Over-Ordering at Restaurants

[Jason Perlow]

I've had terrible allergies from all the pollen in the air the past couple of days, so, for example, last night I decided I'd order some wonton soup from my local mediocre Chinese restaurant, Chinatown East. A quart of the stuff costs $3.50. So, you ask, how is it that half an hour later I wound up with $20+ worth of food?

I'm not sure why this happens, but we have the same issues when ordering Chinese food for dinner as well. I think it has something to do with needing or wanting the entire American-style Chinese Food experience (translate as Jew Grazing) every time you eat Chinese Food. If you have two people, then ordering two dishes is never enough, because you -need- the soup, eggrolls, and the "extra" dishes, like fried rice and noodles that go ALONG with your basic Kung Pao or Beef and Broccoli, to have that protein/vegetable/starch balance plus the liquid and the fried. And then of course its hard to resist ordering one dish representing each major American Chinese food group -- One chicken, one beef, one pork, and one shrimp.

And to further complicate this, most of your competive Chinese take-out places offer you that 10 percent discount if you order over 40 bucks worth of stuff or throw in the extra eggrolls and soup, so you are COMPELLED to order more, because god forbid you give up that discount or extra food. So in reality while you are only ordering for two people, you always end up with food for six. Which is always justified under the auspices of having enough for leftovers, because you can't order Chinese food with the premise of ordering just enough for that meal and eating everything and finishing it in one sitting. That would just be wrong.

[SobaAddict70]

I don't remember when it happened or the menu in particular, but once I was working a particularly long all-nighter at my previous firm and a lawyer mentioned in passing that she was hungry. A couple of phone calls and half an hour later, we had quite a feast between six lawyers, two paralegals and one over-worked word processor.

Most of it ended up in the pantry.

I never heard the end of it after that.

Soba

[jhlurie]

-Never- happens when the Perlows and friends go out to dinner. -Never!-

Did I say it never happens? Right.

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~Cough Cough~ Yeah. Right.

[Curlz]

...You never know, I could RUN OUT OF FOOD in the middle of Manhattan, surrounded by twenty thousand restaurants and more gourmet stores per capita than they have in heaven. Also, there's the problem that I might not HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT, even though I have enough food in my kitchen to survive multiple apocalypses.

...so we decided, after counting the options, that if we ordered something like three times as much food as we could eat each night, we could in the space of a week sample every item on the menu at the Carnegie Deli.

Steven, if this isn't the first time you've told this story on eG, I don't care--it was certainly my biggest eG laugh of the day!! Killer.

I don't know if I qualify as an over-orderer so much as one of those who wants to have a taste or two of everything AND leftovers. I am definitely guilty of choosing apps or entrees based on what else my dining companions are ordering, b/c I figure I'll get a chance to try those dishes in addition to my own! But the stories told on this thread do remind me of my first meal in an Indian restaurant, with my then-b.f., who is Indian. He was what you'd call a good eater and decided that I needed to try EVERYTHING (or so it seemed) for my virgin meal, b/c I might not like something. The table was identical to the scene that Charity Case described; a waiter that kept asking "Are you sure?" with each dish he ordered, and the two of us sitting at a four-top surrounded by plates and bowls. Needless to say, we ate the leftovers for 3 days. And I still adore Indian food, even though that b.f. is history!

[MicBacchus]

Thai is definitely one where I will over-order -- you can always eat it tomorrow especially appetizers or something not served piping hot - like lap gai or beef salad.

Tapas - order and -- eat, and eat, and eat.

But then, this is a habit with me - I don't usually drink an entire canned soda at

one time and cover it with a zip-lock bag, which drives my DH crazy.

When I eat out, I order things I don't usually make myself so I want to taste everything, and if that means ordering more than I can eat then..... so what !!!

[snowangel]

I, too, have to try just about everything on the menu. We used to eat out with another couple occasionally, and they were not "shareres." Really bugged us. They moved away.

Plus, since I'm home during the day, and usually alone, I can justify it by saying "if we don't order more than we'll eat, I won't have anything to eat for breakfast or lunch." (Never mind that I have a fridge and pantry full of stuff...)

[touaregsand]

I, too, have to try just about everything on the menu.  We used to eat out with another couple occasionally, and they were not "shareres."  Really bugged us.  They moved away.

Plus, since I'm home during the day, and usually alone, I can justify it by saying "if we don't order more than we'll eat, I won't have anything to eat for breakfast or lunch."  (Never mind that I have a fridge and pantry full of stuff...)

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I was just about to bring this up. My biggest gripe is with folks who aren't sharers but have no problems being moochers as well.

[ronnie_suburban]

*raises hand*

I am definitely an over-orderer and it's a habit which I have no intention of breaking.

When it comes to a new place, over-ordering is actually referred to as research in our house. When it comes to familiar places, it's all about variety and safety. We'll order a core of items we know we like and then branch out by trying a few new ones as well. But, we can never just order those untested items because if we don't like them, we're sunk baby.

I'm also a bit of an appetizer addict, so it's hard to back away from ordering several of them, even if we've ordered an above-adequate number of entrees.

When we were recently at Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix I insisted that we order all 6 pizzas on the menu (plus a salad and 2 appetizers). I knew it'd be a long time before I returned and I wanted to try them all out. As I told my wife, "after we leave here, I won't regret spending an extra $35 on pizza, but I'll sure as hell regret not trying one of these combinations." We walked out of there with parts of 6 pizzas in 4 separate boxes, went back to the hotel room, cleared everything out of the mini-bar and had pizza leftovers all week.

=R=

[Fat Guy]

When it comes to a new place, over-ordering is actually referred to as research in our house.

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The first line of my book is:

"Some would say I became a food critic to subsidize a restaurant addiction. They would be right."

[Jason Perlow]

When it comes to a new place, over-ordering is actually referred to as research in our house.

I frequently used that excuse as well, even -before- I could legitimately say I was a food writer or even forming eGullet for that matter. Rachel can attest that the phrase "C'mon! Its research!" coming out of my lips on more than a number of occasions.

[Jason Perlow]

I'm also a bit of an appetizer addict, so it's hard to back away from ordering several of them, even if we've ordered an above-adequate number of entrees.

Appetizers are a serious problem, especially with Asian cuisine. You're never precisely sure just how many of them you need, because there is huge variance in how much food exactly is in a single appetizer serving. So you usually end up ordering too many of them, under the guise of Asian food not being particularly filling anyway.

This can also be referred to the "uch, we got too much sushi" phenomenon, because sushi is ALL appetizers.

[canucklehead]

I think that to be an over-orderer - there is the assumption that you cannot finish the vast amounts of food that is on the table. My brother and I are the worst at this cause we egg eachother on - we want to try all the house specialities - and what ever the chef has featured - AND then whatever the waitstaff thinks is particularly good. Dear God - it is endless.

We will eat ourselves absolutely sick - with the waitstaff usually congratulating us (and I am sure horrified) on our achieving our Herculean task. Sure we bring home leftovers - but it kind of feels like we lost our battle.

Of course - as with all fatal character flaws - it is our mother to blame. When I was a kid - she would say "this food is getting into you one way or another - even it I have push it up your bumhole".

My sympathies if you ever got invited to one of our family dinners.

[markk]

So I guess it's okay for me to confess that two weeks ago I took out pastrami from Harold's Deli in Edison, NJ...

There were two of us, so naturally I got two of those sandwiches. (What, each person shouldn't have his own? Two of us should have to share one sandwich as our dinner?)

Well, maybe people will want a little tongue as well, to go with the pastrami... I got a hot tongue sandwich as well, but I did get the "smaller" one, although (thankfully) it wasn't smaller by much.

(Technically speaking it was just over 4 1/4 pounds of meat in total, but on the other hand it really was just three sandwiches for two people.)

An extra 36 slices of rye bread, a few pounds of cole slaw and potato salad - you know, dinner for two.

[Jason Perlow]

Harold's, however, is a bit insane. Your photo of course is of ONE sandwich split in half -- which in reality is enough to feed four people. TWO of those for two people? Good lord. I haven't been there in a while. Everything is of brobdingdangian proprtions -- 2lb knishes, Matzoh balls the size of softballs... sandwiches over a foot tall...

Nearly 10 years ago Rachel and I had our rehearsal dinner at Harolds in Parsippany, knowing full well what was in store. Many of the people who went with us had never been there before, not knowing what the "deal" was with the place -- so each person ordered their own soup and sandwich... it was pretty scary. You should have seen the look on Ilene, the diminuitive 90lb bridesmaid, when her pastrami sandwich arrived.

[Behemoth]

I am usually very restrained (and I generaly have trouble getting through one normal sized entree) but I have some pathological inability to order a reasonable amount of food at a tapas bar. It's all little dishes, right? The solution is to drag a bunch of people with me, ones who know me well enough to know they should just sit back and let me order for the whole table. It's probably a genetic Lebanese mezza-induced thing...no one ever leaves hungry.

[emmapeel]

Yes, I'm guilty...really guilty.

In London, with a friend who loves Indian food as much as I, went to Bombay Palace together. Our order had been worked out to a science in New York restaurants over several meals we'd shared. We began...These appetizers, this chicken, that curry, oh and chutney, that rice, this bread and that bread and, "That will be more than enough, ladies," the waiter said. We were stunned. And too embarrased to continue. We ate our dinner and it was good. But because our order had been aborted, we went to another Indian restaurant and orderd take-away! I don't think we regretted it at all. We were young and I could not eat like that today. That I do regret. Oh, to be young...

Edited May 2, 2005 by emmapeel (log)

[chefzadi]

I could eat one of those pastrami sandwiches by myself on a good day, especially after a soccer game.

I am not an over orderer like my wife. This is a pet peeve I've learned to live with. Take out containers and leftovers cluttering the frigo still piss me off though.

But after 8 years together I just laugh and say, "war is over." Really how can a sane person living in a major city like Los Angeles ever fear a food shortage?

With that said, I do cook too much food for guests. The worst mistake I think I can make as a host is not having enough food to satisfy, no stuff my guests.

[markk]

Harold's, however, is a bit insane. Your photo of course is of ONE sandwich split in half -- which in reality is enough to feed four people. TWO of those for two people? Good lord.

Well, I had seriously considered ordering some Matzoh Ball soup as well. (For variety, you know.)

[Fat Guy]

The appetizer problem also occurs because, even if I've eaten a dinner-sized lunch already, by dinnertime I feel as though I MUST HAVE FOOD NOW. Even though I've devoted my life to observing culinary phenomena, I can't seem to get with the program so as to comprehend that the total amount of food in a meal is the starter PLUS the main PLUS the dessert PLUS intermezzos and extras, which, in most restaurants, is already more than enough food. No, instead, before any real food even arrives at the table, I need to eat enough bread so as to insure myself against the possibility that the restaurant will not bring me my food. Not that this has ever happened. I eat out all the time, and it's amazing how they bring the food every single time. And, of course, I need to be completely full at the conclusion of the appetizer course because, as you all know, the rest of the meal doesn't count.

This is bad. This topic is too revealing. Some newspaper is going to get a hold of this and the jig will be up. Yes, we're all nuts.

[mizducky]

Dear Ducky,

Since when does it matter what anyone other than you think about what you are ordering and eating?    It is your life and no one's opinion of that life is meaningful save your own. Order what you want and enjoy yourself ... why not? You are paying the tab ... life is short .. enjoy yourself and forget anyone else's opinion (either verbalized or silent).

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Well, I'll tell ya, with all the confessions being made in this topic, I am feeling mightily empowered to get over myself. Ah, the joys of liberation.

Of course - as with all fatal character flaws - it is our mother to blame.  When I was a kid - she would say "this food is getting into you one way or another - even it I have push it up your bumhole". My sympathies if you ever got invited to one of our family dinners.

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Heh. My family's dinners tended more to schizoid double-bind trips, as my parents' love of food would collide with their loathing of the familial tendency to overweight, often in a most, erm, *pyrotechnical* way. Even when I was a grown adult, living on my own for many years, my mother still felt she had the right to criticize the amount of food I ordered when we dined together. Small wonder I'm still twitchy about what "other people might be thinking" when I eat in public! But like I said, I'm getting over it...

With that said, I do cook too much food for guests. The worst mistake I think I can make as a host is not having enough food to satisfy, no stuff my guests.

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Heh. Now *that* I'm definitely, unrepentantly guilty of. I could never understand hosts who would think a bowl of chips and another of dip was adequate fodder for guests. Ya gotta make that board *groan*, baby! So all your guests ooh and ahh at the fantabulous amount of food! (And you as host get rewarded with fabulous leftovers for the next two weeks!)

This is bad. This topic is too revealing. Some newspaper is going to get a hold of this and the jig will be up. Yes, we're all nuts.

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No no no! This is excellent! And way cheaper than therapy! (Not to mention a helluva lot more entertaining.)

[Chris Amirault]

efore any real food even arrives at the table, I need to eat enough bread so as to insure myself against the possibility that the restaurant will not bring me my food. Not that this has ever happened.

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Of course they're gonna bring you your food. Unless the restaurant suddenly closes between courses without informing you. Since that'd really suck, it's probably best to anticipate that possibility. You know, "Be prepared," Boy Scouts, all that.

Really how can a sane person living in a major city like Los Angeles ever fear a food shortage?

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Such fears are perfectly reasonable for those who lived through the Fish Taco Crisis of '74. You spend a few hours in a line baking in the hot LA sun, arrive at the front only to find that they're sold out, and get handed a number based on your last name that determines your chances for the next day's supply... well, you'll start thinking twice about who's sane and who isn't, my devil-may-care friend.

[chefzadi]

Such fears are perfectly reasonable for those who lived through the Fish Taco Crisis of '74. You spend a few hours in a line baking in the hot LA sun, arrive at the front only to find that they're sold out, and get handed a number based on your last name that determines your chances for the next day's supply... well, you'll start thinking twice about who's sane and who isn't, my devil-may-care friend.

My wife and her family immigrated to Los Angeles in January of 1975. They missed the taco crisis by just a hair, but hit the gas crisis head on (odd or even ending numbers on the license plate).

She's crazy I tell ya! Life is never boring with her, but I am sure she has shortened my life span by at least ten years.

my devil-may-care friend.

I make her crazy with this attitude. Mwah ha ha!!!!!

When we go to In n Out, she already knows I should order 4 double doubles. I order 2 instead. After I'm done I order 2 more, making my family wait 30-40 minutes more after they are all done.

[Irishgirl]

I've had terrible allergies from all the pollen in the air the past couple of days, so, for example, last night I decided I'd order some wonton soup from my local mediocre Chinese restaurant, Chinatown East. A quart of the stuff costs $3.50. So, you ask, how is it that half an hour later I wound up with $20+ worth of food?

I'm not sure why this happens, but we have the same issues when ordering Chinese food for dinner as well. I think it has something to do with needing or wanting the entire American-style Chinese Food experience (translate as Jew Grazing) every time you eat Chinese Food. If you have two people, then ordering two dishes is never enough, because you -need- the soup, eggrolls, and the "extra" dishes, like fried rice and noodles that go ALONG with your basic Kung Pao or Beef and Broccoli, to have that protein/vegetable/starch balance plus the liquid and the fried. And then of course its hard to resist ordering one dish representing each major American Chinese food group -- One chicken, one beef, one pork, and one shrimp.

And to further complicate this, most of your competive Chinese take-out places offer you that 10 percent discount if you order over 40 bucks worth of stuff or throw in the extra eggrolls and soup, so you are COMPELLED to order more, because god forbid you give up that discount or extra food. So in reality while you are only ordering for two people, you always end up with food for six. Which is always justified under the auspices of having enough for leftovers, because you can't order Chinese food with the premise of ordering just enough for that meal and eating everything and finishing it in one sitting. That would just be wrong.

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My problem with chinese food is that I like certain dishes, and my husband likes completely different stuff. So we order enough food for 8 people...and have leftovers....

BUT NOW...my husband has decided that he actually LIKES my spicy ginger beef....and he eats what would have been MY leftovers....so now we have to order 2 of them!!!!! Because, I need my spicy ginger beef fix when I get home from work!!! (Well after delivery time)

Is this reasonable? Or is this overordering? Or Both?

[Carlovski]

I'm worst when getting takeout.

Especially when it's just for me. I always like to have at least one appetiser, a couple of main dishes, and at least one vegetable. Which is far too much for one person. Always nice to have leftovers the next day though. Especially as by this point you have qualified for the free ribs, mixed starter etc.

I used to live near a place that did a boxed up meal for one, with a few choices - you got appetizer, soup, main, vegetable and a little fruit salad- that was good, although I did usually order something extra as well!

[NulloModo]

You know, I did suddenly think of one way I really over-order.

I am bad in situations where certain items are sold in multiple quantities, and for just a little more, you get much more quantity.

After all, if my friend and I are going out for beers, and a single beer is $3, but a pitcher is $8, well, it makes a lot more sense to go with the pitcher. But since we were going to each order a beer, and figure we'll want another soon after, it becomes two pitchers.... to start.

But after those beers we need some wings, right? And if 6 wings are $5, but 20 wings are only $11, well, we need at least 20. Then again, for $15 we could have 40 wings, now that is more like it.... and since it's such a good deal, might as order 2 sets of the 40 wings, after all, we can always share with the guys down the bar...