And frankly, i don't know why i should be. last week, i was in a restaurant, and here's what i ordered:

• a small salad
• cheeseburger without the roll, but with lettuce, tomato, onion
• well-done fries [because if i'm going to eat carbs, it sure isn't gonna be the roll!]

here's what arrived -

• a beautifully prepared salad - 4 cups of it!!!
• an 8 oz burger
• at least TWO CUPS of fries!!!

I was prepared for the large burger - and knew i'd simply eat what i could. but with the rest of that meal, it barely looked like i touched it!!!! about 10 mouthfuls of salad - and a total of 8 fries.

and before the waiter came to take it away, i simply looked at it and was very very sad. what a tremendous WASTE!!!!! why oh why can't there be a 'smaller menu' with the same stuff in smaller portions????

<but the fries WERE good!!!>

Some restaurants have a senoir or smaller portions menu... bummer about the wasted food, but good for you for just eating what you wanted! I have a compulsion about eating *all* the food I pay for.

GOOD FOR YOU TO control the fries intake! WHOA! I couldn't have done that. It is one of those foods I adore--truly, I can't have just one!

Also, great idea for ditching the roll. I do that kind of thing too. I really don't like the roll anyway. I find it really liberating to ditch the bad foods I don't adore.

Yep, the portions are unreal most anywhere. Thus, look at our country!!!!

It *is* sad. They just figure any waste as part of the cost of business, but they should be concerned about waste from an ethical perspective too. Of course, an awful lot of people don't "waste" the portions , but really, they're awfully big for anyone. I think it's supposed to make you think you're getting a good deal, even if you don't eat it all.

Sometimes you can take it home. But if it's a bit of an indulgence in the first place, you don't necessarily want to keep repeating it. Stuff like fries don't reheat well. And you can't always share an entree for lots of reasons.

thanks ladies! and trust me, if that food had been placed in front of me BEFORE i'd had the surgery, it would ALL have been gone.

but i gotta confess that i do indeed have certain rules: fries can ONLY be eaten outside the house, and ONLY in places where i know that they're good. and they CANNOT be taken INTO the house. never never never.

and i usually plan better - since i know i'm going to be taking home a doggie bag, i make sure that i order something that's really good and that i'm willing to reheat another day. That condition kind of limits things. but trust me, i'd rather spend a couple of dollars more to get something yummy that'll last me for those 2-3 additional meals than to spend less and have to throw it out.

but last week, it was a business trip - NBD.

The main reason restaurant portions are so huge is that food/ingredient costs are the cheapest part of running a restaurant. Customers expect smaller amounts of food to be less expensive than large portions, but the savings to the restaurant is minimal. So, in the example of a $9.00 meal, a meal 1/4 the size cound not be sold at 1/4 or probably even 1/2 the price. The savings in food cost to the restaurant for a smaller meal may be less than a dollar or even only a few cents. Yet people are generally upset if a meal cost $9 and a meal 1/4 the size cost $8.50.

The appetizer menu used to be a good option, but the trend now is for appetizers to be priced nearly the same and to have nearly the calorie content (or even higher) than a regular meal.

Actually, I think pricing has everything to do with consumer expectations of portion size. If a restaurant could charge $8.00 and serve a 1/4 portion and have return business, it certainly would do so. It has to do with the customer -- the customer wants to perceive value for money and in the majority of consumer's eyes, it comes down to how much do you get for the price.
Think of it this way: if a restaurant could serve 4 oz of salmon, 2 baby baked potatoes and 1 cup of green beans for $15.00 AND have return business, it certainly would because the profit margin would be HUGE. Not many customers are happy to pay that amount of money for such small (normal) portions.

They would be happy to pay $15.00, though, for a big-a$$ plate of deep-fried cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, and processed chicken fingers. AND they would return too. And probably have a ton of beer with it too. The profit margin may be smaller than above for the food alone, but the issue is RETURN business. If you get people coming back, your restaurant will survive. It won't survive on $10.00 for 5 pieces of cucumber sushi. It WILL survive on $10.00 for 2 lbs of nacho chips out of a bag, melted processed cheese and pickled jalapenos. And if the restaurant next door will serve the same for $8.00, guess which restaurant will survive. Hence the supersized portions of food at every mainstream restaurant out there, from IHOP to Denny's to Mexicali Rosa's to Montana's to The Outback to Boston Pizza. The average consumer wants a ton of food for a low price. Restaurants want repeat customers and offer huge portions to satisfy the "value for money" desires of their patrons.

Kira

Which is why I like overpriced French restaurants.

I saw a show the other day about a man eating a 5 lb steak in such and such a time period and he would get a t-shirt and his meal paid for!! That included the fat!! I actually started salivating, and realized that before my WLS, I probably would have given that a go!!! SICK!!! I still have a tendency to order too much and than fret because of the leftover and I HATE leftovers. My passion is jalapeno poppers, but I just recently read on the box of frozen ones that 5 were about 500 calories. That is a lot more than my 100 to 200 calorie in between meals snacks! My DH told me that he hopes there are no Lock N' Lock in heaven, because he hates how they jump out at him from the frig when you open the door and some of them only have a couple of TBSP in them! It is sad about how much gets thrown in the garbage in this world! No wonder there are so many obsese clean-platers. DITTO ON THE FRY THING. I can send you my GD and she will ration out three fries for me and eat the rest. Why, because the doctor says I can't have fries! LOL!

Nan I'm learning it's ok to throw out! its hard but necessary

I generally don't get things that I wouldn't take home of course I have a hoover of a husband for leftovers I think are a little too rich to go beyond a single meal.

Of course it is a huge mental shift to think someone that is put in front of you isn't your meal. I used to think anything I made was a meal no matter how many portions it was supposed to be.

Luckily, most of the places I go these days don't have huge portions or if they do it is because they are meant to be eaten family style (eg Chinese restaurants). I can accept that the dish isn't just for me or just for my husband and me but should be shared by multiple people so its ok that we have leftovers.

I far prefer small, rich and expensive meals (a la French cuisine) to large, economical ones (a la Cheesecake Factory and Vinny Testa's).

I don't mind spending extra, because I enjoy the entire experience. On the other hand, if I find myself at a chain like Cheesecake, I don't mind the waste. It's my money. If I want to throw it out, I will. I donate money to Project Bread.

Very good for you for not eating it all; that can be so tempting! You are such a strong one!

Hmmm, I miss those food. Great job on controlling it.

when i wrote the OP, i was just 'chatting,' but some of these comments gave me some real insight. Remember a few months ago when i was freaking out because i had food in the frig and it was upsetting me? the whole concept of WASTE, and throwing out food, and holding onto things -

right this second, there are some tiny containers in my frig that are probably science fair projects by now - and there's really nothing of interest in them - a couple of tbs of a really good marinade i made. something i packed for lunch and didn't eat. the odd carrot or two that was replaced by a fresh bag and then forgotten.

and the more STUFF that's in the frig, the less these things are noticed. there IS one thing i've been doing - because i hate wasting things - when i make chicken stock or soup or whatever, i give most of it to one of my friends - the one with the 5 children and all different schedules.

Maybe i really need to find a husband - like Nelie's HOOVER!!!