Restaurant portions

here we go with another insight view of the evleth family's afflictions

"Donna Evleth" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
We live in Europe. We just got back from a week in Florida. The trip was
wonderful, the food was, too, but there was just too much of it. After a
week of eating my way through those gigantic portions, I got sick.
Colitis.
It always happens when I eat too much.

I have never figured out what to do about this problem. I know there are
Senior Menus for old folks like me, but they are so boring. I just never
want to see another chicken breast. I disliked white meat fowl even when
I
was a child. The Senior Menu reminds me of the child's plate I disdained
then, because it didn't offer enough choice. Nor is the doggy bag a
solution for us. When you're in a motel, and are going to move on the
next
day, how do you keep the food refrigerated? Or reheat it?

What I would like to suggest is "travelers' portions". Half the size, so
you can eat it all at once, and not overeat or feel guilty about having to
leave the food.

Does anyone here have any other suggestions for dealing with this problem?

Donna Evleth from Paris, France

Rita wrote:
On Mon, 30 May 2005 14:08:54 -0400, Marsha wrote:

but I can't bring myself to waste anything. You
could buy one meal and split it with your partner,
but some find that a bit tacky.


It is not considered at all tacky at the wide range
of restaurants I eat at in New York City. We always
share -- order usually an appetizer, an entree and a
dessert.

I personally don't find it tacky.

so forth. Last night we ate Thai and 2 of us ordered
three dishes. They were large and we took a bit home
with us.

Always a great idea. OP couldn't take any with
her, though.

Thankfully, we have thousands to choose from.

And one of these days, I'm hoping to sample the
fare in your neck of the woods, as soon as I can
find about three months' vacation : )

Marsha/Ohio

Donna Evleth:
Nor is the doggy bag a solution for us. When you're in a motel,
and are going to move on the next day, how do you keep the food
refrigerated? Or reheat it?

Dave Hatunen:
We Americans take the leftover portion home, put it in the
fridge, and have it for lunch the next day. If you hae access to
a fridge at your hotel you can do likewise. Just ask the
waitperson for a "doggy bag".

I think Dave might like to reread what Donna wrote, there.
--
Mark Brader | "...given time, a generally accepted solution to
Toronto | this problem will evolve, as it has in the past for
| [others], only to be replaced by the next issue, which
| no-one has even dreamt of yet." -- Andrew Lawrence

On Mon, 30 May 2005 19:51:30 +0200, Donna Evleth
wrote:

We live in Europe. We just got back from a week in Florida. The trip was
wonderful, the food was, too, but there was just too much of it. After a
week of eating my way through those gigantic portions, I got sick. Colitis.
It always happens when I eat too much.

I have never figured out what to do about this problem. I know there are
Senior Menus for old folks like me, but they are so boring. I just never
want to see another chicken breast. I disliked white meat fowl even when I
was a child. The Senior Menu reminds me of the child's plate I disdained
then, because it didn't offer enough choice. Nor is the doggy bag a
solution for us. When you're in a motel, and are going to move on the next
day, how do you keep the food refrigerated? Or reheat it?

What I would like to suggest is "travelers' portions". Half the size, so
you can eat it all at once, and not overeat or feel guilty about having to
leave the food.

Does anyone here have any other suggestions for dealing with this problem?

We Americans take the leftover portion home, put it in the
fridge, and have it for lunch the next day. If you hae access to
a fridge at your hotel you can do likewise. Just ask the
waitperson for a "doggy bag".

Europeans seem to not have caught on to taking the leftovers home
and apparently consider it a bit gauche.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Hatunen wrote:


We Americans take the leftover portion home, put it in the
fridge, and have it for lunch the next day. If you hae access to
a fridge at your hotel you can do likewise. Just ask the
waitperson for a "doggy bag".

There is a place in Fort Erie Ont. that sells big portions at decent prices,
though the food is not great. I used to go there once in a while working in the
area. I always ordered half portions and even those were too much for me. My wife
went there one day with my mother for lunch on a Friday. My mother had a hot
roast beef sandwich. She is not a big meat eater and ended up taking most of the
beef home in a doggie bag. She had left over roast beef for dinner that night,
Saturday night and Sunday night. On Monday my wife and I went to my mother's for
lunch. She was expecting my brother, and made enough roast beef sandwiches for
all four os us with the rest of the leftovers. Not bad for a $7.95 hot roast
beef sandwich with a large side of fries, salad and vegetable.

On Mon, 30 May 2005 19:51:30 +0200, Donna Evleth
wrote:

We live in Europe. We just got back from a week in Florida. The trip was
wonderful, the food was, too, but there was just too much of it. After a
week of eating my way through those gigantic portions, I got sick. Colitis.
It always happens when I eat too much.

I have never figured out what to do about this problem. I know there are
Senior Menus for old folks like me, but they are so boring. I just never
want to see another chicken breast. I disliked white meat fowl even when I
was a child. The Senior Menu reminds me of the child's plate I disdained
then, because it didn't offer enough choice. Nor is the doggy bag a
solution for us. When you're in a motel, and are going to move on the next
day, how do you keep the food refrigerated? Or reheat it?

What I would like to suggest is "travelers' portions". Half the size, so
you can eat it all at once, and not overeat or feel guilty about having to
leave the food.

Does anyone here have any other suggestions for dealing with this problem?

Donna Evleth from Paris, France

It's not just the USA, although they are by far the worst.
It also happens here. It's simple logic - the least
expensive part of running a restaurant is usually the cost
of the food, so give enormous portions to keep your
customers coming back. Eventually, of course, you get to
have some enormous customers.

We found the portions too big in many other countries -
including Germany, Nederlands, even Italy for some pasta
serves.

Where we could we shared, often asking for an extra empty
plate and cutlery. If that wasn't possible, we ordered a
main course for one and just a green salad for the other and
still shared.

Through most of the US and Europe we left a trail of
restaurants that will probably remember us as Aussie
cheapskates. Do you think I care? I had just lost 25Kg as a
newly diagnosed diabetic and I was damned sure that I wasn't
going to put it all back on. It also allowed me to select
the low-carb foods that I could eat and her to have the
foods that she liked; asking any restaurant for a "diabetic"
meal is bad enough in English - it's impossible in a foreign
language. It wasn't the money - but it was nice to save a
little; in fact it allowed us to choose some of the more
expensive dishes at times and stay in budget.

I had no problem just walking out if the waiter had a
problem with it. Those that didn't, in the US (and some in
other countries), got nice tips.

On the rare occasions where it wasn't possible to share or
to find an alternative, we simply left it on the plate. But
I know that's more difficult.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

In article ,
Donna Evleth wrote:

We live in Europe. We just got back from a week in Florida. The trip was
wonderful, the food was, too, but there was just too much of it. After a
week of eating my way through those gigantic portions, I got sick. Colitis.
It always happens when I eat too much.

I have never figured out what to do about this problem. I know there are
Senior Menus for old folks like me, but they are so boring. I just never
want to see another chicken breast. I disliked white meat fowl even when I
was a child. The Senior Menu reminds me of the child's plate I disdained
then, because it didn't offer enough choice. Nor is the doggy bag a
solution for us. When you're in a motel, and are going to move on the next
day, how do you keep the food refrigerated? Or reheat it?

What I would like to suggest is "travelers' portions". Half the size, so
you can eat it all at once, and not overeat or feel guilty about having to
leave the food.

Some restaurants in the states do offer smaller meals. These are
sometimes called early bird specials or mini meals. What I do on is
simply split my food with a dining companion. Some restaurants have a
small sharing charge, but most do not. The only down side to sharing a
meal is that you and your dining companion have to order the same food,
which can sometimes be a problem.

For example, if you both can eat a roast beef sandwich, just ask the
waitperson to bring an extra plate so you can share it. No big deal.

On Mon, 30 May 2005 22:53:43 -0000, (Mark Brader)
wrote:

Donna Evleth:
Nor is the doggy bag a solution for us. When you're in a motel,
and are going to move on the next day, how do you keep the food
refrigerated? Or reheat it?

Dave Hatunen:
We Americans take the leftover portion home, put it in the
fridge, and have it for lunch the next day. If you hae access to
a fridge at your hotel you can do likewise. Just ask the
waitperson for a "doggy bag".

I think Dave might like to reread what Donna wrote, there.

How'd I miss that?

You don't need to reheat steak or pizza.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Donna Evleth wrote:

We live in Europe. We just got back from a week in Florida.

Donna Evleth from Paris, France


Hi, Donna. Whenever I'm in France, I'm amazed
how smaller portions of wonderful food can keep
me quite satisfied.

As some people have suggested, order off of the
appetizers menu. In many great city restaurants
like in Chicago, 2-3 appetizers shared by two
people followed by dessert and coffee is the
way to go. Otherwise, order only a main course.

gld

On 05/31/2005 12:23 AM Gary L. Dare performed amanuensis:

Donna Evleth wrote:

We live in Europe. We just got back from a week in Florida.
Donna Evleth from Paris, France


Hi, Donna. Whenever I'm in France, I'm amazed
how smaller portions of wonderful food can keep
me quite satisfied.

As some people have suggested, order off of the
appetizers menu. In many great city restaurants
like in Chicago, 2-3 appetizers shared by two
people followed by dessert and coffee is the
way to go. Otherwise, order only a main course.

gld

I once ate at a gourmet French restaurant in Bay Head NJ. When my
entree arrived I was surprised to see a postage stamp size meat dish.
At $35.00! Now, I've got nothing against small portions but if I'm
going to be paying $35.00 at least put something on my plate. After
dinner, I went next door to a Pizza Parlor and had 3 slices for a
fraction of the cost of my dinner at the Grenville.

Is that just the American understanding of French Gourmet food, or do
they charge you a lot for hardly nothing in France as well?

Max has the best idea. Buffet. They're relatively inexpensive and you
can eat as much or as little as you like. The only thing I don't like
to see at some of these buffets is those little old ladies with zip-lock
baggies in their purses. I once saw one put two whole pork chops,
mashed potatoes / gravy, and a desert into her bag. But, I digress.

Along with the $8.95 - $12.95 range buffets there are also some places
that charge a little more and are worth it. You have to do a little
digging to find these. Quite often they are wedding banquet centers.
Where I live there's a Greek one that does Sunday Luncheon Buffet and
there's a stately manor in NJ's horse country that has a great buffet
spread all week long. I never seem to overeat at a buffet. I take a
little bit of everything I'd like to try. It works out fine.

--
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Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
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