I can however see them laugh at the half portions at full price (just take the leftovers if you feel bad for wasting food, maybe you could even give it to a bum if you can't bring the food home).
Americans visiting Europe would find themselves in a similar situation if they asked for a doggie bag. Most places wouldn't even be prepared to handle such a request.
But then again, the portions are so much smaller that a request of that nature is unlikely.
I'm genuinely curious, but perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying.
Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
I'd hate to try :) I've never ever seen anybody do that, except for maybe asking for an extra spoon to share a desert.
> Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
I think that part of the stigma is that eating out is somewhat of a luxury in Europe whereas in America it is extremely normal. Prices are in general much higher here when eating out, the menus more varied (no thousand island dressing here, no burgers (at least, not in most places)) and people tend to dress up before going out.
A 'doggy bag' simply does not go well with the image of going out when you look at it like that. So I think that it's as much custom as it is setting and social stigma, if you asked for a doggy bag in a restaurant your peers would assume that you are either broke or very very stingy.
Or that you had a dog :)
Of course this is just my experience, maybe other Europeans can add / detract from that by giving their perspective, this is mine.
I'm pretty sure that taking food with you in a bag is unfortunately considered bad manners :( Asking for a second plate and silver maybe a less so but still.
I wouldn't have balked if they'd said no, but as I constantly say to my lad "you don't get if you don't ask" (which may not be true universally, but certainly is with me).
In France, I've seen myself denied the extra cutlery before (after leaving for some years in Asia, I was used to share food...)
as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed to people asking if anyone wants a box or their leftovers wrapped up.
It took a while for me to get used to the US phenomenon of asking for leftovers to be "boxed up" and I've noticed a similar level of surprise with less travelled Europeans I've taken to the US.
I'm used to it now (though I still wouldn't ever do it myself) but this is not even slightly common or acceptable practice in the UK. Such a request wouldn't be met with disgust or offense, though, merely confusion. I doubt many places except Chinese restuarants/takeouts would have anything to put the food in anyway.
So, yeah, this is a very American practice from the UK POV. I'd be surprised if it weren't common somewhere in Europe, though, but I've never seen it happen on my travels.
Splitting a meal or asking for more utensils to share a dish isn't exactly common here either but it is done, especially in pubs or similarly low-end places.
Why do you think that is?
Is it that Europeans see eating out as a signal of luxury and asking to take the rest of the food home somehow diminishes that perception ("oh look they must be poor if they are taking that left-over steak home..." kind of attitude). In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Americans just don't care?
What if portion size wasn't a problem? Image that Europeans served same sized portions as Americans, would you take your leftovers home to be heated up for lunch then?
A handful of reasons, I think.
Fatigue with the particular dish (I don't want to eat the same thing within a day or two anyway), a mostly irrational "ick" hygiene factor, not wanting to carry food around (it's less common to be parked close to where you're eating in the UK), a lingering (though lessened) elitist attitude to the practice, and a fear of it being considered an unusual request.
Different cultures engage in slightly odd behaviors (such as the prevalence of stick shift cars in the UK) often because people are, en masse, afraid of being unusual and making a change. If restaurants made taking stuff home an obvious and acceptable policy, I'd probably deliberately eat only half the meal and do it from time to time.
I don't care what people think, but restaurants that don't do takeaway simply don't have containers to take food home. I've been to 10 restaurants this month, and none did takeaway.
Besides, a half-eaten reheated meal doesn't sound very appetizing. The sauce will have congealed or soaked up by the food, the pastry gotten soggy, etc. etc.
Perhaps take your own tupperware with you, I'd love to see that.
Sadly I so rarely get to eat out that I tend to finish everything so I'm not likely to be taking a tupperware any time soon.
You: "can I have a mop bucket to take my food home in please?"
Waiter: "perhaps if we just wrapped it in foil ...?"
I did this the other day in my favorite Chinese restaurant. I wasn't hungry enough to eat an entire "Chinese-style Steak" myself, so I split the meal with my brother. Anytime my family has ever asked to get an extra plate it's never been a problem. (Also, there is this tendency to treat Europe as one big country, as if the customs in France are going to be equivalent to customs in, say, Sweden!)
"...I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home,..." Funny story concerning "doggy bags": I worked at a hotel once. There was a wedding on one night, and there was a huge volume of food leftover (regular occurrence, the amount of food wasted in the hotel and restaurant business is eye-opening). One guest caught my attention as I was clearing plates, and said "was there any chance that I could bag up all the leftovers". I said no problem. Turns out he had greyhounds, and was looking to save money by feeding them leftovers from the wedding food. I bagged up all the leftovers and gave them to him. I was happy to do it because it was destined for the bin otherwise. Btw we don't use the expression "doggy bags" over here, but in this case it literally was a case of the food going into a "doggy bag".
There's some great business opportunities around waste. I've read about entrepreneurs using methane from rubbish dumps to fuel heating systems. Some great fortunes are made in the waste business (turning trash into cash to use a cliche). I remember reading a great article about one guy who converted his Hummer to run on leftovers that he collected from local restaurants. Not only did his "mpg" increase, but his cost of running the Hummer decreased enormously (he even brought food sometimes, put it in a blender, and used the chopped up food as fuel - still cheaper than a tank of traditional petrol/gasoline). It was the "Green Hummer" or some similarly named project if you wish to Google around.
Feeding your own dog/chickens/whatever your own leftovers is not illegal fortunately.