I recently lauded T.G.I. Friday’s “Right Portion, Right Price” menu. The New York Times addressed the same topic in Sunday’s business section examination of restaurant portions and prices.
I’m most interested in portion size because serving customers 2,000-calorie dinners often means that as much food finds its way to the dumpster as diners’ stomachs. This “plate waste” is a real factor in making food 17 percent of what’s discarded nationwide.
I’ve found it is difficult to get a candid answer on how restaurants view plate waste. The Times article provides one, indirectly, in asking how patrons’ preferences influence restaurants view of serving sizes: “Even if they don’t eat everything on the plate,†said Richard Johnson, Ruby Tuesday’s senior vice president, “they like that it’s a generous portion.â€Â
The article, which includes a neat visual representation of portions, is an interesting read. Its main question is whether T.G.I. Friday’s portions gamble will pay off. Will smaller, cheaper entrees lure more customers? And will they afford diners more room to order dessert or an appetizer?
If Friday’s “Right Portion” gambit works, and hopefully it will, we’ll see more of less.
Comments
2 responses to “Sunday Portions”
Hey… ok so i”m writing from the Midwest… we here in the midwest love our portion sizes to be atronomical. But, here is the thing… personally, I will take the leftovers home and will eat nearly every morsel of food. I love huge portions, simply for the fact that i am getting numerous meals for my money. Leftovers from one meal can turn into three dinners.
I think the problem is not the portion itself, but rather cowardice and materialistic pride of many americans. It seems to me that many people would rather throw away food than risk looking meiserly or penny-pinching. Still, here in the midwest, most of us are ok with being cheap-asses. We definitely eat our leftovers.
Of course, we are also told that we cannot leave the dinner table until we clean our plates. I guess that is where our obesity comes from. So, in a sense, we are wasting valuable caloric intake (energy). But at least we don’t throw it directly into the toilet (we digest it first).
Point is, and i understand that i have made vast generalizations about midwesterners, point is that this is a matter vanity, appearances, pride, keeping up with the jones’, not portion-size.
Also, it is about fear. Fear of what people will think of you. “Do I look like a fat glutonous pig if i take home the doggie-bag, or if i clean my plate?”
Also, fear of disease. Today I ordered a sandwich from Jimmy John’s. An incredibly obese woman in front of me received her sandwich, complained that she had asked for “no lettuce.” The cashier said “no problem, I’ll make you a new one.” Then he threw the sandie in the garbage. I said, “hey take that out of the garbage (it was still wrapped), i’ll eat it, I’ll find someone to eat it.”
“Sorry sir i cannot do that, insurance reasons.”
“That’s Bullshit, hey lady do you know that they threw that away”
“but I ordered no lettuce”
“so take the f-ing lettuce off and eat it rather than wasting a perfectly good, life sustaining sandwich.”
All I can conclude from this interaction is that the reason that they cannot give me the sandwich is for the legal reason that, “someone could’ve contaminated it, and we don’t want to be responsible.” Yet, I imagine that if this woman had given the sandwich directly to me, there would not have been any blood on the hands of Jimmy John’s.
God this was an infuriating moment.
anyway, great website, keep up the good work.
Hey Dan,
It’s hard to respond to a comment that may be more thought-provoking than the post! You’re onto something in examining the diner’s mindset in why they do or don’t take home leftovers.
I agree wholeheartedly that fear of being looking meiserly causes many folks not to take home restaurant leftovers. Anyway, your phrasing betrays that mindset–taking home leftovers isn’t being a ‘cheapass,’ it’s just being logical. Also, it doesn’t seem gluttonous to take home some of the 1500 calories the restaurant serves you. Whatever you call it, I’m glad to hear taking home leftovers is common in the Midwest (to continue with your admitted generalization).
On the Jimmy John’s story–that’s really frustrating. The sub chain, like all others, is terrified of being sued. Once something hits the trash, even it’s wrapped and even if you and I would still eat it, it’s gone. I’ve had similarly infuriating moments trying to recover food from supermarkets and restaurants for homeless shelters. Trashing the mismade sandwich was probably a dramatic gesture to show how freshly made all of their sandwiches are. At worst, the deli should have set it aside in case someone else ordered the same thing or so an employee could take it home. I have a suspicion that they prohibit the latter, though, to prevent employees from making too many “mistakes.”
Thanks for reading and for such valuable feedback.