Supersize my restaurant meal

Good Food Blog

What is RSS?

Posted at 2:01PM, 21 August 2008 by Adrian Bridgwater - Journalist

Morgan Spurlock's seminal documentary Supersize Me may not have had the long-term impact he might have hoped for, as Americans and Europeans alike still continue to flock to junk food emporia in search of sodium, sauce and saturated fat.

What I'm noticing on my fairly regular trips across the pond to the US is that the supersize concept seems to have migrated to the restaurant scene, but in a more subtle way than you might imagine. What the Americans do, we tend to eventually emulate in many cases - so perhaps this is an area to watch out for?

OK, everyone knows that despite some efforts to stem the tide, American restaurant portions can be huge. No surprise there.

But what I see happening at eateries across the US is a glut of free (or at least unlimited) appetisers in the form of bread or crackers with cheese, soup or dressing-drenched salad. Let's not forget that here in the UK we still pay for bread in Café Rouge, as we've failed to adopt the continental 'basket always on the table' approach.

Of course, you have to move out of the Café Rouge zone and move within the Café Royal cognoscenti if you want free mini ciabattas these days, don't you know?

Cracker Barrel, the restaurant chain, has unlimited grits, if you want a bottomless bowl of porridge-like oatmeal as your starter

So what's the problem with free bread and crackers?, you may ask. Well, people seem content to load up on these fillers - Cracker Barrel, the restaurant chain, has unlimited grits, if you want a bottomless bowl of porridge-like oatmeal as your starter. Then the diner's main orders arrive and, by and large, they can't finish them.

These days it's not even called a doggy bag (it's bigger than that) - it's a "box" and it's generally big enough to accommodate a whole fresh takeaway dinner in its own right. Customers can be seen filing out of franchised chains like Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday or Applebee's with a steaming pack of, well, stuff they couldn't finish.

So what's my beef? Well, these customers then plod out with the warm feeling that they've had a great meal and still have the leftovers for another. But when they are tucking into their microwave morsels the next day, do they stop and think, "Hey, I'm eating reheated food at home that I've paid expensive restaurant prices as well as gratuity and tax on"?

No they do not. They think, "Great - a second meal". But they're paying top dollar for leftovers. It's false economics. If super size consumerism is encroaching on the restaurant space in this way, everyone seems happy about it.

Will we follow suit in the UK? Perhaps our British stiff upper lip that makes us just so embarrassed to ask for a doggy bag in the first place will make us think twice before we order the triple salad combo with the breadstick mountain and the quesadilla burger to follow.

For Spurlock's sake, let's hope so.

Comments

catn

22 August 2008, 5:50AM
catn

Can you still get doggie bags in the US and UK?? In Australia the majority of places refuse to allow left overs to be taken home because of some paranoia about people not heating and storing the food properly and then blaming the restuarant for food poisoning! It is a pity when sometimes there is lots left over that would make a perfect lunch the next day - but I guess I can see their deilema in this day and age of legal frenzie.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
rozmorgan

25 August 2008, 11:27AM
rozmorgan

Uk resident here and we get doggy bags to take away all the time. Better than to waste the food, yes? We paid for it either way so why not take it home and get another meal out of it? And our cats are always happy when we bring them home something from our nights out!

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
the Ships Cook

27 August 2008, 7:26PM
the Ships Cook

I can't imagine a night out at my local curry house without having masses left! It comes home, and goes in the freezer... Am I bad, unusual, or acting under false economy? You know what, I don't care...I eat it and it taste's nice. We have a couple of Chinese 'all you can eat' restaurants (if you can call them the latter). Stuff youselves on easy to make, fried food and chicken in blackbean sauce! Surely it can't be long before we get an Indian 'all you can eat'...which takes me back to my first point, I think that is ostensibly what an Indian restaurant is anyway. Or is it' 'all you CANT eat'?

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
AdrianB

27 August 2008, 11:32PM
AdrianB

Hi there - thanks for your responses, I thought I'd say a few extra words: CATN: yes you can still get doggy bags in the UK as ROZ points out, I'm not totally against them and I won't waste food either, I was really remarking on the total process that leads to us asking for them in the first place. SHIPS COOK: Left over curry is surely an education in its own right. Once you see the ghee starting to solidify, at least you know more accurately what it is that you're eating second time around - right? I did once visit a Chinese all you can eat in Slough I think, it's hard to recall exactly as I think I had MSG-induced memory loss straight afterwards. There is an Indian all you can eat in the form of the Jimmy Spices chain, I haven't tried it - but I know they won't give you a doggy bag. I checked :-)

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
LorenC

27 August 2008, 11:51PM
LorenC

You can get doggie bags in the US as well. Another option I use frequently is the share-a-meal plan. One of my roommates and I often share a meal--same price, reasonable portion, and no leftovers! In fact, I shared a plate of bangers and mash just last night with a friend at the local "English" pub--pint of beer apiece and it's just right!

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Duncan Chapel

28 August 2008, 12:14AM
Duncan Chapel

LorenC's on the right track. We should eat what we need. The huge portion sizes in the US have led to obesity, a population that's largely forgotten how to cook, and to even larger portion sizes. As well at eating more at the restaurant, folk in the US end up taking home food that's less nutritious, more costly and more often thrown away than home-cooked food.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
KarenKL

29 August 2008, 3:26PM
KarenKL

Great article, Adrian. As an American it's always frightening to see how our culture is viewed by those across the pond.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons to sign up:

You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.
You can sign up for our weekly newsletter (sent out on Wednesdays) - it's packed with recipes, special offers and competitions.