A Buffet idea

"notbob" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

Every buffet I have dined at in any state has requested that you get a clean
plate. Most places have the plates out for you to take. It is a pain if
they don't. You have to wait for the wait person to bring you one.
 
Christine Dabney wrote:


Here's an idea ... instead of all-you-can-eat, use meal tickets
like at Katz's in New York. You wander through the buffet, getting
your ticket punched for the items you pick up, and then pay
on the way to the dining area.

Steve
 
"sf" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

I am not usually fond of them. They might be cheap, but they aren't always.
And the food is usually not that good. But they can be quick. That aspect
is nice.

What really gets me are those people who just keep going back again and
again and again. Here at the Old Country Buffet it is usually these little
bitty Asian people who keep eating and eating. That must be their only meal
of the week. Either that or they have some powerful metabolisms!

There used to be a restaurant here (now it's something else) with a huge,
big salad bar. I went to dinner with my parents, brother and sister in law.
They were all on the Scarsdale diet at the time. I don't remember the
particulars of it now but they could have salad that day. So we all had the
salad bar and nothing else.

When we went back for seconds (the plates were small), these people at
another table began making rude comments about us saying that we were pigs
and no wonder we were overweight and things like that. They were thin
people. They had not only the salad bar but meals and desserts as well!
Sometimes it's just not fair.
 
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:27:06 -0800, "Julie Bove"
wrote:


Some people are just plain rude and have big mouths.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:06:33 -0600, Sky
wrote:



Sky, I am not looking at practical stuff, LOL. As I said, this is
only a hypothetical thing...just an exercise in what one could do to
improve a homegrown buffet operation. Yes, I realize, that if I were
really doing something like this, I would have to consider all that...
But, I am not... I am just thinking of what could make such an
operation into a destination spot? ;)

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com
 
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 04:09:52 +0000 (UTC), [email protected]
(Steve Pope) wrote:



As I said above, I am NOT looking at cost management or anything. This
is just an exercise in how you would make a really good buffet..one
that has really good food, and would attract people who are interested
in good food.
If I were really interested in doing somethign like this, I would ask
for ideas on those types of things. I am not..so just thinking of how
one would really improve the food.

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com
 
On 2011-02-17, Christine Dabney wrote:


Sit in floor, crosslegged, at tables which are actually live naked hot
babes in doggy position, table settings on their bare backs, candle on
their head, napkin dispenser in their..... well, you get the idea.

Hey, you said it was jes make believe.

nb
 
On 2/15/2011 10:11 PM, Christine Dabney wrote:

Copy Paula Deen (cough-cough, cluck-cluck)??? Ok, I'm ducking now!

Perhaps something akin to Fudruckers? Keep the concept to a few good
products and styles of food that can do well with a 'line' and on a
demand-basis ?? Heck, I dunno ;>> Perhaps an 'all breakfast' sort of
place with different sorts of 'fresh' islands? Or maybe something
similar to IHOP but a bit different? Or maybe a 'burger line' concept
where the burgers -- variable combinations of meats & non-meats (beef,
pork, turkey, chicken, tofu & veggie substitutes) are freshly ground,
combined, and cooked to order & style?f

Sky, who still hasn't won that lottery yet!

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!
 
In article , [email protected] says...

Strange. I can see it happening due to clumsiness but why would anybody
do it just to be doing it?


You've only got two hands you know. Presumably they were going back to
get some addition to their meal.


If you've never seen a kid eat anything at a restaurant you need to get
out more.
 
On Feb 15, 10:01?pm, Christine Dabney wrote:

Then it's a good thing you're not looking at cost management. Such a
place would go out of business right away.
 
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:33:44 +0000 (UTC), [email protected]
(Steve Pope) wrote:


An egg station with a short order cook manning it certainly would
certainly help solve the egg issue, but there are usually problems
with serving mass quantities of almost anything at once. Salads,
desserts and certain items that are meant to be cooked long and slow
(usually in a sauce) do the best for a buffet. IMO


--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:27:32 -0800, Christine Dabney
wrote:


Chicago used to have a Swedish Club with an old fashioned (ethnic)
Smorgasbord in their members only dining room.... cheeses, salads,
open faced sandwiches, pickled herring, Swedish meatballs, that sort
of stuff. It was delicious.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:08:48 -0800, sf wrote:



Now this is more the idea I was looking for. Not a bottom line or
anything. Just what could be done to improve the food... ;)

Somehow folks can't seem to get the idea I am not interested in
opening one myself. But I was thinking of how something like that
could be improved..and was interested in other's ideas. Guess many
folks aren't interested in ideas that would improve such a buffet.

For me, I would have had really fresh vegetables there...cooked in
ways that make them tasty and a bit more interesting. And some
veggies that would be in dishes that could serve as a vegetarian main
course...either vegan or not.

I would have better desserts, or better cooked desserts... The rice
pudding I had there was abysmal..but I know there is really good rice
pudding out there, and I love a really good rice pudding. Maybe a
homemade ice cream, with the flavor changing every so often.

Oh well... I thought it would be a fun exercise..guess I figured
wrong...

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com
 
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:29:38 -0800, "Julie Bove"
wrote:


In Las Vegas there was no "request" about it, every buffet barred you
from coming through with a dirty plate. The only smorgesbords that
permit folks to refill with dirty plates are Jewish affairs, keeps the
overhead down. Ahahaha. . .
 
In news:rec.food.cooking, Christine Dabney posted
on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:54:51 -0800 the following:


Seems like it would take a huge amount of planning and coordination to get
all those different foods prepared on time for the daily opening. What I
don't like about buffets is vegetables that are either overcooked, or left
in the steam tray so long that it simply hot-rots, like string beans. I
like string beans that are brightly colored and hot, yet still crispy.
String beans cannot sit around very long before they turn into that dead
green color and become limp. If I had a buffet, since it doesn't take
very long to steam or saut+AOk- whole string beans, and since I want all the
green vegetables to be bright and appealing, I'd want to have enough
people around to keep a watch on all the food and not put so much out that
it sits there and becomes inedible. I think it would be nice to have a
very long buffet line and a kitchen of equal width so there are only a few
steps between the cooking area and the serving trays. That means the
cooks can always have an eye on the food instead of having to run out to
the dining room and check everything.

And use herbs and spices. I once got some steamed or boiled red potatoes
at a Ryan's Steakhouse. They were so bland and nasty. They tasted like
they hadn't even been salted just a little bit, and there were no herbs
like dill weed on them. Yeah, I know I have salt on the table, but I
think it's okay to put a little salt in foods just to have some of the
salt flavor cooked in where you taste it all through the food, not just on
the surface. Some people who don't eat salt at home think of a trip to a
restaurant as a treat where they can just eat what they like without
worrying about the salt.


I even love poundcake plain.


In my book, you can't go wrong with a potato bar. I love being able to
get a big, hot baked potato and pile it up from a wide choice of stuffings
so I can get what I like in the amounts I like. I can make a meal out of
one big potato.

Damaeus
 
On Feb 16, 1:07?am, Damaeus wrote:

*snip buffet wet dreams


Yeah buffets love potato people. Fill up on potatoes, idiot!

Wow, you people really have your *pie in the sky*, don't ya. Next
you'll all start jizzing about Chinese food. LOL
 
In article , [email protected]
says...

Yes; but cruise and fancy hotel buffets are produced for defined-
number mass catering; and are usually available
only for a defined period, around two hours, after which the service
ends and any unused food will be removed and binned. (The wastage loss,
is built into the high-end cost of cruises and fancy hotels) . Two hours
is around how long displays of prepared food stay looking palatable,
and how long you can safely keep it warm (or cool).

A small walk-in buffet business has no captive clients/income to
count on. They face the same problems of food/time safety but have to
provide the range over a much longer service period. If they have staff
constantly available to cook a fresh omelette, they have to balance the
pay rate of the staff against the profit on the omelette.

Janet.
 
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