Most of your national chains run a 25% food cost. This means that for every $10.00 they charge they have a $2.50 budget. So for nights when they do seafood it is likely to cost more than $2.50/person but other nights such as BBQ night they run a lower cost. As for the cold items (salads, etc.) being the most expensive that is just not true. A case of shitty lettuce is like $9.00 and feeds a bunch of people. On the salad bar the most expensive items will be the tomatoes and the salad dressings.
You may also notice on nights like lobster night that a lot of the lobsters have 1 claw. LOL. It is true I swear. These are lobsters that either when caught or while they are at the purveyor lost a claw and are sold at a lower price. If you are paying $3.00 for a dozen clams you need a new vendor. A 10# bag is typically under 10 bucks. As for shrimp they typically serve them in the shell and people get real sick of peeling them quite quickly so they save there too. Basically they just balance everything out. For every expensive item there is a dirt cheap item.
As for filling up on sodas. Ding, ding! You got that right. The wait staff is in trouble if you have a glass less than half full. Experienced waiters will have you a new glass before you are even half way finished. Dessert is always jello, ice cream and such. Very cheap.
Now, if you ever find a $9.99 all you can eat Jumbo Stone Crab buffet drop me a line. Those I can eat all day. Just make sure they crack those claws for me and no frozen shit!
