Taking food home from a pub/restaurant

[storminabuttercup]

My grandma often does this, say for example she orders a roast beef baguette and she can't finish it, she wraps the other half and pops in in her handbag. Years ago this would have really embarrassed me, but she did it today and it didn't bother me, was I being unreasonable before to be embarrassed or now to not care I wonder?

Thought I'd pass it over to the mn jury! :-)

I have no problem with taking home a doggie bag, having spent quite a lot of time in the US, where it was pretty much expected of you. Also, I tend to eat small amounts often, so never finish a meal out but by the time I get home after a few drinks, I'm starving. Where I live, it has now become the norm, most restaurants will offer to wrap it up for you (well, unless all you have left is a potato and the fat off your steak, or a wee bite of your lasagne () and bag it, so no pasta sloshing about in your handbag! Actually, the last time I was out to dinner, the waiter offered to wrap my food, and left it in a bag on my table, which I forgot after several sambuccas in the rush to get our taxi. Said waiter noticed it and rushed down the restaurant stairs after us to make sure I brought it home with me.

'You Brits. And here we are, getting the blame for being wasteful with our tumble dryers and whatnot'. Hehe. Well put, Cheerful .

I remember the first time that I ate in a restaurant in the US and had a giant helping and feeling really quite embarrassed/distressed as I was brought up to clear my plate (my DM was very affected by rationing) and didn't realise that taking it away was an option. Excessive portions are one of the causes of obesity, and were brought in mainly as a way to make more money for restaurants (there is more profit to be made charging more for a bigger serving, than charging less for smaller portions as people feel they get more value for money). Now I live in North America I'm used to it, but it's not really a good thing.

Yes Fishpond. :) One set of great-grandparents "moved up from the holler" to Ohio, which is where I was born. I've lived in Minnesota for most of my life and am Minnesotan through and through, but there's a touch of coal miner left. :o

Totally normal here in London town, everyone I know does it.

I once took the remains of a lovely steak home, wrapped in a napkin, for my dog. I then forgot about it and wondered what the slightly cheesy smell was emanating from the bottom of my wardrobe a month later...

However, we will always take away the remains of our Chinese meal as we always order too much and the staff are only too happy to put in in containers (like a takeaway). It is a real treat to have it for lunch the next day.Why should the restaurant mind - in a way, it's a compliment - and we always leave a generous tip.

The website funky linked to is very interesting - shame it's a London initiative! Lets hope it gets rolled out to the rest of the uk!

Why not just take your own doggybag, storm? Take a little tupperware and ask them to put leftovers in that if they don't have any takeaway boxes.

I used to be MORTIFIED by the idea of asking for the leftovers. But then my American friend and I went out a few times and she asked and I realised it was totally fine and everyone has always reacted as if it was perfectly normal.

I have a tiny appetite, can only ever eat half of what's on my plate. So now I get two meals for the price of one.