Friday night we joined dear friends to celebrate a birthday. The selected location was in Laguna Beach, likely the epicenter of healthy living! The restaurant was Zoolu Cafe, a VERY popular and "hard to get into" hot spot. The chef is known far and wide for delicious creative cuisine and large portions.
I Yelped the spot and read many reviews about the large portions, even so, I was unprepared for the real size of the servings. I orderd the cioppino, sans pasta. Literally a bowl large enough to give a small baby a bath was delivered to my table. Everyone else was served MASSIVE portions too. All around me were ooooo's and ahhh's of appreciation and delight. But, I have to tell you, my reaction was different.
The portions were so large as to make it difficult to enjoy the meal. Of course, there was no way to finish the meal. I did take home a doggie bag with enough to feed me and my husband an entire second meal the next day. But what caused me to be uncomfortable was the amount of waste at our table alone (multiply that by all the people dining there). Some people took a doggie bag and others simply left a huge quantity of food untouched. For sure it was thrown away. It made me sad to think that some would think that such a huge serving was a good thing. It also made me terribly sad to think of all the people who do not have anything to eat. It bordered on gluttony. ICK!
So, in spite of the quality of the food, and what I tasted was delicious, I did not enjoy my meal. Have you ever experienced anything like that?
Desire to enjoy dining in moderation. Dedication to helping others who are without. Discipline to not waste food.
Whenever we go someplace like that I always separate what I won't eat at the beginning then take it home and give it to the first homeless person I see who wants food. That way it's not going to waste and it's helping someone who may not have eaten otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great best practice!
DeleteWow! I haven't been in a situation like that for a looong time! I like @Lawrenn's idea for prepping to give food away immediately...still, wouldn't the restaurant's reputation stay intact with "just" good food? (and not the accompanying HUGE portion sizes?) Perhaps an email-to-the-wise as feedback could fix some of the prob!?
ReplyDelete