Posted by: Anne Holmes
What Do You Think of "Doggie Bags" at Restaurants - 08/01/11 07:09 PM
Mountain Ash asked:
Hi Mountain Ash,
Wow! This is an interesting cultural question. I guess you are saying that your restaurants don't routinely offer "doggie bags" if you can't finish a meal?
Here -- at least in the Midwestern part of the US -- our restaurants are always serving meals that are way too big to be eaten by health-conscious people in one sitting.
I think they do this because it looks bountiful.
Just recently we have started to see a few of the nicer restaurants offering "half plates," which are just that, half the normal serving, provided on a smaller plate.
But I've only seen a couple restaurants doing this so far...
For the rest of them, they allow you -- no actually encourage you -- to take home your leftovers...
This is so common here that I can't think of a (non-fast food) restaurant we eat at that doesn't have the wait staff immediately inquire before clearing the plate from in front of you as to whether you want to take home the leftovers...
All the restaurants now seem to have "clamshell" style styrofoam containers which they put the extra food into.
Some restaurants bring you the containers to do it yourself, others take the food back to the kitchen and package it for you.
Others just give you the container, while another option os for them to put the container into a plastic bag for ease of carrying.
There was one very expensive "fine dining" style restaurant Steve and I used to go to in our previous community which would wrap the leftover container in foil, and style the foil to look like a swan...
Sometimes we take our leftovers home, sometimes we don't.
But the laws say that once the food server puts the plate in front of the patron, if e or she doesn't eat it, they have to throw it out. Which essentially wastes the diner's money and the establishment's food.
Thus "doggie bags" become a form of recycling.
Anyone else have any thoughts on taking home your leftovers?
Quote:
Anne
can I ask...the chicken...from a meal out..do you ask to take some uneaten portion home..I cant recall seeing anyone do that here...so is it common in U.S.?
can I ask...the chicken...from a meal out..do you ask to take some uneaten portion home..I cant recall seeing anyone do that here...so is it common in U.S.?
Hi Mountain Ash,
Wow! This is an interesting cultural question. I guess you are saying that your restaurants don't routinely offer "doggie bags" if you can't finish a meal?
Here -- at least in the Midwestern part of the US -- our restaurants are always serving meals that are way too big to be eaten by health-conscious people in one sitting.
I think they do this because it looks bountiful.
Just recently we have started to see a few of the nicer restaurants offering "half plates," which are just that, half the normal serving, provided on a smaller plate.
But I've only seen a couple restaurants doing this so far...
For the rest of them, they allow you -- no actually encourage you -- to take home your leftovers...
This is so common here that I can't think of a (non-fast food) restaurant we eat at that doesn't have the wait staff immediately inquire before clearing the plate from in front of you as to whether you want to take home the leftovers...
All the restaurants now seem to have "clamshell" style styrofoam containers which they put the extra food into.
Some restaurants bring you the containers to do it yourself, others take the food back to the kitchen and package it for you.
Others just give you the container, while another option os for them to put the container into a plastic bag for ease of carrying.
There was one very expensive "fine dining" style restaurant Steve and I used to go to in our previous community which would wrap the leftover container in foil, and style the foil to look like a swan...
Sometimes we take our leftovers home, sometimes we don't.
But the laws say that once the food server puts the plate in front of the patron, if e or she doesn't eat it, they have to throw it out. Which essentially wastes the diner's money and the establishment's food.
Thus "doggie bags" become a form of recycling.
Anyone else have any thoughts on taking home your leftovers?