"All You Care to Eat"

Since when did restaurants start tooting "All You Care to Eat" instead of "ALL YOU CAN EAT!" in neon signs? When did this happen? I think it's been fairly gradual and I think it's really funny. Is this some way to combat obesity in America? Did someone really think changing the vernacular, not the meaning, of something will also change behaviors?

We went to a local supermarkets "All You Care to Eat" kids night. Mr. was out of town, kids were driving me crazy, and at some point someone had told me on Tuesday nights it was kid's night and they 1) Ate free 2) had crafts 3) supplied free nannies. Well, two out of three isn't bad.

So, I printed a flyer for the $5 All You Care to Eat event and packed Zoe & Xander and off  we went in hopes of a plethora of dining choices to satisfy some growling stomachs.

What we walked into would make Weight Watchers shudder. It looked like a cattle drive for the most robust, rotund, and shoe-tying impaired Iowans. I was thrown off at the girth of most diners, sad to say I fit right in. We got in line (if you've ever wrestled two kids into five-point harnesses and then out of them, you know you are staying at the said location and NOT moving locales) and when we got in the store, realized it was a Chinese All You Care to Eat spread.

This was a greasy mess of rice and various friend meats that were every bit as sneezed and picked over like any ol' Sizzler or Ponderosa BUFFET my parents never let me step foot in.

Vernacular shift or not, these people were shoveling in all they cared to... and could.

We didn't partake in the buffet that bestowing China's name to may cause WWIII and stepped over to the deli to do sandwiches and a side of Ambrosia Salad - really, who can resist pink marshmallow's called salad? And we watched.

Zoe asked if three men were pregnant "cause they must have BIG babies in their bellies!" and if the one couple shoveling in fried rice knew they offered silverware AND napkins, and I lost my appetite.

So, dinner and a show.