Fisher’s buffet in Intercourse, PA. AYCE strategy: hit the meatloaf and ignore the rest.
I am afraid my AYCE strategy days are over. I still frequent the excellent Wasabi here in Saratoga Springs where the weekday lunch is under $20, but can no longer eat my weight in food. I have a number of the nigiri or hand rolls which are basically fish over rice, eschewing the fancy sauced rolls. Add a couple bowls of seaweed salad and a miso soup and I’m done.
But for those still in the game, here is an excellent article on Eater with lots of good ideas in NYC and nationwide. New trend: pay a premium to eat a menu which would be costly under any circumstances, and gorge yourself with omakase or wagyu beef in a limited time window. The writer was inspired by the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl TikTok which is one of the worst ideas in AYCE strategy because it avoids the proteins in favor of pastas and, FFS breadsticks, full of fill-me-up carbs that have restaurants stuffing their pockets with your money.
Our buffet strategy works at the high-end places too.
Sadly, the absence of international and more recently Canadian tourists has dealt a crippling blow to Las Vegas buffets. The Buffet of Buffets is no more but our strategy still applies to your local AYCE mecca if there is one: dive straight into the cold station, load your plate with appealing salads and pickly things, then swing for the fences with a lean protein. Bon appetit!
AYCE, not on buffets, but crab legs, bullhead, ribs, always a disappointment.
First serving quick and good, second, quick and adequate, third, slow and bit cool… declining from there. Of course, tipping up front sometimes worked. I did find AYCE in the south was better than in the north even at chains. I like AYCE conveyor belt sushi. AYCE but not prix fixe, ala carte.
That meatloaf looked great!
It’s unlikely I’ll be traveling to France, but if I were.
https://davidlebovitz.substack.com/p/les-grands-buffets?utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demonlij7rmz
I would definitely need a strategy…
I didn’t find a price but am guessing with bottomless truffles etc it is not $18.99 pp. Eating this would literally be the death of me: would gobble till I exploded.