Thoughts on buffets

Admittedly, I spend too much times at the buffet. I eat at a casino at least once every day and probably 3 meals a week are at the buffet. I particularly like breakfast buffets. I have a few thoughts on the buffet topic, some politically incorrect maybe.

1.) have you ever looked around at the folks in the buffet. America's waistline are ballooning almost daily, but these folks are often the biggest of the big. Especially at the local type place, like Stations, Boyd, Terribles, M resort. I myself have put on 10 lbs in the last year. :(

2.) Asians as a rule are slimmer than the general population. Maybe it's a healthier diet consisting of more fish? I don't know. But you wonder how these folks are so slim if you watch them at the buffet. Plates and plates of food. They consume much more volume-wise than most much heavier customers. And it isn't all healthy. They go berserk at the desert stations. 6, 7, 8 deserts at a time. If this post sounds racist, I am not and apologize to anyone offended. Much more of a jealousy thing. lol

3.) I am wondering about these places like M resort that include wine and beer with the buffet. "M" has an outstanding buffet by the way. I am not as much of a drinker as I used to be. Occasional glass of wine or beer for me, but I notice some folks lingering at the M buffet long after their meal is complete just sucking down beer and wine. I wonder if there is a limit that someone will say enough.

Quote: kewlj

2.) Asians as a rule are slimmer than the general population. Maybe it's a healthier diet consisting of more fish? I don't know. But you wonder how these folks are so slim if you watch them at the buffet. Plates and plates of food. They consume much more volume-wise than most much heavier customers. And it isn't all healthy. They go berserk at the desert stations. 6, 7, 8 deserts at a time.

If I were to post this, Wongbo and several others
would be all over me. How dare I single Asians
out, I must be a racist pig. When we look around
at people at a buffet, we're just supposed to see
gray areas where humans are standing, all blurred
and hard to focus on.

Quote: EvenBob

If I were to post this, Wongbo and several others
would be all over me. How dare I single Asians
out, I must be a racist pig. When we look around
at people at a buffet, we're just supposed to see
gray areas where humans are standing, all blurred
and hard to focus on.

Well that's because you are you (enough said), and I am me, pleasant and adorable. :) Seriously, perhaps Wongbo and others will be offended and all over me as well. I hope not. Post wasn't meant to be offensive.

Quote: kewlj

Post wasn't meant to be offensive.

Just the fact that you saw a crowd and singled out
a group means you're a racist to a lot of people. Its
ridiculous, but true.

Well so be it. I am a big people watcher. I can sit for hours watching people. Fascinating and free entertainment. I am not going to pretend that I don't notice things about different cultures and subsets of folks.

Hey I am still trying to figure out which of these groups I, as a people watcher find more fascinating and entertaining. The Gays, who took over downtown for gay pride weekend earlier this month, The bikers who will be showing up next week for Bikerfest, The Rodeo Folks who come to town in December or the Nascar 'people' in early March. Mark you people watching calenders. :)

When I go to the buffet these days I just eat until I'm pleasantly filled. I don't gorge out anymore. BTW I have lost about 10 lbs also.

But i would say that the only time I do gorge out is at the breakfast buffet. But it stays with me for the whole day so that's alright.

My God I've some big dudes at the buffets man! lol.

My biggest concern at the buffet is the food sitting out so long and the breakfast buffet being my favorite, this is especially true of eggs. I try to get there just as they open, but even then, who knows how long the food has been out. :(

Another thing about breakfast buffet is that the pancakes are usually not the best quality. Thin and kind of tasteless. I luv me some tasty pancakes smoothered in syrup. :) Tuscany casino has all you can eat pancakes for $3.99 late at night. I think midnight til 6am. sausage or bacon extra, but the pancakes are thick and very yummy. I lived a hundred yards from tuscany until I sold my condo earlier this year, so that was sometimes the place after a night of clubbing and drinking to soak up some alcohol. lol

The M Resort is even marketing itself as a "Take Out Kitchen"... You know: drive in, play some slots, pickup a freshly prepared dinner for four and drive home with it.

Terribles? Their buffet is virtually inedible. I would make no generalizations based on their food at all.

Booze? Sure Champagne brunches etc. have long been a good "draw" ... but the M's lunch and dinner buffets make free wine and beer a good deal as well. I think a good many people eat at the M Buffet because they can use their earned points and also still keep them. This of course means they have to spend time playing first to earn the "free" buffet.

Locals in Vegas just don't seem to cook all that much since its so cheap to go out to a restaurant, so I can see a Locals Casino being a place that gets good traffic in the buffet area.

Small portions prepared recently is the trend instead of these giant steam tables ... I think the really stale items get sent to the Employee Dining Room. At least that is what many dealers in a lot of casinos have claimed happens.

Racial-Ethnic Disparities
• Recent national data show that 82.1 percent of Black women and 75.7 percent of Hispanic women are overweight or obese compared to 59.5 percent of White women (Flegal et al., 2012).
• In addition, over half of Black women are obese (versus 38.8 percent of Black men and 32.2 percent of White women) (Flegal et al., 2012).
• Extreme obesity continues to be higher among women (8.1 percent) than men (4.4 percent), especially among Black women who have more than double the rates of extreme obesity as White and Hispanic women (17.8 percent versus 7.1 percent and 6.0 percent) (Flegal et al., 2012).
• Rates of overweight or obesity are higher for Hispanic men (81.7 percent) compared to Black men (69.9 percent) and White men (74.0 percent), although obesity rates are fairly similar across racial-ethnic groups (Flegal et al., 2012).

Asians are still a relatively small percentage of the American population. They are concentrated largely in California, New York City Metropolitan area, and Hawaii which have lower percentage of overweight people than average. Population of Asian alone (14.7 million) and Asian in combination with one or more additional races (2.6 million).

Asian Americans have the fastest growing rate of overweight and obese children, according to the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training. So the buffets are working their magic on everyone.

I tend to think of Asian food as very filling for the calories in it, but that might just be my own very Western "stir fries" (basically ratatouille with soy sauce) coloring my perception.

I too am a frequenter of casino buffetts. More because I like to try a lot of different stuff than the desire to binge eat. But the % of people I see of all races who are massively overweight and literally killing themselves in the buffett is stunning. Often driving scooters because walking any distance is out of the question. It's actually kind of sad.

Is this behavior what made them fat, or is that what fat people do? Researchers are unsure, but they do make these observations

Sit at a table vs. a booth.
Face the buffet while eating, rather than have their side or back to it.
Begin serving themselves immediately instead of surveying the buffet.
Pick up a larger plate vs. a smaller one.
Put their napkin on the table or tucked into their shirt vs. on their lap.
Leave less food leftover on their plate
Chew fewer times per bite.
Use a fork instead of chopsticks at a Chinese buffet.

kewlj -- I don't know what area of town you live in, but you must try the $5 breakfast buffet at the nicer Stations casinos (Boulder/Sunset/Santa Fe). It is a tremendous value. I just had the one at Sunset Station, and they had freshly poured pancakes (not frozen), regular french toast, and a raisin french toast that was awesome. They also had the full salad bar out with spinach, romaine lettuce, and tons of fresh cut veggies. On the other side were some nice salads and, of all things, kimchi. Never thought I'd see that in a buffet.

I can load up on my nutrients at breakfast (i.e., pig out), and then just nosh for the rest of the day and generally be fine. I was just thinking if I was a local, this would be a regular place for me. Also, I agree with you on the Asians. It must be a genetic thing. My roommate was half-Asian/half-White, and could eat more crap that anyone I've ever met while still staying so thin his pants didn't fit most of the time. Arrggh...