All you can eat

Studies have shown that if a person (particularly an overweight person) is faced with a lot of choices in food, he or she will eat more than if there are only a few choices. I don't know how much grant money it took to reach this conclusion, but the cash probably went to pay the food bill at an all you can eat restaurant in Myrtle Beach, SC.

I heard today that the grand strand has something like 1700 restaurants. I believe it. Driving down Ocean Blvd, there is mile after mile of cuter and catchier restaurants, all as big as warehouses and all offering all you can eat SOMETHING. There were three all you can eat seafood places where we ate on Sunday night, with the comparatively moderate McDonald's in between. The place we ate offered 120 different items on its buffet. Seafood was the star --- mostly fried, but also broiled, blackened, and blanched salmon, tuna, mahi-mahi, and shrimp. For those who don't like seafood, especially the kind that has been sitting under a warming light for hours, there was roast beef, manicotti, and chicken. And lots of sides: mac&cheese casserole, squash casserole, potato casserole... endless. I haven't gotten to the desserts...

Then there was Rioz, a Brazilian all you can eat meat restaurant. First they sent you around a salad/seafood bar that presented enough for two or three meals. Just getting "a taste" of about half the stuff filled my plate. Fortunately or unfortunately, no one had explained the rules to me. Once you sat down, you had a little circle thing (that I thought was a coaster) that was red on one side and green on the other. Green means... you guessed it... "GO". And "GO" meant that cute little Brazilian (or something) fellows would bring meat to your table. (Not that kind of meat.) I missed out on a lot while I ate sushi and salad (which was really good --- two rainbows and lots of protein). Then I figured out the green/red thing and tried a lamb chop. By the time I figured it out, it was winding down, but I got some sort of rump roast and passed on chicken wings. Dessert was dark and white chocolate mousse cake.

The whole atmosphere was massive --- dark with flashing lights, loud Brazilian music, packed tables. I kept hearing the masses battering the doors in. In fact, that night I had a weird dream involving a bloody revolution of zombies. OK, it was probably the lamb chop & mousse.

I have no doubt that people eat more when offered a variety of food. You want to try everything, and "a taste" is never enough. Couple that with the price of these restaurants, and you have people who want to get their monies worth eating a taste of everything.

Do I get the grant?