No-Carb Eating Couple Booted From Buffet for Eating Too Much Beef (Chuck-A-Rama incident)

AP ^ | april 23,2004

[nuconvert]

No-Carb Eating Couple Booted From Buffet for Eating Too Much Beef

Apr 23, 2004

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A couple on a low-carb diet were kicked out of a buffet restaurant after the manager said they'd eaten too much roast beef. Sui Amaama, who along with his wife have been on the Atkins Diet for two weeks, was "It's so embarrassing actually," said Isabelle Leota, Amaama's wife. "We went in to have dinner, we were under the impression Chuck-A-Rama was an all-you-can-eat establishment."

Not so, said Jack Johanson, the restaurant chain's district manager.

"We've never claimed to be an all-you-can-eat establishment," said Johanson. "Our understanding is a buffet is just a style of eating."

The general manager who was carving the meat Tuesday became concerned about having enough for other patrons and asked Amaama to stop, Johanson said.

Offended, the couple asked for a refund. The manager refused and called police when they would not leave.

The couple said they have eaten at Chuck-A-Rama's $8.99 buffet at least twice a week, but did not plan to return.

[Army Air Corps]

I saw a guy try to eat the 72oz steak. The idiot started with bread and some beer - amateur! When eating a big-a** steak, just eat the steak and drink water or tea. Needless to say, the idiot ate only 1/4 of that chunk o' cow.

[patton]

I admit, I have abused All-you-can-eat joints.

As a young paratrooper, the army was not real regular about feeding us. We often went days in the field without food.

We would visit various mess halls at Fort Bragg, upon our return, and sign in as Daffy Duck, etc.

Then some idiot opened an all-you-can-eat joint outside of the main gate.

I think it took him three days to go bankrupt.

[lmr]

I agree completely. Everyday, as a business owner, I have to do things I don't like. I have to serve people I don't like, and all with a smile on my face. We are better off for it, word gets around quick and you have more business. We try to avoid any negative feelings altogether, and work to patch them up quickly if they exist. It's the only way to do business.

[flying Elvis]

First thing that popped into my mind was Up-Chuck o rama

[Moonmad27]

You're a real inspiration to us low-carbers! Nice to read that on a thread that started out with Mr. Sui Whatsisname.

[glock rocks]

Upchuck-A-Rama is the local nickname for the place... There are several here in the area. I'd prefer to stay home and cook a box of gopher helper to going there.

[norton]

"Heh, heh, heh... I could eat... for a week on that $5.99."

Localy it's gone up to about $14.00 for a week's worth of fairly good Chinese, can't handle eating it on premises 'cause of the herds of, well herd animals, that inflict the place.
[Chunk-o-rama is lucky it isn't known for lobster or crab - those go real fast]

Favorite was a place in El Dorado Arkansas, friday night all the shrimp you could eat...actually did see someone carried out on a door [the '60s].

[Aquamarine]

"The sign say All You Can Eat, not You Eat All!
Why you eat no vegables?!"

True story....

[glock rocks]

Don't invite this couple to your BBQ this weekend...

Perhaps I should have tonight... we only ate about half of the bbq pig, even with all the help we did have. There'll be plenty for taking to the lake tomorrow though. Hmmm, wonder if trout like pork.

[GretchenM]

Mr. Overkill's reaction brought back a horror story my son and I lived through at a restaurant called Rax some time ago. My son was somewhere around late grade school. We ordered two meals at the counter and the employee asked if we'd like to share the french fries. I said yes.

All's well till Brunhilda the Kneecap Smasher Manager appears threateningly hovering over our table and loudly, very loudly starts ranting that there is no sharing of food in her restaurant. What the? I paid for two meals and my son and I were sharing one order of french fries!

I sat in a state of stunned astonishment at her boorishness and the ridiculousness of it all. She ruined both our appetites. Imagine yelling at a woman and a child like that! The other customers began to duck and look away.

We never went back. Both my son and I told a lot of people about this. My son was horrified at the way his mom was being yelled at.

The restaurant closed down not long after. Hmmm. I wonder why.

[RightWingAtheist]

Say it with me-Beefcake!

[GeronL]

I'm so dang hungry now I'm forced to make an unexspected visit to the kitchen

Put the computer in the kitchen and have snacks handy at all times.

[GeronL]

BUMP

[AZLiberty]

They should have tried for the "Big Texan" challenge in Amarillo!

Wouldn't work with Atkins. To get it free, you have to eat the baked potato and everything else along with the steak.

[capitan_refugio]

"Waaafer thin mint, Sir?"

[zip]

ping

[supercat]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A couple on a low-carb diet were kicked out of a buffet restaurant after the manager said they'd eaten too much roast beef. Sui Amaama, who along with his wife have been on the Atkins Diet for two weeks, was asked to leave after he went up to the buffet at the Chuck-A-Rama in suburban Taylorsville for his 12th slice of roast beef.

Unfortunately, the article gives no real clue as to how much beef that is, since different places cut their meet differently. I've probably seen some less than half an ounce each and others as heavy as 3-4oz. If the slices were half an ounce each, twelve slices would not be an unreasonable amount for a person's main meal of the day. If the slices were four ounces each, twelve slices would be rather excessive.

In any case, unless there is some indication of how much of what types of food a person is expected to take, I don't think a presumption of 'all you can eat' is unreasonable, and think the manager acted poorly. What he should have done, IMHO, would have been to negotiate a reduced price for the meal, apologized for the restaurant's not having made its policy clear, and informed the couple of what policy they should expect on future visits.

Another suggestion: if, as is fairly common at such places, there was someone slicing the beef on demand, the person could have simply sliced of a smaller portion of beef for the couple each time they went up for more. Such a policy would not enforce a hard limit on the amount of beef the person could consume, but would likely reduce the amount the person would consume.

[supercat]

for $8.99 they certainly got their $$$'s worth if he was up to his 12th slice of roast beef. Couldn't have been a really high quality beef at those prices.

How big do you figure those slices were?

[supercat]

The restaurant closed down not long after. Hmmm. I wonder why.

I remember in my younger days eating at a recently-opened restaurant in Whitewater, WI called the Cream Top Tavern with my parents. We arrived at probably about 7:00pm, looked over the menu, and decided what we wanted. When the waitress came to take our order, we were told that the items we ordered wouldn't be available until 10:00pm. So we spent a few more minutes looking over the menu and then made some other selections. Those weren't available before 10:00pm either. At that point, I rather impertinently asked what exactly was available, and was told that only the items on the left-hand column of page three were available before 10:00pm (nothing in the menu indicated this).

As though that story weren't bizarre enough, this was a restaurant that was less than a block away from the University and could have had an absolutely killer lunch business, except that they couldn't get their lunch turnaround time below sixty minutes. As it was, many people who wanted a sit-down lunch instead went to Randy's, a restaurant which is a mile or so away.

From what I've been told, the owners of the Cream Top Tavern noticed that much of the lunch business was going to Randy's instead of to them, and decided the solution was not to improve their lunch turnaround time, but instead to firebomb their competition. Although Randy's was damaged and closed for awhile, it since reopened and I believe is open to this day, over 15 years later. The Cream Top Tavern, however, is long gone.

[Gigantor]

"a restaurant called Rax"

I stopped at a RAX on a drive home to Brooklyn from Chicago - they had scrambled eggs on tap.