It’s 1959. Enter a 10-year-old boy who has just discovered an entire, untouched Sara Lee cheesecake in the fridge. He peers cautiously over his shoulder before seizing his golden-delicious treasure, scurries past the utensil drawer to grab a fork on the fly and stealthily slinks into his bedroom closet.

Alone at last, he uncrinkles the flexible aluminum rim encircling the round container. He delicately lifts off the pasteboard cover, and his eyes widen as his face reflects in the shiny, cheesy surface. He dips his fork into the soft creaminess and does not stop eating until the entire cheesecake is gone. Scarfed up like a dustball in a vacuum. Whoosh!

Thus begins the lifelong fantasy of many a lad … the dream of “All-You-Can-Eat.” It is a dream that has been pursued since time immemorial. Some think it got started with the ancient Vikings, with their All-You-Can-Pillage approach to meeting the neighbors. Since they were pillaging anyway, they also ate to their heart’s content.