A decade ago the city’s dining landscape was littered with all-you-can-eat places. Usually couched as buffets, they allowed patrons to line up and pass by a dozen or more heated tubs, piling their plates with food to teetering heights, after which they’d seek out a table and begin shoveling. Then they’d do the same thing again.
But COVID threw a wrench into the whole AYCE system. Buffets, even with sneeze guards, were deemed unsanitary. South Asian restaurants especially suffered, and famous establishments like Jackson Diner, Utsav, and Haandi dismantled their luscious displays of food forever.
But a few buffets remain. They’ve been joined by Korean barbecues that offer unlimited servings of dozens of cook-it-yourself meats; Chinese hot pots that renew your supply of dippable ingredients; and Brazilian churrascarias, where you grab gauchos as they pass with skewers of charcoal-grilled meats until you can eat no more. Here is a choice selection of AYCE restaurants.
Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.
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