Meat-eating duo booted from buffet

SALT LAKE CITY – A couple on the Atkins Diet have a beef with a local restaurant after being booted from the buffet for eating too much meat.

Isabelle Leota (29) and her husband Sui Amaama (26), both on the no-carb diet, were dining at a Chuck-A-Rama in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville when the manager cut them off because they’d eaten too much roast beef. “It’s so embarrassing actually,” said Leota.”We went in to have dinner, we were under the impression Chuck-A-Rama was an all you can eat establishment.”Not so, said Jack Johanson, the restaurant chain’s district manager.”We’ve never claimed to be an all-you-can-eat establishment,” said Johanson.”Our understanding is a buffet is just a style of eating.”The general manager was carving the meat, and became concerned about having enough for other patrons, Johanson said.So when Amaama went up for his 12th slice, the manager asked Amaama to stop.Offended by the request, the couple argued with the manager, then asked for a refund.The manager refused, and when the couple refused to leave, he called police.”I really feel like we were discriminated against, I feel like we were treated unfairly,” said Leota.The restaurant’s roast beef is cooked overnight and takes between 12 and 14 hours to cook, Johanson said.Depending on the location, a Chuck-A-Rama may have only between one and five roasts each day.But Johanson said the manager offered plenty of other buffet items for the couple to choose from.The couple are finishing their second week of the Atkins Diet, which requires taking in little to no carbohydrates, and they eat at Chuck-A-Rama’s US$8,99 (about N$55) buffet at least twice a week because of its convenience.- Nampa-AP”It’s so embarrassing actually,” said Leota.”We went in to have dinner, we were under the impression Chuck-A-Rama was an all you can eat establishment.”Not so, said Jack Johanson, the restaurant chain’s district manager.”We’ve never claimed to be an all-you-can-eat establishment,” said Johanson.”Our understanding is a buffet is just a style of eating.”The general manager was carving the meat, and became concerned about having enough for other patrons, Johanson said.So when Amaama went up for his 12th slice, the manager asked Amaama to stop.Offended by the request, the couple argued with the manager, then asked for a refund.The manager refused, and when the couple refused to leave, he called police.”I really feel like we were discriminated against, I feel like we were treated unfairly,” said Leota.The restaurant’s roast beef is cooked overnight and takes between 12 and 14 hours to cook, Johanson said.Depending on the location, a Chuck-A-Rama may have only between one and five roasts each day.But Johanson said the manager offered plenty of other buffet items for the couple to choose from.The couple are finishing their second week of the Atkins Diet, which requires taking in little to no carbohydrates, and they eat at Chuck-A-Rama’s US$8,99 (about N$55) buffet at least twice a week because of its convenience.- Nampa-AP