Dinner this evening took us down to Stevens Point and the Golden Corral buffet smorgasbord extravaganza. The food was admittedly quite good and there was an amazing selection, but the atmosphere was a whole other story.

The second you walk in the door you find yourself in line, waiting to pick up your tray, plates, and drinks. After looping back and forth several times, you finally accomplish this and are then escorted to a table that is, honestly, rather tight even for normal-sized people. While we were eating, another party was being seated and had to be moved because one of them couldn’t fit in the chair. Sadly, I imagine this is a common situation when you step back and look at the majority of their clientele.

As we alternated between consuming plate after plate of food, rushing to get more food, and making use of the “unlimited refills” beverage policy, more than one of us observed how the Golden Corral is a pretty accurate representation of the US: fat, crowded, and rushed.

This kind of environment makes It difficult to relax when compared to a “normal” restaurant. Everyone seems very focused on eating as much as they can in what can only be an effort to get the most out of the $9.95 entry fee. Except they’re so focused on eating they don’t take the time out to enjoy the food.

The most disturbing aspect was this nagging feeling as though we were animals being led into a feast and fattened up for some as yet undetermined finale. I’m not sure if that was their intent as far as atmosphere is concerned, but the name certainly fits.