Question of the Day: When is it inappropriate to ask for a doggie bag?
My boyfriend hates asking to take food home, but I feel comfortable when I have eaten less than half of the dish.
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15 Comments:
At a buffet, or perhaps an oyster bar. Otherwise, no kitchen should balk at your request.
DaveFaris at 6:57PM on 05/15/07
I am not a big eater and frequently don't finish the main portion. Without fail I am asked if I would like to take food home. So I am a bit surprised your bf even has to ask. So no kitchen should have an issue and should be happy to accommodate.
The problem I run into is when I -don't- want to take the remaining food home (either you are on a trip or the food ... well sucked). The usual response is 'was there anything wrong?' followed by 'can I get you something else? like a free desert? or a free lobster?' or to the other extreme - a ticked off chef.
The angry chef only happened once but it made such an impression that I always take the food home from family own Italian places even if I am just going to chuck it in the garbage at the first opportunity.
shea at 7:57PM on 05/15/07
Too many food safety issues---I never ask for doggie bags--not worth risking getting sick.
JEP at 8:53PM on 05/15/07
Always ask if I can't finish, which is mostly. Love taking it out of the fridge the next day and turning it into something else altogether. It has never embarrassed me; I paid for the lot, wherever I might eat it.
And, yes, Shea, I was once at a family-run restaurant where the food was so awful and the people were so nice that I did take it home and chuck it.
JEP, I always think that the price of being an adventurous eater is the pukes once or twice a year. I've got no problem with that.
Barbara Hanson at 9:03PM on 05/15/07
I've taken home unfinished meals from all kinds of restaurants. More than a few times, a server has asked me whether I'd care to take the stuff home before I'd even thought to make the request.
My ex-husband was always embarrassed to ask for a doggie bag, yet if the server asked him whether he/she should wrap my ex's stuff as well as mine, he'd always answer yes. So, maybe it's a personality quirk, or a gender-specific trait, to feel ill at ease about making this request. But rest assured: It's not only acceptable, it's often expected. Don't hesitate to ask your server, "Would you mind wrapping this for me?"
baboo at 9:15PM on 05/15/07
I guess I wouldn't do it if someone else - at least someone I didn't know well - were paying; seems tacky, somehow.
emily20008 at 11:07PM on 05/15/07
I never feel embarassed about asking for a doggie bag. If nothing else, the food really does go to the doggie.
Here in NYC, it's not uncommon to drop your leftovers off with the nearest homeless person. They're usually very happy to have it -- if they truly are homeless.
On a side note: I really like the places that will bring the containers and bags to your table and allow you to pack your own. Eliminates the food safety issues noted above. Then again, if you're going fancy fancy, that wouldn't be appropriate for them to do.
FKC at 12:27AM on 05/16/07
just an fyi, a lot of restaurants won't let you take home food from a buffet, because of the risk of going into the temperature "danger zones". restaurants don't want to get caught later in lawsuits because people didn't refridgerate their leftovers promptly.
french tart at 7:08AM on 05/16/07
I'm confused - what are the "food safety issues"? Why would you trust someone to prepare and serve your food, but not to pack it to go? I suppose it depends how long the leftovers are in the "danger zone," but if you go straight home and put the food in the refrigerator, surely most of the risk is eliminated.
I remember disagreeing with Marion Nestle about this in What To Eat - she said that bringing home leftovers just gives you a second-rate version of the same meal again, and that she doesn't like the idea. But if a meal is terrific, a second-rate version is probably still pretty good!
producestories at 8:07AM on 05/16/07
for buffet food, usually that food has been sitting out for a while. there's something like a 4 hour window before food is considered in the "danger zone", meaning between 40 and 140 degrees F. cold foods should be served at 40 or below, hot foods at 140 or above. so lets say you took food off a buffet after it's been there for a few hours, let it sit in your car for another hour or two while you do some shopping, then plop it in the fridge, reheat another day, there's a chance you could get sick. i am generalizing here, but most people dont rush straight home from restaurants to put their food away.
i dont normally eat off the buffet anyway. i just dont trust most restaurants to change out the food like they're supposed to.
french tart at 9:24AM on 05/16/07
At a wake. Boy, did I find out the hard way!
Lou at 2:26PM on 05/16/07
The only time I don't ask for a to-go is if I won't be going anywhere near home or a friendly fridge for the rest of the day. I can never, ever finish an entree, and I hate wasting food, so I will take it with me no matter how fancy (or not) the restaurant is.
myzkyti at 3:44PM on 05/16/07
Just don't ask for a doggy bag in Europe!
pikawicca at 4:49PM on 05/16/07
Have no problems asking for a doggie bag for my meal even if there is only less than half left. My cousin once asked for a bag to take the bread home.
spaghetti at 5:31PM on 05/16/07
When I was an arrogant, spoiled child I really detested and was embarrassed by anyone I was with taking a doggie bag. As I've aged and have a better appreciation of the value of money, it doesn't bother me a bit.
BTW, buffets almost never allow doggie bags. If they were allowed what would stop people from piling the plate a foot deep and then asking for a doggie bag? The only time I've ever seen anyone take a doggie bag out of a buffet was when a special request for a nearly meatless rib bone was made for a dog-- an actual dog. Who was waiting patiently in the car.
Calichef at 5:39AM on 05/17/07