Summary: Some places, or maybe just one place, sets up a system of scrounging for food. You get to eat left-overs for free. And all that implies...
Food Scrounging...
BLOT: (05 Aug 2011 - 11:24:24 AM)
Food Scrounging...
Picture a system where people in a restaurant eat their fill and, rather than take home left-overs, leave the left-over bits in a special location where other people can come and eat, for free, as long as they stick to those left-overs. Contrast this to virtually every "sit-down" restaurant, and every slightly nice buffet, that justifies over charging for food by oversized food portions. Of course, you cannot share these portions. Not in the restaurant. You can eat them, you can throw them away, or you can take them home where they will dessicate in your fridge. You get food enough for two people at a price probably suited to two meals, but if you were to actually ask for plates and split it up*, they would probably allow it but would give you the stink eye (and some won't allow it...either refusing or charging you double for eating half the meal). Maybe we should set up that behavior as a protest: go into Red Lobster (or etc) and then order one platter, split for two people, and refuse to accomadate them. That's another post. This one is on scrounging.
This morning, I read an article on scrounging at Reed University, and doesn't it make sense that it happens at a university?, via Wondermark's blog. It is as it sounds above. Students eat in the caf, and then leave their leftovers in a designated and socially acceptable place, so that other students can pick at the left-overs. And since this all a social custom, there are rules and etiquette (which really would be needed for it to work, going to random tables and asking for left-over rolls would quickly be tiresome and would piss other eaters off...)
I find it fascinating and a little odd. I'm probably more for a system that takes all these platters and buffets and breaks them down into smaller ala carte dishes. Rather than paying $12.95 for all I can eat, let me pay $2.50 for a bowl of veggies and $3.50 for dish of chicken. Big eaters can still spend up to what they want but smaller eaters don't feel obligated to go back and take a stab at a second plate that they are going to just leave alone (warnings that you will be charged for wasted food are most likely designed to try and make people under-consume to drive up profits, but usually do the opposite). This will never work. Food as a business in America is heavily entrenched with the notion that I could charge you $5 for a serving but I'm going to charge you $15 for three and then make "rules" that say you cannot share or split said food.
You know what, screw it...let's bring scrounging into the mainstream...
* There are some restaurants that do not mind allowing me to order two or three "entrees", including a veggie plate, and then splitting them up to get a fuller meal for everyone involved. Off the top of my head China House and Sitar both allow this. I really need to brag about them for this fact...
OTHER BLOTS THIS MONTH: August 2011
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Written by Doug Bolden
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