rant · moment 6 of 18

The Regular: A Woman's Ritual Buffet Routine

from Pizza Hut Buffet · #32

Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.

4 min

They spot a lone regular customer who walks straight to her usual table with tissues, water, and a plastic bag, ask for ranch dipping sauce, and Tim frames her comfort and efficiency as the peak of the buffet experience, briefly detouring into a Gorsuch Supreme Court aside.

In this bit10 moments
  • 13:44Tim questions who would visit a six-dollar all-you-can-eat pizza buffet in the middle of the day.
  • 14:06A mother brought her kids in and told one who claimed not to be hungry: you eat now, because at home you'll say you're hungry.
  • 14:27Tim recalls eating 13 to 14 slices of pizza here, plus dessert pie and breadsticks.
  • 14:40He used to come stoned and would leave once his stomach was so full he started having panic attacks.
  • 15:05When the buffet announced no dessert pies were available, customers started flipping out.
  • 15:27People would work together to spot fresh pies hitting the buffet, while slower customers settled for bastard pies like black olive and thin crust.
  • 16:14The two-hour buffet at six dollars means someone can show up and keep eating until they're dead.
  • 16:27A woman walks in who represents Tim's people—she has a bag, prescription shoes, a box of tissues, and moves straight to a table like a regular.
  • 16:50The woman demands ranch dressing immediately without looking at a menu, establishing herself as someone who knows this place.
  • 17:22Tim observes that she comes here regularly, feels comfortable and safe, and represents what people are searching for in America.
Mentioned here

Central American migrants

All 18 moments in this episode →