Doggie Bags

[Wilfrid]

150 years from when? Don't do history, Tommy, please don't.

[Kikujiro]

because you're british.  having the greatest navy on the planet and ending up as a pawn for the US in only about 150 years should cause you even more, however. 

Nah. Not being the big bully any more is a huge relief. As for doggie bags, whenever their mere existence is conjured I want to dive under the table and stay there. It's a cultural thing. In some countries I have seen people's jaws drop because I rested my foot on a chair. But why are portions so big that people regularly can't finish and take them home? (And when did this start? Is it a 50s-new-prosperity thing?)

Edited February 11, 2003 by Kikujiro (log)

[tommy]

But why are portions so big that people regularly can't finish and take them home? (And when did this start? Is it a 50s-new-prosperity thing?)

is this really the norm?

i guess it's better than one alternative: leaving hungry.

[Stephanie]

I have no problem asking for doggie bags in less expensive restaurants. In fact, I'll sometimes deliberately only eat half my entree so that I can take the rest home. I'm trying to cut down on the amount of food I eat--I hate the size of American portions sometimes--and making 2 (or more) meals out of one dish saves money.

[Jim Dixon]

I almost always take some food home with me from restaurants. If I'm reviewing, I order a lot (my wife always cringes a little because we order like we're gluttons) and taste each dish, but know I can't eat everything. I have no problem eating the leftovers over the next couple of days.

If I'm paying for the meal (as opposed to my editor), I'm loathe to leave much behind.

I've learned to be very specific with the servers ("be sure to scrape all of that sauce into the container"). I hate it when I open the container at home and something I was looking forward to isn't inside.

Jim

[Wilfrid]

I find that, when I am compelled to take doggie bags home, the food stays in the fridge for a couple of days then gets thrown out. Just me?

[Ron Johnson]

I find that, when I am compelled to take doggie bags home, the food stays in the fridge for a couple of days then gets thrown out.  Just me?

No, thats me also, which is why I follow the Europeans on this issue.

[201]

...

+1 point for applebee's. 

So that makes the score what... -999?

I agree that certain things wouldn't travel well and would lose quite a bit in the reheating, but steak is still delicious even when it's cold, so there's really no excuse there.

At the level of dining where one might feel uncomfortable taking food home, I find that the serving sizes are generally too small for it to even be an option for me.

[elyse]

I hardly ever finish my food at restaurants, and always ask for it to be wrapped. I stopped thinking of it as a doggie bag when I was six or so because I knew it was never going to the dog. Plus, doggie has never been one of my favorite words in any useage. Ehm...

I have even asked for half the leftover fondue to be put in a soup container and had to convince the waitress that I would not blame the restaurant if it did not reheat as desired. Worst came to worst, I'd spread it on toast, but it actually came out pretty nice. I NEVER waste food.

I forgot, the Appleby's story reminds me of the scene in Defending Your Life between Albert Brooks and Merril Streep where their waiter keeps heaping packages of food on him to take back to the hotel, but he's trying to be as inconspicuous as can be because his "prosecutor" seems to be watching his every move. Nine Pies and some amount of steaks.

Edited February 11, 2003 by elyse (log)

[rozrapp]

I don't think it's just French restaurants. Many American cuisine-style restaurants, and other restaurants in the US, at or above a certain level would not be too receptive to doggy bags. (Am I off base here?)

Whether it's French, American, "at or above a certain level," etc., I have never been treated other than with the utmost courtesy when requesting a doggie bag. As a matter of fact, at the more upscale level, not only do they carefully put the leftovers in a container, but then they put that container into an attractive shopping bag, one which often includes the restaurant's name on the outside. And they do not bring the bag to your table. Rather, the busboy brings a check tag, and you then pick up your bag at the coat check area when you are ready to leave the restaurant.

Unlike Wilfred and Ron Johnson, I would never think of tossing leftovers. Depending on how big a portion there is, sometimes there is just enough for a great lunch; other times, I prepare some additional items and use them for dinner.

[Ron Johnson]

Unlike Wilfred and Ron Johnson, I would never think of tossing leftovers.

Its not like I want to toss them. They usually sit in the fridge for a while because I rarely like to eat the same thing for two meals in a row. So, if I have a dish for dinner, I just cant stomach the thought of having it again for lunch. As a result the to-go containers started piling up in the fridge until I just pitched them all. Now, I just clean my plate or let my leftovers go to the bus-tub buffet.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, but my problem is that I usually plan meals a day or so ahead, so I already have dinner for the day after the restaurant in the fridge. And so it goes...

[tommy]

Yes, but my problem is that I usually plan meals a day or so ahead, so I already have dinner for the day after the restaurant in the fridge.  And so it goes...

indeed. additionally, for me, i'm rarely home for dinner. if i am, i'm cooking, and not eating leftovers. i don't even eat my own leftovers. however, my mother-in-law eats leftovers of all sorts, so i take them home and have her pick them up. better than throwing it out.

[elyse]

Unlike Wilfred and Ron Johnson, I would never think of tossing leftovers.

Its not like I want to toss them. They usually sit in the fridge for a while because I rarely like to eat the same thing for two meals in a row. So, if I have a dish for dinner, I just cant stomach the thought of having it again for lunch. As a result the to-go containers started piling up in the fridge until I just pitched them all. Now, I just clean my plate or let my leftovers go to the bus-tub buffet.

If I can see that I won't eat it before it spoils, I heat it and take it somewhere that I know homeless people pass often. It's usually gone in a few minutes. Angel, or what?

[rozrapp]

Unlike Wilfred and Ron Johnson, I would never think of tossing leftovers.

Its not like I want to toss them. They usually sit in the fridge for a while because I rarely like to eat the same thing for two meals in a row. So, if I have a dish for dinner, I just cant stomach the thought of having it again for lunch. As a result the to-go containers started piling up in the fridge until I just pitched them all. Now, I just clean my plate or let my leftovers go to the bus-tub buffet.

Actually, I don't necessarily eat the leftovers immediately, and definitely never for dinner the next night because I don't like to have the same thing twice in a row. I have found that most leftovers will last comfortably in the fridge for up to about a week. So, what I do is factor them into my meal plans along the way. Also, how often you might end up with a doggie bag depends on how often you eat out. I don't recall ever having more than one doggie bag in a week's time and then, it's only occasionally because, for the most part, I do try to order wisely in restaurants so that I can clean my plate.

[Ron Johnson]

If I can see that I won't eat it before it spoils, I heat it and take it somewhere that I know homeless people pass often.  It's usually gone in a few minutes.  Angel, or what?

Definite Angel. Thats very thoughtful.

[Wilfrid]

We sometimes give them to the baby.

[Bux]

... requesting and carrying away leftovers still causes me painful embarrassment.

You see people carry away leftovers from a restaurant? Wilfrid, in what sort of strange places do you eat?

[MsRamsey]

There's the old cliche of the waiter in the fancy restaurant wrapping leftovers in foil, then forming the foil into the shape of a swan. I know I've seen this in old movies. Thus, it seems to me that it has been de rigeur for people to take leftovers home from fine restaurants for a very long time.

[Liza]

Would the bag of madeleines you are given to take home from Daniel qualify as a doggie bag?

[Gavin Jones]

A kentish lady of my acquaintance has requested a 'baggy dog'.

[elyse]

A kentish lady of my acquaintance has requested a 'baggy dog'.

Lol.

[suzilightning]

Zoes has been trying out different cookies. Only ate there once.

sorry rosie but two times and no cookies for us either time.

guess john and i must have been pushovers or whatever since we weren't offered a replacement for the food "thrown out" or the raw product to replace it.

did have an interesting discussion with my friend i took out to zoe's. we both finished and enjoyed the food and portions. she did say she wouldn't take her husband there since the first thing he asks when he goes to a new restaurant is " are they good sized portions" - this from a man with 3 heart attacks before the age of 45. actually the only reason i took food home the last time was that i had eaten my lunch(boca burger on 1/2 a pita with mescalun) at 2:30 when i got back from the gym. if i had eaten when i normally do - i could have finished those last two pieces of free range chicken and the quinoa.

[Jaymes]

The doggy bag is one of those things Europeans find amusing about America.

Why?

Snobbery, I think. It appears a little vulgar and a little mean. (I‘m not suggesting that it really is vulgar or mean.)

It's been my experience that a great many Europeans, having dealt with class distinctions for years, go to great lengths to make sure no one mistakes them for being a member of the lower caste of serfs and such.

And most Europeans with whom I've discussed this seem to equate such actions as taking home the remainder of a restaurant dinner, as being the same thing as "NEEDING" to take home the remainder of the restaurant dinner.

In the States, we don't worry about that class stuff. Certainly not much, anyway. And probably not at all. We don't think that if we ask the waiter to wrap up the other half of an enormous piece of prime rib, or the second lobster tail, he'll think we're either destitute or otherwise obviously to the sod born.

Some of my favorite meals start with restaurant leftovers. I usually use them in omelettes, or fried rice, or crepes, or tortillas.

But my favorite thing is to take that leftover bit of delicious medium-rare steak, slice it thinly, saute it briefly in a little butter with shallots and mushrooms, and put it on some delicious French bread for a steak sandwich.

I often enjoy this "second day treat" more than the first go around.

Also - just as someone previously said, I've known more than one European to quickly get the hang of the doggie-bag thing. Most recently I had a houseguest from the Netherlands for a month. The first time we were dining out (Italian that particular night) and we all asked for doggie bags, she was absolutely mortified.

The second time, and for the entire remainder of her stay, she was the first one leading the doggie-bag charge at table.

Let's face it. It's just sensible.

[snowangel]

Some of my favorite meals start with restaurant leftovers.  I usually use them in omelettes, or fried rice, or crepes, or tortillas.

But my favorite thing is to take that leftover bit of delicious medium-rare steak, slice it thinly, saute it briefly in a little butter with shallots and mushrooms, and put it on some delicious French bread for a steak sandwich.

That's usually my intention. But, it tends to evolve into a "it's 1:00 in the morning, standing in front of the fridge, door open, doggie bag in one hand, steak in the other hand, gnawing. I confess.