 53 years of age anything greasy and/or fried does not bode well with me.

[Ivanhoe]

There's a Chinese megabuffet not far from my castle. Its not bad, about the same as any other Chinese buffet. The saving graces there are they offer both Chinese style eggrolls and spring rolls, and they have an underutilized Mongolian barbecue setup. Buffets are notorious for food-borne illnesses due to the food being out, sneeze guards notwithstanding. So going Mongolian is much safer. During the week at lunch they also have the "hottie squad" waiting tables, on the 1-10 hotness scale the uglier ones would rank about 7 and it goes up from there.

 

The bizarre thing to me is that they also put out a whole island of American food. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, etc. Its like flying to Beijing and making your first stop a McDonalds. They also have a sushi thing, from which I try to maintain at least two meters distance.

[Mr King]

There is a restaurant that is a Mongolian BBQ here in town and its quite good. You can pick from different bowl sizes, and either all you can eat or just a single serving. They have a huge selection of fresh veggies, your general selection of meats, three types of noodles, and a large selection of sauces to choose from. I find their product quite better then the Mongolian BBQ's I have had at Chinese buffets. I think a big difference is you can pick and choose the sauces you want and how much of them you want.

[Simon Tan]

'Chinese food' in the US is a malapropism.

[m1a1mg]

There are good Chinese places, but they are few and far between.

 

I'm reminded of something I saw years ago regarding Chinese buffets.

 

You can pick 2 of 3.

Good

Chinese

Buffet

[scj1014]

I hate mega buffets like Golden Corral. The food tends to be trash, the patrons tend to be trash, and they tend to be filthy inside.

I hate buffets...period.

 

Never found the food particularly good and the behavior of most patrons is abysmal (at best).

 

My older brother had a bad habit of dragging me to all-you-can-eat buffets a couple of times a year, despite my protestations.

He insisted it was the only way to get his money's worth at a restaurant.

He would demand that we eat at The Golden Corral in Aberdeen.Md every time we spent a day at the museum at APG.

 

He had prodigious eating appetites and never failed to appease his cravings (something that contributed to his much-too-early passing).

 

He would embarrass me with the amount of food he would consume. The only words that can convey my meaning are mindless wanton gluttony.

I have seen the same behavior by other patrons at such establishments...I always refer to it being reminiscant of slopping the hogs back on the farm. Just as messy and noisy, but not nearly as civilized.

 

Interestingly...he never ate like that when he ate at my home or at a conventional restaurant where you order from a menu.

[Mr King]

Tried the new Red Robbin the other day. Was one of the best burgers and fries I have had out at a restaurant in a long time. Still mean to get in and try the new Five Guys. I keep hearing mixed reviews from friends and family. Some say its really good, while others say its a regular ol burger but over priced.

[ShotMagnet]

Rocky Davis

'I still feel that my refusing to eat there (when the government had paid for our meals) was the right thing to do.'

 

No argument from me. GC tries to be more than what it is, and fails to be what it should be.

 

 

 

Shot

[Mr King]

This place makes the best damn pork tenderloin sandwiches I have ever had. They are not excessively big, and they are always consistent. Its one of the local chili parlors that also serves a full menu. They sell a large selection of hot sauces and if you ask they will bring a basket of them to your table for you to enjoy with your meal.

 

 

[Fritz]

Waiting for my 5 Guys burger atm...

[Murph]

Five guys burgers are good, and no more pricey than Chik-fil-a. Their fries are great.

[Fritz]

I eat burgers quite rarely but 5 guys burgers are really good for one thing, some days if I am too stressed out at work or otherwise, I don't eat well and lose appetite, well a 5 Guys burger with fries does an excellent job at getting my appetite back.

[Colin]

Most Americans would be shocked at the smaller size of Canadian meals, and they cost more in general. When I go to the US I head for the Mexican places, as it's hard to get great Mexican food here. Now real Chinese and good Sushi are easy to come by. We judge Chinese restaurants by the number of Chinese in it.

[Mr King]

Most Americans would be shocked at the smaller size of Canadian meals, and they cost more in general. When I go to the US I head for the Mexican places, as it's hard to get great Mexican food here. Now real Chinese and good Sushi are easy to come by. We judge Chinese restaurants by the number of Chinese in it.

 

You know I always hear that about Chinese restaurants, but I have seen enough Chinese Americans chowing down at the same mega Chinese buffets and dingy little mom and pop order by the number General Tso's is their lunch special type places that I don't take that judging system too super seriously. Though to be fair we don't have any place that serves much in the way of traditional Chinese food, but they are still coming in and paying good money for the American Chinese food that all the critics hold their nose in the air over. Which is just silly to me, why cant you enjoy both. Food evolves.

As for cost, not to long ago I had some cousins in town from California to attend a funeral. We went to eat at a local diner, and they were taken back by how much cheaper the prices were here. Funny thing is we were eating at the more expensive greasy spoon in town.