The original title of my optionality post was Smorgasbord.

It got me thinking about buffet restaurants and how absolutely terrifying they are. A plethora of completely unrelated foods, sitting out in the open for hours on end. Except in rare circumstances, they’re not busy enough to justify the loss in food cost — let alone the risk of food poisoning. How these places stay operational confounds me.

The one exception, however, is Indian food.

It works for several reasons. First, Indian buffets are rarely slow. The turnover of food is frequent, nothing sits out longer than it should.

But more importantly, with Indian food, you’re meant to eat a little bit of many different things. You should be trying six different curries, some tandoori chicken, some dahl, a biryani, some rice, naan and a few papadams. There should also be pickles, some raita and at least a couple of chutneys.

Indian food is unique in the fact that eating a wide variety of food is common in many meals. A lot of restaurants in India serve food this way.

And buffets are the perfect way to introduce Indian food to a person for the first time. The ability to sample a wide variety of one of the world’s greatest cuisines can only be done at a buffet.

So the next time someone suggests going to a random buffet for supper, shift gears and go for Indian. You won’t regret it.

I’m hungry.