History Main / BuffetBuffoonery

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheTwelveTasksOfAsterix'', one of the tasks is to finish a meal cooked by Calorofix the Belgian, a chef famous for making meals for the Titans. Obelix cleans him out (Eating - as the first course - a boar with french fries, a flock of geese, several sheep, an omelette made with eight dozen eggs, a whole school of fish, an ox, a cow and two veal ("because to separate ze family...zat would not be right!"), a huge mound of caviar (with a single piece of toast), a camel, and an elephant stuffed with olives) and is still hungry.

* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} The Twelve Tasks of Asterix]]'', one of the tasks is to finish a meal cooked by Calorofix the Belgian, a chef famous for making meals for the Titans. Obelix cleans him out (Eating - as the first course - a boar with french fries, a flock of geese, several sheep, an omelette made with eight dozen eggs, a whole school of fish, an ox, a cow and two veal ("because to separate ze family...zat would not be right!"), a huge mound of caviar (with a single piece of toast), a camel, and an elephant stuffed with olives) and is still hungry.

* DrKatz - patient Barry Sobel recounts his father's suspicious nature, extending to all-you-can-eat steak restaurants - he insists "Don't eat the breadsticks! By the time you get to the steak you're too full. That's how they get'cha!"

* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} The Twelve Tasks of Asterix]]'', one of the tasks is to finish a meal cooked by Calorofix the Belgian, a chef famous for making meals for the Titans. Obelix cleans him out and is still hungry.

* In ''ComicStrip/{{FoxTrot}}'', Peter cleans out an entire buffet, leaving nothing for his family.

'''Fillmore:''' ...to beat the house.\\

-->''"Remember, you have to eat the meat..."\\
"...to beat the house."''\\
--Fillmore's dad and WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* ''Film/TheNuttyProfessor II'' has a buffet sequence that borders on MundaneMadeAwesome. It starts with the Klump family walking up to the resteraunt in silhouette before announcing themselves ("Klump, party of six. And we are ''hungry''"). Cut to a fast-paced montage of them practically ''attacking'' the buffet line. It ends with a pan shot of the table with all of the food trays empty...except for the fully stocked salad tray.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* In Literature/{{Discworld}}, the wizards, notorious diners all, are seen to construct elaborate architectural models using celery and lettuce leaves so as to increase the depth of a bowl by up to three times its intended size.
* A ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' novel ponders the question how this would work in a world where trolls (9-foot-tall metahumans) exist. Their suggestion: Trolls are allowed, if they bring a customer along who isn't a troll.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
* A skit on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', possibly one of their "Limits of the Imagination" thriller spoofs, had a couple go to an 'All-you-can-eat' restaurant and be later told "It's not all you CARE TO eat, it's all you CAN eat!" and they look and see the other patrons are being force-fed.
* On ''Series/HillStreetBlues'', a man sat right in front of the salad bar and refused to leave until he'd 'eaten all he could.'
* [[Series/ImAlanPartridge Alan Partridge]] brings his own (oversized) plate to the buffet.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* Music/{{Fatboys}} video "All You Can Eat" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDPk6OQkpeI Case in point.]]

[[AC: NewspaperComics]]

* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' has done several of these. In one strip, Dogbert and a buffet waiter got into an elaborate argument over whether or not "all you can eat" applies to food that you take but don't eat.
-->"Technically, it's all you can eat, not all you DO eat."\\
--Dogbert

** And then there's Dilbert's dad. He went to an all-you-can-eat buffet during the Christmas shopping season of 1992, but never left, because he hadn't yet eaten 'all he could eat.' His family didn't even realize what he'd been up to until June of 1996, and all evidence suggests that he's ''still there'' today.

* In a ''{{Ziggy}}'' one-panel, a waiter is seen saying to Ziggy: "''I'' say that's all you can eat, ''that's'' who!"

[[AC: RecordedAndStandUpComedy]]
* John Pinette's stand-up routine, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdwuiyO7hOU "Chinese Buffet"]] features the third variety.
** Pinette has several other routines about buffets he visits. Among them are a ''Wizard of Oz''-themed buffet and a buffet at Disney land which, being air conditioned, doubled as a welcome respite from the heat.
* In Creator/GarryShandling's ''Alone in Vegas'', he asks the audience how many of them are losing money at the tables. Then: "Ever try to make up for it at the buffet? 'I'll eat $700 worth of food if it ''kills'' me!'"

[[AC: TabletopGames]]
* Used as a side gag in one of the "Grimtooth's Traps" books. Grimtooth commented that he'd gone to a diner for its all-you-can-eat elf special, and was told after his first plate, "You've had your elf; that's all you can eat!"

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'', it's stated that the Chinese restaurant where Pirta used to work had to discontinue its buffet due to [[BearsAreBadNews Doc]] [[BigEater eating a whole Tibetan yak's worth]] every time he went.
* The [[StarvingStudent characters]] on ''PiledHigherAndDeeper'' engage in this [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=707 to stretch their food budgets]].

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'', Fillmore and his dad strategize about which foods to eat to get the most value for their money.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet founders once Homer shows up and eats for hours. The guy in charge, Captain Macallister, has Homer thrown out, leading to a lawsuit. In the end, the owner just charges people to watch in horror as Homer eats endlessly.
-->''"Yar, 'tis not a man. 'Tis a remorseless eatin' machine!"''
** Homer does it again in the episode when he helps redecorate Moe's bar.
* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} The Twelve Tasks of Asterix]]'', one of the tasks is to finish a meal cooked by Calorofix the Belgian, a chef famous for making meals for the Titans. Obelix cleans him out and is still hungry.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', Garfield goes to the buffet, and after eating everything, the owner cries about how he's been wiped out. Garfield complains, "False advertising. You didn't have all I could eat." Then he hopes that the owner will restock before dinner time since he [Garfield] is still hungry. Later, Jon tries to take him and Odie to the buffet for dinner, but Garfield is banned and has to sneak in.
* A ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' gag features Music/BritneySpears rapidly consuming a comically large amount of food at a buffet, including standing right by the serving tables instead of sitting down, while her hapless dietitian completely fails to stop her.
* DrKatz - patient Barry Sobel recounts his father's suspicious nature, extending to all-you-can-eat steak restaurants - he insists "Don't eat the breadsticks! By the time you get to the steak you're too full. That's how they get'cha!"
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' centers around the pair trying to sneak into a buffet that they'd been banned from thanks to Dog's overeating ("Just because it says 'All you can eat' doesn't mean you're supposed to eat it ''all''!")

[[AC:Other]]

--> '''Wife:''' "Aren't you ashamed? Don't you care what the people will think about you?"
--> '''Husband:''' "Why about me? [[RefugeInAudacity I tell everyone it's for you!]]"

[[AC: RealLife]]

** And then there's Dilbert's dad. He went to an all-you-can-eat buffet years before, but never left, because he hadn't yet eaten 'all he could eat.'

* The [[StarvingStudent characters]] on ''PiledHigherAndDeeper'' engage in this [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=707 to strech their food budgets]].

* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'', it's stated that the Chinese restaurant where Pirta used to work had to discontinue its buffet due to [[BearsAreBadNews Doc]] eating a whole Tibetan yak's worth every time he went.

* In Creator/GarryShandling's ''Alone in Vegas'', he asks the audience how many of them are losing money at the tables. Then: "Ever try to make up for it at the buffet? 'I'll eat $700 worth of food if it ''kills'' me!"

* ''Film/TheNuttyProfessor II'' has a buffet sequence that borders on MundaneMadeAwesome. It starts with the Klump family walking up to the resteraunt in silhouette before announcing themselves ("Klump, party of six. And we are ''hungry''"). Cut to a fast paced montage of them practically ''attacking'' the buffet line. It ends with a pan shot of the table with all of the food trays empty...except for the fully stocked salad one.

* A ''{{Shadowrun}}'' novel ponders the question how this would work in a world where trolls (nine-feet-tall metahumans) exist. Their suggestion: Trolls are allowed, if they bring a customer along who isn't a troll.

* On ''HillStreetBlues'', a man sat right in front of the salad bar and refused to leave until he'd 'eaten all he could.'
* [[ImAlanPartridge Alan Partridge]] brings his own (oversized) plate to the buffet.

* {{Fatboys}}-"All You Can Eat" [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDPk6OQkpeI Case in point.]]

* In ''ComicStrip/TheCity'', an old man scoots his chair up to a salad bar and just eats directly from under the sneeze guard. When an employee tells him he can't do that because it's unsanitary, he rejoinds that he paid for it so he can have all he wants!
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'', Peter cleans out an entire buffet, leaving nothing left for his family.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' has done several of these. In one strip, Dogbert and a buffer waiter got into an elaborate argument over whether or not "all you can eat" applies to food that you take but don't eat.

** Another Dilbert strip featured Dilbert going out on a date with an obese woman. He tried to take her to a buffet, but she said that she's already been banned for life, presumably for eating too much.

* A ''HagarTheHorrible'' strip had Hagar carrying away the entire contents of a smorgasbord.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'': An 'all-you-can-eat' pizza place hurriedly closes its shades and flips the closed sign when it sees a group of teenaged boys approaching.

* Used as a side gag in one of the "Grimtooth's Traps" books. Grimtooth commented that he'd gone to a diner for their all-you-can-eat elf special, and was told after his first plate "you've had your elf, that's all you can eat!".

[[AC: WebComics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'' it's stated that the Chinese restaurant Pirta used to work for had to discontinue their buffet due to [[BearsAreBadNews Doc]] eating a whole Tibetan Yak's worth every time he went.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'', Fillmore and his dad strategize about which foods to eat to get the most value for money.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet flounders once Homer shows up and eats for hours. The guy in charge, Captain Macallister, has Homer thrown out, leading to a lawsuit. In the end, the owner just charges people to watch in horror as Homer eats endlessly.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', Garfield goes to the buffet, and after eating everything, the owner cries about how he's been wiped out. Garfield complains, "False advertising. You didn't have all I could eat." Then he hopes that the owner will restock before dinner time since he's still hungry. Later on, Jon tries to take him and Odie to the buffet for dinner, but Garfield is banned and has to sneak in.
* A ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' gag features Britney Spears rapidly consuming a comically large amount of food at a buffet, including standing right by the serving tables instead of sitting down, while her hapless dietician completely fails to stop her.

* There's a joke in the German-speaking parts of the internet written in the style of a newsletter for the employees, about the coming christmas party. It contains several rules, among them: Don't put your chair right next to the buffet. And we don't allow the excuse "But then Herr Meier will eat all the honeydew melon and leave nothing to me!" either.

----

* In ''TheSimpsons'', an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet flounders once Homer shows up and eats for hours. The guy in charge, Captain Macallister, has Homer thrown out, leading to a lawsuit. In the end, the owner just charges people to watch in horror as Homer eats endlessly.

* In ''[[{{Asterix}} The Twelve Tasks of Asterix]]'', one of the tasks is to finish a meal cooked by Calorofix the Belgian, a chef famous for making meals for the Titans. Obelix cleans him out and is still hungry.
* In one episode of ''GarfieldAndFriends'', Garfield goes to the buffet, and after eating everything, the owner cries about how he's been wiped out. Garfield complains, "False advertising. You didn't have all I could eat." Then he hopes that the owner will restock before dinner time since he's still hungry. Later on, Jon tries to take him and Odie to the buffet for dinner, but Garfield is banned and has to sneak in.
* A ''FamilyGuy'' gag features Britney Spears rapidly consuming a comically large amount of food at a buffet, including standing right by the serving tables instead of sitting down, while her hapless dietician completely fails to stop her.

--> Wife: "Aren't you ashamed? Don't you care what the people will think about you?"
--> Husband: "Why about me? [[RefugeInAudacity I tell everyone it's for you!]]"

[[AC: StandupComedy]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'' it's stated that the Chinese restaurant Pirta used to work for had to discontinue their buffet due to [[EverythingsWorseWithBears Doc]] eating a whole Tibetan Yak's worth every time he went.

-->"Remember, you have to eat the meat..."\\
"...to beat the house."\\
--Fillmore's dad and {{Fillmore}}

# Military-level strategizing over how to eat the most expensive food to get the most for your money, often punctuated by comments about how you have to 'beat the house' or 'avoid the decoys' of cheap items like bread.
# Rules-lawyering over what 'all you can eat' really means. The restaurant might argue, for instance, that an extra crumb is food the customer didn't eat (and is obligated to pay additional money for). Or they might refuse to let a customer leave until they've really consumed ALL they can eat.
# Customers going to extremes to eat as much as possible (fasting before going; staying in the buffet for absurd lengths of time, sitting or even standing right in front of the buffet), sometimes even eating all the food and leaving others hungry.
# The restaurant going broke because the BigEater showed up.

* A skit on ''SaturdayNightLive'', possibly one of their "Limits of the Imagination" thriller spoofs, had a couple go to an 'All-you-can-eat' restaurant and be later told "It's not all you CARE TO eat, it's all you CAN eat!" and they look and see the other patrons are being force-fed.

* In ''{{Foxtrot}}'', Peter cleans out an entire buffet, leaving nothing left for his family.
* ''{{Dilbert}}'' has done several of these. In one strip, Dogbert and a buffer waiter got into an elaborate argument over whether or not "all you can eat" applies to food that you take but don't eat.

* In ''{{Fillmore}}'', Fillmore and his dad strategize about which foods to eat to get the most value for money.

* There's a joke in the German-speaking parts of the internet written in the style of a newsletter for the employees, about the coming christmas party. It contains several rules, among them:
# Don't put your chair right next to the buffet. And we don't allow the excuse "But then Herr Meier will eat all the honeydew melon and leave nothing to me!" either.