Buffets are great when you're hungry and are in the mood for a little bit of everything, but you have to make sure you eat at a good, sanitary buffet. After all, the customers are all touching the same tongs, and no one really knows how long some of the food has been sitting out. However, there are some ways to tell what kind of buffet you're at. From the extremely necessary sneeze guards to the number of employees you see walking around, let's take a look at some signs which will help you tell if you're at a bad buffet.
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00:00Buffets are a staple of American cuisine.
00:03Call it a holdover from our American Revolution days and desire for independence, or chalk
00:08it up to the nostalgia of feeling like we're in school again.
00:11Americans love serving themselves food from tables filled with every last available option.
00:16I told you, the buffet, man.
00:17Why did we do the wrong thing?
00:19The shrimp?
00:20Crab legs, shrimp, potato.
00:21But it really doesn't matter why.
00:24Americans just love us some buffets.
00:25Unless you want to go home with a stomachache, though, you gotta know how to spot an all-you-can-eat
00:29nightmare.
00:31These are the signs you're at a bad buffet.
00:33All-you-can-eat?
00:34All-you-can-eat?
00:35Mmmmm!
00:36No sneeze guards
00:37You know, folks back home, they all said when you get to Vegas, you gotta do the buffet!
00:49That annoying piece of glass is designed to protect the food from, well, you and everyone
00:54else.
00:55Ah, that smells good.
00:57Oh!
00:58The National Sanitation Foundation's guidelines for self-service food states that the maximum
01:04distance between the bottom of a sneeze guard and the counter below it should be 13 inches.
01:09If the sneeze guards are nonexistent or very small, you can bet that the food is contaminated
01:14pretty regularly.
01:15Take it outside, lady.
01:18Sneeze guards are required by law, and have been around since the late 50s, according
01:22to Smithsonian Magazine.
01:24So if the buffet you're at doesn't have one, don't risk it.
01:28Tainted tongs
01:29Buffet utensils can be pretty gross.
01:32Everyone touches all the same tongs and spoons.
01:35And don't just assume they all washed their hands before piling up their plates.
01:38Personally, I could take or leave shrimp.
01:40If I'm being honest, I think I'm a little allergic to it.
01:42But today, I am going to gorge myself out of it.
01:45Do you know why?
01:46Because you're a f-----g idiot?
01:47Sydney Ross Singer from the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease told Food
01:51Safety News that there are no explicit regulations on how often serving utensils must be changed
01:56out.
01:57This means the same tongs could be sitting in the salad for an entire day.
02:01The exception to this is when utensils are dropped on the floor.
02:04In that case, they should be replaced immediately.
02:06A buffet?
02:07Oh, if only I had my wallet with me.
02:12Um, it's free.
02:15But how many times have you seen someone wait patiently for tongs to be replaced at a buffet?
02:20Probably zero.
02:21Unless you count hands as clean utensils.
02:25M.I.A. employees
02:27It would seem logical that buffets employ fewer people than other types of restaurants.
02:31After all, how many people does it take to keep food stocked on a buffet line?
02:34I need a couple of bananas.
02:36How much are they?
02:37Well, the buffet plate is $12.50.
02:39You get peaches, plums, oranges, and banana.
02:43But not only are there cooks in the back keeping up with supply, there are also runners who
02:47then bring that food out to replace the dwindling crab legs.
02:50"...and some of this, and all of this, and...
02:54This'll do as an appetizer."
02:58If during your visit you don't see a single employee changing out their offerings, that's
03:02a red flag.
03:03It means the food is just sitting out on the buffet for, like, ever.
03:08Part-time buffet
03:09Some restaurants only offer a buffet on the weekend.
03:12And while this isn't exactly a bad thing, if a restaurant only hosts a buffet once a
03:16week, be on the lookout for recycled food.
03:19That's on the verge of spoiling.
03:21"...I guess that would be okay to eat.
03:25It's been there for months."
03:28Of course, the food could still be perfectly okay.
03:30After all, that's the idea behind leftovers.
03:32But at a restaurant, you don't know exactly how close things are to spoiling.
03:36"...I want a yogurt parfait, spare ribs, a waffle, four cookies, and an egg white omelet."
03:42Not making the grade
03:44The Food and Drug Administration publishes a food code every four years that outlines
03:48best practices for restaurants and other retail food establishments.
03:51But the code doesn't have to be followed uniformly, and sanitation regulations vary by state.
03:56"...Well, la, di, da.
04:01Paper and everything."
04:04While many states require restaurants to display their sanitation scores, this doesn't reflect
04:08violations that were discovered and then corrected.
04:11"...I want the truth!"
04:12"...You can't handle the truth!"
04:15Looking up trends and violations can tell you whether the place you're frequenting has
04:19had any issues.
04:20If your favorite buffet isn't always making the grade, it may be time to find a new one.
04:25Mystery loaf
04:27Unidentifiable foods are never a good sign, especially at a buffet.
04:32"...This doesn't look like a chicken."
04:35"...Oh, you're right.
04:37This isn't chicken.
04:38This is chicken.
04:40Want some?"
04:41Not all buffets label their offerings for the day, and sometimes it's tough to tell
04:45what's what.
04:46Is that fish or chicken?
04:48Potatoes or pasta?
04:49If you're at a buffet and can't identify the food you're looking at, abandon ship immediately.
04:55"...Go get em, tiger!"