As a long-time veteran of the hospitality industry, the hysteria over buffets has always amused me. Some of the things people claim to be horrified by - well, don't go peeking into your regular neighborhood restaurant's kitchen, that's all I have to say.

Taiwan has really lax food safety standards compared to the US. Don't get me wrong, I go to Taiwan multiple times a year (well I did pre-pandemic), love the night markets, and was literally today half-joking about how I'd undergo mandatory quarantine just to go to my favorite buffets there. But the culture is definitely different and I'd feel a lot better if they adopted the same standards as in the US. The worst obvious example is how in recent years, many buffets in Taipei were encouraging patrons to reuse plates at the buffet due to eco concerns, something that is a complete and utter no-no under US standards. I truly hope the pandemic will have permanently ended that practice, much less any thoughts of making it mainstream.

A few Vegas buffets on the strip tried to run buffets under a 'server-gets-your-food' model, but it is simply unfeasible due to the increased labor costs and the reduced capacity from state regulations (honestly I'm amazed they even tried). The last holdout, Wicked Spoon at Cosmo, will close this weekend. I think there might still be an off-strip buffet or two running in this fashion, but not sure.

I have a colleague who is into fine dining but Sweet Tomatoes was actually among his favorite restaurants, which always amused me. But yeah, sad to see it go.