Do you take a 'doggy bag'?

A good friend of mine refuses to take home restaurant leftovers, even when he's enjoyed the food and the portion was large. He says that he'd never eat them, though he doesn't say why. I sometimes think he's embarrassed by the business of asking for a doggy bag, although when we dine together, he sometimes presses his leftovers on me.

I always take any leftovers home, unless I hated the food or I'm not going directly home from the restaurant. Since our cat died, I no longer take home odd little bits, but if any substantial portion of a dish is left, I ask for it to be boxed. We don't always eat the food before it turns green, but usually we do. Occasionally, I will even turn it into a new dish, G Wiv-style, but more often we eat it as is. Himself will often eat such leftovers cold, for breakfast.

This article, which predicts that the economy will have folks eating more leftovers, had me thinking about my friend and wondering what others' approach to doggy bags is.

I always take home what we don't eat in the restaurant. I like eating a dish the next morning and deciding if my initial impressions of it stand up (I take into account that it will usually not be better, but sometimes I miss ingredients or other aspects of the dish on the first go-around so it's good to take a second pass the next day).

I used to avoid doggie bags, and so would eat more than I should so I could carry food home in my belly rather than in a bag. Now, if I can't finish the food in the restaurant, I just ask for it to be bagged, sometimes with additional sauce or some other condiment or item that I really liked (if the tortillas are fresh, I may ask for a few extra, and I let the server that I'd be glad to pay extra for them). Wasting food has always bothered me (a lot), so for that reason, too, I have no problem with bagging unfinished dinner.

What I don't do (usually) is use the left-over as an ingredient in an entirely new dish.

Meat from leftover ribs from Sun Wah went into a batch of mushroom-based sausages I made last week.

there is rarely anything left on my plate when we go out. But if there is we take any leftovers from my plate, or from my wifes plate home for my wife to eat at work during the week, or for our daughter to eat for lunches..

I do not like leftovers, that is unless it is some of a leftover prime steak, cold from the fridge the next morning.

I almost always take home what I have not eaten while Mrs. Davooda hardly ever takes hers home. I grew up in a family of six and all for kids had large appetites. There where there were NEVER leftovers and we hardly ever got to eat out. So I guess I have been conditioned to this action. Also, my mom told us it was a bad thing to waste food...

However, I must say were it not for my habit Mrs. Davooda wouldn't have been able to try what is now her favorite breakfast - a moo shu omelet made with leftover moo shu pork (warmed up in the micro first) and plum sauce.

Davooda

Generally, we don't take leftovers in only two circumstances: there isn't enough left to be worth saving, or it's going to sit in a hot car too long to be safe. Otherwise, that's part of my meal plan for the week!

Interestingly, my Father-in-law has banned leftovers from their house: food not consumed at a meal is thrown out (or secretly squirreled away by my Mother-in-law.) I, on the other hand, serve leftovers at least once or twice a week: I was greatly amused to read the section in Kitchen Confidential where Bourdain complains about the indignity of "disguising" leftovers for a buffet line. For me, leftovers are just another way to flex those creative-cook muscles!

I always take home leftovers, unless the food was godawful, or as Mhays mentioned, if the bits are not even enough for an appetizer or it will be in a hot car for more than an hour. I usually take leftovers to work for lunch, or if it was something that was good but just didn't suit me, I'll pass it on to Pie Dude. I really hate wasting food; I feel terribly guilty about it.

I remember on my very first date ever (at 16) I couldn't finish my dinner so I brought it home in a doggie bag, and Pie Momma was shocked. You brought home a doggie bag from a date?!? Then she laughed at me. Is this really such an odd thing? Did I commit a faux pas?

Dining in our household is often family-style (a la Asian household), so there's always been leftovers taken home.

Although, my folks never brought leftovers home growing up in Hong Kong which was de rigeur for the time (maybe still is); Our relatives there still don't do the leftover thing even when visiting the states.

At the start of this thread, I thought you were asking whether people bring their own doggy-bag in an effort to be green and use less plastic/styrofoam takeout boxes. I'd always entertained bringing my own tupperware, but the spouse has thought that strange (even at casual Asian restaurants).

I can't bring myself to waste food... ever...

I suppose I should also own up to being the first-responder repository for leftovers from the Evanston Lunch Group, which can often be a significant amount of food...

Somebody has to take one for the team ...

Remember when your mom said, "Eat your broccoli, there are starving children in [Asia/Africa/South America]... with the rising cost of food and "starving children" everywhere, nobody should be wasting food...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... index.html

Jay K wrote:Remember when your mom said, "Eat your broccoli, there are starving children in [Asia/Africa/South America]... with the rising cost of food and "starving children" everywhere, nobody should be wasting food...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... index.html

As noted above, I really can't stand wasting food, though there's some wastage created whenever we make dinner. Last weekend, I started a compost pile near my garden, and in this way hope to "waste" less food by recycling it into new food.

If the food was enjoyable, we will always take leftovers home, and I would say this happens more often than not, as I find restaurant portions frequently too large. This has nothing to do with waste (if the food was not good, we'll never take it), but just that a good dish will be good the next day, too. Sometimes we even order more than we can eat, figuring that the leftovers we bring home will be better than what we're likely to throw together, particularly on a weeknight. In a place like TAC, for example, we'll order three dishes, knowing we can only eat about 1.5. As soon as the food arrives, we'll start thinking what dishes are better eaten fresh, and what will work better as as leftovers!

Jonah

We always take home unless we have after meal plans and/or it's something that won't keep.

Jay K wrote:Remember when your mom said, "Eat your broccoli, there are starving children in [Asia/Africa/South America]... with the rising cost of food and "starving children" everywhere, nobody should be wasting food...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... index.html

Since we started our compost pile I've been feeling tons better about castoffs from pre-production AND certain leftovers that get lost in the fridge. This doesn't work with meat products, of course.

I've noticed that when I dine out with friends we're much more conscious of how much we order & try not to either over-order or over-eat. Serving sizes can be ludicrous at some places & yes, we''re not shy about asking for doggy bags but sometimes its just not practical e.g. pre-theater. Which reminds me of the last time we ate at Rosebud on Madison for pre-theater, we ordered one pasta, one entree & one dessert plus coffees for three of us. Admittedly we're not large eaters, but it was more than ample (Rosebud's pastas & entrees fill enormous platters) and importantly there were no leftovers to deal with.

Hi,

Any leftovers I bring home are my Dad's breakfast.

In my other life, asking for a doggie bag in a Soviet era restaurant got wildly disbelieving reactions. My friends, who felt like digging a hole and hiding, kept reminding the staff, "It's something American's do," with rolling eyes.

My friend Helen worked in a Chinese restaurant. They always fit the food into the smallest boxes and threw away whatever didn't fit in. She almost always packs her own leftovers in restaurants.

I went to a Russian restaurant in the United States that had a soup-to-nuts-plus-vodka dinner for a set price. Service opens with zakuski which are many trays of smoked fish, composed salads, pickles, meats and some hot dishes like creamed mushrooms. More food than anyone can eat followed by a substantial main course and dessert. I asked for the excess food from our group to be doggie bagged. At evenings end, we had over 12 take-out boxes and a perturbed manager.

My cousin and her husband are Depression era children. If there are two green beans left after supper, then they are wrapped in plastic wrap for the next meal. A few years ago, I learned she went through a lot of plastic wrap. I gave her a Costco sized restaurant capacity plastic wrap, which I joked I would inherit someday. Three months later she phoned for another box because she had run out. I had the very same container for years and never finished it. She has since cut back on her plastic wrap consumption, now it is every 5-6 months she needs a new box.

We do have a mulch pile for kitchen waste. Near the kitchen sink are 2 quart plastic containers for the scraps. I don't mind doing it, though I think a member of my family goes a little overboard sometimes. We had a last minute visitor from goodness knows where Russia a few years ago at Thanksgiving. She helped herself to a banana, then threw the peel into the garbage. The over-enthusiastic one made a loud gasping noise, then swooped down to recover the banana peel and put it in the right container. I think this person could have at least waited for the visitor to leave the room.

Regards,

Jonah wrote:In a place like TAC, for example, we'll order three dishes, knowing we can only eat about 1.5. As soon as the food arrives, we'll start thinking what dishes are better eaten fresh, and what will work better as as leftovers!

We do this too, also because there are usually more things we want to taste than the two of us can eat in one meal.

Athena wrote:Which reminds me of the last time we ate at Rosebud on Madison for pre-theater, we ordered one pasta, one entree & one dessert plus coffees for three of us. Admittedly we're not large eaters, but it was more than ample (Rosebud's pastas & entrees fill enormous platters) and importantly there were no leftovers to deal with.

Rosebud doesn't get a lot of love here, but one of the nice things about those restaurants is that they're great about shared plates. There are never any splitting charges, and if you tell them you're sharing, the waitstaff divides things up very nicely. (We aren't shy about trading plates or passing around tastes, but it is more elegant to have it all done for you in the kitchen or tableside by the waiter. I love to watch servers show off that two-forks-in-one-hand technique!) They also have a terrific seafood salad that could provide an entree for two.

Cathy2 wrote:My cousin and her husband are Depression era children. If there are two green beans left after supper, then they are wrapped in plastic wrap for the next meal.

This made me LOL as just this weekend my husband was enthralled/shocked to see my mother carefully wrap up FOUR Dorito chips from an individual lunch sized bag and save them for later. She's the child of depression era parents.

Like a majority of people on this board, we tend to take the leftovers if we are going directly home. Otherwise we leave them.

Does anyone have "personal" rules on what they will take and won't take? For example, I've been out with people who will take home everything on their entree plates, plus empty the bread basket on the table into their take out container. For some reason, I would feel uncomfortable doing this.

Kim

If it was a loaf of bread that I have to touch in order to eat, then yes, I take it with me. Especially if it's something like that phenomenal bread they serve at Wildfire.

If it's a roll basket, then I don't. Although most restaurants assume they have been contaminated and throw them away anyway, so we probably should take them with us so they don't go to waste.

Jay K wrote:At the start of this thread, I thought you were asking whether people bring their own doggy-bag in an effort to be green and use less plastic/styrofoam takeout boxes. I'd always entertained bringing my own tupperware, but the spouse has thought that strange (even at casual Asian restaurants).

I do this, mostly if I go out to lunch during the work week. I always have a container with me, either for take-away or for leftovers if I've sitting down for lunch. I've been lazier about dinners, but I'd like to be better about it.

My mom saves everything -- and I mean everything. She has dozens of old margarine containers and used plastic bags and doesn't throw a thing away. I have tried without success to get her to stop, even going so far as to drop off some reusable plastic containers that are dishwasher and microwave-safe. I just got yelled at for buying them. The other night after dinner at her house I put three small pieces of cauliflower in a used baggie for her to be consumed at a later date. She was also a child of the depression.

The other problem is, she frequently makes an inventory of her refrigerator and then calls me up to come pick up food that is either (a) on the verge of going bad, or (b) is already bad, but she can't bring herself to toss it out. I used to argue with her about this, but now I just get it, thank her and drop it in the garbage when I get home. It's easier that way.

Suzy

Jay K wrote:At the start of this thread, I thought you were asking whether people bring their own doggy-bag in an effort to be green and use less plastic/styrofoam takeout boxes. I'd always entertained bringing my own tupperware, but the spouse has thought that strange...

My parents used to do this - bring along plastic bags and, after a meal, pick through the remains to find choice items to bring home. For example, after a buffet dinner they might take home left over slices of roast to use in a sandwich. And dinner rolls, if any managed to make it through the meal, were always fair game.

This habit seems to come from my mother's family where, according to family legend, certain aunts would dump not only the beef, but even the gravy into plastic bags. Those Depression Era habits don't just die hard, they cross over to new generations. I've still seen my mother tuck half eaten sandwiches into napkins and stow them away in her pocket. "Waste not want not" was a common saying around our house - sometimes followed up by the chidhood retort "Its not wasting if nobody wants it."

I never was one to bring my own bags/carryout containers, but I will do the opposite and save carryout containers for use as Tupperware. In fact, I have a huge drawer full of carryout/takeout containers that are used for all sorts of purposes in the kitchen and elsewhere. I have endured some gentle mocking about this, but its such a waste to throw them out. On the flip side, I know of others who buy the Glad disposable containers and throw them after a single use, which is beyond belief for me. I have some of those disposable containers that I've been re-using for years now.

Rosebud doesn't get a lot of love here, but one of the nice things about those restaurants is that they're great about shared plates. There are never any splitting charges, and if you tell them you're sharing, the waitstaff divides things up very nicely.

Absolutely & its one of the reasons we like them. I wish more restaurants were so accommodating.

I don't take my own containers, I'm just not that organized, particularly since 50% of the time when I eat out its sort of spur of the last moment. I've noticed though, that a lot of places are switching to using microwave safe plastic containers rather than those metal pans with the clear lids - those things are a nuisance, its a given in my experience that they will leak & they don't go into the microwave either.

Jay K wrote:Remember when your mom said, "Eat your broccoli, there are starving children in [Asia/Africa/South America]... with the rising cost of food and "starving children" everywhere, nobody should be wasting food...

For some reason my parents would always say "think of the starving Armenians", which doesn't make much sense as this was the mid-late 70s, about 65-70 years after the fact. Probably passed down from their parents who heard it from their parents (tho my father, born in 1935, could have heard it somewhat contemporaneously)

On topic, I will take leftovers if I'm going home but otherwise, no. Usually I forget to eat them anyways.

We tend to take home a lot of leftovers, but my wife and I use them very differently. She will only eat the separate items as they were intended in the restaurant, while I mix them all together and warm them in a pot. I call the result slop. This is also the way we eat home cooked leftovers. She finds my "slops" gross. Perhaps I should just call them stew, and then she might be more open minded.

-Will

Cathy2 wrote: A few years ago, I learned she went through a lot of plastic wrap. I gave her a Costco sized restaurant capacity plastic wrap, which I joked I would inherit someday. Three months later she phoned for another box because she had run out. I had the very same container for years and never finished it. She has since cut back on her plastic wrap consumption, now it is every 5-6 months she needs a new box.

I hate to confess it but our Christmas present to most of my in-laws include a roll of the GFS roll of plastic wrap. Noone liked the idea at first, but once they received it, they continue to ask for more.

Mhays wrote: I was greatly amused to read the section in Kitchen Confidential where Bourdain complains about the indignity of "disguising" leftovers for a buffet line. For me, leftovers are just another way to flex those creative-cook muscles!

Personally, the Southern cafeteria chains (Picadilly, Luby's, Bishop's, and Furr's) are able to use up about 75% of their leftovers by reworking the dishes left over from the line. In most cases, you will NEVER be able to tell that you are eating leftovers.

Luby's makes a great potato salad with leftover mashed potatoes.

jlawrence01 wrote:
Personally, the Southern cafeteria chains (Picadilly, Luby's, Bishop's, and Furr's) are able to use up about 75% of their leftovers by reworking the dishes left over from the line. In most cases, you will NEVER be able to tell that you are eating leftovers.

Luby's makes a great potato salad with leftover mashed potatoes.

Grew up eating Luby's and Furr's!

Have had "recycled/reheated" Indian food at buffets.

Years ago, I happened to be eating lunch with a friend, her wealthy parents, and their equally wealthy friend, "Bob". After we had finished, the waiter asked if we would like to take the leftovers home. "Bob" waved him away, stating, "I don't take food home. That's what poor people do."

My friend's parents smiled politely in response and requested a doggy bag.