Incredible

Buffets don't have to be unhealthy experiences. Observe a recent lunch from John's Incredible Pizza (Victorville, CA), completely devoid of pizza.

Presentation isn't a strong suit in these photos. You can see it's really just a lot of vegetable mass and cottage cheese for protein. Not terribly calorie dense. No breadsticks, pasta, soup, pizza, or desserts. Not saying those things are bad. But, eating a lot of them isn't kind on the waistline.

I was good. Then I went bad. Turns out one of my weaknesses at the buffet is the soft serve frozen yogurt machine.

Dessert takes on a new meaning with me. It's like a meal unto itself, stretching on far longer than it should, like an uninvited guest who wants to tell you a hundred stories. I'm a sucker for a good story so I'll listen to one more.

And yes, those are red pepper flakes in the frozen yogurt. Simply awesome. The blend of heat, sweet, and cold is a nice kick to the head.

AYCE Chicken Done Right

KFC still operates a few locations as self-serve all you can eat restaurants. The nearest one to me is in Banning, just a few miles from Casino Morongo. You pay $9 for a meal and drink that supposedly never ends.

They have all the options on the table. Grilled and fried chicken, sides like macaroni, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and cole slaw, and desserts like banana pudding.

My visit was in October 2011, on a day after work. Unfortunately they ran out of grilled chicken as I went during meal hour. The rest of the fare was pretty good. Definitely worth the price and another visit soon.

Team Pizza Preview

Haven't written anything in awhile. Fixing that now. I've completed a few big challenges recently. Last week, I raised the Denny's pancake gauntlet set by Johnnie Excel from 41 to 43 cakes. Two nights ago, I joined "Furious" Pete at the Brand Steakhouse in Las Vegas and we ate 120 oz steaks. I became the first person to complete the 120 oz steak challenge for a second time. Yesterday, I joined "Juan More Bite" Rodriguez and we became the first and second guys to complete the 4-foot burrito challenge at Coconut's Beach Bar and Grill in Vegas. Juan holds the record at 16 minutes, and I trailed behind at 24.

All that aside, I'm excited for the future. I'm excited for pizza. This Thursday, a team of High Desert eaters is coming back together for another pizza challenge. John Rivera of Joshua Tree will be coming out to Rancho Mirage to join me for a massive 20" BBQ Cheeseburger Pizza. The challenge is hosted by Waters Cafe inside a casino.

What does it weigh? Who knows what it weighs. I've seen different notes, going anywhere from 6 lbs to over 10 lbs. We won't let those questions get us down. Our goal is to be the first team to defeat this challenge under the 30 minute limit.

It's gonna be cheesy, it's gonna be greasy, but most of all it's gonna be good.

Pancake Marathon

Chicken nuggets for two hours has been done before. Can I do the same with doughy, bready pancakes?

That's on the menu tonight. Last week, Johnnie Excel dined on 41 all-you-can-eat pancakes at Denny's and dared me to raise the bar. Let's see if I can take it to 50, which roughly equates to 9.4 lbs if you believe the menu.

Since there aren't many restaurant challenges left for me in Southern California, personal challenges and "buffet bests" look like a nice alternative.

If technology cooperates, I will live-tweet results on my Twitter feed @Freak8r tonight.

Pancakes... why does it have to be pancakes? Just kidding, this is one food I really love.