All-you-can-eat restaurant

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An all-you-can-eat restaurant (AYCE) is a restaurant where any amount of food can be eaten for one price. They are often buffets.

Buffets[change | change source]

Herbert "Herb" Cobb McDonald, a Las Vegas publicity and entertainment manager, introduced the idea in 1946.[1][2] William Pearson talked about buffets in his 1965 novel The Muses of Ruin:

At midnight every self-respecting casino premières its buffet— the eighth wonder of the world, the one true art form this androgynous harlot of cities has delivered herself of... We marvel at the Great Pyramids, but they were built over decades; the midnight buffet is built daily. Crushed-ice castles and grottoes chill the shrimp and lobster. Sculptured aspic is scrolled with Paisley arabesques. They are, laid out with reverent artistry: hors d'oeuvres, relish, salads, and sauces; crab, herring oyster, sturgeon, octopus, and salmon; turkey, ham, roast beef, casseroles, fondues, and curries; cheeses, fruits, and pastries. How many times you go through the line is a private matter between you and your capacity, and then between your capacity and the chef's evil eye.[3]

A 2011 study showed more food is eaten if buffets cost more.[4]

COVID-19 restrictions from March 2020 briefly closed many all-you-can-eat places.[source?]

Other restaurants[change | change source]

Korean barbecue,[5] Brazilian churrasco[6] and Chinese hot pot are often all-you-can-eat.[7]

Drinks[change | change source]

Unlimited drinks, mostly alcoholic drinks, are "all-you-can-drink" or "bottomless", as in "bottomless brunch" or "bottomless mimosas".[8][9]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Strip visionary McDonald dies". Las Vegas Sun. July 9, 2002.
  2. "restaurants at the El Rancho Vegas". Archived from the original on 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  3. Pearson, William (1965). The Muses of Ruin. McGraw-Hill.[page needed]
  4. Just, David R.; Brian Wansink (February 2011). "The Flat-Rate Pricing Paradox: Conflicting Effects of "All-You-Can-Eat" Buffet Pricing". The Review of Economics and Statistics. 93 (1): 193–200. doi:10.1162/REST_a_00057. S2CID 57569105. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  5. Chaudhury, Nadia (17 June 2016). "Austin's Top Korean Barbecue". Eater Austin. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  6. Munyal, Panna (13 May 2019). "Ramadan 2019: Eight alternative iftars to try in Dubai and Abu Dhabi". The National. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  7. Richardson, Nikita (17 January 2019). "Where to Eat Hot Pot in NYC Right Now". Grub Street. New York Magazine. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  8. Maurer, Daniel (10 May 2005). "Open Bar and All-You-Can-Drink Specials at New York City bars and clubs". New York Magazine. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  9. "Bottomless brunch in NYC: The best (and tastiest) deals". AM New York. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.