Outrageous Restaurant Portions ...WhoWhereWhy?

[GB]

Andy, you misunderstood your parents. They wanted you to use soap and a sponge.

 

[Andy M.]

Andy, you misunderstood your parents. They wanted you to use soap and a sponge.

Sorry, food tastes a lot better.

 

[GB]

You bring up a good point though Andy. As a parent, I struggle with telling my kids to finish what is on their plate and making sure they do not over eat. The hard part is that you never really know if the kids are full or not. A typical dinner conversation goes something like this.

Me: Rach please eat some more of your xyz.
Rach: But I am full.
Me: eat two more bites and you can be done.
Rach: OK but my belly is really full.
2 minutes later after her 2 additional bites...
Rach: Can I have dessert now?
Me: I thought your belly was full.
Rach: Yes it is full of xyz, but I still have room for dessert.

Now was she really full? Had she eaten enough? Will she be asking for more food in 20 minutes?

Sorry to get a bit off track.

 

[Andy M.]

You bring up a good point though Andy. As a parent, I struggle with telling my kids to finish what is on their plate and making sure they do not over eat. The hard part is that you never really know if the kids are full or not. A typical dinner conversation goes something like this.

Me: Rach please eat some more of your xyz.
Rach: But I am full.
Me: eat two more bites and you can be done.
Rach: OK but my belly is really full.
2 minutes later after her 2 additional bites...
Rach: Can I have dessert now?
Me: I thought your belly was full.
Rach: Yes it is full of xyz, but I still have room for dessert.

Now was she really full? Had she eaten enough? Will she be asking for more food in 20 minutes?

Sorry to get a bit off track.

Some things will never change. I always had room for dessert too. Different part of the stomach, don't you know.

 

[mollyanne]

I'm with Rach, GB. There is an old saying that is much wiser than it sounds..."a little bit of sweet makes the meal complete". It's true. This practice can keep one from overeating (the key word is "little" in the saying). Without a little bite or two of something sweet to give you that satisfied feeling, one tends to continue eating to feel satisfied even though they really are already full...thus overeating.

So listen to Rach...out of the mouths of babes...

 

[GB]

Well there is always room for J-E-L-L-O

The other part of the conversation that I did not post though is that after her little dessert she then sometimes asks for more dinner or a different kind. I am full of chicken, but can I have some pasta?

 

[Selkie]

...Now was she really full? Had she eaten enough? Will she be asking for more food in 20 minutes?...

Spending as much time as I did on a farm while growing up, I reminded my mother that cattle have four stomachs, and that maybe kids did too.

 

[mollyanne]

Spending as much time as I did on a farm while growing up, I reminded my mother that cattle had four stomachs, and maybe kids did too.

I remember my mother ruining cereal for me...she said, "that's what they feed cows"....ahh, dear ole mother

 

[GB]

You know it really would not surprise me if that turned out to be true.

 

[expatgirl]

full means never having to say that you're too full for desser?t??????t..please, dads, don't you get "it".????

 

[GB]

LOL I guess I am still learning expatgirl

 

[expatgirl]

Spending as much time as I did on a farm while growing up, I reminded my mother that cattle have four stomachs, and that maybe kids did too.

I ..chickens are fun to deal with.....you'd better have their corn feed at 5 in the afernoon or they'd go a .. clucking..there's only so many grasshoppers that they'd tolerate in their diets...I always loved helping my granma penning up her chickens at the end of the day.....

 

[stassie]

However, the food was a lot cheaper than in Britain, everyone really enjoyed it & we could take doggy bags home. Unfortunately, that practise is frowned upon here, I expect it's because the portions are only minimal!

Yea, same here - I mean, I know you can ask for a doggy bag, but it isn't the norm, and to be honest, I could count on one hand the times I haven't been able to finish my meal.

Ouch. I like to look at it this way...America is generous

I know you were kidding, but actually in our experiences, Americans were remarkably generous. So perhaps the portion sizes are a bit of a reflection on that?? Also, I was very surprised at how clued-up on New Zealand most people seemed to be (the general perception is that everyone on your side of the world thinks we're connected to Australia). Perhaps we have Lord of the Rings to thank for that!

 

[mollyanne]

...in our experiences, Americans were remarkably generous. So perhaps the portion sizes are a bit of a reflection on that??

...thank you, stassie

*

 

[justplainbill]

I remember the 60's very well. As well as the fifties and forties.

 

[mollyanne]

How can we reverse this trend of oversized restaurant portions?
It seems if we share an entree with a friend, maybe, or pick only from the appetizer menu, that restaurants would tone it down a bit.

Or maybe we should encourage it because, afterall, it's a great value if you take some home and get another meal or two.
What restaurant can you name that has extra large portions coupled with excellent quality?

**************************

 

[ChefJune]

We don't eat at a lot of chain restaurants... mostly locally-owned places. When we travel in the US, we do eat at the nicer chain restaurants, though. I think Cheesecake Factory gives outrageous portions. And when you're on the road, you can't take it with you. I hate the waste!

Recently saw results of a study that was done on US fast and casual chains, and Cheesecake Factory far and away "won" for the highest percentages of fat and largest portions. I seem to recall that one serving of anything was the equivalent of FOUR servings in many other places. That a LOT! of food.

 

[Claire]

I think this must be a big issue, there are so many posts that I haven't gone back to them. As chains go, I like Applebees because you can order a half order of several things on their menu. Half a sandwich with a cup of soup. I personally order their salads, and they offer them in halves as well, which is really as much or more than I can eat. (and believe me, I'm a hearty eater) Here in town, where we don't have chains, the food is high priced and way too much food. So, like many mentioned, I look at my meal with the doggie bag in mind. This will be good tomorrow, that won't be great as a leftover.

I tend to not care for desert right after my meal. I'm not big on sweets, and if I want a desert, I tend to want it later at night. But when I was in the workplace it used just crack me up that on work/social occaisions (lunches out, dinners) most of the women I worked with would order a full meal, pick at it, and have big deserts. I've always wondered, none of these women went out to eat a lot, so at lunch anyway, when it was "just us girls", why didn't they just have one of the deserts as their lunch? Ever heard on the slogan: Eat desert first? I think on special occaisions, like when your coworkers are buying you lunch, go for it!

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Recently saw results of a study that was done on US fast and casual chains, and Cheesecake Factory far and away "won" for the highest percentages of fat and largest portions. I seem to recall that one serving of anything was the equivalent of FOUR servings in many other places. That a LOT! of food.

Note to self: Eat at Cheesecake Factory. JK

 

[mollyanne]

Outback Steakhouse has outrageous portions coupled with quality and also owns Bonefish Grill (my favorite), Carraba's Italian Grill (they grow plants on their roof here), Roy's (never heard of it), and Fleming's Wine & Steak Bar in the US, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

I mean seriously...have you ever seen their Bloomin' Onion?!? It's suppose to be just an appetizer and it's huge...HUGE!