A Beast More Stomach Than Man

And yes, that is a Simpson's quote. And yes, this is about all-you-can-eat buffets.

Sadly, I'm not the trencherman I used to be, so don't get as excited about these things as I did in the past. I would look in amazement at people who would take their relatively little plate and pile it 4-5 inches high with SALAD of all things, and drenched in dressing! First of all, you DO get to go back as many times as you like, so no need for trying to take it all in one go. Second, SALAD???? When you can chose pizza, fried chicken, clam chowder, etc??? And since I've NEVER been a fan of dressing of any kind, to see these mountains dripping with what looks to me like something sneezed out....you get the picture.

My mom and I used to go out to lunch frequently at the Sizzler in Chico. The only salad I would eat was the taco salad that I would put together myself. And then maybe have some fried chicken. And always the dessert bar.

Here in Oroville, we had Golden Corral which we went to a LOT. No taco salad available, but the fried chicken was tops. I might get a small salad made of a little lettuce, but lots of pepperoni, garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, bacon bits, olives and cheese. NO DRESSING. And the cobbler was warm and delicious no matter what the fruit at that moment was. With caramel sauce and ice cream on it...YUM!

In Fresno there is a John's Incredible Pizza that is beyond my wildest dreams. I had never heard of this chain before. Not only do they have salad, which I pretty much ignore, but there is fried chicken AND pizza!! And breadsticks! And the dessert bar is phenomenal! It's pricey, and like I said, I can't really do an all-you-can-eat place justice anymore, so this kind of place is definitely for special occasions, not all the time.

When Marv and I were on vacation in Eureka, we ate at a Sizzler there. They had a Senior Special where you got shrimp, baked potato AND salad bar, for a very reasonable price. The shrimp was good, the potato was perfect, and I got fried chicken from the salad bar. They had baked custard at the dessert bar, and I LOVE custard. This was very bland, though, so after a couple of bites I went back and put chocolate ice cream on it. I have to admit that I had to give Marv a couple of my shrimp because I was getting full, but I am NOT going to pass up a dessert bar! My standards may be low, but I DO have them!

Bon appétit!!