I was at an all-you-can eat Mexican place in MSY (forget the name, it was on Veterans Highway in Metarie). You would raise this little flag thingy on your table and the server would come ask you what you wanted more of. Not that great. I think it was a small regional chain.

Is that how Brasilian churrascarias go, you raise a flag and they just keep sliding steaks and sausages off of skewers onto your plate? As for the Mexican aspect, there were no chafing trays, just waitstaff?

IIRC first serving you got cafeteria style. But yes, when you wanted seconds, thirds, etc. you raised the flag for a server. The flag part made it easy to track down. It was called Pancho's, and apparently the one in MSY had a local following.

New Orleans restaurant critic Richard Collin described the restaurant as “a miracle,” and he listed its sopapilla as a “platonic dish,” signaling that he held it in the highest regard.

“Pancho’s food is excellent regardless of price,” he wrote in 1973, when the buffet cost $1.49. “At the price it is unbelievable.”

Things evidently started slipping fast, however, and by 1976 the same critic wrote that “(t)he food is now gross, and large quantities simply underline the lack of delicacy.”

Pancho’s later moved to Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie, and despite Collin’s assessment it went on to win many new fans over the years until it was shuttered by Katrina in 2005. Prior to its reopening in 2009, thousands of people joined a Facebook group to share memories of their meals there and support the restaurant’s rumored return.

I don't enjoy most buffets in the US, even including some expensive ones I've tried in Vegas. OTOH, I thoroughly enjoyed a Sunday Jazz Brunch at Zinc in Prague and always go to the Friday brunch at Mina A'Salam when in Dubai. The Sunday buffet at the Hilton Beverley Circa55 restaurant comes closest for me in the US if you can get a table outside on a beautiful California day.

Apart from the food quality issues, I think the difference is those mentioned are meant to be spread out over at least three to four hours. Your table is your table for the afternoon. You take the papers, or your book, or the family and have a leisurely afternoon. I can eat about six small plates (side plate size) and tend to go for one theme on each plate - rather than a bit of this and a bit of that. At Mina you can wander around "The Wharf" outdoor cooking/grill stations, get freshly cooked dim sum, cocktails mixed, as well as the other dishes laid out inside Al Muna.

Its a bit like the difference in UK drinking culture and the rest of Europe, although I acknowledge in advance that's a generalisation. We tend to do vertical drinking (or our young people do:)) wheras there is a more cafe culture in France, etc. US buffets do seem to be more about how much food how quickly for how little rather than an extended social occasion.

And I agree about "Chinese buffets" - my home town is over run by them and they are universally disgusting.

I love them.
 

I love buffets. That's my problem. If been to one tonight and eat 8500 calories. I Have lost 4 stone 7 this year. Started at 20.7 and now 16.0

luckily for me, tonight was the first buffet I have had all year and come about this site searching how bad a buffet can be.

so my answer is have what you want in moderation. 1 big meal 1ce a month. Monday to Friday 1200 cals. If once a year u want a buffet, go nuts. Just not every week.

I'm quite taken by Turkish and SE Asian buffets-- relatively healthy options at the former, and good varieties at the latter.

I used to be able to eat a lot more as a kid. Now, not so much. In fact, most of the time I don't really consider buffets worth the cost because of this--especially if I'm only going to eat as much or only a little more than what a regular restaurant would serve.

I don't eat at buffets for three reasons. First of all, I usually do better cost wise by ordering off the menu. I don't eat enough to make a buffet a cost effective option. Second, I find that many buffets (at least, around here) may have many different dishes, but they all taste suspiciously the same. And last, I have seen too many people use their hands at a buffet to make me decide that I'd rather skip that visual.

(Yes, I know it happens back in the kitchen as well. But I haven't seen it back there!)

While buffets as a rule do not really exist up here in Canada, never having socially caught on per say, the US ones I have a chance to frequent are only usually in Las Vegas, and that's just because of the potential variety of product available to pick from. I agree with everything you said as those are also my main reasons for avoiding them. That, and the crowds..

To answer the OP directly, one plate is always enough.

Get me into a really good churrascaria in Rio however and all the rules go out the door, as i will sit and eat meat for 2 hours straight until I am in a coma.

Huh? There are many buffets in Canada the most prominent being the nation-wide Mandarin restaurant chain. Most hotel breakfasts are buffet style and Indian, Chinese and Thai buffets are quite common.

Buffets are simply gross. My sister-in-law however loves them and is always suggesting one when the in-laws get together. I have thankfully found a guaranteed way not to overeat when we do. I try and choose a seat where I can watch the buffet line. The behemoths that waddle through loading up plate after plate are more than sufficient to kill anything resembling an appetite.

The first time I went to Vegas, I gained 6 pounds in 3 days from buffet over-indulgence. I've since learned to moderate a bit, but I still love some of the Vegas buffets (Wynn, Bellagio, Aria & Mirage). I love the fact that you don't have to decide what to eat from a written description and risk being disappointed when someone else at your table orders something better. I always try a bit (i.e. a spoonful) or anything that looks good and then go back for more of the things I really liked.

I also like the fact that you can mix things up and make your own creations (such as visiting the dessert station to put caramel sauce and pecans on on your breakfast waffle (don't forget to add crispy bacon!).

However, not all buffets are created equal and I won't go to a crappy buffet just for the quantity. These can usually be judged by the low price and waist size of the average customers. I also generally avoid anything with special children's prices since that brings with it a whole range of issues that I'd rather not deal with while dining.

Never heard of Mandarin out west where I am, and FWIW, while asian buffets "are" the norm, I didn't think we were talking about those. A HIX breakfast doesn't count in my books.

Talking about the Golden Corral style of buffet, or what's found in LV. It's what made America famous for gastronomy.