[Note: I just visited Hogtown last week, so I decided to repost this.]
Depending on your perspective, this is just the right amount of food or an obscenely large amount of food worthy only of a glutton. For me, when the vegetarian 'chicken' wrap is bigger than someone's arm, I call it glutton worthy.
In this case, I went to Hogtown Vegan in Toronto. It was my first time, but everyone I was with, vegetarian and non, loved the food. It was tasty enough that most people at the table attempted to eat everything on their plates (to no avail). In the end, a friend asked the server if people generally finished their meals. She laughed and said, “Almost none. Ninety percent don’t finish. The other ten percent finish AND order dessert.”
At first I laughed, but later on I got angry.
I live in Thailand and visit North America every year to see family and friends. Every year, I confront the immensity of what North American restaurants consider to be a normal meal size. I laugh about it, make fun of it, and occasionally complain about it.
At one point I took photos of cookies as large as my face, bagels with enough cream cheese to serve a family of four, salads made with what appear to be whole heads of lettuce, and pizzas as thick as War and Peace. You get the picture. When I would return to Thailand, I would tell friends the stories and laugh.
This year, though, I decided that enough was enough. Instead of ordering my own portion, I decided to share at every meal, and I haven’t finished a meal hungry yet. If I am really hungry, I have ordered an appetizer and then a main course to share.
More and more people I know, from 20 to 90 years old have some kind of digestive problem. They have acid reflux, gluten problems, irritable bowels…the list goes on. I can’t help but think it has something to do with how much people eat. I’m not saying the cause is solely portion size, but I think it could easily be a contributing factor. And of course there is that nagging little problem of obesity that the media seems obsessed with.
My strategy worked for me this summer. I ate less and left meals feeling way better. I wasn’t stuffed and ready to collapse. Nor did I wish that I had worn pants with an elastic waistband to accommodate my swollen belly. The bad part of it is that I kept feeling like some cheapskate, penny pincher every time I placed my order. ‘Really, I can afford to order my own meal. I have cash AND a credit card.’
To all those restaurants out there, charge me 25-30% less and give me 35-50% less food, and I will still be happy. You should be happy too. You save money on food and increase the chance that I will order something else. Until then, I am going to be sharing. Even if I do feel like a skinflint.
[By my estimate, this vegetarian Reuben weighed about a kilo.]
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