Until the 60s, it was a norm for most eateries to be all you can eat. It was implied that you will be eating a meal there. Essentially, you paid for the privilege of entering the establishment but beyond that, you could eat as much or as little as you wanted. You couldn't "order" something specific, you had to eat whatever was available that particular day. Of course this didn't apply to "fine dining" or fancy restaurants.I have only heard of this from my grandfather but it was quite common in his youth for him to just head into any random diner and have a meal larger than what our entire family eats right now, between him and his coworkers (he worked at a power plant). I just think it's really cool how the culture was so different back then. It wasn't about just providing food for money, but an entire meal. And it was implicit that a meal meant as much as someone could eat, not a particular portion size. These places usually operated on a razor thin margin, and a few gluttons a day could make them lose money. It was uncommon but when they were about to lose money, they usually kicked out the customer but also returned their money.No one said this but my grandpa explained that the spirit behind kicking the customer out was "sorry we couldn't feed you enough for your meal, here's your money back", which just sounds really polite and gentleman like to me.Sorry for blogposting guys just sharing something i heard, hope fucking jannies don't ban me for sharing actual food history
>>21112811The concept of all-you-can-eat dining in the United States became popular in the mid-20th century, particularly with the introduction of buffets in Las Vegas during the 1940s. Herbert "Herb" Cobb McDonald is credited with creating the Buckaroo Buffet at El Rancho Vegas in 1946, offering a variety of dishes for a fixed price to keep patrons in the casino longer. However, the notion that most eateries operated on an all-you-can-eat basis until the 1960s is not supported by historical records. During the 1950s and 1960s, typical American dining establishments, such as diners and family restaurants, primarily offered fixed menus with specific portion sizes. Meals often included dishes like fried chicken, meatloaf, and casseroles, served in standard portions. The all-you-can-eat model was more of a novelty and primarily associated with specific venues like Las Vegas casinos, rather than a widespread norm across most eateries. Therefore, while your grandfather's experiences reflect certain dining practices of that era, they were not indicative of the general restaurant culture at the time.
>>21112811was this just in small towns where everything had to be local? i see plenty of menus from that era and they have individual items listed with prices.it doesn't sound too different from a buffet though. that's always been my favorite type of restaurant to go to. a good buffet is hard to beat. the amount of waste that people are okay with by taking more than they actually want to eat is a bit of a downer though.
Black people ate all the shrimp and now we have to pay for a full meal.
You will never be a human.
