In defense of buffets and Senor Juan en Oaxaca

There are two stereotypes surrounding buffets, especially Golden Corral. The perception is old folks crowd these places for lunch. Alas, it is true. I went there today, and aside from the people that worked there, I was the second youngest person there.......Shelisa was the youngest. Sterotypes are often founded in reality.
The second sterotype is that buffets have lousy food, but the virtues are its being cheap and plentiful. While the offerings are Golden Corral are simple (and their Caesar salad scares the living S**T out of me), the food is tasty. The variety is on par with restaurants. The thing about buffets is they can be a dog's breakfast of styles. They don't have to be a particular ethnicity or style. Even the Chinese Gourmet does this. Perhaps 1/3 of the fare is actually Chinese.
What these buffets do is find a particular item other places serve. Something that draws people to a particular restaurant i.e. the biscuits at Red Lobster, and serves them up.
So let's examine my food today. Hush puppies. Nothing like putting some "south in your mouth". I am not aware of anyone else that makes them. Cheese pizza. It was OK, but I just wanted a small slice. Potato casserole. Restaurants call them 'au gratin'. Golden Corral's were good. The last three offerings I had from 'gourmet' sources were underbaked, bland, and too salty in that order. Dinner roll. Perfectly done, fresh and warm, yummy honey butter. Clam chowder. Good, not great. The aforementioned biscuits, not quite as good as Red Lobster but pretty good still. Asparagus. Steamed spears that we just a bit overdone. Still pretty good. Chocolate covered bananas. Better than Disneyland since they were ready to eat and not frozen solid AND I didn't have to listen to "It's a small, small world".
The best thing I have ever eaten is a fresh, perectly ripe peach. The only thing that gets close is perectly ripe pineapple. The best 'dish' I have ever eaten is a pasta dish called "Stallone's favorite" at the Spice Market in Vegas. Yup.......Buffett food!



While eating, I found myself lost in thought. What would happen if yours truly decided to emigrate to Mexico. I would probably move to the Oaxaca region. It is more mountainous like home, but more importantly it is the culinary heart of the country. I thought to myself how things would play out for me there. I speak a little Spanish, and I would obviously try to learn is as quick as possible. Still, when I see other Americans, I would likely speak in animated English to them. I doubt anybody would say to me, "We speak Spanish here......LEARN IT!!". I have always found Mexicans to be hospitable. I suspect they would be very patient with me while I learned the language, their customs and mores, and adapted to their culture. I suspect that even though I am a large and pale gringo, after a few years the people would proclaim, "he is one of us now". Of course, that is assuming I either hide or stop being a vegetarian. That is one thing I don't think they would accept.

It pains me to defend Bush, but I find myself doing it progressively more as I digest his presidency. We need a comprehensive and humane policy towards immigrants from Mexico. It's just those damn Hondurans we gotta watch out for! (Just kidding about the Hondurans). There is much talk about the new law in Arizona. As distasteful and wrong as it sounds to me, we have to admit they have a HUGE problem. The federal government has failed to do anything on a national level, so they felt compelled to act. So I will learn more as I am able. I will observe to see what happens. I will pray that it will generate action on a federal level.
The drug trade, and the money and violence that are it's companions, are the biggest problem as I see it. People coming up here to work, and send their kids to school is decidely not the problem. The drug trade remains divisive and complex. It is being tied in with the immigration issue and attempts are being made to make them the same thing. They are not.