Cafeterias, Salad Bars, and Buffets

All of your closest friends and family all together at your favorite all-you-can-eat restaurant, what more could you ask for? How about some tips to take the stress out of sharing a meal at these types of restaurants? Yep, thought you'd like that.

One of the first things you can do is call ahead, find out if the lines are full service or self-serve. this way you'll know ahead of time how much help you'll need. You see, full service lines, like a cafeteria's, often have food service workers who put food on your tray. Self-service lines mean you'll need to serve the food onto your own plate or tray. Then when you get there have someone described the space to you, find out if there's a single line or multiple serving stations.

Are there drink stations? What about stairs? Where's the bathroom? Is it bar seating, tables, or booths? The more you know ahead of time, the better. If there are multiple serving stations, find out what's being served on each one, so you can decide what you're in the mood for before making your way to the first line. Keep in mind that in these types of restaurants you can typically go back as often as you like for your favorites, so just note where those favorites are.

Once you know where everything is located, you can limit the number of dishes on your tray by making several small trips. For instance, start out by just going through the salad line. When you're finished eating your salad and the server takes your plate, ask them where you'll find the next station you'd like to visit. This way you'll be breaking the room into smaller, more manageable parts.

If you have someone to take you through the line, ask them to describe the food choices in order, this way you'll know where to find what you want when you go through the line again by yourself. And remember to protect your head from bumping into the sneeze guard, that clear plexiglass partition between you and the food. To do this, raise your hand a little in front of your face, with the palm facing outward, before bending closer to look at the food. This way your hand will find the guard before your face does.

In a cafeteria style line, the sneeze guard typically goes all the way down vertically to the counter. The server passes food to you over the sneeze guard. So you wanna use two hands when grasping the plate and bringing it down to your tray. In a buffet or salad bar, the sneeze guard is usually open at the bottom and you serve yourself under it. Learn more tips about how to serve yourself at a buffet or salad bar in the handout section of this workshop. And you can also find tips for carrying a tray and your white cane, in Hadley's Fast Food Workshop.

As always, contact a learning expert if you have questions or your own tips to share. Of course, as with anything new, give yourself time, patience and practice and you'll get there.