Buffet-opolis: The Twin Cities’ All-You-Can-Eat Boom

Photos by Caitlin Abrams feast header Feast in Woodbury is a whole lot in a tiny space, brought to life by the family behind Sushi Train and Captain Crab. Yank open the door at Feast in Woodbury to see a Disneyland sort of sight: two snaking, velvet-rope-cordoned lines, one for parties of more than four, one for smaller groups. “This is my first time here,” I said to the couple beside me in our velvet-rope cordon. “It’s Hmong paradise,” the woman explained. “Don’t worry. There’s a lot for American people. And you will eat like a king for two hours.” Truer words have rarely been uttered. I looked out over the packed dining room—it seats hundreds, both at long tables that can accommodate dozens and look like they’re set for a wedding and in more private booths for smaller parties. My son and I, some of the only non-Asian customers that day, watched as a grandma walked by slowly, with deliberate steadiness, holding a heaped-high platter of blue crab.

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