Do they let you do this, anywhere you eat?

[Alpo]

I was reading an article this morning about someone at Olive Garden who had ordered the all you can eat pasta, and they brought a tupperware container and they ate till they were full, then ordered another bowl and put that in the Tupperware to take home.

 

The amazing thing, to me, was that not only was Olive Garden not upset, the waitress said that if the customer had asked they would have brought a to go box.

 

I have eaten many places that have an all you can eat. But it is always been all you can eat while you are there. You want some to go? That cost more money.

[Rye Miles #13621]

3 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I was reading an article this morning about someone at Olive Garden who had ordered the all you can eat pasta, and they brought a tupperware container and they ate till they were full, then ordered another bowl and put that in the Tupperware to take home.

 

The amazing thing, to me, was that not only was Olive Garden not upset, the waitress said that if the customer had asked they would have brought a to go box.

 

I have eaten many places that have an all you can eat. But it is always been all you can eat while you are there. You want some to go? That cost more money.

That's been my understanding as well. 

[Cypress Sun]

The buffet or all you can eat places that I've ever been to, that would not be permitted. Some actually have verbiage posted that state it in writing. I've heard (2nd hand) that a local Asian restaurant tried to stop a couple of guys that I know from "eating all you can eat" snow crabs. 

 

I would think that Olive Garden would not condone it. I've done electrical work for 6 local Olive Garden restaurants, the managers are as "thrifty" (read between the lines) as they can be. 

[Sedalia Dave]

I was stationed with a guy at NAS Fallon NV whose son was asked to not come back to a few of the all you can eat buffets that the casinos had.

He was on the high school football and the cross country teams, about 6' 2" and 190 lbs. Wife and I went out with them a couple times and I watched him put away enough food to feed the rest of us for a week. 

 

 

[Rip Snorter]

When I wrestled in college, our coach knew every all you can eat restaurant in the area of our road trips.  I was at my natural weight and could pig out.  Some of the other guys had to watch how much they ate or they'd pay a price to make weight the next week.  Football season, the restaurants were a little less cheerful, but in those days, it was just part of the business and you didn't turn down a bus load of guys.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Most places I've been to, or looked at the menu online, have a disclaimer that AYCE doesn't include take home.  Some have a limit on the high end or high demand items such as shrimp, crab, and lobster.

 

One local sushi & hibachi place has an all you can eat suchi but you have to eat the sides along with the sushi, and no take home.

 

ADDED: 

ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI INCLUDES MISO SOUP AND HOUSE SALAD All you can eat sushi Lunch $24.95, All you can eat Dinner Rolls plus lunch $36.95. Restaurant Policy is when ordering all you can eat sushi NO SHARING is permitted, all items (including rice) must be finished, all you can eat does NOT apply on take out orders and leftovers will not be allowed to take home.

[Pat Riot]

Today’s society is chock full of ignorant people who have never been taught manners, etiquette, morals or ethics. 

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

Olive Garden, at least around here, regularly brings a "to-go" pack of the "all you can eat pasta" at the end of your meal to take home (along with salad and breadsticks).  Just the way they do it.  Dont see that at any other "all you can eat" restaurant around here.

[Earl Brasse, SASS #3562]

Sounds like gaming the system.

If it 's all you can eat, guy eats till full, then has them bring another plate.

When it arrives takes a bite & says " I'm too full, please box it for me to go". 

The  place either can give the guy a box & make him happy or not, but make him upset. (anything from violence to bad reviews)

Either way the place is out the  cost of the food.

Some folks take advantage of others.

[Utah Bob #35998]

They still make a decent profit.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

This is just one more thing that everyone else pays a a buck or two more for to accomodate those that cheat or steal. Now if Olive Garden advertises that everyone gets a to go box to take home everyone should take advantage of it.

[G W Wade]

A young dishwasher I worked with was telling us was cut off at local Olive Garden. No more servings      GW

[Alpo]

I have noticed at these all you can eat places, that when they bring you seconds (and thirds and fourths and fifths and sixths etc) first they take forever to bring it out to you, and second it's not a full serving. I remember a place that had all you can eat fried chicken. And the original serving was four pieces. And each additional serving was one piece. And it took about 10 to 15 minutes to get that second piece out there. Well by the time you got sixth piece of chicken (the four plus your first one piece making five and then your second one piece) you're no longer hungry. That 15 or 20 minutes between food - your belly has shut down.

[Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580]

On the other hand, why would anyone who is not under duress eat at Olive Garden?

 

Eeww!! Gag me with a field mouse!

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

8 hours ago, Alpo said:

I have noticed at these all you can eat places, that when they bring you seconds (and thirds and fourths and fifths and sixths etc) first they take forever to bring it out to you, and second it's not a full serving. 

 

Get Lionel Hutz on the case!

 

 

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

And that small plate trick is an oldie:

 

 

[Pat Riot]

15 hours ago, Alpo said:

I have noticed at these all you can eat places, that when they bring you seconds (and thirds and fourths and fifths and sixths etc) first they take forever to bring it out to you, and second it's not a full serving. I remember a place that had all you can eat fried chicken. And the original serving was four pieces. And each additional serving was one piece. And it took about 10 to 15 minutes to get that second piece out there. Well by the time you got sixth piece of chicken (the four plus your first one piece making five and then your second one piece) you're no longer hungry. That 15 or 20 minutes between food - your belly has shut down.

This happened to me at a Sizzler restaurant when they had their “Steak and all you can eat shrimp” event a long time ago.
Long story real short - too early for drama.

Myself and two friends ordered that. We got our steaks and 6 shrimp. Little tiny shrimp. Grrrr… We immediately ordered more shrimp and were told “eat those first”. We did. Ordered more. They brought us each a shrimp 10 minutes later…motherf…. Ate them, ordered more, same thing. 
Called for manager. Manager was a d***! Told us to leave. We did. 
Sizzler was a very popular lunch place for all my coworkers. We let everyone at work know. We cost Sizzler some money…or should I say, Sizzler cost Sizzler some money. I would like to think we had a hand in the demise of that particular Sizzler restaurant. It closed within a year after screwing us. 
I have only set foot in one Sizzler since and only because it was for a school fund drive. 

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

21 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

This happened to me at a Sizzler restaurant when they had their “Steak and all you can eat shrimp” event a long time ago.
Long story real short - too early for drama.

Myself and two friends ordered that. We got our steaks and 6 shrimp. Little tiny shrimp. Grrrr… We immediately ordered more shrimp and were told “eat those first”. We did. Ordered more. They brought us each a shrimp 10 minutes later…motherf…. Ate them, ordered more, same thing. 
Called for manager. Manager was a d***! Told us to leave. We did. 
Sizzler was a very popular lunch place for all my coworkers. We let everyone at work know. We cost Sizzler some money…or should I say, Sizzler cost Sizzler some money. I would like to think we had a hand in the demise of that particular Sizzler restaurant. It closed within a year after screwing us. 
I have only set foot in one Sizzler since and only because it was for a school fund drive. 

Same thing happened to me- but I ate shrimp until they were losing money since they were bringing them a half a dozen 30 or 40 count at a time.  ON the other hand, the last 6 (the ones delivered by the manager that banned us) were some of the biggest butterfly shrimp I've ever seen.

 

4 guys in their early 20's that had been at a football game all day (got free tickets to see the Falcons play the 49'ers during Jerry Glanville era) are NOT the ones you want to see when you're running a buffet or AYCE special.

[Eyesa Horg]

Decades ago we had " Beefsteak Charlie's". They had AYCE baby back ribs. It included AYCD beer or sangria and the salad bar with iddy biddy shrimp. Skipped the potatoes, veg, bread, but managed to put down 30 ribs and countless shrimp a few pitchers of beer! All for $8.95. We tipped the waitress handsomely as she did a great job. As she would bring beer, we'd order more ribs, then vice versa and repeat. The good old days!

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

When I was a teenager and Sizzler advertised it as "all you can eat steak and shrimp", when the waitress came around asking if we needed anything else, I jokingly asked for another steak.  She said sure and brought me another steak.  It really was all you can eat steak and shrimp.  Nevermind the shrimp, I wanted more steak!  It was like that for a year or so and we went back a few times.  Then Sizzler changed it to "steak and all you can eat shrimp" and the meat parade was over... 

 

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

It was in the early 90s, there was a week plus event primarily for ultramarathon bicyclists in Texas hill country near Frederick. Each day had one or more bike rides planned, 100 miles or more.  Folks were free to do more or less as they wished. In the evening we’d hit a place for a group dinner. If it was all you can eat, so much the better as long as they were carbs. I don’t recall anyone doing doggy bags though.

 

they seemed to have an over abundance of deer, I counter 35 dead deer in a 110 mile stretch.  The did not smell bad like the deer east of Grand Junction on I70 in July.

[Tom Bullweed]

On 12/29/2022 at 11:50 AM, Cypress Sun said:

The buffet or all you can eat places that I've ever been to, that would not be permitted. Some actually have verbiage posted that state it in writing. I've heard (2nd hand) that a local Asian restaurant tried to stop a couple of guys that I know from "eating all you can eat" snow crabs. 

 

I would think that Olive Garden would not condone it. I've done electrical work for 6 local Olive Garden restaurants, the managers are as "thrifty" (read between the lines) as they can be. 

about 15 years ago, my wife and I pulled up to an Asian buffet.  The local police had been called by the owner who complained that a fellow was eating all of the crab legs.  It has happened at least once.