Eat It

For a friend's birthday, we went to an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. This is very dangerous. Seafood is one of those areas of cuisine for which the margin of error is very thin, and the repercussions for misstep are terribly severe. It was not without reservations that I embarked upon the endeavor, although I was very excited for it as well. As I write this it is impossible to say with authority how things will turn out, but I know how they stand now.

The entire day leading up to the dinner, I opted to eat nothing. I also abstained from drinking anything apart from water. I had the idea that this would create a powerful appetite and really heighten the experience. Too many Thanksgivings have been marred by an appetite undermined by a full day of incessant snacking. I meant to get the most out of this buffet, and was not about to let a breakfast or a lunch interfere.

I suppose I would say that it was worth it. Nobody else went to such extremes and we all enjoyed ourselves, but it was worthwhile. We each had our own strategies. The birthday boy ate nothing but crab legs, as he loves them and considers them the best value on offer. Another attendee took relatively little from the buffet during each individual trip, so as to determine what he liked before taking much of it. I tried to cast a wide net, if you'll pardon the metaphor.

I wish I could have gotten to more. I missed the Mongolian barbecue they had, in addition to a number of other items. I may have had more sushi than I ought to have. I consider that to be an iffy item at a buffet. I'd prefer to have it someplace where all the food is known to be above reproach, and a buffet isn't that. I ultimately disdained the crab legs for requiring too much work, and the clams were about the same thing. I washed it all down with soda and capped it off with ice cream (and later some alcohol).

There were bound to be consequences. I shouldn't speak of them too much, but I suspect that I don't have to in order to get my point across. It will probably be some time before I make a return trip to such an establishment. I harbor no ill will, but I probably would die if I made a habit of going. Much is made of those who eat a lot of fast food, but they are miles ahead of the seafood buffet aficionado in terms of health.