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For what it's worth, the buffet being mentioned isn't in Manhattan, it's on Ozone Park, Queens. And there appears to be ample parking. It's not much different from the more urban areas of Northern NJ out there. Maybe the crab legs are just that good?
My point exactly - NOT in NYC - in Queens and Ozone Park at that as opposed to Forest Hills, Malba, Bayside or Holliswood.
And you are right, the area is not much different from several of the more urban areas of northern NJ.
First, I personally detest buffets. I really do. I like quality over quantity, and when I go to a restaurant, I want to be served, sit at a nice table with a table cloth, talk with my meal companion (s), and eat at a leisurely pace. I like a glass of wine or a cocktail and good conversation.
I am a foodie but for me it's not "all about the food". Some of it is about the food though. The food at buffets - Chinese, country, or whatever is usually cold or sub par. I am finicky and suspicious about the amount of people and their hygiene at buffets. With a few exceptions, they are just not my thing.
As a former psych-soc major, I have observed that the type of people who are drawn to "All You Can Eat" buffets are different from me. I am not being snobbish, but I have made noticed the following over the years _
Buffets attract people with HUGE appetites. They are there to EAT - and to eat A LOT. Conversation, quality of food, ambiance, and all of the peripheral parts of dining out, that make it a pleasurable for me, are unimportant. Buffet fans are usually their for one item - king crab legs and to a lesser extent, lobster and shrimp (unpeeled) seem to be the bait they seek.
And yes, it does seem to bring out the shark in them. It reminds me of feeding time at Sea World.
All of this is very unappealing to me. It's disgusting actually. I am not saying that everyone who goes to a buffet is a voracious animal. Many people go there because they need a value meal. I get that.
However even if I were on a strict budget, I'd prefer to eat out less frequently at nicer places. In NYC, I'd grab a potato knish, if I were strapped for cash. Mmmm....
Hungry people can get aggressive, and crab legs seem to fuel some sort of obsession. I am not shocked that these "eaters" crab craving dissolved into an ugly brawl. My guess is that it happens more frequently than less - this one just was reported.
As to "NYC vs New Jersey" buffets, I am originally from NYC (Manhattan) grew up on Long Island. lived in Manhattan again in my twenties, and later in Queens.
While I live in OH, I get back to NYC (Manhattan) to visit friends at least 5 times per year. I have never noticed ANY of these "all you can eat Chinese crab" buffets in Manhattan. Maybe they are there, but I don't know where. It would seem to me that these large Big Box food troughs would take up too much pricey real estate to be profitable in Manhattan.
As with many NYers, when people say "NYC" I mean Manhattan - not the outer boroughs.
There are some lovely areas of Queens, and some that are not so lovely. Same can be said of anywhere.
I have a friend who witnessed something like this in Florida.
Really, where ever these buffets exist, I think these unpleasant outbursts are a possibility.
I know so many people from NY, NJ. LI, and CT. More of my friends at college in Massachusetts were from these states than MA.
We were more alike than different.
There are so many great things to eat in Manhattan, that I can't imagine ever eating at one of those joints.
Of course income and education levels plays a huge part in what part of NYC/NJ you dwell and who you associate with.
NYC and NJ does have less well to do folks that love AYCE buffets but I tend to find NJ folks more well mannered than those in NYC.
I'm the petite person no one wants to take to a buffet and really it's an absolute waste of money if I go, but yeah I'm from NJ and go to NYC. The difference is that in NJ you can get a table rather easily whearas in NYC you might be waiting over an hour and absolutely ravenous- chew your own arm off kind of hungry- before you can get a table. In NYC people don't use their kitchens as much either. It's just not the cultural norm and could be related to the NYC water beetles.
Here's a link to a brawl in a Chinese buffet in NYC. That's one of the major differences between NJ and NYC.
I eat around NYC and NJ all the time, the biggest difference for me is that people in NJ are much more civil and polite than those in NYC.
From start to finish in NYC, you have to compete to get a parking spot or just to get a number to be seated. Then you have to worry about ordering quickly so food doesn't take too long or else you have to feed the meters or worry about your car parking fees.
When you go to buffets around NYC, it feels almost like Black Friday where people are jumping in and get in front of you. There's no lines or specific order where people are going and sometimes you see an old guy with tongs just grabbing food everywhere and piling on his plate. The Lobster/crab area is like a lion's pit. The minute some poor Chinese lady pushes a cart full of lobster/crab and loads it into the serving area it becomes a feeding frenzy.
Now over in NJ, I often hit buffets too and it's never like that. Only on weekends where some places do get packed but I never seen the kind of chaos and disorder that I've seen first hand in NYC. I was over at Flaming Grill Buffet, they must have never ending crab legs. It just kept coming and most people grab just a few and move on.
Here, it doesn't matter which ethnicity the patrons are there seem to be pretty good order and people don't just rush in and disrespect other patrons. In NYC, it's almost like a sport that people have to competitively gather food at the buffets.
This Buffet was up the block from my old house in Queens.. Needless to say I am happy with my decision to move.
i only visit a couple of buffets these days. the buffet at the borgata. my mom gets to cut the line so we go for lunch or brunch when we do a weekend there.
then there is the sushi buffet (its got hot stuff also) tokyo i think in manalapan on rt. 9. we go there a few times a year maybe. its not a zoo and nobody fights over the food. i like the ability to get a lot of different types of food in one meal (even though nothing is particularly great). its good and pretty easy for my kids who are extremely picky eaters (just get them noodles or rice).
when it comes to rodizio, we also do that a few times a year. i enjoy the experience but of course none of the meat selections are going to be so great. im not looking to maximize getting "my moneys worth" by stuff myself with steak and not eating bread/appetizers. i do have a fear that one of those waters with the meat will slip and stab someone. my mom's boyfriend is someone that likes to maximize his value so he doesnt eat anything but the meat and goes nuts. i get a kick out of eating the bread and stuff since it kind of bothers him.
i go out to eat a lot so not every meal is going to be something special. i like some of every type of meal. except diners, i never want to go to a diner.
i only visit a couple of buffets these days. the buffet at the borgata. my mom gets to cut the line so we go for lunch or brunch when we do a weekend there.
then there is the sushi buffet (its got hot stuff also) tokyo i think in manalapan on rt. 9. we go there a few times a year maybe. its not a zoo and nobody fights over the food. i like the ability to get a lot of different types of food in one meal (even though nothing is particularly great). its good and pretty easy for my kids who are extremely picky eaters (just get them noodles or rice).
when it comes to rodizio, we also do that a few times a year. i enjoy the experience but of course none of the meat selections are going to be so great. im not looking to maximize getting "my moneys worth" by stuff myself with steak and not eating bread/appetizers. i do have a fear that one of those waters with the meat will slip and stab someone. my mom's boyfriend is someone that likes to maximize his value so he doesnt eat anything but the meat and goes nuts. i get a kick out of eating the bread and stuff since it kind of bothers him.
i go out to eat a lot so not every meal is going to be something special. i like some of every type of meal. except diners, i never want to go to a diner.
Idk man. IHOP after the bar/club was one of my go to’s in my 20’s. I still enjoy going there for breakfast on occasion.
I used to drive to Atlanta once a month for work. My favorite Chinese buffet was the one on MLK Blvd. I went there for the duck. There were crab legs too, but they didn't interest me. But all the black customer had piles of crab legs on their plates. And there's a Chinese buffet I go to in Allston, MA. It's near the projects. Wisely, they don't offer crab legs at their buffet. They do have shrimp dishes and baby clams with black bean sauce though.
Idk man. IHOP after the bar/club was one of my go to’s in my 20’s. I still enjoy going there for breakfast on occasion.
funny, after i posted that i thought about how much i love IHOP and worried that it would fit into the diner classification.
im a big fan of ihop, we only go there for breakfast. when my older daughter was very young i was there almost weekly. its still an awesome place for breakfast and some of the best pancakes you can find.
i only visit a couple of buffets these days. the buffet at the borgata. my mom gets to cut the line so we go for lunch or brunch when we do a weekend there.
then there is the sushi buffet (its got hot stuff also) tokyo i think in manalapan on rt. 9. we go there a few times a year maybe. its not a zoo and nobody fights over the food. i like the ability to get a lot of different types of food in one meal (even though nothing is particularly great). its good and pretty easy for my kids who are extremely picky eaters (just get them noodles or rice).
when it comes to rodizio, we also do that a few times a year. i enjoy the experience but of course none of the meat selections are going to be so great. im not looking to maximize getting "my moneys worth" by stuff myself with steak and not eating bread/appetizers. i do have a fear that one of those waters with the meat will slip and stab someone. my mom's boyfriend is someone that likes to maximize his value so he doesnt eat anything but the meat and goes nuts. i get a kick out of eating the bread and stuff since it kind of bothers him.
i go out to eat a lot so not every meal is going to be something special. i like some of every type of meal. except diners, i never want to go to a diner.
I love going to the diner, especially for breakfast at any time of day. I have a diner near my house that's pretty good. Lentil soup on Wednesdays is a favorite. They also make a good Greek salad and a good homemade salmon burger.
Not so great if you're looking for a fancier dinner, but for some regular food, it's OK.
A friend of mine worked for a while at the Middletown Diner. She said said some people come in there EVERY NIGHT for dinner.
I love going to the diner, especially for breakfast at any time of day. I have a diner near my house that's pretty good. Lentil soup on Wednesdays is a favorite. They also make a good Greek salad and a good homemade salmon burger.
Not so great if you're looking for a fancier dinner, but for some regular food, it's OK.
A friend of mine worked for a while at the Middletown Diner. She said said some people come in there EVERY NIGHT for dinner.
i feel like diner appreciation is a generational thing. my parents loved diners and i remember we even took a longer triple a couple of times as a kid to some diners that were supposed to be the elite of diners. so basically they served the best mediocre food. they had an extensive giant menu full of lots of food that isnt that good and isnt that bad.
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