# Do You Let Perceived Costs Dictate Which Foods You Select At A Buffet Restuarant? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 28, 2006, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042 "2006-11-28T05:25:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/1 "2006-11-28T05:25:11Z")
When dining at a buffet restaurant, do your estimates of what the foods cost the restaurant in any way influence which items you select? When I go to buffets, I’ve noticed that people sometimes specifically advise others not to load up on inexpensive foods such as dinner rolls or potatoes, but instead to target the more expensive dishes in order to get ‘your money’s worth.’ This seems illogical to me. After all, it’s not like you can shit out the sashimi afterwards and sell it on the black market. You should eat whatever you feel like eating, since it would make any sense to do otherwise. Do you specifically try to consume expensive foods at the buffet? Do you avoid cheap foods, even if you really feel like eating them?? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/2 "2006-11-28T05:31:45Z")
Not really an issue for me. I’m a meat & taters kinda guy. I try to eat an annual salad for the roughage, but otherwise I’m not really into veggies. At a regular buffet, I’ll be loading up on fried chicken, or roast beef. At a fancy buffet, like at a casino, it’s prime rib and/or seafood. It just so happens that the things I like are also on the “percieved expensive” side of the scale. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/3 "2006-11-28T05:34:00Z")
I only did this once, at one of those incredibly fancy, amazing buffets in Las Vegas. I ate the most expensive, fancy stuff I could find at that place. At your average buffet? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/4 "2006-11-28T05:37:55Z")
Nah. I eat what I feel like eating. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/5 "2006-11-28T05:39:04Z")
No, it is a suck cost and thus it would be economically unwise to factor it in. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/6 "2006-11-28T05:40:40Z")
To me, that only makes sense if you really like the expensive stuff. Otherwise, what difference does it make what the stuff WOULD have cost elsewhere? It ACTUALLY costs the same no matter what you have, so just start eating. While I’m away at school, I do, however, tend to avoid foods my parents would tell me to eat if they were here. More because I don’t like them than out of rebellion. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/7 "2006-11-28T05:53:29Z")
> [@](#): > > No, it is a suck cost and thus it would be economically unwise to factor it in. Uh, no it isn’t (assuming you mean _sunk_ cost). Since more expensive foods typically taste better and are more nourishing. I always eat only expensive items at buffets, i.e. meat, seafood, and fresh fruits. Because these are items I don’t typically enjoy as often at home, due to cost and time for preparation. Same thing with deep fried foods. I always load up on deep fried foods when eating out because not having facilities to easily deep fry shrimp/meat/Mars bars at home, I almost never get to enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/8 "2006-11-28T06:25:32Z")
Yeah, I know that this is going to sound tacky, but I go for the expensive items. I figure that I’ve got a limited food budget and naturally the frequency of cheaper foods will rise above how often I would eat those foods if cost wasn’t an issue. So, when I’m at a buffet, I go out of my way to try to pick something of everything, and doubly for the things I couldn’t typically “afford.” Tilapia and catfish are my favorite fish. But I also like lobster. I almost never eat lobster because it’s expensive, but I eat plenty of tilapia and catfish. If I’m to bring the frequency of how often I eat lobster closer to the “ideal” frequency based on my personal tastes, why shouldn’t I do so when it’s free for me? ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/9 "2006-11-28T06:47:39Z")
Tacky? Eh, well sorry for being poor. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/10 "2006-11-28T07:27:44Z")
I wouldn’t pick stuff purely because it’s expensive. But I’m on a student budget so there’s plenty of stuff that I like but don’t eat often because of the cost. If I were at a buffet and those items were offered you bet I’d load up on them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/11 "2006-11-28T07:41:40Z")
The thing I don’t understand is why people ignore the principal attraction of a buffet - the variety. You’re being offered a hundred different items and you’re going to eat three platefuls of a single item because it’s the most expensive? Me, I’m going to try to get my money’s worth by sampling as many different items as I can. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/12 "2006-11-28T07:50:52Z")
Depends where I’m at. If I’m at a casino or something I’m going to high-tail it for the Prime Rib and pack down about a pound and a half of the stuff. I _love_ Prime Rib so I’m eating what I like, but I will generally avoid the mac and cheese and rice pilaf as to not fill up prematurely. At the local Chinese buffet, it’s all about what looks good. I’ll load up on Fried Rice if I’m feeling the urge even of the crab legs and bbq ribs are higher cost items. Do I eat things in spite of my cravings because it’s a buffet? I’d say no, but the proportions probably skew towards my eating more of the pricey stuff. I mean, I am a capitalist after all! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/13 "2006-11-28T08:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=Surreal] Do you specifically try to consume expensive foods at the buffet? Do you avoid cheap foods, even if you really feel like eating them? [/QUOTE] Have you been to a buffet in Koreatown? They have so-so Chinese food, and okay sushi, and 12 different kinds of kimchi, after the traditional Korean things. I know that kimchi is just different ways of savoring cabbage, but I’ll still go for that first. So for me, it’s not so much cost, as the effort that would be required for me to produce that particular flavor at home. An obscure kimchi would be relatively cheap to make, but I’d never know how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/14 "2006-11-28T09:16:29Z")
[QUOTE=Surreal] This seems illogical to me. After all, it’s not like you can shit out the sashimi afterwards and sell it on the black market. You should eat whatever you feel like eating, since it would make any sense to do otherwise. [/QUOTE] No, but neither did I pay the price of dinner in order to fill myself up with bread and lettuce - if I wanted to do that, I’d stay at home with a loaf of bread and some lettuce leaves. ‘Expensive’ items on a buffet will be part of my reason for choosing to participate, so yes, I’ll tend to prefer them simply because _that’s why I’m there_. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/15 "2006-11-28T11:44:22Z")
No. I get the food that I think I will enjoy eating. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/16 "2006-11-28T13:20:56Z")
I eat what I’m in the mood to eat. Usually I’m in the mood to eat the pricier foods, but not always. I seldom eat mac-and-cheese at home because it is a big ol’ plate o’starch (a delicious food of the gods, but starchy none-the-less), but I might indulge at a buffet if I am on vacation. I’m also a bit of a food snob, and have all these rules about eating, like I will not eat seafood if I am in a landlocked state, which impacts my selections at a Vegas buffet. It seems very clear in my mind that one should eat lobster at a sketchy-looking roadside shack in Maine, prepared by a man who was in prison last week, and mac-and-cheese at a resort hotel in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/17 "2006-11-28T13:46:32Z")
I tend to like seafood. If I went to Vegas, you better believe that I’d pound away the seafood. Hell, there’s a little bar by my bank that does all you can eat crab legs three nights a week. I don’t drink, and I can put away some crab legs, so I went there with the intent to cause as much damage as I could. 5 plates (and about 10 pounds) later, damage was indeed done. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/18 "2006-11-28T14:02:39Z")
Not so much choosing things because they’re expensive but more so because I normally don’t have access to them and they’re tasty. Maybe that’s because they’re expensive, maybe it’s because they’re difficult to prepare. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/19 "2006-11-28T14:11:35Z")
Here’s another vote for eating what I want, regardless of percieved cost. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042/20 "2006-11-28T14:12:47Z")
Or of _perceived_ cost for that matter. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-perceived-costs-dictate-which-foods-you-select-at-a-buffet-restuarant/382042.md?page=2)