/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>4835769

Often when I go out to eat, I'm writing off any semblance of nutritional responsibility, and I sit down to my Fatty McPorkLard meal of salt, cholesterol, etc. So I don't mind huge portions in that situation.

And if I do feel like being semi-responsible then I'll save some for later. I do like getting a lot of food for my money because I can take it home and make a future meal out of it, maybe even a reasonably healthy one if I don't bother to save, say, the half of the greasy Bloomin' Onion we didn't eat or whatever.

Basically, I see nothing wrong with giant portions because occasional indulgence isn't a bad thing (really, it's required to maintain sanity), and when I'm made to go to a restaurant for social occasions, I have enough self-control to not eat until bursting. A lot of food for your money is a good value, that shouldn't change.

They're fun occasionally, but overkill the rest of the time.

I'm interested in solutions to the predicament, personally I'm kinda stumped. Some would say "just don't finish it, take the rest home if you don't want to waste food/money" but some food tastes kinda shitty leftover and transporting/storing the food can be problematic if you're traveling, or at work, if you take the bus, etc. I often feel obliged to finish whatever is put in front of me if it's decent food; whether that's stupid or not I don't care, it's ingrained at this point. You could just leave it on the plate for them to trash, but that feels so wrong.

Restaurants could note the weight or approximate size of the food, or have a picture on the menu, but that calls to mind fast food joints and might turn people off, it would never look like the picture, blah blah. Can't trust servers to tell you anything accurate, it'll just be their personal opinion.

God, I hate the restaurant industry.

there's a cartoon of two American women eating out, and one remarks on how terrible the food is, and the other one says "yeah, and the portions are so small".

if they don't give you a ton of food, too many people would go some where else.

Personally, I don't mind it terribly, because then I usually have lunch for the next day. But I would rather pay less for less food personally.

>>4835802

I hate people like this.

Also, "the food there is so expensive". By which they mean, the plate isn't crowded, and the portions are sized so you can have dessert and not feel sick, or have two courses instead of one, thereby enjoying the food instead of just stuffing your face like a pig feeding at the trough.

>>4835807
Oh man, I love places where I can eat dessert after having dinner. Most of the time, theres something I want to try, but I finish eating my dinner(Or just half of it!) and I'm too stuffed to eat dessert.

I wish more places would do what some places are doing where you pay $20 for two entrees and either a dessert or appetizer or both. I like the variety a lot more then I like large portions.

>>4835807

Why is it impossible to just take some food home in a box? Why do you have to eat it ALL right there?

>>4835813
It's not impossible. But when I am going out for dinner, what I want is dinner, not dinner and lunch for the next day.

>>4835813

If I wanted food to take home I'd go to the grocery store. Unless you lived through a famine or a war, I don't understand why every plate has to be piled high with food, as if to overemphasize that there's plenty and those harsh times are over now.

>>4835820
>the only acceptable restaurants are where the portions are perfectly sized and I eat only what's on my plate, no more, no less, and saving any for later is UNTHINKABLE

you are a retard

>>4835769
>What do you think about huge portions at restaurants?
Few things make me judgmental, but this does. I think huge portions are borderline shameful. I place a high value on getting my money's worth, but I'd rather pay a little less for reasonably sized meals than super sized bullshit. Because huge portions leave you with three options, all of which suck. Either you overeat, which is gross, or you waste food, which is obscene. If you can't handle those you're stuck carrying around a doggie bag for the rest of your night out, which not only looks stupid, but it's a pain in the ass.

You know places with huge portions throw tons of uneaten food into the garbage. That drives me nuts. I know all restaurants waste food, but those serving portions intentionally bigger than most folks can eat waste more'. Wasting food rustles my jimmies on a deep ethical level way more than many other things, for some reason.

>>4835824
>the only acceptable restaurants are where the portions are designed are twice what any normal person should eat in a meal, and I should always have to take food home with me

you are a retard

It's American mindest. It basically goes "more of everything will make everything always better". The same logic applies to food, cars, national pride, guns, and "spectacle sports" like American Handegg.

>>4835824
>>4835838
>you are a retard
no u

>>4835846
>not being able to handle FREEDOM

shiggy diggy

Chances are, if its that huge, its cheap ass shit.

here is news. flash/ breaking news resturants are not interested in your health. except for clean and comfoftable. triple the portion size, and loaded with salt. lots of salt. and butter. but they want you back. if watching a movie at home, how many eat a gallon of popcorn. it's like cassinos or theme parks. and many go to graze might as we get my moneys worth 14.95) x 4 plus 2 x 4 plus tax hell yeah gonna get my moneies woth... few people eat that way at home. the house almost always wins be it harrahs, sands, carowinds, six flaggs or whatevrre. but also with restaurants. once in a while ten oz of meat at home might eat 8oz but not usually he house winns they are not in business as a charitable organization

>>4835855
You can take muh munny's worth from my obese, diabetic dead hands.

>>4835769
I see it as a cultural shift towards doggie bags.
Most people who aren't huge are not eating those huge portions (and often not ordering them either), but instead taking their leftovers to go. This is okay; having leftovers is a great way to extend the dining experience, and the size increase gives you an excuse to take them back.

You should eat portions, of not what is served to you by others, but rather only what is proportional to your caloric needs for the day. As far as your comment about not eating a large breakfast, of all meals, it's your best time of day to have your largest meal. There are plenty of studies about reversing your meals, not skipping breakfast, not having a large or late dinner, etc.

A large portion is value. Restaurants are competitive. There are growing kids, athletes, construction workers, vacationers, people who share meals, who take meals for leftovers, etc. The real cost of food vs profit/person x table time per hour? A restaurant and their competition is the market. What you and everyone else will pay for that menu item, versus how they feel about the value has made the portion size not disappointing.

For example, what is the line you'd draw on a more known item like a hamburger? Is it 10 bucks? Is it more like 8 or 15? At what point do you think, uhh, it'd better be 1/2lb, or it'd better be gourmet in some way, or bottomless fries, wood smoke or free refills on your soda or something to compensate like atmosphere, a view, a hipster reputation, or the cheapest thing on the menu that got you into a fine restaurant. It's a repeatable analogy why value matters. It doesn't even have to relate to your individual disposable income just your feeling about being taken or getting fairly treated.

I would prefer to get a smaller portion and pay a little less. Alternatively, it would be nice if places offered a smaller or half portion of their dishes (when feasible).

Taking leftovers home isn't always an option. Not everything tastes decent when reheated. If I'm going somewhere after dinner, I don't really want to leave food to spoil in my car.

I would rater have too much for cheap than getting ripped off. I am not sure how much you paid for that, but I doubt its more expensive than the non-nutritional sandwiches over at Subway(TM) which you pay premium for.

>>4835996
>getting ripped off

To the average /ck/ poor, the social expectation of tipping, the addition of tax, and the ability to see any section of the plate except the extreme outside edges means "getting ripped off"

People need to get more friendly with dried beans, generic cooking oil, TVP, and multivitamins. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, you shouldn't be eating out, let alone judging a restaurant by whether or not you have leftovers after you ate until you were full.

>>4835837
>you're stuck carrying around a doggie bag for the rest of your night out, which not only looks stupid, but it's a pain in the ass.
LOL.

At some point, you have to think before you act. You have to make choices, before you make an evening. Do you eat before v after? Do you split a meal versus ordering a half portion or making your own a la carte? Do you put a cooler in your trunk? Why not?
If I'm torn between two menu items or pizza, anyone wanna split the salad? No, then adjust. You can actually go to Cheesecake Factory, notorious for giant portions, and get an appetizer as main or soup/sandwich and still room for dessert, or carefully order what makes good leftovers, dressings on side, etc.

>>4836022
>you have to think before you act.
>going to the Cheesecake Factory

Someone didn't think before acting. But heym it's genetics, right?

>>4836033
>Cheesecake Factory
Is that actually a thing? I thought it was some fake restaurant from the big bang theory.

>>4836065
It's real. It's rather expensive, but the portions are huge and unhealthy, which is probably why it's popular where I live in the Midwest.

>>4836065

I've never actually eaten in one but if you ever drive through the more disadvantaged parts of America you'll see them packed in there alongside Fogo de Chao and the Container Store. I think it's for white people what red lobster is for black people.

>>4836065

>>4836065
>>Cheesecake Factory
>Is that actually a thing?
>>4836033
>>4836070
>I've never actually eaten in one but i

A lot of opinions from people without two dimes to rub together. This was the only good stock to own in hospitality for more than a whole decade for a reason. Sucks you can't afford to eat at one of the 180 locations not even once in the last 25 years?

Jul. 24, 2013-- The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) today reported financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2013, which ended on July 2, 2013. Total revenues were $470.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013 as compared to $454.7 million in the prior...

>>4836102

They don't have any in Manhattan since we have normal restaurants here. When I travel I use basic tools such as the internet to find local restaurants that aren't disgusting slop troughs for people with no taste. What are you even doing on /ck/?

I don't know what it's like in your city but basically it's only the cheap restaurants that serve huge portions. If you go to the slightly more hipster joints they usually serve good portion sizes.

The $10-20 per person joints serve big portions but the $20-40 per person restaurants usually leave enough room for dessert.

>>4836127
In other words, it's an ignorant choice you made to prejudge them and exclude them, not the fact NY is devoid of them, nor any other chain.

>>4835989
I agree. Iwould love half the food at half the price, unfortunately some places do, but the price isn't proportional. It's 10% less so it's not worth it.

>>4836156

I'm familiar with the menus at that style of restaurant because I've been to enough of them. You can't always plan your travel around your meal preferences. Gordon Biersch, Maggianos, Macaroni Grill, they're all variations on that theme. So far Cheesecake Factory hasn't presented itself as the only choice but I have no doubt it's something like those. Since you mentioned "affording" it, I gather it seems very fancy and chic to you, but to people who actually like food, it's the kind of place you eat when the alternatives include starvation and something from the nearest gas station. You can cry about ignorance and feelings all you want but so far you've given me no reason to think I'm wrong.

>>4836156
Not the Anon you're replying to, but one CAN very comfortably prejudge a place like Cheesecake factory. You can be assured that because it's a huge chain striving for consistency use of fresh vegetables (which vary by season) will be kept to a minimum. Many ingredients will arrive premixed from corporate distribution. Ingredients will be foodservice grade. The menu will consist of items generally considered safe bets by the average American diner: burgers, pasta, steaks and the like.

One can correctly assume that someone looking for interesting and exciting flavors, or maybe something a little out of the ordinary would be wise to give the Cheesecake Factory a miss.

>>4835769
While more doesn't mean better, breakfast items are the one type of meal where I don't mind large portions. But, I love eggs, and don't eat a lot of carbs at breakfast, the carby-est thing I'd eat being potatoes or the muffins on the bottom of a plate of Eggs Benedict. Other meals, I prefer a normal sized portion, because otherwise I just feel like everything goes to waste because I can't finish it. I had this experience the other night. We went to our favorite mexican food place, and I ordered a combo with one enchilada and one tostada. It also came with rice, beans, and a small bowl of tortilla soup. The soup came out first, and it was wonderful, so I wanted to finish it. Then my entree came out, and the tostada was HUGE, way bigger than I thought it was going to be. I ate the enchilada first, then about half the tostada, then I had to stop. I couldn't even eat the rice and beans at all. Which, was a shame because they make really nice red rice at that place. Anyway, just throwing my two cents in on that subject.

>>4836202
This.

Personally, as a rule, if it's a chain, or if it has more than 8-10 entrees on the menu at the maximum, it's going to be somewhat lower quality and/or bad portion sizes and/or poorly prepared. The more items there are on the menu, the more likely you're getting premade, shipped frozen, food service grade crap.

>>4836180
Yeah 1/2 portion $7.99, full portion $9

I'd be ok even if it wasn't exactly half the price as I know I'm paying for more than just the food itself.

>>4836239
>getting premade, shipped frozen, food service grade crap.
But that doesn't matter to many people. If you don't cook much at home you probably live of that kind of stuff from the supermarket. So why not go out for it as well, if it's what you're used to? There are people who think the Alfredo sauce at Olive Garden is wonderful because they've only had Alfredo sauce from a jar. No reason they shouldn't have restaurants that cater to their tastes.

But for someone who generally does not eat premade stuff from jars or freezer cases the food at these places is going to taste weird - like a convenience food version of what the dishes claim to be. Because that's what it is.

When I travel I'd rather save a couple bucks eating at a total dive than these kind of restaurants. At a dive you can be impressed if the food actually turns out to be good. At these more upscale chains the food is (for me) an expensive disappointment.

The way I see it is fat people are lazy and they like to eat so restaurants cater to the fatties.

Same way men like cars and they like women so car shows cater to the men.

>>4835769

I have yet to meet my match at a restaurant.

>>4836291
>The way I see it is fat people are lazy and they like to eat so restaurants cater to the fatties.
Eating the kind of food in OP's pic on a regular basis is likely to make one fat. Then once you're fat you feel hungry unless you consume enough calories to maintain your fatness. Restaurants that serve cheap, shitty food can easily cater to fatties by offering outrageous portion sizes. Hell, Olive Garden is now offering two meals for the price of one - one to eat there and another to take home after you've eaten. All I can think of is fatty getting home from dinner and sitting down to another pasta meal...

ITT: what are to-go boxes for?

>>4836239
>The more items there are on the menu, the mo55re likely you're getting premade, shipped frozen, food service grade crap.

The cheesecakes are shipped frozen. But, the entire 100% rest of menu items are made from scratch on site. It's their corporation's design. They remain unique despite the recession.
>minimum vegetables
Ridiculously large selection.

Ignorant lot of you. Do you all live under a rock? How do you not know all of this at this point. I'm going to assume you're brokeasses who hang around with same, never once picking up a Fortune magazine nor knowing anyone who actually casually dines there. How else could you be so oblivious or unaware?

>>4836372
>How else could you be so oblivious or unaware?
When you don't live in the middle of nowhere you only come across these kinds of restaurants when traveling. After enough disappointing meals you start giving them a wide berth.

And quoting the corporate website about "making from scratch" is hardly a good source. They only published their nutrition info because Washington state law required it. They don't publish their ingredient lists. Two of their cheesecakes contain pork products, for chrissake! I guarantee you they are not making all of their sauces and salad dressings on site.

It's junk food, just upscale junk food.

>>4836372
Everything I've ever eaten at a Cheesecake Factory (taking into consideration I've only eaten there twice in my life) has been mediocre crap. Also, the fact that they tried to refuse to divulge their nutrition information is a clear sign they definitely have something to hide when it comes to their food, especially since they don't list their ingredients. Corporate restaurant chains are by design mediocre. They model on consistency, not excellence.

>>4835769
You know what's great about mexican food? It's often even better the next day! Mexican food leftovers are always welcome.

Leftover sushi is depressing, though. Nothing you can really do with that.

>>4836467
They don'twant to refuse to divulge because of something to hide, it's because when things *are* made on site, it's too hard to keep each dish within a super-exacting standard, and people are so goddammned lawsuit happy the restaurant doesn't want to get sued because some dish was 1300 calories instead of 1200.

Texas Roadhouse explains it well:
http://www.texasroadhouse.com/contact-us#nutritional-information
"Many of the large foodservice companies that offer specific nutritional information can do so because their food is pre-packaged and/or pre-portioned. Since we make our food from scratch — including the bacon bits, croutons, and dressings — it is next to impossible to provide exact nutritional information because of slight variations that depend upon whomever prepares the food."
...
"We have attempted to provide some information in the past, but we pulled back after some guests complained we were not detailed enough. In addition, some enterprising folks tested the food, and when it fell outside the guidelines,THEY THREATENED LEGAL ACTION [emphasis added]. As such, we stopped providing our special gluten-free menu, for example."

>>4836511
Reheated eggs do not appeal to me at all. Plus there was tons of sour cream so that a lot of it had the consistency of a paste. Would not be good the next day.

>>4836511
ya, my problem with Mexican food leftovers is that when I eat 'til I'm full at dinner, there's never *quite* enough leftover to make it a worthwhile lunch ... so I end up stuffing myself at dinner. :)
I need to just stop eating sooner at dinner so I have more left to take home. :)

But wow, OPs pic made me hungry, that looks AMAZING!

>>4836518
How do you like your position in new media for Cheesecake Factory. Is the pay good? Shame they've got you working on a Sunday...

The Claim Jumper in Seattle started going downhill after they shrank their portions. For the first several years it was open, man it was great - huge portions and it was worth the long wait, but then they started to scrimp and my friends and I stopped going.

>>4836525
I wasn't the earlier poster in the thread, but his posts reminded me of the Texas Roadhouse, since I was on their site earlier trying to find out how many calories were in those rolls w the cinnamon butter. :O

but anyway, yes I get that a lot of companies try to reach out this way (Taco Bell's personalized twitter comments are a funny example) and yes the more I say 'no I'm not no I'm not' gets the ol' "methinks thou dost protest too much" response but whatevs it's 4chan :P

>>4836533
A job is a job. So you work for a place that tries to pass off junk food as an upscale dining experience. I'm sure that for some folks it's as close as they'll ever come. But you're wasting your time trying to convince people who actually cook and eat at proper restaurants that Cheesecake Factory is somehow better than mediocre just because their website says so.

>>4836522
:)

>>4836070

... and what is Red Lobster for black people?

To me, it's a quick stop on the way home from work each Friday for some cheddar biscuits, to-go style.

Then again, I ain't none nigger.

>>4836590
honestly, I just got that from you guys. never been to one. isn't it a cheap chain that lower income people go to for special occasions?

>>4836070
>it's for white people what red lobster is for black people
you mean Carrabas / the Macaroni Grill (in place of "it's")

I like big portions if I'm getting breakfast on a lazy sunday or something like that. I mean, nothing wrong with taking leftovers home. But not every meal needs to break your wrist getting it to the table.

>crying about receiving big portions

seriously?

it's like you own a restaurant yourself you fucking jew

>huge breakfast portion
>meant for people going to a physically demanding day of work
>not meant for people going to their office or back home to play wow

>people talking about room for dessert
>dessert
>after breakfast
>wat

>>4835813
I went to a very nice Hungarian restaurant the other day but they don't do take out nor do they have doggy bags. Having not been before, I had no clue what the portion size would be but I wagered I could finish a starter and main. Unfortunately, I could hardly finish half the main and it had to go to waste. In this case, it certainly was not possible to take the food home in a box.