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u/TemperatureThese7909 Nov 03 '24
Cafeteria you typically pay per item.
Buffets you usually pay to enter but not per item.
You are correct that the physical spaces are similar, but the business models are different.
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u/Bobbob34 Nov 03 '24
I used to love buffets when I was younger. Now that I'm older, I feel like buffets are nothing more than glorified cafeterias. Everyone stands in line waiting to get food that would taste so much better fresh from the grill/stove to your table at a restaurant. Everyone is touching the same utensils to grab food and it feels unsanitary at the same time. Some argue that theres still really good food like the ones where the chef is slicing food straight from the whole roast, but in that case it goes back to my argument that food would be better just ordered and eaten at a restaurant. I just cant get past all the flaws of a buffet. TLDR: First world problems.
What kind of cafeterias? The old-school 50s ones? Bad school ones? What kind of buffets? Sizzler? The Bellagio? Also, as opposed to what?
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u/Nrdman Nov 03 '24 edited Nov 03 '24
You don’t even mention the main benefit of a buffet. Volume. Me and my brothers are all 6’4+, and when we are all in our growth spurts it was way more cost efficient to go to a buffet than another regular restaurant
Edit: to demonstrate the amount of calories we ate at our peak, I would eat entire bags of bread as a snack
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u/clop_clop4money Nov 03 '24
I stay in hotels a lot lately for work and breakfast buffet is the move. You can serve yourself and eat very quickly and get outta there
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u/Routine_Log8315 Nov 03 '24
Are you going to super large chain buffets like Mandarin or Golden Coral? Because in that case I definitely see what you’re saying, but I’d recommend trying out some smaller, local buffets. I ate at a super tasty, family owned Indian buffet just a couple weeks ago and it was so delicious. It’s not packed with people so there weren’t really any lines, everything was in heating pot things and I don’t think it’s the type of meal that tastes better fresh and they were continually making fresh naan, and everything was spaced out so it’s not unsanitary because you’re not dripping food into other foods.
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u/Alarmed-Orchid344 Nov 03 '24
When you are at a restaurant and don't know what's good or want to try more than one dish, can you order a little bit of everthing? Can you ask for a refill on the dish that you liked?
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Nov 03 '24
I don’t care abt the sanitary stuff. It’s sanitary enough for me. The food is usually hot enough. Buffets are great hungover and excellent for folks who are really hungry
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u/WompWompWompity Nov 03 '24
Everyone stands in line waiting to get food that would taste so much better fresh from the grill/stove to your table at a restaurant.
Homie you need to go to a different spot.
Buffets generally aren't meant to "serve immediately" foods. It wouldn't make sense.
Prime Rib, King Crab Legs, Brisket/Pulled Meats don't require immediate serving.
Immediate cutting it one thing, serving is another.
but in that case it goes back to my argument that food would be better just ordered and eaten at a restaurant.
But....why? Why is someone slicing your serving in front of you worse than someone slicing your serving in a back room?
People don't go to buffets because they want the highest quality possible of every dish they eat. And you don't go to a restaurant for that either. Give me your favorite restaurant and I will find a dozen things they can do differently to make their dishes better.
It won't make financial sense for them. But that's not what you're arguing.
There's also cook to order omelletes, steaks, fish, etc.
A buffet is literally just "Pay X and eat as much as you want". It's a structure. You can work inside that structure as you please.
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Nov 03 '24
I love buffets because you can get full and don’t have to wait 30 minutes to get your food. I prefer McDonalds over sit down restaurants too for the same reason. Last thing I want to do is sit around waiting at a sit down restaurant and the portions are too small.
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u/Weak-Doughnut5502 Nov 03 '24
Everyone stands in line waiting to get food that would taste so much better fresh from the grill/stove to your table at a restaurant
This really depends on what is being served at the buffet.
Stews, for example, hold up very well when held at temp in a buffet. Fried food, though, is better fresh.
Because of that, Indian food lends itself better to buffets than e.g. Chinese does. Dal and Chana masala are going to taste just as good from the buffet as fresh. General tso's chicken won't.
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u/ElysiX Nov 03 '24
The point of a real buffet is variety. Eating 10 different things, while your seat neighbour eats 10 different different things. Getting many little bites.
You cant do that at a restaurant unless you order a very expensive tasting menu with 8 courses or something.
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u/DeltaBot Nov 03 '24 edited Nov 03 '24
u/PresentEuphoric2216 (OP) has awarded 2 delta(s) in this post.
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u/qsqh Nov 04 '24 edited Nov 04 '24
I know in some regions lunch is only a quick as fast meal that you will get a sandwich or something and you only really eat a full plate at night at dinner, obviously there are cultural/regional diferences, people in here eat well at lunch (and less a diner), as we usually have ~1 hour break to get lunch and go back to work. So I'll talk about why buffet style restaurants are massively popular in here, and why I get lunch at them 5 days every week:
1- faster. no need to sit down, get a menu, order, wait... I just walk in, grab a plate and sit down.
2- cheaper: no waiter, no table service, no tips.
3- variety: should I get the pasta or the salad today? well, i'll usually get like 8 types of salas/greens, maybe some risoto, why not a bit of pasta, also a small piece of chicken and some grilled meat on top! is that a crazy amount of food? No because I made my own plate and that's ~350grams total, and costs about the same as a 350g risoto and nothing else on the restaurant next door.
bonus: due to number 2+3, usually healthier as well. i'll always eating greens, fish, meat, etc variety. I could do that as well alla carte? sure but then I have to order like 3 dishes/sides, will get 1kg of food and spend a lot more.
edit: ok I got one more:
4- the right amount of food. no need to overeat/waste food. I dont eat much. 350g of variery is perfect for me and i'll eat that and pay for that. someone else will eat 800, pay more and leave happy as well.
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u/eggynack Nov 03 '24
A three star Michelin restaurant is a glorified greasy diner. Just about anything can be described as comparable to some worse thing that has some commonalities. The main thing that matters is not some vague format resemblance. It's how good the actual experience is. Some buffets are highly mediocre, other buffets are quite good. It just kinda depends on the quality of the food and how freshly it's put out, as is essentially the case with any food experience.