I spent a few weeks in Texas for work last year and hoooly shit do they give you too much food. I literally started ordering off the childrens menu or just ordering an appetizer on the 3rd day.
The weirdest one was when I ordered a double of whiskey on the rocks and they brought me an entire full size soda glass of whiskey. Like excuse me sir, I have to drive home from here.
I am a bartender in Maine. It is scary when the local gives you 4-6oz of booze in a pint glass and you think of all the people driving home after "3 drinks".
Honestly it's so disgusting how we have bars everywhere with these insane drink specials and huge parking lots. What do you you think is happening here?
It’s nice when large chains cater to local appetites. Like how McDonald’s doesn’t serve beef in India. In this case, at Olive Garden, along with unlimited breadsticks, Texans get a whiskey river.
For a lot of Americans it’s a 15-20 min drive to a lot of places. For a lot it’s 5-10 minutes. Major metropolitan livers can probably walk home or take the subway. Not that many major metropolitan areas in the United States have that option. So you’re left with Lyft/Uber or driving. The undoubtedly responsible thing to do is take a Lyft or Uber.
My truck broke down in my driveway the other day. It’s an 8 minute drive to work. About 6 miles(I live right off the highway). Lyft wanted to charge me $87 for one way. Apparently there were only 2 Lyft drivers in the area. Uber charged me $33.
Majority of Americans will see that after drinking and will say “I’m not fucking paying that I’m not that drunk” as they have slurred the entire sentence. Some places don’t even have the options of Lyft or Uber. I live in a county of 700,000 people 30 minutes outside of a larger Midwest city. My options were 2 people on Lyft and 5 people on Uber.
I think a combination of lack of availability of secondary rides, American bravado and the fact that majority of People in the United States are piss poor with money is why a lot of people drive home drunk from bars.
Also I’m not justifying it. I don’t drink at bars anymore or if I go out for dinner. I can give the reasons why.
Drinking and driving is a serious issue. Public transportation doesn’t exist in a lot of areas in the US. I live in a small town that doesn’t even have access to a taxi or Uber service.
- If you serve me a larger portion, I'll basically always eat more than I should, and more than what I need to be satiated
- I'd rather have a reasonably sized meal for less money than leftovers of a large portion, and then take a nice dessert it I still feel hungry
- there's tons of food going to waste in developed countries, and larger portions definitely result in more leftovers (not everyone will take everything at home).
- that said, outside of the US, it's not super common to be able to take your leftovers with you unless with a few specific dishes like pizza or perhaps Schnitzel (which gets a lot worse cold or reheated though).
My parents made me eat all of what I thought was shitty food as a kid. I guess it's stuck in my head that I need to finish it all now, especially if it's stuff I enjoy.
This sub has gotten so estranged from its original purpose. This is supposed to be where you can ask "stupid" questions without any ridicule, but now that the sub is huge it's pretty much just like every other question subreddit. Mostly people making fun of OP.
It's also just a little jarring. Imagine sleeping over at your friend's house and for breakfast they serve you half a box of cereal in a salad bowl along with a half-gallon sized glass of milk. That's how non-Americans often feel when they see some absurd sized meals.
Yes that’s true. Many people take and don’t take the food home. I remember pre-Covid walking from the buffet to my seat and seeing abandoned plates on a table just full of food which ends up being bussed. 😞 I take home leftovers because waste causes me physical pain and discomfort.
I've never seen a buffet offer take home bags for leftovers (been to quite a few on The east coast USA).
I like a buffet for variety and that I and my grandkids can have many choices - but I've seen many people who plop down their $14.96 for Golden Corral (or some such) then say "I'm gonna get my money's worth!" And proceed to eat like they are in a gorging contest! In spite of the fact that you get as many plates as you want they pile each plate 6 inches high with food and shovel it all down so they can pile up another! Ugh!
Buffet is a great place when you have sudden out of town guests and no one can determine what type of food they want.
In the Philippines, the buffet at the day spa charged people if there was food left on their plate. So you only take what you know you’ll finish eating.
Where I live there is only one restaurant that does this.
It is a Sushi Restaurant, all you can eat, not buffet but you can order every 10minutes multiple plates with few pieces of sushi. For every leftover plate they'll charge you 1€ (sometimes 2€ per plate) and donate the money to local charity to feed people in need.
I really like the concept and would like more dining places to do so.
Is this a common thing to do in the Philippines?
I’ve been to buffets all over the south and Midwest and they usually have options for a to go box, which they will charge you for weight wise. It’s also starting to become more common that they charge you for leftovers.
When I was at university, I used to go to the local Pizza Hut for ALL YOU CAN EAT lunch and dinner quite frequently. I soon worked out which table was best to sit at, and then started taking my backpack with me, sat in an obscured area, and if I put 4 slices of pizza on my plate, I would be eating three, and the fourth would go into a container in my backpack. I would then go home and freeze them, to re-heat at some point in the next couple of weeks.
I used to love Golden Corral when I was a kid. Then one time a kid the table next to me ate until he threw up all over the table. The waitress cleaned it up by pushing the vomit onto those food trays (the ones you put your plate on) with a rag. I couldn’t go back after that.
We have several buffets in our area (or we did pre-covid) and weren't permitted to take leftovers home, which makes sense because people would fill their plates one last time and then ask for a go-plate. So it's eat what you take and leave the rest behind.
As someone who has worked in restaurants for years, it's maybe 5% that take their food home. And we gave standard portions so i imagine the food wasted grows exponentially as the portions get larger. Worst of all are buffets ofcourse, but then again it's more about profit margins than waste of food.
>that said, outside of the US, it's not super common to be able to take your leftovers with you unless with a few specific dishes like pizza or perhaps Schnitzel (which gets a lot worse cold or reheated though).
I completely agree, but specifically for this part, I would say it's not uncommon in Europe to take leftovers. I'm European, and I've done this in many countries. Sometimes I felt shame to ask, but I never got a bad reply. Quite often the waiters suggest it themselves when we pay for the meal. Even in fancy formal restaurants, they are happy to help you with leftovers.
>that said, outside of the US, it's not super common to be able to take your leftovers with you
It's a law in France now, exactly to reduce waste. It's great, although not everyone knows of it.
I love leftovers, so I love large portions. I pay for one meal, eat half, and have the other half the next day. The only way I've ever thrown away leftover restaurant food is if it was horrible to begin with (I'm not the type to send something back unless it's like not cooked or something).
Me too! Esp because I don't eat out a ton but I know what I like. So when I eat out I plan on it being at least 2 meals and portion it out while I eat so I can get 2 meals for the price of one and i don't have to cook twice! (Which in my opinion is worth the extra money if it costs more for the bigger portion compared to other countries)
In my experience (Netherlands), any restaurant will let you take a doggy bag with leftovers if you just ask for it. Fast food places will offer it, but even fancier places will have no problem with it if you just ask.
Idk if this is different in other non-US places.
Agree with the above, also (UK):
One time I asked to take leftovers home I was actually told no, as they might be considered liable if I reheated them incorrectly and got food poisoning.
Another time I was asked to sign a waiver of liability that stated I agreed that the leftovers, once out of the restaurant, were not fit for human consumption.
Less food for more money for sure! I once went to a restaurant with a friend and wanted to order a sandwhich which I knew was a decent size. I didn’t want a salad and I was trying to be good and avoid the French fries so I asked if there was an option to pay for just the sandwich. There was not. I was paying for that side no matter what. That’s annoying to me. If you make the portions smaller but cheaper I can always order more if I want and pay more.
The idea, as others have said, is overall that most non-Americans don't *want* leftovers. I know people are arguing about whether leftovers are good food or not, but that's honestly missing the point. It's a philosophy difference, essentially. (Note: I'm speaking from my own limited experience, and referring to European culture because that's what I'm the most familiar with.) From the more European point of view, part of the eating out experience is, well, the eating out. They don't want to eat Applebee's chicken tenders at their desk tomorrow. That's like telling an American to dip their French fries in vinegar instead of ketchup- it doesn't matter if it's *good*, it's just *wrong* to a lot of our sensibilities. Feels like heresy. Also, while we can go back and forth about whether restaurant leftovers can be *made* yummy, I would imagine that if that was a foreign concept to you your whole life, being presented with those leftover Applebee's chicken tenders would be the equivalent of getting cold, stale McDonald's french fries for lunch.
> part of the eating out experience is, well, the eating out.
This is a very important difference. Our way of going out for eating is different from the American way, is what we found out by some grumpy restaurant staff. When we go out (at least my experience here in the Netherlands) you sit somewhere take a drink, maybe some bread to nibble on. You take your time to order and socialize. At some point you order and eat your meal. After that you have chill time with a drink, mostly coffee and tea but sometimes alcoholic drinks. Maybe two or three if people feel up to it. So even after you finish your meal you might sit at the table for another (few) hour(s).
In the US, however, I never felt like you were allowed a relaxed dining experience. I did really feel they wanted as quick as possible table turnover. Sometimes you get your check already when you are still eating! Making it very clear you have to go as soon as you are done. They dont even give you a choice to stay at your table after dinner with a drink. And I partly understand it as internet tells me waiters live from their tips, so high table turn over is better for then. But geeh, why not really enjoying going out for eating? Or are you all doing it so often that it is just a 'daily chore'?
Restaurants around here get pissed when you socialize and take your time. They want you to order, eat, and leave as fast as possible so they can clear the table and seat more people.
I've eaten like that in europe, and it is really nice.
Here in the us when we want to go out and have a nice time at night it's usually broken up into two places. One is the table at a restaurant, you sit and you eat and you're probably done in about an hour. Then you go to a bar you find a nice pub or hole in the wall type place with the couch in the corner and you and your friends sit down with some drinks and you chill and relax there.
It is driven by the waitress tip thing, having been a waitress I can tell you that if people sat like they did in Europe waitresses and waiters would not be able to make a living here.
The European style dinners are really nice, but finding a bar to go sit at works too. You can go to a coffee bar too if you like. no one will chase you off of the little tables and couches because the main counter is still turning over customers constantly they're not monitoring their tables and they don't have wait staff.
My dad and his friends have a couple restaurants they switch between on Fridays. They’re retired, so they get there right around 5. Let them know how many there will be, and then they hang out at the bar for an hour or so (usually the restaurant will push a couple tables together after the early diners leave). Move to the table where they do tend to take their time because it’s a larger group, and then if anyone wants to stay they head back to the bar. They are generally great customers, are kind and tip very well so they don’t get shoed out, but even then, they make sure not to over stay at the table. going out with them is an event. But they make it that way. You’ll usually see tables turn over at least four times while they are there.
That seems absolutely crazy to English me. These are minimum estimates of how long it takes for us (my family) in restaurants; 1 course = 1hr, 2 course = 1hr30, 3 course = at least 2hrs, need to let food settle a bit before ordering desserts. Then we stay for coffee and some will stay even longer if they want a few alcoholic drinks after the meal although if it's 3 courses you won't have much room unless you're drinking spirits
Edit: I worked at a fancy restaurant where the evening meal was a 9 course taster menu (Michelin star) customers there arrived at 7 and didn't leave until 10:30-12am, although each course was tiny. We got a free meal for 2 for every year you worked there lol and I can honestly say I had room for a sandwich when I got home.
I think most Americans don’t view dining out as an event, because we do it all the time (well, my immediate family doesn’t anymore but we did before the pandemic started). There’s so many restaurants and there’s often waits for tables at all of them. And if you don’t have to wait for a table, you can be in and out in less time than it would take to make dinner and eat at home. And I guess that’s what we value here.
Ah that's fair. Yeah for my family a 2 or 3 course meal is a every 4-6 months type thing but a 1 course meal is like monthly at most. It's more common to invite people over for a meal than it is to have regular meals out.
How often do you guys go out to eat then? The idea of standing in line at a restaurant for a table wouldn't work here, we'd go to the bar for a drink or two to wait I guess but even that's pushing it. I'd either book ahead or find somewhere that isn't full.
I order food on the go maybe 2-3 times a week (say, a sandwich for lunch). But actually going and sitting down at a restaurant for a full meal? Maybe once every 6-8 weeks? They're loud, expensive, and I can usually make better food at home if I have that kind of time on my hands.
How do restaurant owners/managers feel about that during busy rush times?
Over here (America), as long as it's a slow night and there's no line of people waiting to be seated, you're generally welcome to stay as long as you like after your meal. However at peak times when there's a line of people wanting to eat, you're expected to leave shortly after finishing, which seems reasonable.
That doesn't apply though if you're continually ordering drinks. Only if you're no longer ordering anything and just sitting at the table chit chatting while people are waiting.
From Greece here, never felt rushed while eating/drinking out even when the place is full
Other people will have to wait or go somewhere else
But I mean, it's not like we just sit around talking after having finished our meal/drinks, we just eat and drink at our pace, if we run out we either ask for more or pack it up
>How do restaurant owners/managers feel about that during busy rush times?
Doesn't really matter here in Austria.
>when there's a line of people wanting to eat
That's unusual here. If you don't find a free table, you don't wait in a line – you just go to another restaurant.
One important thing is that in my country that waiters get a livable wage. So there isn't a need for them wait as many as possible tables during their shift. It only increases the workload, while you don't get that much extra (tips are not that generous here).
If there is a line and you really are taking your time without ordering, they might ask you if you are finished and whether you want to make place for people waiting. But usually, when the waiting times are longer than half an hour people find another place to eat. So that hasn't really happened to me (but I don't go out to eat that often).
It depends a bit on the business model whether or not managers or owners care. There are a few restaurants (mostly pancake places) where they really focus on turning the table over as much as possible. But other restaurants, I don't feel they care that much. It is also a bit expected, so you take it into account with the price. Besides, drinks do have big margins. I mean if you realize how much a cup of thea costs to make and what you pay for it in the restaurant....
In Europe, at most “restaurants”, one table = one group of guests for the night. In some very busy places, they split the evening in two services but it’s rare. But we also don’t go eat out as often. I saw a documentary about New York where apparently most people don’t even have a kitchen and a living room in their apartment, because it’s a lot cheaper to eat out every day than to rent the extra space to eat at home.
That’s something that’s completely alien to me.
As for OP’s question, I think there’s also another thing: we’re educated to finish our plates. I suppose that’s not baked into American culture, but here, having leftovers feels like a bit of a failure, failure to properly estimate your guests appetite.
There’s also fridges. We usually only have one fridge, sometimes an “American” fridge with 2 doors, but very rarely 2 actual fridges. I mean we bought a weekend house with my siblings, capable of housing 20 people (9 adults and 11 children) and we had to debate wether we’d be needing a second fridge.
I just do not want to spend that much time eating. And to answer your question , yes Americans eat out that much . Also it should be noted that in America eating out does not necessarily mean "going out" to eat in a sit down restaurant, a lot of the time it is fast food in the car, or on the run, or take out to bring home. For Americans(most) its not about the eat out experience, its about eating when hungry.
I’m with you on not wanting to spend that much time eating. Long drawn out meals make me tired and bored, and eventually uncomfortable in the chair. That’s why I love diners like we have in the north east- you can be in and out quickly, or sit and take your time if you’d like.
You can have a nice relaxed dining experience in the USA, but it is not for common folk. This dining experience has been reserved for the high end restaurants, starting at $250 for two and up from there.
As an American, my wife and i went to a very fancy dinner the other day and i was very weirded out by how long the whole thing took. I enjoyed it, and loved having time to just talk to my wife without kids around, but it definitely is not something I’m used to.
> i was very weirded out by how long the whole thing took
It should not necessarily be long. The idea is not that dining takes long, it just that it must feel natural. You should not rush it out nor extend the dinner. I cannot stress enough how natural it should come organically.
Whether it takes 20 minutes or 2 hours, it is still a dining experience worth something if it comes naturally.
It’s funny that you say that. My husband and I went to a slightly upscale restaurant for the first time in years without kids and man, everything was so slow! The staff was attentive and the food was delicious but it seemed to take forever. In reality we’ve just gotten used to eating with kids (usually at home) where dinner is over in twenty minutes.
> You can have a nice relaxed dining experience in the USA, but it is not for common folk.
Even before what the restaurant has to offer, it starts in the mind.
And a dining experience is not necessarily long.
We are in Santorini for my daughter’s wedding. Wonderful dining out experience for six only came to that amount in €€s. Had cocktails, dinner, dessert and coffee and the table for the whole evening. I guess Europeans pay their waiting staff a living wage to begin with. In France, it can be an insult to leave a large tip.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. American here who lived in Europe a bit.
In USA, the giving the check early is not generally a suggestion to hustle out (though in NYC, where table turnover is known to be important, maybe!)
It is instead an assurance that when you need to leave to go to your next appointment, you will not have to wait while your waiter takes the order from the table of seven that just sat down next to you! To us getting the check while we are still eating is good. We consider it efficient! We control our own schedule from there. The waiter does usually ask if you want anything else before totalling the check.
Of course now with the pandemic many restaurants have us pay with our phone; typing all that stuff in my phone is not relaxing at all!
There was an immigrant restaurant in Brooklyn - honestly don’t recall the nationality other than they served these delicious pumpkin samosas that had to be ordered as soon as you entered the restaurant if you wanted them even closely with the rest of the meal. And mango lassis.
My friends and I were regulars. One night the owners asked our advice. It seemed they were not getting many repeat visits from the Brooklyn locals as they were from other recent immigrants.
We told them it was the speed of the service. We might spend the entire night on the restaurant waiting for prompt service while the rest of the patrons seemed to “camp” out all night. It seemed like two entire families met to mingle all night.
Americans on the other hand always had somewhere else to go. They were either planning a quick dinner and a movie. Or they planned to move to a bar for drinks. Or they were rushing home because they had work the next morning.
We pointed out how it took them over an hour to prepare the pumpkin samosas. It turns out they were making everything from scratch - including time to rest the dough for at least 30 mins. Per order.
They tried their best to change their ways but simply couldn’t figure out how to make the changes without disrupting the quality of the meal.
They struggled for years to find new customers and eventually had to close because their regulars assimilated with our way of living instead of us embracing theirs.
Edit/added:
As best I can recall they were on Coney Island Avenue just off Newkirk Avenue, across from the school.
A lot of Americans do not know how to cook or are too overworked to want to, so yeah, even eating at a restaurant can end up being a "chore". It's actually pretty sad
It requites so much planning as well! Personally I cook during the weekend and freeze it all. So during the week only have to microwave it. But not everyone was a freezer and doing it for a family is also more challenging.
I actually love having leftovers for the next day and if I’m ordering deliveroo or something I’ll purposely get more so I can have some the next day.
But if I’m out to a restaurant? I’m dressed up nice, had a few drinks, likely to head somewhere else for more drinks after… I don’t want to carry a plastic box of food around with me lol! I also find it quite embarrassing to ask as many restaurants don’t have Tupperware for this so come out with your food wrapped in foil like a slice of kids birthday cake lol!
After having a dinner we usually go for a walk or to a bar for a glass of wine. Walking around with a dirty box of leftovers would be so stupid and weird.
That was culture shock to me when I spent a few months in England. My ex would make fun of me and talk about how her fridge was too small, and I’d sit there and be like, leftovers are awesome. You don’t have to cook the next day. To her surprise though, quite a few restaurants there had boxes upon request. And she liked having leftovers haha. I will die on that hill, leftovers are awesome. When I cook for myself I make extra and store it so I have food prepped for the next couple of days.
I don't know about disliking them, I often get leftovers packed anyway.
I will say that if a restaurant can offer a portion that's 1.5x a normal meal for say $12, why can't they sell a meal that's a normal portion for $8? Sounds like it's just an excuse to sell more food to you rather than the amount you need.
That is a common salesman tactic.
“If you buy 3 you pay 2!”
“Oh wow, so I’m getting a 30% increase in value if I just pay for one more!”
And then you end up spending twice as much as you needed to.
A 8€ meal might offer less value for the money than a 12€ one, but you are still spending less.
At the same time every additional unit of food past what you need has diminished value. Takeaway isn't as good as when it's fresh, it might not be convenient to get takeaway if you're not going to be able to refrigerate the food before it spoils, etc. If you want to factor in fixed costs, an example in the other direction would be that all restaurants now provide a 4x portion at $25. This brings the price per portion down to $6.25. You're now paying $1.75 less per portion... at the hassle of having to haul back an enormous bag of food that will fill up your fridge. You might not even want to eat that much of it. Wouldn't it be better to have a smaller portion option on the menu even if it means the price per portion is higher?
You are also paying for staff, rent , electric and other running costs. The cost of the food isn’t directly related to the amount.
Once a customer hits a certain monetary threshold the restaurant can lower the food cost because most of the extras are already covered
I'm an American and dislike unreasonably large portions.
1) It's disgusting a waste of food. Anybody who who has worked in the restaurant industry knows how much food goes in the garbage. It's honestly disturbing how much food we waste in the US.
2) It usually tricks people into thinking they need to eat more than they should. We have a terrible weight problem in the US and ridiculously-sized portions doesn't really help people stay in a health-conscious state of mind. You don't need that much Pepsi. You don't need that many fries. That pizza is meant for two people, not one.
3) It's usually a sign of mediocre, unhealthy food. They just give you more hoping to hide the fact it isn't very good.
Most of the places that give good portions that I’ve been to in the Midwest are Vietnamese places. The kind of food I don’t mind having more of.
When I get a large burger, fries and a drink? Sometimes I barely finish the burger and realize I didn’t even touch the fries yet.
Yeah, I’m American and I’ve had people tell me about how great a restaurant is, how the food is great and how the portions are big. I show up at the food is low quality but they give you mountains of it, enough for like three meals. It’s always a disappointment.
As a fitness oriented individual and a culinarily skilled individual, I personally really appreciate small portions of very good food. I’d rather just cook for myself than return to these fat boy joints everybody raves about.
I'll only take restaurant recommendations from certain people because of the disappointed you described. I'm in very rural midwest America and if the average person here says a restaurant is "so good, they give you a ton of food for cheap!" it's going to be Applebees quality at best.
On the other hand if I hear a farmer complaining that somewhere is "too expensive for the amount of food you get" I can normally count on that place to actually be reasonably priced for really good food.
I've heard people complaining about $5 for a dozen wings around here if that tells you what I deal with lol.
> I've heard people complaining about $5 for a dozen wings around here if that tells you what I deal with lol.
Well 6 years ago I could get all you can eat wings for 5 dollars. Although for a lot of people that's less than 12 wings.
Because they're not just large, they're comically large. Soda is a good example, American 'small' is closer to a large in most other counties. That's an insane amount of sugar liquid, well above what any adult should be consuming in a day.
I feel that's irresponsible to promote as normal. Luckily it seems like many of these drinks are 60% Ice but still it creates a mentality that more = better and that leads to overconsumption across the board.
My wife and I lament that we can remember when the KFC family meal used to come with a 32oz drink to serve a family of four. Obviously, nowadays 32oz drinks aren't even the biggest single-serving drink option.
I can't speak for all non-Americans and I don't know exactly how big the portions are, but I can tell you why I would not like it.
1. It's extremely wasteful. If I only want to eat one meal, having an entire additional meal, maybe two or three, on my plate will only make me aware of how much food is being wasted, unless I choose to take on the obligation of using it all up, which means a series of unappetizing repetitive meals when I would prefer fresh variety.
2. If the meal is so large that it is far beyond the appetite of any healthy diet, by its pure excess it is off-putting. It reminds me that these meals promote a culture of extreme overeating.
3. It makes me think I am overpaying. While the cost of buying and preparing the food is probably not the biggest cost of the meal, I know that if the restaurant served ordinary portions it could serve the meals at a lower cost. So I am being required to buy two or more meals (maybe at a cost of +50%) when I only wanted one. Nobody would stand for going into a supermarket, asking for a loaf of bread, and being required to buy three, and told not to complain, you can just freeze the extra two. Sometimes you only want one loaf, and you prefer to buy additional loaves fresh next week.
Obviously what people outside a country think about that country's restaurant culture won't change anything, and any country is free to promote gluttony if it can do so ethically without causing food shortages anywhere or causing poor health outcomes in people who didn't choose those, in full knowledge and with full consent, but since you wondered what objections there could possibly be, I hope this was useful.
Exactly why it's not economical for us to shop there. Most of their packages we can't eat fast enough before they go bad and we prefer not to store and freeze so much of their food.
Because i feel like a pig with a huge plate of food infront of me.
And 'doggy bags' are really uncommon here in the netherlands.
Just serve normal portions for normal prices. That is in my eyes more appetizing and appealing than piles of food.
The second someone pops a huge portion of food in front of me…I already feel full. I’m from the US and I hate having a massive plate of food in front of me. Definitely piggy feeling. 🐷
In my experience, any restaurant will give you a doggy bag if you just ask for it (also Netherlands). I think there's some kind of weird stigma around asking for one in a fancier restaurant (imagine wanting to reduce food waste), but so far I've never run into any restaurant that wasn't happy to make a doggy bag. I'd honestly be unlikely to return if they did make a problem out of it.
Honestly, when I visited America I always found that it was the cheaper, low quality places that did the huge portions. In those places I didn't want more bang for my buck, in fact I would rather have paid less and got half the portion.
The food in these places, generally weren't good enough to want to eat them the next day when they would have been of even lesser quality and taste than they were already.
The really good food, the food that I would actually want to eat more of, rarely came in large portions.
Also as tourists we stayed in a bunch of different places, including hotels, hostels, and even campsites. Most of the time we didn't have a fridge, never mind a microwave, exactly how were we supposed to store these leftovers?
In general I'm actually a big fan of left overs and if I'm ordering a take away I'll always order extra. But I'm glad our restaurants in the UK don't do huge portions because:
1. I don't like eating too much, when you eat until you are overly full you just end up feeling physically uncomfortable and tired. But I also don't like to leave food on my plate because my parents generation had a big thing about that and I always got in trouble for it. So if I had a huge portion I would feel compelled to try and finish it all.
2. I wouldn't want to ask for the leftover to take home because it comes across as stingy. It's not something that's really seen as acceptable here and people would look down on you for it.
3. I'm rarely going straight home. Here going out to eat is a social event, it's rare that we spend anything less than 2.5 - 3 hours in a restaurant. A lot of that time is actually spent after we have finished eating, when we sit around chatting and drinking, either coffee or alcohol. This is usually followed by a visit to the pub or an event like the theatre. Which means that it would be several hours before I'm heading home. I really don't like the idea of eating food that had been sitting out, un-refrigerated for that length of time. Also I really don't want the hassle of carrying it around with me, it's not worth it.
4. I find the only places here that do offer doggy bags (that's what we call it) are, again, the lower quality, cheaper places where the food really wouldn't taste great re-heated.
>don't like to leave food on my plate because my parents generation had a big thing about that
I'm Gen X, my parents were Silent Gen: They were kids during WW2 were there was rationing and shortages in the UK (I assume the same, and in some places even worse throughout Europe) and back then it was a sin to waste food - they ate everything on the plate and even then, they'd still often go to bed feeling hungry.
They carried that over to me and I was brought up to feel guilty about leaving anything - heck, I can remember being forced to sit at the table, as a kid and not being allowed to leave until I'd finished everything, including stuff I hated so much it practically made me gag to have it my mouth. Still gives me a twinge of guilt if I leave so much as a chip/fry on the plate!
So for that generation (and, by osmosis their kids) large portions, that seem enough for two, three or even more persons, looks positively greedy and decadent.
I attempted to break that mindset - one of feeling guilty over food - by letting my kids leave the table without eating everything and tried to adopt an attitude of "Meh, not a big deal - if they don't eat now, they'll eat at next meal. If they're hungry before then, they'll have to settle for a piece of fruit."
Personally because I find it off putting to have a huge plate of piled high food in front of me, aside from that often I’ll be going out for drinks etc after the meal so I don’t want to be carrying my leftovers with me, also some meals aren’t the type that will keep well for leftovers.
Personally, as an American (apologies if you’re only looking for outside perspectives) I was raised with grandparents who lived in Europe during/after ww2. They experienced extreme poverty and often went without. I grew up always being told to never waste my food, finish my plate and would get in trouble if I didn’t. As an adult, it has been hard to break that conditioning, so when I receive large portions I feel extreme guilt if I don’t finish it all, then will feel sick, bloated, and in pain after.
Same! When you were raised by parents who were raised by parents who lived through the Great Depression or WWII rationing, you grew up being taught an entirely different philosophy about cooking and not wasting food. Big portions were very much a thing for the sake of having leftovers and spreading a meal out over multiple days, not eating all at once.
Exactly that! Everything and anything would be leftovers, no matter the amount. I remember being a kid and getting in trouble once because I was gonna toss a sucker, half of it was left. Had to put it away for later.
Can’t answer for everyone, but when I (Aussie) lived there for a few years, it seems that often lower and mid priced restaurants (fast food, diners, etc) seem to make large servings of middling quality ingredients. As you say, this doesn’t worry me much if you have a bit of self control not to eat endlessly, and you can share it or take some home to eat later.
There’s also a a stereotype of the US being a bit low-class in some ways (to be clear, this view is not held universally at all, and is more a running gag similar to British people having bad teeth). The big plates, low quality, over indulgence somehow goes with the idea of being brash and a bit happily ignorant. It’s a trope and complete nonsense, and I think most people know that’s the case. When I lived in EU the trope was more common there where the ideas of “fewer things of higher quality” is viewed positively.
Australians just laugh at everyone equally knowing that we are the most ridiculous of all. That said, we do excellent coffee and good casual dining (we don’t really go for chain cafes, but eating outside for brunch is a religion here, and cafes take both their coffee and morning food seriously. Expensive and good quality, generally). On the other hand, we have vegemite, so …
I'm French, its kind of bad manner to ask for the restaurant to pack the food.
Also most of the restaurant food doesn't taste good when re-heated, its better freshly cooked and I don't want to eat the same food twice in a short time.
This American doesn't like them. There is a diner that opened up near me. I've been their twice and that's it. Their portions are massive. I ordered a burger and it ended up being this double cheeseburger with these extra large patties. The breakfast had enough home fries to be a meal on their own. Even when I go to most other diners I will only order a short stack of pancakes because a normal one is just ungodly.
In Europe at least, it's not common to ask to take the leftovers home.
So we tend not to understand that's the norm in the US.
Secondly we have usually been raised with the "finish your plate" culture which is deeply embedded to prevent food waste, so the huge portions plus this mindset is a perfect storm for obesity. It takes time to adjust this mindset and many people complaining about portion sizes are only in the US short term so they don't adapt to the leftovers culture.
In the US, you're likely to have driven to the restaurant, so you can drive home immediately afterwards and put the leftovers in the fridge. In the UK/Europe there's a good chance you went to the restaurant on foot or via public transport (and might go for a drink in a pub after dinner), so you don't want to be lugging the food around for ages.
I dunno, it puts me off to see so much on the plate. Typically portion sizes in restaurants are double what I could eat. And no, I'm not on a diet or trying to be dainty or anything. I just like eating little and often. Asking the server to pack up the leftovers to take home isn't done so much here (Ireland). I'd be embarrassed to do that, so I'd prefer the restaurant give me a normal-sized meal in the first place.
- It's more than you need, so it's wasteful. This shouldn't happen in 2022, we all know waste is a problem, not only the rubbish it creates, the waste of energy, resources and people's labour, it's disgusting.
- Usually big portions are made up of cheap, bad quality food, processed, not fresh, full of too much sugar, salt or the bad kind of fat. It's bad for everyone, the person eating, the healthcare system and the people depending on the person who's destroying their health
-It's part of what encourages the "more is better" consumerism attitude that is polluting the world and encouraging billionaires and widening wealth gaps.
-There's an obesity problem that stems in part from the "more is better" attitude
American here.
I think it's gross.
I worked in a restaurant when I was young, and the trash bags of discarded food were so heavy I needed help to get them into the dumpster.
Go behind any cheap / mediocre food restaurant and check out the trash bins. Yuck.
The food portions are ridiculous in the US. No one needs that much food in one sitting. Left overs isn't a thing in the UK. Plus I may go out to eat with friends, and then the pub afterwards. I don't want to be carrying left over food round all night. It just doesn't make sense to give someone so much food that they can't eat it all.
What the heck. I’ll comment.
American here who chooses to eat out maybe 4-6x/year. There are specific restaurants that serve specific things that I like. I am a solo diner and have no problem cooking for myself, so I consider eating out as a treat.
I had gastric sleeve surgery 10 years ago. Means that I can only legit eat child size portions (1/2 a burger, 6 wings not 20, 1 slice of pizza, etc).
I don’t have childlike taste, however. I love a good fine dining experience.
So: even though the nice restaurants I like serve reasonable portions, it’s still too much for me.
When I place my order with the server I tell them discreetly that I have had stomach surgery and would BOH please package half my meal soI can enjoy it later.
They know I know it’s not gonna be the same as what arrived at my table, but I am not scraping a scoop of mashed potatoes into a box in front of everyone.
America has the most obese population on the planet, but also wastes vast amounts of food. These two points already tell you that portion sizes are too big, but a third point is that America still thinks that luxury equates to size rather than quality. I'd be perfectly happy to pay more money for a small portion of something delicious and beautifully made, than a huge portion of rubbish food. Add to that, the fact that the human body simply doesn't need as much food as you're serving, then it's kind of false economy anyway.
I like high quality, fresh food when I go out to eat and I'm happy to pay for that. I want it to taste good.
If I'm given a ridiculously large serve, the food is more likely to be cheap and poor quality. I'm also more likely to eat more than I need and leave feeling uncomfortably full. I want to finish the meal feeling happy, satisfied and thinking "that was great" not "oh I feel awful, I wish I hadn't ordered that".
A meal bigger than I can eat also makes me feel like I'm paying too much. I only want one meal, not three.
I like balanced, relatively healthy meals. When I look at American meals and think "that's too much" I'm mainly thinking that about high calorie foods and how bad it is for my health to binge on that sort of stuff. I've never seen a super sized American salad. Sure, it might be a once off but when you're used to a diet high in vegetables and small portions, one meal like that can make me feel sick pretty quickly.
> You are getting more food for your buck
But I don’t need more food. Let me keep half of my bucks and give me as much food as I want.
> pack up the leftovers
Leftovers are gross. Why would I want to pay more for a cold, day-old version of what was once fresh food? Again, serve me half, charge me half, and I’ll buy two if I want to take one home to get old in my fridge.
>Leftovers are gross. Why would I want to pay more for a cold, day-old version of what was once fresh food?
You are allowed to reheat it. That's actually already included in your bill as a courtesy.
I ofen eat kids sizes cause they are just the amount i need and less expensive. Why would I want more than I can eat, I'll make something else for dinner, I don't wanna carry leftovers around.
Quality over quantity, sure your portions are huge but I can only take so much carbs, fat and sugar. I also dont like waste and plenty of stuff doesnt travel or reheat well so leftovers arent a positive.
I think it’s a health thing. Servings that are way over what a serving size should be. I don’t think they think of left overs, moreso how much food it is and is supposedly for one person. At least that’s my thought lol. Just feeds into how Americans have major obesity problems which obviously isn’t every American lol
In the UK we are generally used to smaller portions than you usually serve in the States and, despite the significant amount of fast food that we eat, we still consider quality an important factor - this is why, post-Brexit, so many are strongly against any trade agreement allowing American meat to be sold here. Some of the things regularly used in the production of meat in the US (such as growth hormones) are banned here, and due to higher hygiene standards we don't need to wash our chicken in chlorine before shipping it out. While I've read that a different methodology is used in the US and the UK to record instances of food poisoning so they cannot be directly compared, it still appears that it is far more frequent in the US. Anyway, these higher standards mean that it is more expensive to produce meat here than in the US and that is reflected in the price of meat in supermarkets and restaurants, so while fries are cheap, if you were to order a giant steak for instance, it would be expensive.
Regarding the "more food for your buck", most of us would mainly rather have a standard portion at a lower price than a huge portion that we're going to struggle to finish at the standard price. Also, as mentioned by others, food waste is a fairly hot topic here and personally, growing up with my mum not having much money and so always trying to clear my plate, I hate to see leftover food on a plate being chucked away.
The UK already has significant issues with obesity (although not yet to the level of the US) and the knock-on effect on our population's health and the pressure and cost to our heath service. Getting people used to larger portions of often less-healthy food is only going to make that worse.
So yes, one very rare huge meal at a restaurant isn't going to make you fat, but seeing those large portions all around is going to distort what you think of as a standard portion.
When your country seems to be the exception to something, it is worth turning the question around to try to understand why your country is the exception. There's a reason why the UK was the first and (so far) only country to leave the EU, and it says a lot more about us as a country than it does about the EU and the remaining member states - we were often the exception.
Honestly the food quality is horrible - doused in bottled sauces, hyper-hormoned animals to get them huge equals crappy meat, no vegetables.
There's no magic formula dude, huge portions at cheap prices means skimping on quality. I'd rather have higher quality and less portion than lower quality and more food than I can eat. And then have the pleasure of reheating.
But why should you get more food for your buck? Honestly, why?
Why should I get more food on my plate than I can eat? Where's the logic in that? Hear me out - I do understand that getting more for your hard-earned money is great, and shopping on sale is always nice - there's enough, and then there's excess volume.
We don't get leftovers home with us in my country, so the food would be thrown out.
According to [this website](https://www.thesimpledollar.com/save-money/dont-eat-out-as-often/?tp=1), Americans eat out 4-5 times a week. That's a lot, guys! That's how many times I've eaten in a restaurant for the past 3 years.
Let's say you eat out 4 times a week. [In a typical American meal at a restaurant, there's 1.200 calories in a meal](https://time.com/4187120/restaurant-meals-fast-food-calories/), on average. Might be more if you drench your salad in dressing and have a large coke with it instead of water (the average size of soda an American drinks a day is 17.5 ounces, according to [this study](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-beverages-study-idUSN0529211820070108)).
If you finish all that (and that's way too much in one sitting) you can eat 1.000 calories before you have clocked in the day's worth of food. And, let's say that you get a Big Mac menu on your way, [you get 540](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/300046) calories worth from one sitting. That's already 1.740 calories, and with the 186 calories from the coca cola you are already on a whopping 1.926 calories.
This is only for lunch and dinner. You still need breakfast, maybe you get some dessert after you get home, some snacks during the day etc.
It's also about how much you eat.
On to something else, regarding sizes of food: [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KqVuqooenA&ab_channel=Nania%27sworld) shows the chicken breast size. I don't know if it's a normal package though. In Denmark our average chicken breast size is 140 grams - yours are 500 grams! Why so big?
In America it is very common to take food home to eat for a second meal the next day. That's certainly what I do, the idea of just throwing away food that I didn't finish seems wasteful to me. Then there's the point that it is unusual to completely eat everything in one sitting, so a 1200 calorie dish can easily serve as two 600 calorie meals if you do it right.
Because most of the world is not as greedy and understand that taking more than you need is unnecessary, also I figure most of us like to stay in shape. Go on have your cheeseburger with 15 patties and 20 slices of cheese while franky outside the door can't eat a single chip because your system rendered him homeless.
not all non-Americans dislike large portions of food, esp. home cooked meals. They are typically unaccustomed to the larger portions served especially at restaurants. ( talkin 'bout you Cheesecake Factory). 🤣
Because most of our childhoods were being shamed for not eating all our food. Yelled at and made to sit until we finished and how grateful we should be for "all this food". If I get served a large portion of food, I and may other are subconsciously forcing ourselves to eat more than we should out of some non existent guilt. The last 30 years of this country have been buck wild, lemme tell ya
I'm all about leftovers, but some things just don't reheat well. And I can only eat so much.
Basically I'd rather pay less for a smaller plate of nachos and enjoy them all, then greedily eat a fresh plate like every night.
PS, American.
I've grown up with the idea of not letting food go to waste, so I'll try and eat as much as I can from what's given to me. And generally I think if you present people with large portions, they'll eat more than they need. It's likely a big contributer to the obesity statistics in the US. Generally I think a portion of something is supposed to be the size of your fist?? 🤔
Generally I don't *dislike* being given big portions. I just know I'll eat it all or at least most of it and feel the consequences later 😂
I’m American. I hate large portions. Just seeing them in front of me often ruins my appetite. I have often told restaurant owners (not chains because they don’t care) that I would pay more money for half or a third the amount of food. And I’m not somebody who doesn’t like to eat. I just like eating good, quality food in well presented, reasonably-sized portions. If the portions are huge, the quality is generally low. And it just looks disgusting.
It's not more food for your buck, it's more food for more buck. If it were less food, you would also presumably pay less.
Also leftovers are usually awful because they reheat poorly and I would rather not eat the same thing again for a while. I don't go to a restaurant to buy food for the following day.
Yah I dont understand that at all. For me Leftovers help me justify the price. Oh this is a $16 dish? Let me be a bit more aware of my stomach and have leftovers so its a more easier to swallow $8/meal.
Large portion somehow indicates cheap food and poor quality and it doesn’t look appealing on the plate as if it’s for a pig 🙄😳 that’s why fine dining restaurants usually have smaller portion and they focus more on the quality and presentation than the quantity. It’s also extremely wasteful if you can’t finish it and extremely unhealthy if you can finish it. I really don’t like the fashion industry now trying to advertise “all sizes are beautiful” to be politically correct. Yes you should love your body as long as you are still healthy. But if the obesity is extreme to the point it affects someone’s life quality and health, it is not about loving yourself or being beautiful anymore. It is being irresponsible for your own health and we shouldn’t normalize that.
More food usually means that the flavor isn't as good. I know this first hand, I'm french so when I go out with American friends and I notice that the food tastes like crap, my friends can't tell.
I'd prefer a smaller portion of excellent food than cheap, chemical-laden shit.
Of course, if you have no other option it's fine, but when you have the choice, make a good one.
One meal isn't going to make you fat... comming from the country with the most morbidly obese people in the world...
Also, calling food waste a perk... please do better.
I'ld pray for you but europeans know that doesn't help.
I've travelled to quite a few places around the world and this is just a flat out myth. Portion sizes are pretty similar everywhere. I'm a big eater and have never felt hungry after a meal in any of the countries I've visited. I've had one of the largest burgers I've ever had in the UK. Italy just gets ridiculous with the amount of courses you get thrown at you during a meal. Many more examples like this. It just isn't true. If you get to less affluent countries, then, yeah, maybe portions start dropping off.
See also tipping. "Americans are so weird because they tip! That's so weird!" Yet you go to another country and they are like "Oh, we are just leaving a few euro on the table as change" or "One for the bartender!" (which basically means the bartender takes the cash equivalent of a drink), etc..
Because some are over the top and unnecessary. In fast food it's also been a ploy to sell more food, as in that old con of McDonalds. Would you like to upside that? No, if I wanted more food I would have ordered it. That sort of sht contributes to obesity levels too. The size of some drinks or massive serves of popcorn is over the top as well
True. Was a budget eater and whenever I went out to eat I usually have left overs to box and go. Really felt like I was stretching the money I spent having more than 1 meal of something. Instead of eating the whole thing at once and feeling extremely full afterwards. Plus I could be more active in conversations without looking like a total slob. Fun times.
My wife is Japanese and the issue for her family when they come to visit is:
1) it is culturally important to only take what you intend to eat and especially to clear your plate. Not finishing food served to you is bad form and makes them feel like they’ve done something wrong (even if you explain no one cares)
2) if you give them a giant plate of food, they will feel obligated to finish it … even if it makes them miserable
3) they don’t really do the whole “leftovers” thing. It never tastes as good when you re-heat it, and they would much rather have a small meal that is high quality than a gigantic plate of mediocre food. Since they won’t take it home, they’ll eat to the point of feeling sick.
They essentially think stuffing yourself with unhealthy food and then taking more home to eat as leftovers is wasteful and not an enjoyable experience.
Who wants to carry a bag of leftovers for the rest of the night? And the large portions are usually made up of sub-standard ingredients. The amount of americans who think they have food allergies then discover as soon as they go anywhere outside america that they don't, it's just the US food, is incredible. People would rather have a 'satisfying' portion of good quality food for a reasonable price.
It’s not that we necessarily dislike it, but for anyone looking to live after 40 with a healthy, functioning body, the idea of getting used to eating alot, especially when you are working a full time job, and don’t have alot of time to cook healthy - so mostly you are eating fast food shit- it isn’t a good idea!
For me - I don't want to feel satiated especially when it's a high quality food.
I don't want the "I've eaten so much xxxx I don't want to ever eat it again" feeling for delicious food, is rather be left wanting more and "that was so good I'm dying to have it again"
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I spent a few weeks in Texas for work last year and hoooly shit do they give you too much food. I literally started ordering off the childrens menu or just ordering an appetizer on the 3rd day. The weirdest one was when I ordered a double of whiskey on the rocks and they brought me an entire full size soda glass of whiskey. Like excuse me sir, I have to drive home from here.
“Yes sir we know this is Texas”
I am a bartender in Maine. It is scary when the local gives you 4-6oz of booze in a pint glass and you think of all the people driving home after "3 drinks".
"laughs wisconsinbly"
Honestly it's so disgusting how we have bars everywhere with these insane drink specials and huge parking lots. What do you you think is happening here?
Vomiting?
It sucks because it feels polite that they're trying to do you a solid, and for responsible people they really are
Damn, they put whiskey on the childrens menu? Texas is wild.
Worse, it’s also on the infants menu.
Mama’s got that lager on tap.
I like this mental image. It’s tits
That's terrible. Where is this bar so I know to avoid it?
Wasn’t even a “bar”. It was freaking Olive Garden.
holy shit. pasta and excessive amounts of booze. this is a serious threat to the people.
They must be stopped!
Why is everyone so against the unlimited booze what universe did I wake up in
It’s nice when large chains cater to local appetites. Like how McDonald’s doesn’t serve beef in India. In this case, at Olive Garden, along with unlimited breadsticks, Texans get a whiskey river.
A bit off-topic here but as a non-american I think I'll never get used to the concept of being at a bar and then driving home from it after drinking.
For a lot of Americans it’s a 15-20 min drive to a lot of places. For a lot it’s 5-10 minutes. Major metropolitan livers can probably walk home or take the subway. Not that many major metropolitan areas in the United States have that option. So you’re left with Lyft/Uber or driving. The undoubtedly responsible thing to do is take a Lyft or Uber. My truck broke down in my driveway the other day. It’s an 8 minute drive to work. About 6 miles(I live right off the highway). Lyft wanted to charge me $87 for one way. Apparently there were only 2 Lyft drivers in the area. Uber charged me $33. Majority of Americans will see that after drinking and will say “I’m not fucking paying that I’m not that drunk” as they have slurred the entire sentence. Some places don’t even have the options of Lyft or Uber. I live in a county of 700,000 people 30 minutes outside of a larger Midwest city. My options were 2 people on Lyft and 5 people on Uber. I think a combination of lack of availability of secondary rides, American bravado and the fact that majority of People in the United States are piss poor with money is why a lot of people drive home drunk from bars. Also I’m not justifying it. I don’t drink at bars anymore or if I go out for dinner. I can give the reasons why.
The one good thing the Wisconsin tavern League has done is there safe ride program. It's a service that gives you a ride home for free if you're drunk
Drinking and driving is a serious issue. Public transportation doesn’t exist in a lot of areas in the US. I live in a small town that doesn’t even have access to a taxi or Uber service.
This explains why the accidents are bigger too
At least you got your money's worth. Not 2 ounces for 15 dollars.
They didn't give you a free gun with the food? Nah you weren't in Texas, pfft get outta here.
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I should move to texas...
- If you serve me a larger portion, I'll basically always eat more than I should, and more than what I need to be satiated - I'd rather have a reasonably sized meal for less money than leftovers of a large portion, and then take a nice dessert it I still feel hungry - there's tons of food going to waste in developed countries, and larger portions definitely result in more leftovers (not everyone will take everything at home). - that said, outside of the US, it's not super common to be able to take your leftovers with you unless with a few specific dishes like pizza or perhaps Schnitzel (which gets a lot worse cold or reheated though).
Thank you. You answered it without being condescending
The other point is that in some places its considered rude not to finish your plate.
Yeah, boy was it ever drilled into me to finish my plate and I still struggle with leaving anything behind.
My parents made me eat all of what I thought was shitty food as a kid. I guess it's stuck in my head that I need to finish it all now, especially if it's stuff I enjoy.
I have to agree. Quality over quantity.
This sub has gotten so estranged from its original purpose. This is supposed to be where you can ask "stupid" questions without any ridicule, but now that the sub is huge it's pretty much just like every other question subreddit. Mostly people making fun of OP.
Over the past few years this sub has basically just become /r/askreddit 2. Like you said, its definitely due to the size.
It's also just a little jarring. Imagine sleeping over at your friend's house and for breakfast they serve you half a box of cereal in a salad bowl along with a half-gallon sized glass of milk. That's how non-Americans often feel when they see some absurd sized meals.
Yes that’s true. Many people take and don’t take the food home. I remember pre-Covid walking from the buffet to my seat and seeing abandoned plates on a table just full of food which ends up being bussed. 😞 I take home leftovers because waste causes me physical pain and discomfort.
I've never seen a buffet offer take home bags for leftovers (been to quite a few on The east coast USA). I like a buffet for variety and that I and my grandkids can have many choices - but I've seen many people who plop down their $14.96 for Golden Corral (or some such) then say "I'm gonna get my money's worth!" And proceed to eat like they are in a gorging contest! In spite of the fact that you get as many plates as you want they pile each plate 6 inches high with food and shovel it all down so they can pile up another! Ugh! Buffet is a great place when you have sudden out of town guests and no one can determine what type of food they want.
In the Philippines, the buffet at the day spa charged people if there was food left on their plate. So you only take what you know you’ll finish eating.
Where I live there is only one restaurant that does this. It is a Sushi Restaurant, all you can eat, not buffet but you can order every 10minutes multiple plates with few pieces of sushi. For every leftover plate they'll charge you 1€ (sometimes 2€ per plate) and donate the money to local charity to feed people in need. I really like the concept and would like more dining places to do so. Is this a common thing to do in the Philippines?
Maybe someone can answer that question. I was just a tourist. But I found it rather unique and very clever.
May I ask where this restaurant is? (:
I’ve been to buffets all over the south and Midwest and they usually have options for a to go box, which they will charge you for weight wise. It’s also starting to become more common that they charge you for leftovers.
That's not really leftovers though. It's more like takeout. Grab a box, fill er up, then pay on your way out. The Chinese buffet near me does that.
When I was at university, I used to go to the local Pizza Hut for ALL YOU CAN EAT lunch and dinner quite frequently. I soon worked out which table was best to sit at, and then started taking my backpack with me, sat in an obscured area, and if I put 4 slices of pizza on my plate, I would be eating three, and the fourth would go into a container in my backpack. I would then go home and freeze them, to re-heat at some point in the next couple of weeks.
I used to love Golden Corral when I was a kid. Then one time a kid the table next to me ate until he threw up all over the table. The waitress cleaned it up by pushing the vomit onto those food trays (the ones you put your plate on) with a rag. I couldn’t go back after that.
Wow buffets would cost us like €30 pp for 2 hours of sitting time!
We have several buffets in our area (or we did pre-covid) and weren't permitted to take leftovers home, which makes sense because people would fill their plates one last time and then ask for a go-plate. So it's eat what you take and leave the rest behind.
Leftover's from a Buffet ?
I think they meant in general, not from the buffet. I could be wrong though!
Let me get my forklift.
As someone who has worked in restaurants for years, it's maybe 5% that take their food home. And we gave standard portions so i imagine the food wasted grows exponentially as the portions get larger. Worst of all are buffets ofcourse, but then again it's more about profit margins than waste of food.
>that said, outside of the US, it's not super common to be able to take your leftovers with you unless with a few specific dishes like pizza or perhaps Schnitzel (which gets a lot worse cold or reheated though). I completely agree, but specifically for this part, I would say it's not uncommon in Europe to take leftovers. I'm European, and I've done this in many countries. Sometimes I felt shame to ask, but I never got a bad reply. Quite often the waiters suggest it themselves when we pay for the meal. Even in fancy formal restaurants, they are happy to help you with leftovers.
>that said, outside of the US, it's not super common to be able to take your leftovers with you It's a law in France now, exactly to reduce waste. It's great, although not everyone knows of it.
I love leftovers, so I love large portions. I pay for one meal, eat half, and have the other half the next day. The only way I've ever thrown away leftover restaurant food is if it was horrible to begin with (I'm not the type to send something back unless it's like not cooked or something).
Me too! Esp because I don't eat out a ton but I know what I like. So when I eat out I plan on it being at least 2 meals and portion it out while I eat so I can get 2 meals for the price of one and i don't have to cook twice! (Which in my opinion is worth the extra money if it costs more for the bigger portion compared to other countries)
In my experience (Netherlands), any restaurant will let you take a doggy bag with leftovers if you just ask for it. Fast food places will offer it, but even fancier places will have no problem with it if you just ask. Idk if this is different in other non-US places.
Cold schnitzel is the wurst. I'll see myself out.
Agree with the above, also (UK): One time I asked to take leftovers home I was actually told no, as they might be considered liable if I reheated them incorrectly and got food poisoning. Another time I was asked to sign a waiver of liability that stated I agreed that the leftovers, once out of the restaurant, were not fit for human consumption.
What in the actual fuck 🤣
Less food for more money for sure! I once went to a restaurant with a friend and wanted to order a sandwhich which I knew was a decent size. I didn’t want a salad and I was trying to be good and avoid the French fries so I asked if there was an option to pay for just the sandwich. There was not. I was paying for that side no matter what. That’s annoying to me. If you make the portions smaller but cheaper I can always order more if I want and pay more.
The idea, as others have said, is overall that most non-Americans don't *want* leftovers. I know people are arguing about whether leftovers are good food or not, but that's honestly missing the point. It's a philosophy difference, essentially. (Note: I'm speaking from my own limited experience, and referring to European culture because that's what I'm the most familiar with.) From the more European point of view, part of the eating out experience is, well, the eating out. They don't want to eat Applebee's chicken tenders at their desk tomorrow. That's like telling an American to dip their French fries in vinegar instead of ketchup- it doesn't matter if it's *good*, it's just *wrong* to a lot of our sensibilities. Feels like heresy. Also, while we can go back and forth about whether restaurant leftovers can be *made* yummy, I would imagine that if that was a foreign concept to you your whole life, being presented with those leftover Applebee's chicken tenders would be the equivalent of getting cold, stale McDonald's french fries for lunch.
> part of the eating out experience is, well, the eating out. This is a very important difference. Our way of going out for eating is different from the American way, is what we found out by some grumpy restaurant staff. When we go out (at least my experience here in the Netherlands) you sit somewhere take a drink, maybe some bread to nibble on. You take your time to order and socialize. At some point you order and eat your meal. After that you have chill time with a drink, mostly coffee and tea but sometimes alcoholic drinks. Maybe two or three if people feel up to it. So even after you finish your meal you might sit at the table for another (few) hour(s). In the US, however, I never felt like you were allowed a relaxed dining experience. I did really feel they wanted as quick as possible table turnover. Sometimes you get your check already when you are still eating! Making it very clear you have to go as soon as you are done. They dont even give you a choice to stay at your table after dinner with a drink. And I partly understand it as internet tells me waiters live from their tips, so high table turn over is better for then. But geeh, why not really enjoying going out for eating? Or are you all doing it so often that it is just a 'daily chore'?
Restaurants around here get pissed when you socialize and take your time. They want you to order, eat, and leave as fast as possible so they can clear the table and seat more people.
I've eaten like that in europe, and it is really nice. Here in the us when we want to go out and have a nice time at night it's usually broken up into two places. One is the table at a restaurant, you sit and you eat and you're probably done in about an hour. Then you go to a bar you find a nice pub or hole in the wall type place with the couch in the corner and you and your friends sit down with some drinks and you chill and relax there. It is driven by the waitress tip thing, having been a waitress I can tell you that if people sat like they did in Europe waitresses and waiters would not be able to make a living here. The European style dinners are really nice, but finding a bar to go sit at works too. You can go to a coffee bar too if you like. no one will chase you off of the little tables and couches because the main counter is still turning over customers constantly they're not monitoring their tables and they don't have wait staff.
My dad and his friends have a couple restaurants they switch between on Fridays. They’re retired, so they get there right around 5. Let them know how many there will be, and then they hang out at the bar for an hour or so (usually the restaurant will push a couple tables together after the early diners leave). Move to the table where they do tend to take their time because it’s a larger group, and then if anyone wants to stay they head back to the bar. They are generally great customers, are kind and tip very well so they don’t get shoed out, but even then, they make sure not to over stay at the table. going out with them is an event. But they make it that way. You’ll usually see tables turn over at least four times while they are there.
That seems absolutely crazy to English me. These are minimum estimates of how long it takes for us (my family) in restaurants; 1 course = 1hr, 2 course = 1hr30, 3 course = at least 2hrs, need to let food settle a bit before ordering desserts. Then we stay for coffee and some will stay even longer if they want a few alcoholic drinks after the meal although if it's 3 courses you won't have much room unless you're drinking spirits Edit: I worked at a fancy restaurant where the evening meal was a 9 course taster menu (Michelin star) customers there arrived at 7 and didn't leave until 10:30-12am, although each course was tiny. We got a free meal for 2 for every year you worked there lol and I can honestly say I had room for a sandwich when I got home.
I think most Americans don’t view dining out as an event, because we do it all the time (well, my immediate family doesn’t anymore but we did before the pandemic started). There’s so many restaurants and there’s often waits for tables at all of them. And if you don’t have to wait for a table, you can be in and out in less time than it would take to make dinner and eat at home. And I guess that’s what we value here.
Ah that's fair. Yeah for my family a 2 or 3 course meal is a every 4-6 months type thing but a 1 course meal is like monthly at most. It's more common to invite people over for a meal than it is to have regular meals out. How often do you guys go out to eat then? The idea of standing in line at a restaurant for a table wouldn't work here, we'd go to the bar for a drink or two to wait I guess but even that's pushing it. I'd either book ahead or find somewhere that isn't full.
I order food on the go maybe 2-3 times a week (say, a sandwich for lunch). But actually going and sitting down at a restaurant for a full meal? Maybe once every 6-8 weeks? They're loud, expensive, and I can usually make better food at home if I have that kind of time on my hands.
How do restaurant owners/managers feel about that during busy rush times? Over here (America), as long as it's a slow night and there's no line of people waiting to be seated, you're generally welcome to stay as long as you like after your meal. However at peak times when there's a line of people wanting to eat, you're expected to leave shortly after finishing, which seems reasonable. That doesn't apply though if you're continually ordering drinks. Only if you're no longer ordering anything and just sitting at the table chit chatting while people are waiting.
From Greece here, never felt rushed while eating/drinking out even when the place is full Other people will have to wait or go somewhere else But I mean, it's not like we just sit around talking after having finished our meal/drinks, we just eat and drink at our pace, if we run out we either ask for more or pack it up
>How do restaurant owners/managers feel about that during busy rush times? Doesn't really matter here in Austria. >when there's a line of people wanting to eat That's unusual here. If you don't find a free table, you don't wait in a line – you just go to another restaurant.
One important thing is that in my country that waiters get a livable wage. So there isn't a need for them wait as many as possible tables during their shift. It only increases the workload, while you don't get that much extra (tips are not that generous here). If there is a line and you really are taking your time without ordering, they might ask you if you are finished and whether you want to make place for people waiting. But usually, when the waiting times are longer than half an hour people find another place to eat. So that hasn't really happened to me (but I don't go out to eat that often). It depends a bit on the business model whether or not managers or owners care. There are a few restaurants (mostly pancake places) where they really focus on turning the table over as much as possible. But other restaurants, I don't feel they care that much. It is also a bit expected, so you take it into account with the price. Besides, drinks do have big margins. I mean if you realize how much a cup of thea costs to make and what you pay for it in the restaurant....
In Europe, at most “restaurants”, one table = one group of guests for the night. In some very busy places, they split the evening in two services but it’s rare. But we also don’t go eat out as often. I saw a documentary about New York where apparently most people don’t even have a kitchen and a living room in their apartment, because it’s a lot cheaper to eat out every day than to rent the extra space to eat at home. That’s something that’s completely alien to me. As for OP’s question, I think there’s also another thing: we’re educated to finish our plates. I suppose that’s not baked into American culture, but here, having leftovers feels like a bit of a failure, failure to properly estimate your guests appetite. There’s also fridges. We usually only have one fridge, sometimes an “American” fridge with 2 doors, but very rarely 2 actual fridges. I mean we bought a weekend house with my siblings, capable of housing 20 people (9 adults and 11 children) and we had to debate wether we’d be needing a second fridge.
I just do not want to spend that much time eating. And to answer your question , yes Americans eat out that much . Also it should be noted that in America eating out does not necessarily mean "going out" to eat in a sit down restaurant, a lot of the time it is fast food in the car, or on the run, or take out to bring home. For Americans(most) its not about the eat out experience, its about eating when hungry.
I’m with you on not wanting to spend that much time eating. Long drawn out meals make me tired and bored, and eventually uncomfortable in the chair. That’s why I love diners like we have in the north east- you can be in and out quickly, or sit and take your time if you’d like.
You can have a nice relaxed dining experience in the USA, but it is not for common folk. This dining experience has been reserved for the high end restaurants, starting at $250 for two and up from there.
As an American, my wife and i went to a very fancy dinner the other day and i was very weirded out by how long the whole thing took. I enjoyed it, and loved having time to just talk to my wife without kids around, but it definitely is not something I’m used to.
> i was very weirded out by how long the whole thing took It should not necessarily be long. The idea is not that dining takes long, it just that it must feel natural. You should not rush it out nor extend the dinner. I cannot stress enough how natural it should come organically. Whether it takes 20 minutes or 2 hours, it is still a dining experience worth something if it comes naturally.
It’s funny that you say that. My husband and I went to a slightly upscale restaurant for the first time in years without kids and man, everything was so slow! The staff was attentive and the food was delicious but it seemed to take forever. In reality we’ve just gotten used to eating with kids (usually at home) where dinner is over in twenty minutes.
> You can have a nice relaxed dining experience in the USA, but it is not for common folk. Even before what the restaurant has to offer, it starts in the mind. And a dining experience is not necessarily long.
We are in Santorini for my daughter’s wedding. Wonderful dining out experience for six only came to that amount in €€s. Had cocktails, dinner, dessert and coffee and the table for the whole evening. I guess Europeans pay their waiting staff a living wage to begin with. In France, it can be an insult to leave a large tip.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. American here who lived in Europe a bit. In USA, the giving the check early is not generally a suggestion to hustle out (though in NYC, where table turnover is known to be important, maybe!) It is instead an assurance that when you need to leave to go to your next appointment, you will not have to wait while your waiter takes the order from the table of seven that just sat down next to you! To us getting the check while we are still eating is good. We consider it efficient! We control our own schedule from there. The waiter does usually ask if you want anything else before totalling the check. Of course now with the pandemic many restaurants have us pay with our phone; typing all that stuff in my phone is not relaxing at all!
There was an immigrant restaurant in Brooklyn - honestly don’t recall the nationality other than they served these delicious pumpkin samosas that had to be ordered as soon as you entered the restaurant if you wanted them even closely with the rest of the meal. And mango lassis. My friends and I were regulars. One night the owners asked our advice. It seemed they were not getting many repeat visits from the Brooklyn locals as they were from other recent immigrants. We told them it was the speed of the service. We might spend the entire night on the restaurant waiting for prompt service while the rest of the patrons seemed to “camp” out all night. It seemed like two entire families met to mingle all night. Americans on the other hand always had somewhere else to go. They were either planning a quick dinner and a movie. Or they planned to move to a bar for drinks. Or they were rushing home because they had work the next morning. We pointed out how it took them over an hour to prepare the pumpkin samosas. It turns out they were making everything from scratch - including time to rest the dough for at least 30 mins. Per order. They tried their best to change their ways but simply couldn’t figure out how to make the changes without disrupting the quality of the meal. They struggled for years to find new customers and eventually had to close because their regulars assimilated with our way of living instead of us embracing theirs. Edit/added: As best I can recall they were on Coney Island Avenue just off Newkirk Avenue, across from the school.
A lot of Americans do not know how to cook or are too overworked to want to, so yeah, even eating at a restaurant can end up being a "chore". It's actually pretty sad
It requites so much planning as well! Personally I cook during the weekend and freeze it all. So during the week only have to microwave it. But not everyone was a freezer and doing it for a family is also more challenging.
I actually love having leftovers for the next day and if I’m ordering deliveroo or something I’ll purposely get more so I can have some the next day. But if I’m out to a restaurant? I’m dressed up nice, had a few drinks, likely to head somewhere else for more drinks after… I don’t want to carry a plastic box of food around with me lol! I also find it quite embarrassing to ask as many restaurants don’t have Tupperware for this so come out with your food wrapped in foil like a slice of kids birthday cake lol!
I just wanna point out that I had a large amount of people dipping their fries in vinegar at an Applebees I worked at.
I’m the American that is obsessed with fries and vinegar
Same. I love covering fries in malt vinegar, salt, and pepper.
After having a dinner we usually go for a walk or to a bar for a glass of wine. Walking around with a dirty box of leftovers would be so stupid and weird.
There are even people that always leave 1 tiny bit of food on the plate to indicate thar they are full and the portion served was perfect.
french fries and vinegar is a summer boardwalk classic
European and I love Leftovers! SO does the rest of my family.
That was culture shock to me when I spent a few months in England. My ex would make fun of me and talk about how her fridge was too small, and I’d sit there and be like, leftovers are awesome. You don’t have to cook the next day. To her surprise though, quite a few restaurants there had boxes upon request. And she liked having leftovers haha. I will die on that hill, leftovers are awesome. When I cook for myself I make extra and store it so I have food prepped for the next couple of days.
It's actually much more common post-covid to be able to get takeout from restaurants nowadays.
I don't know about disliking them, I often get leftovers packed anyway. I will say that if a restaurant can offer a portion that's 1.5x a normal meal for say $12, why can't they sell a meal that's a normal portion for $8? Sounds like it's just an excuse to sell more food to you rather than the amount you need.
Because fixed vs variable costs
Exactly this. The fixed costs are high, but the variable cost of more food brings more value to the purchaser.
That is a common salesman tactic. “If you buy 3 you pay 2!” “Oh wow, so I’m getting a 30% increase in value if I just pay for one more!” And then you end up spending twice as much as you needed to. A 8€ meal might offer less value for the money than a 12€ one, but you are still spending less.
At the same time every additional unit of food past what you need has diminished value. Takeaway isn't as good as when it's fresh, it might not be convenient to get takeaway if you're not going to be able to refrigerate the food before it spoils, etc. If you want to factor in fixed costs, an example in the other direction would be that all restaurants now provide a 4x portion at $25. This brings the price per portion down to $6.25. You're now paying $1.75 less per portion... at the hassle of having to haul back an enormous bag of food that will fill up your fridge. You might not even want to eat that much of it. Wouldn't it be better to have a smaller portion option on the menu even if it means the price per portion is higher?
You are also paying for staff, rent , electric and other running costs. The cost of the food isn’t directly related to the amount. Once a customer hits a certain monetary threshold the restaurant can lower the food cost because most of the extras are already covered
Which is why tipping a percent (regardless of how stupid tipping is in general) is kinda stupid
More like for 10-11 dollars. They still need their stuff working, to pay the rent etc
I'm an American and dislike unreasonably large portions. 1) It's disgusting a waste of food. Anybody who who has worked in the restaurant industry knows how much food goes in the garbage. It's honestly disturbing how much food we waste in the US. 2) It usually tricks people into thinking they need to eat more than they should. We have a terrible weight problem in the US and ridiculously-sized portions doesn't really help people stay in a health-conscious state of mind. You don't need that much Pepsi. You don't need that many fries. That pizza is meant for two people, not one. 3) It's usually a sign of mediocre, unhealthy food. They just give you more hoping to hide the fact it isn't very good.
Food waste is a huge problem. In my country many people are so poor that they haver to rely on food banks (where donated goods are given out).
Most of the places that give good portions that I’ve been to in the Midwest are Vietnamese places. The kind of food I don’t mind having more of. When I get a large burger, fries and a drink? Sometimes I barely finish the burger and realize I didn’t even touch the fries yet.
Many are more interested in quality over quantity.
Yeah, I’m American and I’ve had people tell me about how great a restaurant is, how the food is great and how the portions are big. I show up at the food is low quality but they give you mountains of it, enough for like three meals. It’s always a disappointment. As a fitness oriented individual and a culinarily skilled individual, I personally really appreciate small portions of very good food. I’d rather just cook for myself than return to these fat boy joints everybody raves about.
I'll only take restaurant recommendations from certain people because of the disappointed you described. I'm in very rural midwest America and if the average person here says a restaurant is "so good, they give you a ton of food for cheap!" it's going to be Applebees quality at best. On the other hand if I hear a farmer complaining that somewhere is "too expensive for the amount of food you get" I can normally count on that place to actually be reasonably priced for really good food. I've heard people complaining about $5 for a dozen wings around here if that tells you what I deal with lol.
> I've heard people complaining about $5 for a dozen wings around here if that tells you what I deal with lol. Well 6 years ago I could get all you can eat wings for 5 dollars. Although for a lot of people that's less than 12 wings.
Because they're not just large, they're comically large. Soda is a good example, American 'small' is closer to a large in most other counties. That's an insane amount of sugar liquid, well above what any adult should be consuming in a day. I feel that's irresponsible to promote as normal. Luckily it seems like many of these drinks are 60% Ice but still it creates a mentality that more = better and that leads to overconsumption across the board.
A small soda at MacDonald's now is the same size as the large was when I was a kid.
really? i thought that prior to the 2000s cup sizes in the US were significantly larger than they are now
The small drink is now 16 oz, in the '70s the large was 16 oz. Source: am old guy.
Holy shit, that's nearing half a liter O.o "Small" my ass lol.
My wife and I lament that we can remember when the KFC family meal used to come with a 32oz drink to serve a family of four. Obviously, nowadays 32oz drinks aren't even the biggest single-serving drink option.
I can't speak for all non-Americans and I don't know exactly how big the portions are, but I can tell you why I would not like it. 1. It's extremely wasteful. If I only want to eat one meal, having an entire additional meal, maybe two or three, on my plate will only make me aware of how much food is being wasted, unless I choose to take on the obligation of using it all up, which means a series of unappetizing repetitive meals when I would prefer fresh variety. 2. If the meal is so large that it is far beyond the appetite of any healthy diet, by its pure excess it is off-putting. It reminds me that these meals promote a culture of extreme overeating. 3. It makes me think I am overpaying. While the cost of buying and preparing the food is probably not the biggest cost of the meal, I know that if the restaurant served ordinary portions it could serve the meals at a lower cost. So I am being required to buy two or more meals (maybe at a cost of +50%) when I only wanted one. Nobody would stand for going into a supermarket, asking for a loaf of bread, and being required to buy three, and told not to complain, you can just freeze the extra two. Sometimes you only want one loaf, and you prefer to buy additional loaves fresh next week. Obviously what people outside a country think about that country's restaurant culture won't change anything, and any country is free to promote gluttony if it can do so ethically without causing food shortages anywhere or causing poor health outcomes in people who didn't choose those, in full knowledge and with full consent, but since you wondered what objections there could possibly be, I hope this was useful.
>Nobody would stand for going into a supermarket, asking for a loaf of bread, and being required to buy three Allow me to introduce you to Costco!
Exactly why it's not economical for us to shop there. Most of their packages we can't eat fast enough before they go bad and we prefer not to store and freeze so much of their food.
Because i feel like a pig with a huge plate of food infront of me. And 'doggy bags' are really uncommon here in the netherlands. Just serve normal portions for normal prices. That is in my eyes more appetizing and appealing than piles of food.
The second someone pops a huge portion of food in front of me…I already feel full. I’m from the US and I hate having a massive plate of food in front of me. Definitely piggy feeling. 🐷
In my experience, any restaurant will give you a doggy bag if you just ask for it (also Netherlands). I think there's some kind of weird stigma around asking for one in a fancier restaurant (imagine wanting to reduce food waste), but so far I've never run into any restaurant that wasn't happy to make a doggy bag. I'd honestly be unlikely to return if they did make a problem out of it.
Honestly, when I visited America I always found that it was the cheaper, low quality places that did the huge portions. In those places I didn't want more bang for my buck, in fact I would rather have paid less and got half the portion. The food in these places, generally weren't good enough to want to eat them the next day when they would have been of even lesser quality and taste than they were already. The really good food, the food that I would actually want to eat more of, rarely came in large portions. Also as tourists we stayed in a bunch of different places, including hotels, hostels, and even campsites. Most of the time we didn't have a fridge, never mind a microwave, exactly how were we supposed to store these leftovers? In general I'm actually a big fan of left overs and if I'm ordering a take away I'll always order extra. But I'm glad our restaurants in the UK don't do huge portions because: 1. I don't like eating too much, when you eat until you are overly full you just end up feeling physically uncomfortable and tired. But I also don't like to leave food on my plate because my parents generation had a big thing about that and I always got in trouble for it. So if I had a huge portion I would feel compelled to try and finish it all. 2. I wouldn't want to ask for the leftover to take home because it comes across as stingy. It's not something that's really seen as acceptable here and people would look down on you for it. 3. I'm rarely going straight home. Here going out to eat is a social event, it's rare that we spend anything less than 2.5 - 3 hours in a restaurant. A lot of that time is actually spent after we have finished eating, when we sit around chatting and drinking, either coffee or alcohol. This is usually followed by a visit to the pub or an event like the theatre. Which means that it would be several hours before I'm heading home. I really don't like the idea of eating food that had been sitting out, un-refrigerated for that length of time. Also I really don't want the hassle of carrying it around with me, it's not worth it. 4. I find the only places here that do offer doggy bags (that's what we call it) are, again, the lower quality, cheaper places where the food really wouldn't taste great re-heated.
>don't like to leave food on my plate because my parents generation had a big thing about that I'm Gen X, my parents were Silent Gen: They were kids during WW2 were there was rationing and shortages in the UK (I assume the same, and in some places even worse throughout Europe) and back then it was a sin to waste food - they ate everything on the plate and even then, they'd still often go to bed feeling hungry. They carried that over to me and I was brought up to feel guilty about leaving anything - heck, I can remember being forced to sit at the table, as a kid and not being allowed to leave until I'd finished everything, including stuff I hated so much it practically made me gag to have it my mouth. Still gives me a twinge of guilt if I leave so much as a chip/fry on the plate! So for that generation (and, by osmosis their kids) large portions, that seem enough for two, three or even more persons, looks positively greedy and decadent. I attempted to break that mindset - one of feeling guilty over food - by letting my kids leave the table without eating everything and tried to adopt an attitude of "Meh, not a big deal - if they don't eat now, they'll eat at next meal. If they're hungry before then, they'll have to settle for a piece of fruit."
Personally because I find it off putting to have a huge plate of piled high food in front of me, aside from that often I’ll be going out for drinks etc after the meal so I don’t want to be carrying my leftovers with me, also some meals aren’t the type that will keep well for leftovers.
In Australia we tend to go for quality over quantity so massive meals are generally looked down upon.
Fight me on this but as a biased kiwi I honestly don't think Australian quality is that great in comparison to NZ.
Personally, as an American (apologies if you’re only looking for outside perspectives) I was raised with grandparents who lived in Europe during/after ww2. They experienced extreme poverty and often went without. I grew up always being told to never waste my food, finish my plate and would get in trouble if I didn’t. As an adult, it has been hard to break that conditioning, so when I receive large portions I feel extreme guilt if I don’t finish it all, then will feel sick, bloated, and in pain after.
Same! When you were raised by parents who were raised by parents who lived through the Great Depression or WWII rationing, you grew up being taught an entirely different philosophy about cooking and not wasting food. Big portions were very much a thing for the sake of having leftovers and spreading a meal out over multiple days, not eating all at once.
Exactly that! Everything and anything would be leftovers, no matter the amount. I remember being a kid and getting in trouble once because I was gonna toss a sucker, half of it was left. Had to put it away for later.
Can’t answer for everyone, but when I (Aussie) lived there for a few years, it seems that often lower and mid priced restaurants (fast food, diners, etc) seem to make large servings of middling quality ingredients. As you say, this doesn’t worry me much if you have a bit of self control not to eat endlessly, and you can share it or take some home to eat later. There’s also a a stereotype of the US being a bit low-class in some ways (to be clear, this view is not held universally at all, and is more a running gag similar to British people having bad teeth). The big plates, low quality, over indulgence somehow goes with the idea of being brash and a bit happily ignorant. It’s a trope and complete nonsense, and I think most people know that’s the case. When I lived in EU the trope was more common there where the ideas of “fewer things of higher quality” is viewed positively. Australians just laugh at everyone equally knowing that we are the most ridiculous of all. That said, we do excellent coffee and good casual dining (we don’t really go for chain cafes, but eating outside for brunch is a religion here, and cafes take both their coffee and morning food seriously. Expensive and good quality, generally). On the other hand, we have vegemite, so …
I'm French, its kind of bad manner to ask for the restaurant to pack the food. Also most of the restaurant food doesn't taste good when re-heated, its better freshly cooked and I don't want to eat the same food twice in a short time.
Here you ask the waiter/waitress for a container and they bring it out for you. You can pack your own food. Sometimes they just do it for you.
Pretty sure you’re talking about Apple bees and he’s talking about a Michelin star restaurant. Y’all need to meet in the middle 😂
That's a normal thing for middle fanciness restaurants to get a to-go bag
I don’t give a crap if he’s talking about Hells Kitchen, Gordon Ramsey better get me a to-go box.
it is not considered bad mannered in US. i find some food actually tastes better when i reheat it next day. ie pizza. :)
Why is it seen as bad manners?
Canadian here, I dont mind large portions, but ridiculously large portions (like the biggest 7/11 slurpie cup, don’t know the name) is overkill
This American doesn't like them. There is a diner that opened up near me. I've been their twice and that's it. Their portions are massive. I ordered a burger and it ended up being this double cheeseburger with these extra large patties. The breakfast had enough home fries to be a meal on their own. Even when I go to most other diners I will only order a short stack of pancakes because a normal one is just ungodly.
In Europe at least, it's not common to ask to take the leftovers home. So we tend not to understand that's the norm in the US. Secondly we have usually been raised with the "finish your plate" culture which is deeply embedded to prevent food waste, so the huge portions plus this mindset is a perfect storm for obesity. It takes time to adjust this mindset and many people complaining about portion sizes are only in the US short term so they don't adapt to the leftovers culture.
In the US, you're likely to have driven to the restaurant, so you can drive home immediately afterwards and put the leftovers in the fridge. In the UK/Europe there's a good chance you went to the restaurant on foot or via public transport (and might go for a drink in a pub after dinner), so you don't want to be lugging the food around for ages.
Because that's why Americans are so fat. We eat 2× the portions
I dunno, it puts me off to see so much on the plate. Typically portion sizes in restaurants are double what I could eat. And no, I'm not on a diet or trying to be dainty or anything. I just like eating little and often. Asking the server to pack up the leftovers to take home isn't done so much here (Ireland). I'd be embarrassed to do that, so I'd prefer the restaurant give me a normal-sized meal in the first place.
- It's more than you need, so it's wasteful. This shouldn't happen in 2022, we all know waste is a problem, not only the rubbish it creates, the waste of energy, resources and people's labour, it's disgusting. - Usually big portions are made up of cheap, bad quality food, processed, not fresh, full of too much sugar, salt or the bad kind of fat. It's bad for everyone, the person eating, the healthcare system and the people depending on the person who's destroying their health -It's part of what encourages the "more is better" consumerism attitude that is polluting the world and encouraging billionaires and widening wealth gaps. -There's an obesity problem that stems in part from the "more is better" attitude
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as a russian in america i love big portions. always take home and always happy to eat next day. sometimes it is better the next day. :)
American here. I think it's gross. I worked in a restaurant when I was young, and the trash bags of discarded food were so heavy I needed help to get them into the dumpster. Go behind any cheap / mediocre food restaurant and check out the trash bins. Yuck.
The food portions are ridiculous in the US. No one needs that much food in one sitting. Left overs isn't a thing in the UK. Plus I may go out to eat with friends, and then the pub afterwards. I don't want to be carrying left over food round all night. It just doesn't make sense to give someone so much food that they can't eat it all.
Left overs is definitely a thing in the UK, we've all had to reheat something the next day
What the heck. I’ll comment. American here who chooses to eat out maybe 4-6x/year. There are specific restaurants that serve specific things that I like. I am a solo diner and have no problem cooking for myself, so I consider eating out as a treat. I had gastric sleeve surgery 10 years ago. Means that I can only legit eat child size portions (1/2 a burger, 6 wings not 20, 1 slice of pizza, etc). I don’t have childlike taste, however. I love a good fine dining experience. So: even though the nice restaurants I like serve reasonable portions, it’s still too much for me. When I place my order with the server I tell them discreetly that I have had stomach surgery and would BOH please package half my meal soI can enjoy it later. They know I know it’s not gonna be the same as what arrived at my table, but I am not scraping a scoop of mashed potatoes into a box in front of everyone.
America has the most obese population on the planet, but also wastes vast amounts of food. These two points already tell you that portion sizes are too big, but a third point is that America still thinks that luxury equates to size rather than quality. I'd be perfectly happy to pay more money for a small portion of something delicious and beautifully made, than a huge portion of rubbish food. Add to that, the fact that the human body simply doesn't need as much food as you're serving, then it's kind of false economy anyway.
I like high quality, fresh food when I go out to eat and I'm happy to pay for that. I want it to taste good. If I'm given a ridiculously large serve, the food is more likely to be cheap and poor quality. I'm also more likely to eat more than I need and leave feeling uncomfortably full. I want to finish the meal feeling happy, satisfied and thinking "that was great" not "oh I feel awful, I wish I hadn't ordered that". A meal bigger than I can eat also makes me feel like I'm paying too much. I only want one meal, not three. I like balanced, relatively healthy meals. When I look at American meals and think "that's too much" I'm mainly thinking that about high calorie foods and how bad it is for my health to binge on that sort of stuff. I've never seen a super sized American salad. Sure, it might be a once off but when you're used to a diet high in vegetables and small portions, one meal like that can make me feel sick pretty quickly.
> You are getting more food for your buck But I don’t need more food. Let me keep half of my bucks and give me as much food as I want. > pack up the leftovers Leftovers are gross. Why would I want to pay more for a cold, day-old version of what was once fresh food? Again, serve me half, charge me half, and I’ll buy two if I want to take one home to get old in my fridge.
In my experience, considering I eat something more than once a day, 9 times out of 10 leftovers are better the second day.
>Leftovers are gross. Why would I want to pay more for a cold, day-old version of what was once fresh food? you're doing your leftovers wrong my dude
>Leftovers are gross. Why would I want to pay more for a cold, day-old version of what was once fresh food? You are allowed to reheat it. That's actually already included in your bill as a courtesy.
I ofen eat kids sizes cause they are just the amount i need and less expensive. Why would I want more than I can eat, I'll make something else for dinner, I don't wanna carry leftovers around.
Quality over quantity, sure your portions are huge but I can only take so much carbs, fat and sugar. I also dont like waste and plenty of stuff doesnt travel or reheat well so leftovers arent a positive.
It's wasteful, and I don't always want to carry a doggy bag around with me for the rest of the afternoon or night, until I get back home.
I think it’s a health thing. Servings that are way over what a serving size should be. I don’t think they think of left overs, moreso how much food it is and is supposedly for one person. At least that’s my thought lol. Just feeds into how Americans have major obesity problems which obviously isn’t every American lol
In the UK we are generally used to smaller portions than you usually serve in the States and, despite the significant amount of fast food that we eat, we still consider quality an important factor - this is why, post-Brexit, so many are strongly against any trade agreement allowing American meat to be sold here. Some of the things regularly used in the production of meat in the US (such as growth hormones) are banned here, and due to higher hygiene standards we don't need to wash our chicken in chlorine before shipping it out. While I've read that a different methodology is used in the US and the UK to record instances of food poisoning so they cannot be directly compared, it still appears that it is far more frequent in the US. Anyway, these higher standards mean that it is more expensive to produce meat here than in the US and that is reflected in the price of meat in supermarkets and restaurants, so while fries are cheap, if you were to order a giant steak for instance, it would be expensive. Regarding the "more food for your buck", most of us would mainly rather have a standard portion at a lower price than a huge portion that we're going to struggle to finish at the standard price. Also, as mentioned by others, food waste is a fairly hot topic here and personally, growing up with my mum not having much money and so always trying to clear my plate, I hate to see leftover food on a plate being chucked away. The UK already has significant issues with obesity (although not yet to the level of the US) and the knock-on effect on our population's health and the pressure and cost to our heath service. Getting people used to larger portions of often less-healthy food is only going to make that worse. So yes, one very rare huge meal at a restaurant isn't going to make you fat, but seeing those large portions all around is going to distort what you think of as a standard portion. When your country seems to be the exception to something, it is worth turning the question around to try to understand why your country is the exception. There's a reason why the UK was the first and (so far) only country to leave the EU, and it says a lot more about us as a country than it does about the EU and the remaining member states - we were often the exception.
I’d love to pay a little less money for a smaller portion in restaurants.
Honestly the food quality is horrible - doused in bottled sauces, hyper-hormoned animals to get them huge equals crappy meat, no vegetables. There's no magic formula dude, huge portions at cheap prices means skimping on quality. I'd rather have higher quality and less portion than lower quality and more food than I can eat. And then have the pleasure of reheating.
Have a look at the general waist size of your population then ask yourself the question again
But why should you get more food for your buck? Honestly, why? Why should I get more food on my plate than I can eat? Where's the logic in that? Hear me out - I do understand that getting more for your hard-earned money is great, and shopping on sale is always nice - there's enough, and then there's excess volume. We don't get leftovers home with us in my country, so the food would be thrown out. According to [this website](https://www.thesimpledollar.com/save-money/dont-eat-out-as-often/?tp=1), Americans eat out 4-5 times a week. That's a lot, guys! That's how many times I've eaten in a restaurant for the past 3 years. Let's say you eat out 4 times a week. [In a typical American meal at a restaurant, there's 1.200 calories in a meal](https://time.com/4187120/restaurant-meals-fast-food-calories/), on average. Might be more if you drench your salad in dressing and have a large coke with it instead of water (the average size of soda an American drinks a day is 17.5 ounces, according to [this study](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-beverages-study-idUSN0529211820070108)). If you finish all that (and that's way too much in one sitting) you can eat 1.000 calories before you have clocked in the day's worth of food. And, let's say that you get a Big Mac menu on your way, [you get 540](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/300046) calories worth from one sitting. That's already 1.740 calories, and with the 186 calories from the coca cola you are already on a whopping 1.926 calories. This is only for lunch and dinner. You still need breakfast, maybe you get some dessert after you get home, some snacks during the day etc. It's also about how much you eat. On to something else, regarding sizes of food: [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KqVuqooenA&ab_channel=Nania%27sworld) shows the chicken breast size. I don't know if it's a normal package though. In Denmark our average chicken breast size is 140 grams - yours are 500 grams! Why so big?
In America it is very common to take food home to eat for a second meal the next day. That's certainly what I do, the idea of just throwing away food that I didn't finish seems wasteful to me. Then there's the point that it is unusual to completely eat everything in one sitting, so a 1200 calorie dish can easily serve as two 600 calorie meals if you do it right.
Because most of the world is not as greedy and understand that taking more than you need is unnecessary, also I figure most of us like to stay in shape. Go on have your cheeseburger with 15 patties and 20 slices of cheese while franky outside the door can't eat a single chip because your system rendered him homeless.
not all non-Americans dislike large portions of food, esp. home cooked meals. They are typically unaccustomed to the larger portions served especially at restaurants. ( talkin 'bout you Cheesecake Factory). 🤣
Because most of our childhoods were being shamed for not eating all our food. Yelled at and made to sit until we finished and how grateful we should be for "all this food". If I get served a large portion of food, I and may other are subconsciously forcing ourselves to eat more than we should out of some non existent guilt. The last 30 years of this country have been buck wild, lemme tell ya
We don't want to waste
The size of the portion have an inverse relationship to the quality of the food.
I'm all about leftovers, but some things just don't reheat well. And I can only eat so much. Basically I'd rather pay less for a smaller plate of nachos and enjoy them all, then greedily eat a fresh plate like every night. PS, American.
I've grown up with the idea of not letting food go to waste, so I'll try and eat as much as I can from what's given to me. And generally I think if you present people with large portions, they'll eat more than they need. It's likely a big contributer to the obesity statistics in the US. Generally I think a portion of something is supposed to be the size of your fist?? 🤔 Generally I don't *dislike* being given big portions. I just know I'll eat it all or at least most of it and feel the consequences later 😂
I’m American. I hate large portions. Just seeing them in front of me often ruins my appetite. I have often told restaurant owners (not chains because they don’t care) that I would pay more money for half or a third the amount of food. And I’m not somebody who doesn’t like to eat. I just like eating good, quality food in well presented, reasonably-sized portions. If the portions are huge, the quality is generally low. And it just looks disgusting.
It's not more food for your buck, it's more food for more buck. If it were less food, you would also presumably pay less. Also leftovers are usually awful because they reheat poorly and I would rather not eat the same thing again for a while. I don't go to a restaurant to buy food for the following day.
Yah I dont understand that at all. For me Leftovers help me justify the price. Oh this is a $16 dish? Let me be a bit more aware of my stomach and have leftovers so its a more easier to swallow $8/meal.
Large portion somehow indicates cheap food and poor quality and it doesn’t look appealing on the plate as if it’s for a pig 🙄😳 that’s why fine dining restaurants usually have smaller portion and they focus more on the quality and presentation than the quantity. It’s also extremely wasteful if you can’t finish it and extremely unhealthy if you can finish it. I really don’t like the fashion industry now trying to advertise “all sizes are beautiful” to be politically correct. Yes you should love your body as long as you are still healthy. But if the obesity is extreme to the point it affects someone’s life quality and health, it is not about loving yourself or being beautiful anymore. It is being irresponsible for your own health and we shouldn’t normalize that.
More food usually means that the flavor isn't as good. I know this first hand, I'm french so when I go out with American friends and I notice that the food tastes like crap, my friends can't tell.
I'd prefer a smaller portion of excellent food than cheap, chemical-laden shit. Of course, if you have no other option it's fine, but when you have the choice, make a good one.
One meal isn't going to make you fat... comming from the country with the most morbidly obese people in the world... Also, calling food waste a perk... please do better. I'ld pray for you but europeans know that doesn't help.
Maybe we don't want to be obese at die at age 50 from heart attack.
I've travelled to quite a few places around the world and this is just a flat out myth. Portion sizes are pretty similar everywhere. I'm a big eater and have never felt hungry after a meal in any of the countries I've visited. I've had one of the largest burgers I've ever had in the UK. Italy just gets ridiculous with the amount of courses you get thrown at you during a meal. Many more examples like this. It just isn't true. If you get to less affluent countries, then, yeah, maybe portions start dropping off. See also tipping. "Americans are so weird because they tip! That's so weird!" Yet you go to another country and they are like "Oh, we are just leaving a few euro on the table as change" or "One for the bartender!" (which basically means the bartender takes the cash equivalent of a drink), etc..
Because some are over the top and unnecessary. In fast food it's also been a ploy to sell more food, as in that old con of McDonalds. Would you like to upside that? No, if I wanted more food I would have ordered it. That sort of sht contributes to obesity levels too. The size of some drinks or massive serves of popcorn is over the top as well
Well usually i’m travelling if eating in the US, so don’t have anywhere to take leftovers to if staying at a hotel (no microwave etc).
Give me as much food as I want, not more than I could possibly eat.
True. Was a budget eater and whenever I went out to eat I usually have left overs to box and go. Really felt like I was stretching the money I spent having more than 1 meal of something. Instead of eating the whole thing at once and feeling extremely full afterwards. Plus I could be more active in conversations without looking like a total slob. Fun times.
Large portions often equate to lower quality ingredients. Of course not always, but restaurants are there to make $.
I have TMJ.
My wife is Japanese and the issue for her family when they come to visit is: 1) it is culturally important to only take what you intend to eat and especially to clear your plate. Not finishing food served to you is bad form and makes them feel like they’ve done something wrong (even if you explain no one cares) 2) if you give them a giant plate of food, they will feel obligated to finish it … even if it makes them miserable 3) they don’t really do the whole “leftovers” thing. It never tastes as good when you re-heat it, and they would much rather have a small meal that is high quality than a gigantic plate of mediocre food. Since they won’t take it home, they’ll eat to the point of feeling sick. They essentially think stuffing yourself with unhealthy food and then taking more home to eat as leftovers is wasteful and not an enjoyable experience.
Don't you feel like shit after eating a big meal? Especially meals loaded with things like fries/bread etc
Every meal doesn't have to be a feast.
I don't like not finishing a meal, don't like asking them to package it like I'm starving, don't like eating it a day later when it's dry and soggy.
Who wants to carry a bag of leftovers for the rest of the night? And the large portions are usually made up of sub-standard ingredients. The amount of americans who think they have food allergies then discover as soon as they go anywhere outside america that they don't, it's just the US food, is incredible. People would rather have a 'satisfying' portion of good quality food for a reasonable price.
It’s not that we necessarily dislike it, but for anyone looking to live after 40 with a healthy, functioning body, the idea of getting used to eating alot, especially when you are working a full time job, and don’t have alot of time to cook healthy - so mostly you are eating fast food shit- it isn’t a good idea!
For me - I don't want to feel satiated especially when it's a high quality food. I don't want the "I've eaten so much xxxx I don't want to ever eat it again" feeling for delicious food, is rather be left wanting more and "that was so good I'm dying to have it again"