What goes around comes around. I remember in the era of stagflation in the 1970's retailers starting reducing the size of their products while at the same time jacking up the price. For food products, it meant, for example, the end of the one pound coffee container. Flash forward to now, and due to relaxed government standards for dairy products, , there's no such thing as a quart or half gallon of ice cream. Check the packages. They look the same but inside they contain less product.

For those who still like to go out for some (relatively) cheap food, prepare for some acid reflux next time you visit Hometown Buffet. They have raised the price in my adopted home town of Burbank to $9.95 , and it's no longer all you can eat for that price. Now if you want to wash down a slab of baby-backs or a giant serving of mashed potatoes with a drink, you have to pay an extra $1.99 for their "Beverage Bar". And since they've added Icees to their soda servings. Any rug rat who sees them will beg you for a trip to the "Beverage Bar". Sure, kids' meals are cheaper, but this puts a significant dent into you Buffet budget.

Wait! There's more: They've reduced the SIZE of the bowls and plates, apparently on the assumption you'll eat FEWER mashed potatoes. Can a $2 dessert bar be far behind?

Now, I'm not boycotting HB, but am sure to visit less often (My Doctor will like this!) because the quieter sit-down restaurants have been LOWERING their prices and going with more daily specials. And I haven't spotted any smaller plates........yet.

You can always skip dinner and go straight to the movie. But don't try to sneak your dinner INTO the movie. The largest chain in the country, AMC, recently started enforcing a strict "no outside food" policy. Does it work? Check out this amusing account from walletpop.com:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/12/18/snack-smuggler-tests-amc-theaters-no-food-policy/

Problem is, many of the newer theaters are close to the mall's food court. Some are INSIDE the food court. My local AMC is steps away from one of those boutique yogurt stores, and within spitting distance of a candy shop. And we all know the stuff inside the the movie megaplex usually sucks and costs a fortune. Hey, I always buy the popcorn and a soda. Will they go broke if I go rogue and sneak in a Snickers?

Guess I'll be visiting RedBox and buying some Red Vines at Rite Aid tonight. For Dessert? A nice 24 oz carton of ice cream.