Mastering Fogo de Chao and other buffets

I am not what you would call a waifish person. I’ve got some fat that I’ve long-given up on losing and come to accept as a job hazard of writing about food. But I’m also not what the National Institute of Health would call obese. Instead, I am normal if a little pleasantly plump.

As a normal-sized person, I feel I’m losing out to the Mark Manginos of the world when it comes to buffets. I am not alone. Surveying the crowd at Fogo de Chao last week, I saw many thin people flip the red card of surrender (green means keep giving me meat, red means stop) long before their companions were finished.

If only they had come across “Mastering the art of all-you-can-eat buffet.” According to the author, it’s not the size of the stomach at the fight, but the fight in the stomach And make no mistake, it is a fight between common sense and that desire for a fourth plate.

Among the post’s six tips are some that seem counter-intuitive, such as avoiding dessert. Want a soda? Forget it. “Sugary drinks just fill

you up with carbs and cost extra. If you can postpone your Pepsi, then

you’ll save belly space for the hot goods.”