They Don't Make It Like They Used To (Or At All)

The loss of a common thing disappearing

I write a lot about buffets here. Partly because I just love eating at them and I like to write about things I find interesting, but also because the pandemic-era decline of buffets felt like one random, ordinary example of something deeper: the disappearance of things that seemed so solid and predictable, that were just there. And then one day, they’re not.

There was a buffet I used to go to often in grad school, then about 15 minutes by car from my apartment, a couple towns over from College Park. When I first started going there, in 2015, the dinner price was $10.95 on weeknights. They used to have actual ribeye steaks (very thin-cut and obviously below supermarket-grade, but still!) on their make-your-own hibachi line. They had tuna, salmon, tilapia, and eel sushi, with these little sauce drizzles and sesame seeds on top. The food was always hot and fresh, and had actual distinct flavors. I remember feeling like it was a real value. It was surprising to me they could offer all that, at a consistently good quality, for an after-tax, after-tip total of under $15.

Since we moved to Virginia I’ve been back there a few times, mostly for old time’s sake, and it’s just not the same. No ribeyes, less real sushi, less flavor, less freshness. Disposable plastic forks. Now it’s $16.95, I think, and you tip a higher percentage on a larger bill. Suddenly it’s not a deal anymore. But it isn’t even the same experience. It’s basically $20 for not enough quality for the quantity.

In fact, I haven’t really had a Chinese buffet meal since the end of the pandemic that was as good as the ones I typically remember from before. I keep thinking about how weird it feels to just have this break point, where certain things just didn’t come back quite the same.

A friend and I were chatting about her favorite ice cream flavor, which apparently is only stocked by one supermarket chain. It’s a curious thing. That’s a specific recipe, owned by one company, and if the company decides to pull it because it doesn’t get enough orders, it may very well just never exist again. There’s nothing you can do, as a consumer, to get back that little thing that might mean a lot to you.