There’s nothing dignified about the all-you-can-eat deal, and that’s just fine with us. The goal—be it bottomless brunch, Indian buffet lunch, or an endless sushi dinner—is to consume enough to make it worth the money. Here are our favorite places (and some tips on how to enjoy them) when we’re feeling ambitious, and ready to be very full. Put on the stretchy pants and dig in.

Cuba Libre’s Havana Hottie puts a spin on the Bloody Mary by incorporating strawberry and ginger purees. (Via Facebook)

CUBA LIBRE: This is always kind of a mind-bending brunch experience for me. The interior, which is designed to look like a Disney-fied version of a Cuban street or courtyard, is total kitsch, and makes me slightly suspicious every time I visit that my experience is going to be a let down. Despite this, I do visit, surprisingly often in fact, and have yet to be disappointed. The food is fresh, nicely prepared, and service tends to be both speedy and attentive. This is particularly key when you consider that the best way to handle an unlimited meal is to order dishes in waves. A few tips will further enhance your experience: 1) skip the bread basket, which will appear regardless of whether you order it. The breadbasket will fill you up, diverting you from more interesting options, and thus is for suckers 2) skip the ceviches, as they require an additional $2 surcharge per item (there’s more than enough to eat without them) 3) order the Cafe Cuba Libre, which comes with steamed coconut milk and is the best coffee drink ever invented 4) make a reservation for exactly when they open at 11:30. Do not arrive later. Do not arrive without a reservation. Cuba Libre’s unlimited tapas brunch seats from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Food cost is $28.50/person, with the addition of unlimited drinks for a surcharge of $16.50/person. The entire table must participate.—Jacob Dean

Cuba Libre is located at 801 9th Street NW

SUSHI PARA: Repeat after me: all-you-can-eat sushi for $19.99. And we’re not just talking California rolls and tekka maki. This deal includes specialty rolls like the rainbow roll and straight-up sushi, as well as appetizers like miso soup, shumai, and veggie tempura. Sure, there are a few add ons that generally cost about a dollar or so extra, but the world is generally your oyster here. The only catch is that you have to pay for whatever you don’t eat. Because you can reorder whenever you’d like, though, it’s very easy to pace yourself and avoid getting charged. Is it the freshest, most inventive sushi you’ve eaten? No, but it’s about on par, quality-wise, with Whole Foods offerings. Come here on the early side, because it gets packed, and stay as long as your stomach can stand it.—Rachel Kurzius

Sushi Para is located at 4221 Connecticut Ave NW

MASA 14: There is an age-old brunch dilemma, and it is the question of whether to order something sweet or savory. Luckily, at Masa 14, you don’t have to choose—literally. The restaurant’s $39 pre fixe brunch special will net you unlimited tapas and brunch cocktails, so you can eat and drink yourself into a coma by trying everything on the menu. Expect Masa 14’s signature Asian-Latin twist on brunch dishes, like lychee bellinis, bacon fried rice with kimchi, breakfast tacos, and chilaquiles. —Alicia Mazzara

Masa 14 is located at 1825 14th Street NW

Photo by LaTur

EL CENTRO: El Centro’s bottomless brunch is not for the lighthearted. For $35 on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (two hour time limit per table), you can settle in to unlimited small plates and brunch cocktails. The key here, aside from the cuisine, is the quality of the brunch cocktails. Sure, you can find brunch standards like the mimosa and Bloody Mary. But also among the unlimited options are micheladas, spiked seasonal agua frescas, and the El Centro margarita. Paired with a lengthy menu that’s full of gold mines (hello, breakfast enchilada and mexican breakfast torta), eat and drink to your heart’s content.—before you stumble home for a well-deserved nap. —Elizabeth Traynor

El Centro is located at 1819 14th Street NW

HILL COUNTRY BARBECUE: While it’s based in New York City, Hill Country Barbeque serves up authentic and delicious Texas-style barbecue. They also serves stuff you don’t see much outside the state, like sort-of strawberry flavored Big Red soda and more varieties of Shiner beer on draught than the ordinary bock. The regular pay-by-the-pound sales can get a little pricey, so you ought to consider stuffing yourself silly on Monday nights—all you can eat brisket, chicken, pork spare ribs and a choice of sides will run the dedicated $32 (a $5 increase from their previous deal) —Andrew Wiseman, adapted from a previous list.

Hill Country Barbecue is located at 410 Seventh Street NW

YURAKU: Germantown is a bit of a drive, but for $14 all-you-can-eat sushi, Yuraku is totally worth it. Make it there between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday to Saturday and you’ll be rewarded with a diverse buffet, spanning from simple tuna or salmon nigiri all the way to whatever hockey-puck-sized special rolls the chefs feel like sending out. If sushi is not your style, there’s also tempura and other assorted Japanese dishes to boot all included. The only caveat is that you have to finish what you take; no turning your nigiri into sashimi to cram more delicious fish down your gullet. Apologies to my Maryland friends for blowing up their spot. —Hoang-Kim Vu

Yuraku is located at 19773 N Frederick Road in Germantown, Md.

Via Facebook

MASALA ART: Satisfying curries and copious carbs await seven days a week at Masala Art. The trick is, you have to point your compass in the right direction. Weekday lunch buffet, served only in Tenleytown, includes the familiar yet appetizing range of meat and vegetarian curries, plus rice, bread and dessert for $11.95. Weekend brunch is served only at the Southwest Waterfront location. The rotating menu is mostly lunch-type dishes, with something eggy most weekends. It’s $19.95, or $29.95 with bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys. —Andrea Adleman

Masala Art is located at 4441B Wisconsin Avenue NW and 1101 Fourth Street SW

WOODLANDS VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT: Woodlands’ cornucopia of all-you-can-eat Indian food is the only thing that can reliably persuade me to venture outside the District to eat. Available 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. every day, this is a buffet paradise for vegetarians. After going through dozens of delicious and fresh South Indian options (read: stuffing yourself with dosa), it’s a serious challenge to make room for dessert. You will definitely have to wait for seating during the weekend lunch buffet rush, but the tables turn over quickly and it is more than worth the wait. —Megan Miraglia

Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant is located at 8046 New Hampshire Avenue in Langley Park, Md

FARMERS FISHERS BAKERS: If your ultimate brunch dreams involve an all-you-can-eat buffet, look no further than Farmers Fishers Bakers. The expansive Georgetown restaurant is routinely mobbed on the weekend as diners load up their plates with everything from traditional brunch items to fried chicken, tacos, and sushi. There’s even an entire station devoted to dessert, along with roving trays of hot biscuits, gooey cinnamon rolls, eggs Benedict, and sushi. FFB also has some top notch cocktails, from a refreshing Pimm’s Cup to rotating punch specials. The buffet will set you back $30 for unlimited food; drinks are extra. —Alicia Mazzara

Farmers Fishers Bakers is located at 3000 K Street NW

ZENGO: Brunch at Zengo is not for the faint of heart. The Chinatown Latin-Asian restaurant offers a $39 bottomless brunch on Saturday and Sunday mornings. You can eat—and drink—one of everything if you’d like. And we have, several times over. Brunch at Zengo requires a bit of a strategy. Here’s ours: go with a big group and ask the server for one of everything. We’ve never gotten a skeptical look, just a stream of small plates directly to the table and quickly into our stomachs. Looking for a departure from traditional brunch fare? Zengo’s got you covered. The lobster-chipotle grits are a must-try, as are the bacon fried rice and the plantains. Don’t worry if your tastes are a little more traditional. The bacon and scrambled egg steamed buns are equally well done. While Bloody Marys and mimosas are on the menu, they’re anything but standard. Try a guava mimosa or a sake sangria with your meal to shake things up. —Juana Summers

Zengo is located at 781 7th Street NW

Photo by Goran Foto.

AMBAR: There’s only a handful of places in the area where you can find Balkan food at all, so here’s the perfect opportunity to eat as much of it as you can … in one sitting: unlimited small plates and regional specialties for $49 (or $59, with bottomless drinks). We recently sent a food writer in the midst of training for a marathon to scarf down the options at this well-regarded Capitol Hill spot. She came away with a newfound appreciation for leeks and some advice on how to do it up right. And you don’t have to shoehorn the meal into your schedule, since it is available seven days a week. — Rachel Sadon

Ambar is located at 523 8th Street SE

MALGUDI: Heritage India’s South Indian spice cafe in Glover Park serves all-you-can-eat dosas (Indian crepes made with lentil batter and filled with spiced potatoes plus other ingredients) on Tuesdays for $20—available for both lunch and dinner. The rotating selection trends vegan and vegetarian, with perhaps one or two meaty varieties, and they are served with chutneys and sambar, a spicy lentil soup. Dessert dosas are chocolaty and fruity. For weekend brunch, it’s your call. Instead of a buffet, you can order as much as you like off a long menu of omelets, curries, tandoori dishes, and street foods, including some of Malgudi’s South Indian items. It’s $19.95, or $29.95 with bottomless mimosas, Bloody Marys, and martinis. —Andrea Adleman

Heritage India is located at 2400 Wisconsin Avenue NW

FOGO DE CHAO: At this Brazilian steakhouse, the sizzling meat—filet mignon (sometimes bacon-wrapped), garlic sirloin, parmasean-encrusted pork, lamb chops, chicken, and so much more—comes to you courtesy of waiters in traditional ranchero outfits. The full churrasco experience for dinner here is $54.95, which includes a number of sides (fried banana, yucca, garlic mashed potatoes, and delicious cheesy bread) waiting at your table, as well as a salad bar stocked with charcutterie, cheese, and, well, lots of salad. With the exception of the popover-esque pão de queijo, ignore all these unnecessary distractions. They exist only to fill you up on something other than the fire-charred meats making their way to your salivating snout as soon as you indicate you’re ready. You’re gonna want to try everything when it comes around the first time, and then focus with laser-like intent on your favorites (you can request some cuts from the waiters). After munching for two hours or so, waiters will start ignoring your table but honestly, they’ve probably got your best interests at heart.—Rachel Kurzius

Fogo de Chão is located at 1101 Pennsylvania Ave NW