Fans of Long John Silver’s fast-food style seafood spread will have something to give thanks for this week. The chain announced that during Thanksgiving week, they’ll be offering an All-You-Can-Eat special at participating locations in celebration of the food-filled holiday.
Starting now through Nov. 30, customers can dive into all the fish, chicken, and sides they can eat for about $7.99.
This includes hand-battered wild-caught Alaska Pollock, fried white-meat chicken tenders, fries, coleslaw, and LJS’s famous hush puppies.
Not going to lie, I’d go just for endless hush puppies alone.
Long John Silver’s AYCE special will be from 11am through 7pm until the end of the month. Not all locations will honor this deal, however, so best check this store locator to find out exactly which ones you can hit to get your fried seafood fix.
Buffets often get a bad rap. I get it. For the most part, the concept plays to the strength of only quantity. Trays of food sit endlessly under heat lamps, scorching whatever little life it had away. Each batch of it made it large quantities that give more room for error. They earned this rep. But thanks to a select few standouts clustered in Las Vegas, namely The Buffet at the Wynn Resort & Casino, folks can experience a glorious meal in all you can eat form.
The latest episode of Taste the Details has me right in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip to go behind the scenes of one of not only the city’s, but also the country’s, top buffets. Whether it be That Drunken Noodles or Southern-style fried chicken or hand-rolled sushi using real crab meat, The Buffet does it all superbly. Sure, the quantity factor comes into play big time given the amount of patrons that come in, yet the remarkable feat here is how quality is not sacrificed one bit.
So trust that I’ll have plates stacked of the same dish just on the fact that its lowkey better than restaurant quality. And in a town where I’ll more than likely need to stress eat to soothe the sting of all the money I lost in the casino, that’s crucial.
In the past, Applebee’s has offered up an all-you-can-eat riblets and tenders deal that had customers piling in to take advantage. Now, in the waning weeks of barbecue season, Dickey’s is offering up a similar deal, with AYCE ribs staying on their menu for the majority of October.
Photo courtesy of Dickey’s
Through October 28th, the AYCE ribs promotion will be available all day long, costing $19.99 per person. You start off with four ribs, two sides, and a buttered roll. After finishing those off, you get a small tray of two ribs that will be continually restocked until you can’t eat any more.
For those wondering, a typical full rack consists of about 10-13 ribs, depending on how it’s prepared and how much is trimmed off. At Dickey’s, that full rack costs about $23, so you’ll be getting yourself a bargain if you can manage to take down that many.
If you’re just looking to break even on the ribs, though, you’ll want to try to go for 8-10 ribs. That, including sides, should get you to roughly the $20 mark.
Even though some restaurants may state they are “all-you-can-eat” establishments, there’s always the chance that customers can eat too much in a single sitting for these places to handle.
That just happened to a guy in Germany, who found himself banned from an AYCE sushi spot after eating nearly 100 plates of food.
According to The Local, the eater was Ironman triathlete Jaroslav Bobrowski, who fasts for 20 hours a day before gorging himself on food. He was actually a regular at this particular sushi spot, called Running Sushi, and his latest eating feat was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the owner. Running Sushi charges about $18.49 USD (€15.90 Euros) per person, so by eating so many plates, Bobrowski was easily making the restaurant lose money fast.
Claiming that Bobrowski eats enough for 5 people, the owner then banned him for “eating too much,” as the athlete put it. Bobrowski did try to tip as a way to say thanks for letting him eat so much, but the waiter serving him declined to accept it.
Bobrowski did attempt to go back and apologize, according to Eater, although it’s unclear as to whether that was enough to let him back into the sushi spot.
Still, he can easily find other all-you-can-eat spots to get his fill at in the future. Plus, there’s always the competitive eating route, which Bobrowski seems like he could excel at based on his latest sushi binge.
“Did you know Chuck E. Cheese offers an All-You-Can Eat Lunch buffet?”
That was the question Elie asked me, as I proclaimed the deliciousness of Chuck E. Cheese pizza in the FOODBEAST office a few months ago. I’d recently gone for a young child’s birthday, and the pizza was more than memorable. I was unaware of the buffet, though, but interested to hear more.
Come to find out, Chuck E. Cheese has an AYCE lunch buffet Monday – Friday from 11am – 2pm, for about $7.50.
“We should go review the buffet one day,” Elie continued. “But, we should take [weed] edibles before we go — and vlog it!”
This immediately seemed like a fantastic idea. So, for the last few months, through Slack channels and Google Calendar, Elie and I began scheduling — and canceling — a date.
With both our schedules peppered with out of office dealings, remote photo shoots, and just general unavailability, pinning a date for this eventful day proved very difficult.
Most of us can remember going to Chuck E. Cheese’s as children. From my perspective, it was mostly fun. Chuck, the giant mouse, seemed reputable. The neon lights, video games, and animatronics were the perfect atmosphere for an 80s baby wired for sensory entertainment.
As I aged, I figured the Chuck E. experience was exclusive to parents with children. A few years ago, some dude I knew decided to have his birthday dinner there, and it was pretty dismal. One beer, per hour — we were told, after our group was almost denied entry. Since then, I figured Chuck E. Cheese was off-limits, and it was best to steer clear of the establishment unless invited. I was fine with that.
Upon my recent return, I discovered that Chuck E. Cheese pizza was delicious. Perfectly cooked pepperoni, flaky crust, melty cheese — good enough to share with the FOODBEAST crew, anyway.
As interested as I was in attempting to partake in the “all-you-can-eat” the buffet, I voiced my opinions about feeling unwelcome, expressing doubts that our plan would work. Elie convinced me otherwise.
Elie explained that he had ordered a pizza to go with his girlfriend a few months prior, when he saw the flyer for the buffet, and knew it was something he wanted to check out. So, I trusted his judgement.
After months of planning and replanning, we finally pulled the trigger. Conveniently enough, I received a package from a new cannabis infused toffee company, which would act as our PED for our nostalgic culinary journey.
We arrived at our destination about an hour after consuming the infused toffee. The sweetness and stickiness of the toffee, paired with the slight tinge of cannabis lingered in my mouth as I prepared myself for a cerebral journey. My body vibrated with strong waves of highness. I could tell this high would be intense.
Upon entering, a red rope separated us between reality and a neon-lit brainchild spawned by the inventor of Atari. The moment of truth was upon us. As the rope lifted, my anxiety subsided.
It worked. Mission one: Completed. We had successfully entered Chuck E. Cheese without the accompaniment of a child.
Now it was time to buffet.
However, the buffet was less than sad. It was depressing. Considering my enhanced emotional state, I was completely floored by the piss-poor presentation of the “buffet” which merely consisted of a large bowl with a divider down the center, separating two types of salad, a squirt bottle of Ranch dressing, and a small bowl of croutons. There was literally a half pizza under a heat lamp when we entered.
Elie wasn’t impressed either. His vision of the buffet was much more grandiose, with multiple toppings to choose from and a variety of dressings to enrobe our salad. I thought perhaps his visions of grandeur had rubbed off on me. There seemed to be a collective deflation between us.
As we sat down to eat, I started my voice recorder on my phone, just to capture the poignant moments of our discussion. I time stamped the audio after to discuss it on Foodbeast’s The Katchup Podcast.
My first note reads: “1:40 min: “I’m high as fuck.”
Through about an hour of audio recording, Elie and I seemed completely distracted by random noises from the surrounding video games. I mentioned how there was no salt and pepper at the table several times. Elie claimed his beer was the best he’d ever had. It was Bud Light.
Yet, the pizza was good. We mentioned how the food began tasting better each time we went back to the buffet. That could have been the magic toffee talking, but I’ll give it to Chuck E. Cheese, they’ve been in the pizza game for 40 years, and let’s face it, it’s pizza — there’s not much that can go wrong.
As we wrapped up our business lunch, the inebriation from the toffee began to really take hold. I consumed much more than I thought, and was soaring into a stoned, anxiety riddled mindset. I explained to Lyft driver that I’d gone to a “business lunch” at Chuck E. Cheese, she told me that I “looked tired,” repeatedly.
After that, I decided not to talk, as I was nervous I’d just ramble incoherently.
I began to question why I let Elie talk me into something like this, but nonetheless thankful for the opportunity to be able to tell a story of this nature.
In retrospect, I’m glad we were able to prove that Chuck E. Cheese doesn’t require children to enter, but I’m not sure when I’ll return. Maybe we will meet again, if I eventually enter fatherhood, although I am in no rush. Thanks to this trip, I was able to revisit the positive memories of my childhood — but perhaps it’s best those stay as they are — simply good memories of my youth.
Because, not even consuming 60mg of THC could have made the buffet any better.
Who’s down to crush some endless pasta? Olive Garden is introducing a new limited-time Never Ending Classics deal, reports Brand Eating.
Starting at $11.99 (prices fluctuate depending on the dish), the casual dining restaurant chain will let diners choose from a handful of their most popular dishes and pack in as much pasta as their bellies can handle. Dishes include: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Parmigiana, and Lasagna Classico.
Typically, they’ll give you a pretty hefty first bowl and refill you with smaller portions as to not waste any food. Patrons will also get to have their fill of soup or salad, as well as Olive Garden’s breadsticks while they chow down.
The Never Ending Classic special will be around until March 6. Seriously though, who’s down. Don’t want to go alone.
People are known to go ham when it comes to all-you-can-eat buffets and restaurants. I mean, that’s the point right? You roll in with your family and friends and go to town on as much grub as you can before your body tells you to shut it down and go home.
But have you ever wondered how far some people go when the option of endless food is placed before them?
A question was extended to buffet employees and patrons regarding what was the most gluttonous thing they’ve seen. As with everything you read on the Internet, especially Reddit, make sure to take these tales with a grain of salt.
In the meantime, we’re gonna cruise through Yelp and see what buffets we can hit up for lunch. Wonder if Hometown Buffet is still around?
A night at Sizzler’s
Once I went with my mom’s then-boyfriend to Sizzler’s. He got the steak and all-you-can-eat shrimp. He was crazy high, and had the munchies. After the seventh refill of shrimp, the manager came to our table, and said if we left now he would refund his dinner.
I was so embarrased.
He did this every day
Old Country Buffet. I saw a guy eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He just rested, read the newspaper, and wouldn’t leave the fucking booth. He was there for 7 hours. He did this every day. He was probably 400 lbs.
The Innovator
Not an employee but I had the honor of sitting across the table from a friend who pulled this one. First he went up and got a huge plate of crab legs and a bowl of clarified butter. Then made a second trip for prime rib. 2 huge slices. He sat there and cracked all the crab legs into the bowl of butter. Then dumped it onto the first piece of prime rib, slapped the second piece on top and ate the first breadless sandwich I had ever seen.
Mongolian feast
Not a restaurant worker but a patron at Mongolian BBQ in Lansing, MI, a few years back. I saw a family of about seven, all heavy set over 300 pounds each eat six plates and the waitress that was assigned to their table told me that they ate three before I got there.
Respect
Chinese tourists in gambling cities go truly Olympic on casino buffets. It doesn’t even make me mad; it borders on the superhuman how much food a tour bus parked in Reno will put away. I’m certain that at least one species of crab has gone completely extinct because of the seafood buffet at the Atlantis meeting with twenty camera-toting slot junkies from Hong Kong.
No disrespect intended towards Chinese tourists, of course. They’re a very important gear in the ever-turning machinery of the gambling community.
It’s not officially the start to a New Year unless IHOP brings back their All-You-Can-Eat Pancake deal. Last year, Foodbeast writer Sean Fahmy took advantage of the offer and broke the in-store record for eating the most pancakes in one sitting. Pretty sure he fell asleep in the office bathroom as soon as he got back to work. If you’re not looking to break any records, but just want a LOT of pancakes for a solid price, you might want to head over to IHOP. Patrons can get their pancakes in a short stack of five for $4.99, or as a combo for $10.99 with four pieces of either bacon or sausage.
The combo meal comes with two pancakes and, as they finish them, the rest will come in sets of two until diners’ bellies can no longer take it. IHOP’s short stack will also follow suit, adding an endless set of two pancakes after the initial five. The AYCE promotion has already begun and will be around for the whole of January.
