sr1329 wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:jpschust used to be a regular poster on LTH. He was a transplant from Washington, D.C. who has since moved out of the area. He always struck me as very knowledgable and fussy, largely because he knew how food and cocktails should be. My own amber-thoughts began to melt about Le Titi de Paris when I read his report of a visit last fall.

jpshcust's dinner at Le Titi de Paris wrote:All in all the food at Le Titi de Paris is killer, and it's worth a trip for the service alone, but one very general comment- their portion sizes are WAY too big. It's really impossible to order a la carte and to eat a reasonably sized dinner. I could have had a salad and an appetizer and that might have even been too much food for me (and I can pack it away when I'm hungry, which I was). Also, just a hint to others going there- don't bother ordering the CA wines- most are really overpriced (Clayhouse Adobo Red for $46? Seriously?) but there are tons of bargains to be had on the French list.

I'm sure you are far more well versed on midwestern food trends than I am. I haven't eaten at Le Titi de Paris yet, but I think as a generality portions are massive in Chicago and midwest in general. I believe it is the expectation of diners here who often complain on sites like Yelp if they feel the portions are smaller than what they expected. I'm loath to say as much, but I fear that many people's dining out expectations have been crafted by childhood meals at chain restaurants or other restaurants with massive portions enough to take food home and eat the next day. I suppose that being close to university full of frugal students doesn't help matters here either. The restaurant business seems to be a tough one here where quality isn't valued as much as quantity and especially in these tough economic times I'd imagine it is hard to keep a restaurant business running while alienating people who have expectations of value that come with large portions. Also it is quite inexpensive to project value by offering large portions given that food cost is around 25-30% of food revenue. It is the easiest way to project value. I suppose Le Titi being an upper-mid end restaurant cannot afford to alienate occasional diners who are not acquainted with portion sizes typical of higher end restaurants. I may be wrong, but its just my impression seeing how much food I typically get served here.