८ मार्च, २०१९

"There’s even a genre of YouTube videos devoted to documenting hungry eaters picking clean a new crab-leg serving, metal tongs battling one another for every last leg."

"'Mostly the customers argue [over] the crab legs because when the crab legs come out people just rush and take them,' a buffet manager recently told the New York Post. 'If we have a few guests when they come out, after maybe one or two minutes [the crab legs are] gone.' But the Hobbesian scramble — blink and those crab legs are kicked — has recently spiraled into flying fists, general mayhem, and 911 calls. Remarkably, twice within the same 48 hour stretch last month buffet lines were the scenes of brawls over crab legs. The incidents were separated by nearly 1,000 miles.... Buffets are unique American common grounds, pulling together people from diverse backgrounds and stations of life. They share that particular feature with Waffle Houses, the all-night comfort food franchise. And like Waffle House, buffets can be the scene of wild antics...."

From "Crab legs sparked a brawl at a buffet. A day later and hundreds of miles away, it happened again" at The Washington Post, which provides a link to the NY Post article, "Massive brawl erupts over crab legs at Chinese buffet in Queens." The NY Post story has a racial angle — the racial slur "privileged white bitch" was allegedly deployed. WaPo mutes the racial discord with oblique terms like "diverse backgrounds and stations of life."

७२ टिप्पण्या:

Darrell म्हणाले...

You don't find fistfights over Banquet Pot Pies.

richlb म्हणाले...

I've seen it happen in the DC suburbs. The crab legs are the premium item on the buffet, and understandably the restaurants are sparing about cooking and serving them as they are probably their costliest item, too. But get rid of them and business will drop.

Thankfully I don't have a taste for snow crab legs. Now steamed blue crabs with Old Bay? That's worth fighting for.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Caligula म्हणाले...

In my buffet restaurant, the costly items (such as those crab legs) would be obtainable only from a claw machine. And you'd have to pay at least a little something each time you made the attempt.

Of course, most of us understand that "all you can eat crab legs" means you get exactly hree of them, and, "that's all you can eat."

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil म्हणाले...

Crab meat is delicious, but eating crab legs entails too much work for too little meat.

A few years ago, I cooked crabs at home and made the mistake of tossing the shells in the kitchen trash bin. The next morning when I got up and went into the kitchen, I nearly vomited. It smelled like there was a corpse under the sink.

mockturtle म्हणाले...

Hate buffet restaurants. Yechh. They seem uncivilized, somehow.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

A crab walks into a bar and the bartender says, "Sorry, I can't serve you if you're already so drunk you're walking sideways."

alanc709 म्हणाले...

Maybe they should do showings of "Attack of the Crab Monsters" during dinner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RA12RHnYIA

Nonapod म्हणाले...

Fortunately I find most seafood unappetizing, but I especially dislike crustaceans. I'll eat certain fish and calamari if its heavily battered, but sea bugs are gross.

MikeR म्हणाले...

This is why they don't serve crab legs at a kiddush in my synagogue.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

I just thought up two more awful jokes...

What did the Romans call the room where they played with their children?
The Upsidaisium.

Jake म्हणाले...

The Old Testament warned of this:

"Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be detestable to you."

Leviticus 11:12

Levi Starks म्हणाले...

You call that a crab leg?
I don’t have time to waste picking the minuscule amount of meat out of a typical buffet crab leg.
In the other hand, the frog legs that have in recent years become a more frequent item are quite good.
Unfortunately theses days I really can’t eat all I can eat, so we usually only eat Chinese buffet on Christmas Eve.

Levi Starks म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
buwaya म्हणाले...

Cultural norms apply.
Cantonese will loudly argue with each other (in Cantonese) over such points as who gets the crab legs.
Filipinos wont, it is embarassing to make such a scene.

Jess म्हणाले...

The true nature of some people is exposed at an "all you can eat" buffet. Sharing, and polite behavior, are tossed to the wind for another serving.

Seeing Red म्हणाले...

Leviticus didn’t have cocktail sauce or remoulade.

Linda म्हणाले...

I hate buffets - we don't eat out very often, but when we do, I want my food made for me . . . not shared with everyone. I don't remember the last time I went to a buffet. Just not my thing.

This is an American "thing" that exemplifies our love of excessive food! All you can eat - go back for refills - eat, eat, eat! Many of the people that often go to buffets, shouldn't!

LordSomber म्हणाले...

The comparison to Waffle House is a real stretch.
The only reason there are "wild antics" there is because it's open 24 hours and there is a bar nearby.

buwaya म्हणाले...

Buffets are very popular around the world, certainly in Asia.
Its not an American thing now, if it ever was, and the various stories of its origins do not indicate an American innovation.

etbass म्हणाले...

Costco is a great place to get frozen crab legs.

William म्हणाले...

I've seen some breakfast buffets that were okay, but nothing more. All other buffets are something less than okay. If you spring for the extra two dollars,, you can have a better meal at McDonald's. The tragedy of the commons.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

In the Upper Midwest, the smorgasbords are not diverse at all. The PoC are kept in the buffet drawers.

Boxty म्हणाले...

I went to the NY Post article expecting to see a bunch of Asians behaving badly at a restaurant. What happened next surprised me.

NCMoss म्हणाले...

Be on the lookout for political speeches ending with "Yes, there actually is a free lunch; AND it includes crab legs".

AllenS म्हणाले...

From the article --

“I said ‘Listen, he’s 10-years-old, he’s going to grab maybe six or seven and we’re leaving. We’re gonna’ keep it moving.’ And she turns around and she goes ‘Privileged white bitch’ and that’s when everybody came over and started screaming,” said Christine, who is white.

Sound like a racial attack against a white woman.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

LordSomber said...

The comparison to Waffle House is a real stretch.

It's pure elitist NYT snobbery.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

You might as well eat cocktail sauce on breadsticks and save your money.

the mistake of tossing the shells in the kitchen trash bin.
My dad did that with a turkey carcass, into a paper bag liner, then lifted it out 2 days later onto half the floor. I had to flee.

John henry म्हणाले...

Back in the day, my roomate Fast Eddie Finan and I once went to the Acey-Deucy club on "All you can eat chicken night" with the express intention of eating all the chicken we could.

By plate #5 (each) the club manager, a buddy of ours, came out and tried to talk us out of eating more.

We got up to 10 plates each before we felt that we had eaten all we could eat.

Sandy was pissed at us and it was a long while before he ran another "all you can eat" anything.

John Henry

Wince म्हणाले...

Buffets demonstrate not only the "tragedy of the commons" but also the tragedy of the commoners.

Rick म्हणाले...

WaPo mutes the racial discord with oblique terms like "diverse backgrounds and stations of life."

Is that the kind of statement WAPO would mute if the racial "discord" [actually racism] were generated by someone not presumed to be a political ally?

RK म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
RK म्हणाले...

This problem can be solved by serving canned crab meat in a bowl.

Jaq म्हणाले...

I am not certain that "all" stations of life show up at all you can stand buffets.

Not Sure म्हणाले...

The Type 2 Diabetes Games

Jaq म्हणाले...

If there is not a guy carving meat or fowl for you, a carvery the Brits call it, and nobody there to grill fresh fish for you if you don't want what's on offer, salmon or snapper, and no waitstaff to whisk away the empty dishes and keep the water glasses full, is it really a buffet? Or is it more like a compartmentalized trough?

JAORE म्हणाले...

" the racial slur "privileged white bitch" was allegedly deployed. WaPo mutes the racial discord with oblique terms..."

Of course they did. Racial Alley is a one way street.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

Did they claw each other's eyes out?

Francisco D म्हणाले...

I don't get the fondness for crab legs. They are pretty bland unless very fresh.

I suspect people like them on a buffet because they know that they are an expensive protein.

As a big seafood fan and cook, I only used crabmeat as flavoring for my fish chowder.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

Having crabs isn't all fun and games.

mockturtle म्हणाले...

Aunty Trump muses: Or is it more like a compartmentalized trough?

Exactly. And that's the way I see pot luck dinners, as well. Pigs at the trough, piling up their plates as if they haven't eaten in a month.

n.n म्हणाले...

Diversity breeds adversity. So do, apparently, crabs in a closed space.

Jack Klompus म्हणाले...

I like the WaPo comments that begin "Given the current occupant of the White House..." or "In this age of Trump..."

Howard म्हणाले...

Sounds like Black Friday on tickle me Elmo day

tcrosse म्हणाले...

A waiter at the buffet in one of the off-strip hotels here in Vegas told me that they have regulars who come in about 10:00 AM, then have to be chased out at 4:00 PM when the price goes up.

mccullough म्हणाले...

The Hunger Games. Warren Buffett should host one.

Jack Klompus म्हणाले...

The winner of this brawl should face down the Chuck E Cheese melee champ in a submission match.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

"Massive brawl erupts over crab legs at Chinese buffet in Queens." The NY Post story has a racial angle — the racial slur "privileged white bitch" was allegedly deployed. WaPo mutes the racial discord with oblique terms like "diverse backgrounds and stations of life."

Diversity!

I'm surprised the WaPo didn't find a way to insert Trump as a causal factor into this brouhaha....

Seeing Red म्हणाले...

Via Insty:

...Resulting government expenditures included $4.6 million on lobster tail and crab; $673,471 on golf carts; $1.7 million on pianos, tubas, and trombones; $9.8 million on workout and recreation equipment; and $7.7 million iPhones and iPads.

A Wexford Leather club chair cost taxpayers $9,241. The government spent $293,245 on rib eye, top sirloin, and flank steak....

J. Farmer म्हणाले...

Blacks wilding out in an eating establishment? I never heard of such a thing.

wildswan म्हणाले...

I was in Russia with a group of prolifers not too long after the wall fell. Our restaurant was in a hotel filled with "blacks" as they called the Georgians, a very nice (to us) bunch. The lentil soup looked like a bowl of germs; the juice was watered down and sugared and so on. The best item on the menu was the dessert, an excellent cinnamon-flavored bun. We went back for more and the cashier told us we couldn't have more, we'd had our two. We said "but we'll pay." Wrong. Our capitalistic, American, blood of the workers drinking nature had oozed out and was on display, she explained with other characterizations shouted for the room to hear. No tragedy of the commons there; and also we retired without throwing things. But we did laugh and, you know, I think that did hurt the people around us.

Henry म्हणाले...

Weirdly, there's nothing at all about Waffle House in the actual story.

The reporter may just as well have written "White House" for all the pertinence of that line.

I imagine a first draft like this:

Buffets are unique American common grounds, pulling together people from diverse backgrounds and stations of life. They share that particular feature with the White House, the all-night comfort food destination. And like the White House, buffets can be the scene of wild antics...."

And some clueless editor was like "did you mean Waffle House?"

What else shares "that particular feature" that begins with W?

Buffets are unique American common grounds, pulling together people from diverse backgrounds and stations of life. They share that particular feature with Wisconsin, the all-white cheese producing state. And like Wisconsin, buffets can be the scene of wild antics...."

Seeing Red म्हणाले...

Wal-Mart?

Quaestor म्हणाले...

Nonapod wrote: I'll eat certain fish and calamari if it's heavily battered...

Cannibal!

Henry म्हणाले...

Wal-Mart works.

Walt Disney World.

white water rafting.

Churchy LaFemme: म्हणाले...

I'm with Joe Martin.

Krumhorn म्हणाले...

I couldn’t help but notice that it was a bunch of mutts acting out. You see the same thing on Live PD.

- Krumhorn

BudBrown म्हणाले...

Do kids start liking crab legs at 10? I use to take crab legs to a friends and a good thing was his 2 kids didn't like em. Must be an evolutionary thing that most kids don't like the expensive food til they get older.

Curious George म्हणाले...

Why the shade for Waffle House?

Inga...Allie Oop म्हणाले...

My grandson started liking calamari at 8 years old.

buwaya म्हणाले...

This is how to eat calamares -

Calamares en su tinta

Calamares en su tinta - Youtube

Its one of my grandma's few dishes, as she was not a great cook. It was way better than her liver and onions, I have to say that much. She made it with the squid caught in our fishing village. This is a genuinely native dish of the Atlantic coast of Iberia, ubiquitous from Portugal to the Basque country. You will find it elsewhere also of course.

Jim at म्हणाले...

We generally avoid buffets ... except for one.

The Rio in Las Vegas.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

Do kids start liking crab legs at 10?
One of my female childhood friends loved bloody-rare roast beef at 7 or 8. Her father made her stop after her second plate full.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

liking calamari at 8 years old.
That's one way to get out his baby teeth.

Rabel म्हणाले...

A fondness for crab legs is common in the African American community. I say this because almost every time I stand in line at the Kroger fish counter I'm behind an AA woman who is buying a big platter. They get them steamed while I wait.

And the fried chicken in a Chinese buffet usually sucks (compared to American style) so you're creating a flash point if there aren't enough giant bug legs to go around.

And I love buffets. It's an excuse to overeat and it strengthens your immune system.

Churchy LaFemme: म्हणाले...

Alternate Universe!

The principle is the same for crab.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

It's funny how the media reports these, er, confrontations.

1. If liberal whites are rioting (say, Antifa at UC Berkeley) -- it's free-speech protected protests.

2. If blacks are wilding in restaurants in non-political settings, it's the passive voice, the brawl just somehow spontaneously erupts sua sponte.

3. If non-liberal whites are gathering, wearing MAGA hats, it's violent, white-supremacists!

stevew म्हणाले...

"wild antics"

That seems like a soft description of the actions they describe in their examples.

Sigivald म्हणाले...

I've had crab legs from buffets.

They were uniformly overcooked and awful.

Why do this?

Batko Bulba म्हणाले...

You can go on Liveleak aily and find videos of brawls at restaurants and fast food joints.
They all seem to have a common denominator.

Scott Patton म्हणाले...

If someone doesn't know what their station in life is, hopefully the WaPo is kind enough to set them straight.

JamesB.BKK म्हणाले...

Good job, Obama voters. Your racial discord plan is coming together nicely, flowing from your race based competence free voting assessment.