Anyone doing anything for Thanksgiving?
Usually we cook something as a family since we're not big turkey people and two people are vegetarians. This year, my sister threw out the idea of doing a hot pot, so that's what we're doing. We got some meat and veggies from the local Korean grocery store (H Mart) so we'll be doing that. I've done it before so it's not too new to me but it's an interesting experience.
Some time ago, we went to an actual hot pot restaurant and it was a great time. It might be my second favorite type of restaurant, after Brazilian steakhouses.
Which also got me thinking about buffets, in general. Over the past decade or so, I've seen fewer and fewer buffets. Growing up, there were at least 3 Chinese buffets near my house and then the usual Old Country Buffets and Indian buffets. They've all gone away away now. Some of the buffets straight up closed and the ones still going are just regular restaurants now. It felt like they were dying around 2010 or so but COVID just straight up shut the rest of them down.
The hot pot place we went to was an all-you-can eat place but the servers still brought the ingredients to you as you requested them. I guess the Brazilian steakhouses I've gone to do have a "salad" bar that is like a buffet of cheses, smoked salmon and salads and salad toppings. But the days of a New China Buffet that had 6 rows of food, a stir fry station where you picked your own ingredients, a drink fountain, and an ice cream machine are all gone.