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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Show Me the Buffet

John Pinette

Uproar Entertainment · Album · 1998 · 48 min

One man's lifelong battle against the rules of the all-you-can-eat buffet.

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John Pinette leans into exactly what audiences expected of him with his debut album, building an entire hour around the trials of being a big guy who loves a large meal. Years before cable television made culinary obsession a national pastime, Pinette was on stage detailing the militant logistics of an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. The centerpiece is his story of getting kicked out of a restaurant for overstaying his welcome, but he brings the same weary exasperation to bits about Japanese tourists at a water park and surviving Disney World in August.

Recorded in April 1998 at Zanies in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Show Me the Buffet dropped right around the time Pinette appeared as the carjacking victim in the Seinfeld series finale. Some critics wondered if focusing entirely on food and weight would limit his appeal, but Pinette found plenty of mileage in the subject. He avoids cheap gags in favor of specific storytelling, whether he is explaining the physical reality of getting stuck in an inner tube or enforcing the unspoken rules of the buffet line.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Chinese Buffet / You Go Now

    Recounts being banned or bribed to leave Chinese buffets by owners who claim the restaurant is closed or converted to a dry cleaners due to how much food he consumes

  2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Buffet

    Rhapsodizes over the Oz-themed buffet at the MGM in Las Vegas, parodying songs from The Wizard of Oz with lyrics about prime ribs, pork chops, and scampi

  3. Japanese Food / Free Willy

    Describes having all-you-can-eat shrimp by the pool and paying room service to hold up shrimp while he leaps out of the water like the whale in Free Willy

  4. Salad and Diets

    Details how dieting and eating salad gives him a nervous tic and makes him lose his cherub-like demeanor, arguing that salad does not constitute a meal

How it plays

Tone
Self-deprecating, observational, jovial, and exasperated
On stage
Cherub-like demeanor that breaks down into exasperation, featuring a robust singing voice, self-deprecation, and spot-on accents and character impressions
About
all-you-can-eat buffets, dieting and weight loss, ethnic food, obesity and physical girth, water parks

What the critics said

Reviewed as a debut release featuring Pinette making light of his love of food and ample girth across 19 tracks

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, tower.jp, music.apple.com, open.spotify.com, nytimes.com, laweekly.com, theglobeandmail.com, paulharrisonline.blogspot.com, allmusic.com.

Backstory

Former accountant turned touring stand-up comic who drew from his severe overweight condition, personal love of food, and frequent experiences with all-you-can-eat buffets

Details

Released
Taped
Zanies, Vernon Hills
Runtime
48 min
Where
Uproar Entertainment (album)
Topics

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