Take Home Leftovers?

For buffet dining, this wouldn't work because they don't allow leftovers. But in ordinary restaurants, particularly the fine dining restaurants, we always order food in excess. That is to have a taste of a variety of dishes. And since we couldn't finish all of the food, we take home the leftover that would serve us good for our next meal. It is the custom here to take home leftover food in the restaurant.

 

Hehe I couldn't give a stuff what a snob thought of me, it's my money and food; and I'll do with it what I want. I rarely finish the whole meal when I go out eating. So If I really enjoyed it and there was still a lot left over, of course I ask for doggie bag. I didn't even know some people frowned down upon it LOL How silly is that?!

 

When I order pizza it's with the intention of taking back a few slices at least. I think these days people are used to it and many people I know order more, to take home leftover for lunch the next day. It also depends on the situation, on a date it's not a good idea or if you are at a gathering celebrating something, but a family or casual gathering with friends is okay.

Definitely a no no for business meals and also if you are meeting people for the first time though. I would say if there is a lot of food, to maybe wrap it up and give it to a homeless person outside though.

 

If I ever have anything left at a place that I have been eating, then I will almost certainly ask whether I can take it home. It is not for me to eat, however, it is for my dog. I can sometimes make a whole meal for him out of leftovers, meaning that I don't then have to spend as much money on dog food, which is a great thing. I don't see why I should send the food back to the kitchen, where it is almost certainly going to be put in the bin, when there is something that I could do with it.

 

The thought of leaving food on a plate I've paid for is ridiculous. As @Lushlala, I couldn't care less what others think of me, nor of my decisions. I do the same as @Corzhens. I don't go out to eat often, but when I do, I always over extras, because for one, it saves me from having to cook the next day, it can be packed for lunches, if they are needed, and it also extends the relaxing experience of being out of the house, and enjoying good food that I normally don't get, and that I didn't have to cook.

 

It is my wont to order extra food because there was a time when we dined with my sister's family whose children are voracious eaters. I was not expecting the food to be short of what we needed. But since the children were still hungry so we ordered some more. Of course, the waiting time for the next batch of food is annoying to the children. So that's what gave me the habit of ordering extra food for take home.... when there are leftovers.

 

When I was unable to drive for a while, I would regularly order Chinese takeout and have it delivered, specifically because they give you so much food for your money that it actually worked out well, because I would have enough leftovers for like 3 more meals each time. I would order some relatively cheap stuff such as a pint of their BBQ pork, and a pint of their house fried rice, and I swear by the time you empty them into bowls, it's like they quadruple in size, lol.

I think Applebee's was/is running some special now that you can get a 2 for 1 deal when you go there to eat, they serve you the first meal you order, then prepare a second meal for you to take home with you.

 

We always take home the leftovers even if it is just rice! Sometimes we eat them at home or give them to our pets. Our house guard dogs do not eat pet food as they are used to eating human food too. So they have a feast when we go out and take the leftover home lol!

I do not really care what others think about us taking home the food. And I think it is common practice here to have the leftover taken home. Some restaurant staffs even are the first to ask if we would want the food to be packed and taken home.

 

I thought that we were the only ones to do this, Corzhens! If we really enjoy the food and we have the money to spare, we also sometimes order extra dishes to take away. This is very helpful and saves you cooking time if you have a lot on. We have this Portuguese restaurant that we love, and is one such place where we often order extra to take out

 

I suppose you are from Portugal? Take this. When we went to Macau, we dined in the food court of the Venetian hotel. There was a Portuguese fast food that caught our fancy. My husband and I ordered each a different dish. If I remember correctly, mine was a sizzling sausage with vegetable garnishings. Oh, the serving is good for 2 people. Back in Hongkong, we also sampled a Portuguese diner and the same - a huge serving for one. Are Portuguese heavy eaters?

 

We always do this even if we are dining at fancy restaurants. However, we take home leftovers for our dogs and not for us. Our dogs eat everything so we get to save some money that way instead of feeding them their dog food.

 

I hardly ever leave anything on my plate when I eat out. In fact, I can't recall a single time that I left anything at all on my plate. But some of my friends do. And I always encourage them to take their leftovers home with them, as wasting food is a "crime" in my eyes. Even if they can't or won't eat it themselves, they can still feed an animal with it.
It's quite strange to me how one could feel embarrassed about taking home their leftovers when people are starving in this world.

 

Hehe, no I'm not Portuguese, Corzhens. I'm actually from Botswana, Southern Africa. I just like to experiment with different cuisines from around the world. I love food and among my favourites are Chinese, Korean, Thai, indian, Italian, Caribbean and Portuguese

 

I do not think if I went to a nice place to eat that I would ask for a doggy bag to take home. I am all for saving money, but I think this is extreme! There are better ways to save money that save you more than a meal!

 

I guess it has something to do with the culture. I live in the Philippines and it is normal for us Filipinos, at least for the majority living in the Philippines, to bring back leftovers for our household pets.

 

It's never bothered me to get my leftovers to go. Absolutely not. I live in the states & sometimes the portions are astronomical while at other times they can be mind blowingly tiny. I've always found that interesting: In both instances you have a plate the size of a car tire while on the one hand it can be filled to the brim there is the other hand that is decoratively dotted with your food for some reason. Either way I don't intend to stuff myself in order to be a part of the 'clean plate' club. I would rather be comfortably full & have some to snack on later be it I'm hungry again. No shame in this game.

 

I think I remember hearing about that promotion. I don't know if they still have it going on, but I think it's a great idea! You reminded me of another reason I will order extra if I get takeout food. Not many restaurants will deliver where I am, so sometimes there's a double delivery fee. I figure if I'm going to pay a double delivery fee, I'd rather order extra food, as well, that way I will only order once. I started doing this when I first moved here, and didn't have my fridge yet. The road in/out is dark and winding, so I figured it was much easier and better, especially when I was exhausted from unpacking and setting things up, to pay extra for the delivery, and I'd order things such as cheese pizza, that wouldn't require refrigeration, or that would last in the cooler I was using at the time.

 

I always bring home my leftovers because I find a lot of times you will get a meal and they give you way too much food. You couldn't possibly eat it all at one sitting. So rather then have it go to waste I have them package it up and I can have it the next day.

 

That's really cool. Where I live, you can do that but everyone is pretty judgmental so I would abstain from doing it. However, if it wasn't for other people's judgement, I'd be loading bags all day.