I constantly see ads for Golden Corral. It's one of those baffling advertisement campaigns that I just cannot understand; there are just two in all of New England, and they are hundreds of miles from where I am. Restaurant chains seem to do this a lot - while there are many chains that are present in this area, there are almost no ads run for them, rather the airwaves are saturated with Arbys and Carl's Jr and Popeye's and Sonic ads, none of which have any more than the most token presence in one or two random mall food courts or interstate rest stops, if there is any presence at all.
Like the author I always wanted to go to a buffet as a kid as that was my one chance to decide what I would eat rather than mom and dad deciding.
But as I got older I never went back. I always thought of buffets as a sort of weird corner of the restaurant industry for families with kids and indecisive adults.
4. Fights over the Lobster (or insert whatever the premium included course is, steak, crab, etc)
5. No or almost non existant service.
6. Usually dirty because of 1-5.
While there will always be some good korean buffets in the cities, I say good riddance to the Golden Corrals of this world. I suspect it is quite a wasteful way to prepare already mediocre food as well. Nobody wants to be seen eating at a buffet. I hope we can bring back the Basque style of communal eating to fit the middle ground.
