Top five cheap buffets

The truth hurts — the economy sucks and you can’t sit on the patio at Julian every night, nursing an expensive glass of wine and a tasty cauliflower flan with roasted garlic crostini.
On the other hand, you don’t want to cook at home every night. Or maybe any night.
Ah, but for the cost of a couple of first-rate car washes, a pair of windshield wipers, and a 25-pound bag of cat litter, you can feed a whole hungry gang at one of these all-you-can-pile-on-a-plate palaces.