I wonder how high that lasagna really is? You can't tell by the picture.
I love big portions and yes, Americans do eat a lot more than the rest of the world, thank G-d there is plenty to eat, thank G-g there is plenty to serve, thank G-d I am for noe not complaining. And in all honesty do not know why anybody would. I suppose you've never been hungry before, and I meant it in the big picture, not because you forgot your lunch at home, but because there was nothing in the store to buy, empty shelves, no food. Rationing cards, I bet nobody who has gone thru that would ever complain about having too much food.
This actually reminds me, one time I was eating out downtown a few years back, I had been served a really large meal... Instead of taking my leftovers home with me, I gave it to a woman who was on the streets and looked like she could really use some food...
Anyways, with what I was originally going to comment on this:
I grew up in a VERY poor house, my mum was single, and living on disability. We had very limited funds to buy food, or anything else for that matter. I ate small meals, but unhealthy meals. Whatever we could get, such as pasta and the such, was a staple in our cupboards.
The point of this little story, is not to say "oh I was poor too, so yes I HAVE gone through that" (don't assume things about people)...
Rather my point is that YES, I've been there, but that doesn't mean that now I will allow myself to ingest every last crumb from an over-sized meal just because I can afford it. The wealth of people wasn't quite the point of this thread, I'm guessing, but it was about the sizes of the meals served when you go out to eat.
Just because you have the means NOW to afford these oversized meals, doesn't mean that that size of a meal is appropriate, ya know? Money, wealth, ability to afford things... That's not so much the issue...
Having been poor in the past is no excuse to over indulge in the present.
Plus, the restaurants can't be making much profit when they're serving up meals that are huge...
For me, it's also the whole "quality vs quantity" issue when I'm going out. If I want 2 lbs of pasta, I'll just buy a bag of pasta for $1.99 at the grocery store, and some tomato sauce for $2, and cook it up at home. If I'm going OUT to eat, I want something of high quality, not necessarily massive heaping servings of food.
Damn, now I'm hungry...
And for the record, I am all for left-overs of oversized meals! It's great to not have to worry about making lunch the next day...