# Are buffets finished? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 20, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184 "2020-04-20T13:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/61 "2020-04-21T02:58:42Z")
Buffet hygiene may or may not be great. But with rare exceptions, the food is mediocre and lukewarm. A made to order option is almost always better, hotter and tastier. Unless you have a reason to want 1500 calories and random dishes. True, the best buffets have a popular and expensive item (crab legs, Peking duck) which makes it special. Or people who cook fresh food. But these are few and far between. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/62 "2020-04-21T03:12:34Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > The virus would be killed by stomach acid. It needs exposure to the mucus membrane. Like the ones in your mouth? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/63 "2020-04-21T05:05:02Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [Horn & Hardart](https://www.thoughtco.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-automat-4152992). Thanks. That’s the chain we hit up. The new San Francisco outfit, Eatsa, mentioned in the article has abandoned that and reinvented themselves as some kind of tech firm. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/64 "2020-04-21T09:00:11Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > Like the ones in your mouth? > **[Coronavirus (COVID-19) - University of Rochester Medical Center](https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/coronavirus.aspx)** > > The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness first reported in China in 2019. Teams throughout UR Medicine have worked closely with leaders from the CDC and local and state health officials to monitor and respond to this evolving... > [@](#): > > Currently there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19. Like other viruses, it is possible that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces or objects. The four key steps to food safety are always recommended – clean, separate, cook, and chill. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/65 "2020-04-21T10:43:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That’s what I’m thinking. I’ve seen articles speculating on how offices are going to change, how people aren’t going to want to live in big cities and various other changes to people’s lives. I don’t see it, not based on what was, basically a once-in-several-lifetimes event. And the last time we had such an event (the Spanish Flu 1918-1919), there were no significant permanent changes. No, as much as I’d like respecting personal space to become standard and handshakes to go the way of the dodo, I don’t see this whole thing causing any significant changes. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/66 "2020-04-21T14:48:39Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > And the last time we had such an event (the Spanish Flu 1918-1919), there were no significant permanent changes. A couple of possibilities were suggested in this thread: [Were there any social practices permanently killed off by The Spanish Flu?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=894606) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/67 "2020-04-21T14:52:05Z")
And as pointed out in that thread, nobody had any idea what to change. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/68 "2020-04-21T15:08:12Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > [Coronavirus (COVID-19) - University of Rochester Medical Center](https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/coronavirus/common-questions.aspx) The page you are quoting also says “The CDC does not recommend that people who are healthy wear a facemask to protect themselves from COVID-19.” [That is no longer accurate](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html). Also, do you put metal utensils in your mouth? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/69 "2020-04-21T15:12:23Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > The page you are quoting also says “The CDC does not recommend that people who are healthy wear a facemask to protect themselves from COVID-19.” [That is no longer accurate](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html). Where in your link does it say that’s no longer accurate? I admit I didn’t read it super-carefully, but I didn’t see anything that says that people who are healthy should wear a facemask to protect _themselves_. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/70 "2020-04-21T15:13:13Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > The page you are quoting also says “The CDC does not recommend that people who are healthy wear a facemask to protect themselves from COVID-19.” [That is no longer accurate](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html). > > Also, do you put metal utensils in your mouth? Apples and oranges. And wearing a facemask protects others. Also, when eating, any virus load would be seriously diluted by the food/beverage before being swallowed. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184/71 "2020-04-22T01:04:53Z")
Who in USA offers buffets? Many ethnic eateries, mostly Asian in my experience but also smorgasbords - I grew up with Griswold’s in SoCal. Premium hotels for ordinary or special occasions. Often decent offerings in casinos. Breakfast buffets of varying quality in many non-premium lodgings. Some pizza parlors that I won’t recommend. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Buffet hygiene may or may not be great. But with rare exceptions, the food is mediocre and lukewarm. Cite? Okay, probably not, but I think you overgeneralize. We have found non-premium buffets in many genres providing fresh, tasty food. Your experience may differ. Here is someone’s list, [The Best All-You-Can-Eat Buffet in Every State](https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/all-you-can-eat-buffet-in-every-state/). I’ve not searched for the best in Canadian provinces or Mexican states. I will report that a Chinese buffet in Antigua Guatemala was… a bit strange for my California taste. 😉 > [@](#): > > True, the best buffets have a popular and expensive item (crab legs, Peking duck) which makes it special. Or people who cook fresh food. But these are few and far between. I previously mentioned premier hotels’ buffets, and we’ve dined well at casino buffets (far from smoke). Few and far between? We don’t stop everywhere so I can’t say. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [Horn & Hardart](https://www.thoughtco.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-automat-4152992). Lower-class folks back in the day referred to them as Horny Hard-on. But such folks stole sugar packets from tables there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-buffets-finished/852184.md?page=3)