Haha I actually decided to really give the SOMA breakfast "another chance" this weekend to see if I really looked into it I would see what I might have been missing - but nope, it's actually even worse than I thought the last time I was there . It's just, full stop, mediocre. I tried the French toast, the hash browns, the chocolate croissants, the regular croissants, the charcuterie, the Koign-Amann, the fruit (again) ... the bread slices are just the same kind of bread you get at Hyatt Place. My wife had the scrambled eggs. Absolutely nothing rose to even the median level of quality you can find at pretty much any 4-star hotel in France or Italy or Germany (England... a lot more iffy, maybe that's one reason our food is so meh in the US, because we are a food culture descended from the British, not exactly known for excellent cuisine).

I suppose one could say "it's good for the price" or something - I'll leave those sorts of "value" comparisons to you guys. All I can say is, you can get SUPERB food in Japan or Italy for a pittance, so it's not really a matter of cost. There are plenty of cultures that make excellent food for much less than we spend (Mexico is a great example, right here in our hemisphere!)

But yeah, for a US buffet I guess it's decent, it's certainly better than the Grand Hyatt San Diego, etc. But it just doesn't even crack the mid-line for me. And yes, I am comparing it to overseas as well as some great breakfasts in the US.

I remember a French friend of mine told me once that Americans CONSUME food, and French people TASTE food. I'd say that's pretty accurate. Our vastly different impressions of this mediocre breakfast spread are a perfect illustration of this. Although I'm also an American, I guess I have a different idea of what is "good" than many of us.