NationStates Jolt Archive

I always hear from Europeans that American portions are huge. I've been in Oslo, Norway and Amsterdam, Netherlands for about two weeks and I've been able to finish maybe two meals with great effort. My European companion can easily finish his meals, yet he complained of the sizes of American food when he visited the U.S.. There is also the American stereotype of tiny European portions. Do I just live in a part of the country with abnormally small portions? What are other people's experiences?

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).

The amount you can help depends on how much you enjoy eating it, which is determined by your cultural background. And I don't think this anecdotal evidence is in any way going to disprove the fact that American portion sizes are in general bigger than anywhere else in the world.

I always hear from Europeans that American portions are huge. I've been in Oslo, Norway and Amsterdam, Netherlands for about two weeks and I've been able to finish maybe two meals with great effort. My European companion can easily finish his meals, yet he complained of the sizes of American food when he visited the U.S.. There is also the American stereotype of tiny European portions. Do I just live in a part of the country with abnormally small portions? What are other people's experiences?

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).

Well when when my parents were in pensylvania (Sp?) when I was younger, they said that once they ordered a small milkshake and two straws because the small was the size of a small bucket. Its only andectotal but seeing as you seemed to find your portions small, it may support the theory that depending on the part of america you are in or what you ordering, the portion size differs.

The amount you can help depends on how much you enjoy eating it, which is determined by your cultural background. And I don't think this anecdotal evidence is in any way going to disprove the fact that American portion sizes are in general bigger than anywhere else in the world.

This doesn't really answer my question. The portion sizes are bigger here in Europe than in my part of the country. And no, I'm not going to back that up with scentific fact because this is a human interest thread and not a massive debate. What part of the world are you from? what part of the US have you visted/lived in and what part of Europe have you visited/lived in or elsewhere in the world? That's relevant to what I'm asking.

I'm curious if the Pacific Northwest is unique in their smaller portions or if the Netherlands and Norway are unique in their large (for me) portions. And once again, I am asking for personal experience. I'm not going to ask people to provide certifiable proof that the servings are larger in country A vs country B.

Well when when my parents were in pensylvania (Sp?) when I was younger, they said that once they ordered a small milkshake and two straws because the small was the size of a small bucket. Its only andectotal but seeing as you seemed to find your portions small, it may support the theory that depending on the part of america you are in or what you ordering, the portion size differs.

Maybe it's an East Coast vs West Coast thing? My companion was primarily on the East coast, with a bit of time in Vegas (and the portions are huge there), and a small bit of time in California. He did say New York had European size portions, so maybe New York is the notable exception on that side of the country?

This has just been the single most unexpected part of my trip. I was really worried that I was going to be perpetually hugnry or spending all my cash on food to avoid being hungry.

I've only been to one country in Europe (Italy) once (when I was in high school) but I don't remember particularly large portions. I remember a fairly large pizza I split with my host family while I was there, but that was split with 4 other people. Anyways, I can dig up articles from google...

http://jeffcadwell.typepad.com/the_weigh_we_were/2006/01/american_portio.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56611

Unfortunately, I don't have access to academic journals here so I can't pull those up. But it appears as though studies are showing that american portions are bigger than european ones.

I'm still wondering if it's not a regional thing. One of those articles compares Paris to Philly... I'm wondering how Paris compares to Portland or Seattle or even the west coast in general.

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).
What, you guys do that?

I have been to a lot of places. The skinniest people I have seen are in China and Thailand. As for Europeans they are about the same as Americans. I don't see a difference. I have travelled to most European countries along with living in the UK and being stationed for a short time in Germany. Africa for the most part is fairly good in the weight area. Been through Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and all over NW Africa.

I'm still wondering if it's not a regional thing. One of those articles compares Paris to Philly... I'm wondering how Paris compares to Portland or Seattle or even the west coast in general.

I think you are from the NW right snaf? People in this area are relatively fit compared to the supposed American stereotype.

I've only been to one country in Europe (Italy) once (when I was in high school) but I don't remember particularly large portions. I remember a fairly large pizza I split with my host family while I was there, but that was split with 4 other people. Anyways, I can dig up articles from google...

http://jeffcadwell.typepad.com/the_weigh_we_were/2006/01/american_portio.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56611

Unfortunately, I don't have access to academic journals here so I can't pull those up. But it appears as though studies are showing that american portions are bigger than european ones.

This is why I love NSG! :D
One large portion YES! :fluffle: :p

The amount you can help depends on how much you enjoy eating it, which is determined by your cultural background. And I don't think this anecdotal evidence is in any way going to disprove the fact that American portion sizes are in general bigger than anywhere else in the world.

I had a sunday meal at an Italian place in NYC with my folks last week -- the plate was so enormous I ate a third there, had them pack the rest, and had it for lunch on Monday and Tuesday at work.

What, you guys do that?

Yeah, they do. In my upper secondary class we had a USA exchange student and the first time we went to a restaurant she asked them to wrap up her food so she could bring it home with her. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow our party because it was so embarrassing, ugh, I still feel awkward just thinking about it. The waiting staff looked at her like she was an idiotic pauper.

What, you guys do that?

Of course. It's pretty standard. If you do go to a restaurant with bigger portions it's generally assumed you either want lunch for tomorrow or you are splitting with your dinner buddy. Americanized Mexican food or one of those horrible chain restaurants usally do have larger portions, but I don't know anyone who actually finishes them.

What, you guys do that?

Why not, if you enjoy it? You've already paid for it, and it will go into the pail if you don't take it with you.

Not everyone can afford to throw food away.

Yeah, they do. In my upper secondary class we had a USA exchange student and the first time we went to a restaurant she asked them to wrap up her food so she could bring it home with her. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow our party because it was so embarrassing, ugh, I still feel awkward just thinking about it. The waiting staff looked at her like she was an idiotic pauper.

So if you don't eat it in Sweden you throw it away? How wasteful. Why not save it for lunch the next day? That is if of course the food was decent in the first place.

This is why I love NSG! :D
One large portion YES! :fluffle: :p
What? If I was on campus I could see the entire articles, but as it is with google results I can only read the abstract and a request to pay $30 to read an article.

What, you guys do that?

You can't get around it. The serving staff will (in my experience) ask you each time if you don't finish your meal, and if you say no they'll look at you dumbstruck with huge puppy dog eyes and look like they're waiting for an explanation as to why or a comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the food.

Any tourist can get away with explaining that there's no fridge in the hotel room, but yeah, you'll most likely feel the need to actually give a reason to say no.

In Europe that doesn't happen at all. You won't be asked, and you risk strange looks if you do, depending on the place.

I think you are from the NW right snaf? People in this area are relatively fit compared to the supposed American stereotype.

I am from the NW, Oregon specifically. People do tend to be health concious up here. I haven't been to many parts of the U.S., so I think I'm kind of in a bubble up here. There's all kinds of US stereotypes that I scratch my head at.

What, you guys do that?

I can see why it wouldn't be done in the UK. Some of the worst food on the planet can be bought in the UK. The only thing I really lived on while living there that could be bought was Fish & Chips and a lot of Indian food.

Yeah, they do. In my upper secondary class we had a USA exchange student and the first time we went to a restaurant she asked them to wrap up her food so she could bring it home with her. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow our party because it was so embarrassing, ugh, I still feel awkward just thinking about it. The waiting staff looked at her like she was an idiotic pauper.

Whereas here, if you leave a significant portion on your plate you're asked if you want it packed, and if not, they want to know what was wrong with the meal.

Different cultures. I'm glad to know you are, in fact, in possession of so much money that throwing food away is the accepted norm and that wanting to enjoy the rest of one's meal is a social crime.

What? If I was on campus I could see the entire articles, but as it is with google results I can only read the abstract and a request to pay $30 to read an article.
:p

Nono, don't get me wrong, I'm not making fun of you. I just love the desire to provide evidence even for threads such as this :)

*Has managed to restrain self*

Yeah, they do. In my upper secondary class we had a USA exchange student and the first time we went to a restaurant she asked them to wrap up her food so she could bring it home with her. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow our party because it was so embarrassing, ugh, I still feel awkward just thinking about it. The waiting staff looked at her like she was an idiotic pauper.

Next time I'm in Europe, I'll make a special effort to remember to ask for a doggy bag if I don't finish my meal.

How do you say doggy bag in french?

You can't get around it. The serving staff will (in my experience) ask you each time if you don't finish your meal, and if you say no they'll look at you dumbstruck with huge puppy dog eyes and look like they're wair\ting or an explanation as to why or a comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the food.

Any tourist can get away with explaining that there's no fridge in the hotel room, but yeah, you'll most likely feel the need to actually give a reason to say no.

In Europe that doesn't happen at all. You won't be asked, and you risk strange looks if you do, depending on the place.
Fair enough, I suppose. The only time I've ever seen anybody take any leftovers home is my Grandma to feed her massively overweight dog, and even then, she just uses a napkin, rather than ask for a bag.

I can see why it wouldn't be done in the UK. Some of the worst food on the planet can be bought in the UK. The only thing I really lived on while living there that could be bought was Fish & Chips and a lot of Indian food.
Where were you staying? Most of our food is pretty good, I thought.

I had a sunday meal at an Italian place in NYC with my folks last week -- the plate was so enormous I ate a third there, had them pack the rest, and had it for lunch on Monday and Tuesday at work.

I'm a guy who eats a lot, and I find the portions at most restaurants far too large.

I've eaten in restaurants in Europe as well, and unless you're going to a really high end place where the food looks like tiny sculptures with a ring of sauce, I still think that most portions are too large.

I've taken to a smaller diameter set of dinner plates to keep my own portions small at home - it works better than weighing your food (my mom was a dietician, so that's where I got the portion control habit).

As for taking the food home - if I spent 100 dollars for dinner, and half my steak is still on the plate, I'm bringing it home.

From the looks of the response of the Swedish poster, wasting food is a badge of authentic wealth, and to be recommended even as some other people in the world starve.

I've taken to a smaller diameter set of dinner plates to keep my own portions small at home - it works better than weighing your food (my mom was a dietician, so that's where I got the portion control habit).
I just end up piling up my food on the plate and/or eating from the pan if I make too much.

Yeah, they do. In my upper secondary class we had a USA exchange student and the first time we went to a restaurant she asked them to wrap up her food so she could bring it home with her. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow our party because it was so embarrassing, ugh, I still feel awkward just thinking about it. The waiting staff looked at her like she was an idiotic pauper.

At European prices, she probably was a pauper. I would never have believed that a low end restaurant charged $30 a plate. It's really hard to be so wasteful as to throw away perfectly good food, especially if you just paid $50 for it.

Where were you staying? Most of our food is pretty good, I thought.

I lived in Leeds however I travelled everywhere within the UK itself and over to Ireland which ranks the same as the UK in my book. Half the time I was there was on the road because of business so I got a good sampling of the country. However I do have to admit I am spoiled by the sheer variety of different foods in the US. UK food was edible but as taste goes it wasn't impressive.

Next time I'm in Europe, I'll make a special effort to remember to ask for a doggy bag if I don't finish my meal.

How do you say doggy bag in french?

If you ask for it in France, they won't look at you strangely. They'll just mutter "Zilly American tourist" under their breath and help you out.

And French portions are indeed small, so you probably won't feel the need to ask except to make a point of it ;)

I lived in Leeds however I travelled everywhere within the UK itself and over to Ireland which ranks the same as the UK in my book. Half the time I was there was on the road because of business so I got a good sampling of the country. However I do have to admit I am spoiled by the sheer variety of different foods in the US. UK food was edible but as taste goes it wasn't impressive.
I thought our food was pretty good, fast food and motorway service stations excepted. Oh well.

My mom never allowed seconds when I was growing up. I am conditioned not to get them. I put the leftovers in the refrigerator and eat some for lunch the next day.
Well, I never really had the option of seconds at home, so now I'm cooking for myself at uni, I'm not so good.

So if you don't eat it in Sweden you throw it away?

It's probably composted or used for manufacture of bio fuels.

How wasteful. Why not save it for lunch the next day. That is if of course the food was decent in the first place.

Why would I want to eat the same thing for lunch as I had for dinner? How monotonous. And cheap.

How do you say doggy bag in french?

You don't. You say it in North American English so they know what's wrong with you.

It's probably composted or used for manufacture of bio fuels.



Why would I want to eat the same thing for lunch as I had for dinner? How monotonous. And cheap.

Do you generally finish your meals in Sweden? How do you view the portion sizes?

I just end up piling up my food on the plate and/or eating from the pan if I make too much.

My mom never allowed seconds when I was growing up. I am conditioned not to get them. I put the leftovers in the refrigerator and eat some for lunch the next day.

It's probably composted or used for manufacture of bio fuels..

Odds are it's not.



Why would I want to eat the same thing for lunch as I had for dinner? How monotonous. And cheap.

I suppose if you bought the same thing all the time from restaurants it would be monotonous but hardly for one night and the next day for lunch. If it is good it is good. As for it being cheap you could look at it as not wasting money. If I used a small bit of everything I bought and tossed the rest I would be poor today.

And after the meal, we sit around while the excess food is thrown away, and we rant about how the Americans are wasteful...

The irony... it burns! :D

At European prices, she probably was a pauper. I would never have believed that a low end restaurant charged $30 a plate. It's really hard to be so wasteful as to throw away perfectly good food, especially if you just paid $50 for it.

It has nothing to do with money. No-one in Britain (and probably in the rest of Europe) would eat at a resturant and then ask for the remains of the meal to be placed in a bag for future consumption. It is just not the done thing, socially speaking. I can understand why Fassitude was embarrassed: if one of my friends were to ask for a 'doggy' bag (what a demeaning name, by the way), I wouldn't know where to put my face. I am not saying that the American way is wrong: it's just not that socially acceptable in Europe.

Some of the worst food on the planet can be bought in the UK. The only thing I really lived on while living there that could be bought was Fish & Chips and a lot of Indian food.

If you bought nothing other than chips and curry then no wonder you thought the food was rubbish. It would be like me going to America, eating nothing but Macdonalds and then complaining that all American food is fattening.

I would totally be poor. I read the Millionaire Next door and took it to heart. It's amazing how far being frugal can get you.

Book about me eh? Anyway I live those habits that book explains.

You don't. You say it in North American English so they know what's wrong with you.

And after the meal, we sit around while the excess food is thrown away, and we rant about how the Americans are wasteful...

Do you generally finish your meals in Sweden?

If a normal-sized portion either that, or as a sign of moderation one leaves around half a spoonful or something like that left on the plate (especially if you're eating soup or an equivalent). Coming across as a ravenous devourer with no self-control is... a bit of a faux pas.

How do you view the portion sizes?

Reasonably sized. "Lagom", as we say. The word has no English equivalent. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom)

I suppose if you bought the same thing all the time from restaurants it would be monotonous but hardly for one night and the next day for lunch. If it is good it is good. As for it being cheap you could look at it as not wasting money. If I used a small bit of everything I bought and tossed the rest I would be poor today.
I would totally be poor. I read the Millionaire Next door and took it to heart. It's amazing how far being frugal can get you.

And after the meal, we sit around while the excess food is thrown away, and we rant about how the Americans are wasteful...

While the USA are a bit self-obsessed and would like to think so, I very much doubt that the rest of the American countries think they are common topics of leisurely conversation on another continent. Nevertheless, with French food being as delicious as it is and the portions as economical as they are ("too much of a good thing") the "throwing away of the food" is not much of a problem, I would imagine.

Yeah, they do. In my upper secondary class we had a USA exchange student and the first time we went to a restaurant she asked them to wrap up her food so she could bring it home with her. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow our party because it was so embarrassing, ugh, I still feel awkward just thinking about it. The waiting staff looked at her like she was an idiotic pauper.

Yes, 'cause its so much better to have them just throw the food out :rolleyes:

BTW:

A small desert chocolate cake from Las Vegas, Nevada

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/Trip%20to%20the%20US/zcake.jpg

Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle! What did they do, quarter it and give you that?

Odds are it's not.

Actually, odds are it is. Restaurants here tend to market their "greenness" and recycling as well as composting are widespread.

I suppose if you bought the same thing all the time from restaurants it would be monotonous but hardly for one night and the next day for lunch.

Eating the same thing for two meals in a row is another one of those custom things here: not done. That's why a lot of parents here require the menus from school restaurants so as to be able to plan their dinners not to coincide with a similar meal in the schools.

If it is good it is good. As for it being cheap you could look at it as not wasting money. If I used a small bit of everything I bought and tossed the rest I would be poor today.

I would be very surprised if anyone left enough food to even suffice for an additional meal, since the food for one meal is measured for that meal. The portions here are definitely not USA-sized.

If a normal-sized portion either that, or as a sign of moderation one leaves around half a spoonful or something like that left on the plate (especially if you're eating soup or an equivalent). Coming across as a ravenous devourer with no self-control is... a bit of a faux pas.



Reasonably sized. "Lagom", as we say. The word has no English equivalent. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom)

This is why I like you Fass, you say it has no English translation and link to an English translation... :rolleyes:

'doggy' bag (what a demeaning name, by the way),

What could you possibly find demeaning about wanting to share a good meal with your beloved pet? (Note: I actually think the name was invented by someone, most likely European, who was embarrassed to take home an unfinished meal for themselves, so used the term to hide the truth ;) )

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).

That sounds strange to me, I don't think I have ever in my life seen anyone do anything like that in a restaurant (but then I can't afford to go to posh restaurants often), but it is certainly not uncommon to do that at someones house, in fact it is quite polite, rather than have to leave the hosts with so much to deal with.

Book about me eh? Anyway I live those habits that book explains.

Yay! Another person who has read it and lives by it. I was absolutely stunned at how my finances have improved since reading it and living by those principals.

BTW:

A small desert chocolate cake from Las Vegas, Nevada

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/Trip%20to%20the%20US/zcake.jpg

It has nothing to do with money. No-one in Britain (and probably in the rest of Europe) would eat at a resturant and then ask for the remains of the meal to be placed in a bag for future consumption. It is just not the done thing, socially speaking. I can understand why Fassitude was embarrassed: if one of my friends were to ask for a 'doggy' bag (what a demeaning name, by the way), I wouldn't know where to put my face. I am not saying that the American way is wrong: it's just not that socially acceptable in Europe.
I don't think it does from the European perspective, that's just the American take on it. IIt feels inherantly wasteful. Whether one spends $5 or $50 I would feel bad leaving behind perfectly good food. It just goes against how I was raised.


If you bought nothing other than chips and curry then no wonder you thought the food was rubbish. It would be like me going to America, eating nothing but Macdonalds and then complaining that all American food is fattening.
Oh no, I've eaten quite well while here. Of course I've had to try Norwegian Mexican food (interesting), and I had a few of my companion's fries when he stopped into Burger King for a quick snack. The only fast food I've eaten was in Amsterdam (God awful) the first night because we got in so late everything else was pretty much closed and we were ready to crash.

This is why I like you Fass, you say it has no English translation and link to an English translation... :rolleyes:

... that's not an english translation. No one word can fit it.

Though it can be easily expressed just by saying 'just right', or 'just the right' amount.

If a normal-sized portion either that, or as a sign of moderation one leaves around half a spoonful or something like that left on the plate (especially if you're eating soup or an equivalent). Coming across as a ravenous devourer with no self-control is... a bit of a faux pas.
That's good to know. I do pride myself on exceptional table manners, unfortunately I only know American manners. I am trying to learn what's proper and improper over here.



Reasonably sized. "Lagom", as we say. The word has no English equivalent. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom)
That would make sense why the doggy bag thing isn't done in Europe. In America it's pretty much expected, that might be a reason our portions seem larger.

Well when when my parents were in pensylvania (Sp?) when I was younger, they said that once they ordered a small milkshake and two straws because the small was the size of a small bucket. Its only andectotal but seeing as you seemed to find your portions small, it may support the theory that depending on the part of america you are in or what you ordering, the portion size differs.
Pennsylvania, and I have no idea why they make milkshakes so big. My friends ordered milkshakes yesterday and they got a tall glass filled to the top, then a huge metal cup with the rest of it.
I had a sunday meal at an Italian place in NYC with my folks last week -- the plate was so enormous I ate a third there, had them pack the rest, and had it for lunch on Monday and Tuesday at work.
Why do you think Tony Soprano is so fat?
And cheap.
And convenient.
You don't. You say it in North American English so they know what's wrong with you.

Ah, but which accent?

huge portions seems stupid to me. if a restaurant fills you up on the entree, you cant possibly order a dessert. so the restaurant loses out. AND It feeds you for tomorrow too.

one meal for one person makes far more sense to me.

Though it can be easily expressed just by saying 'just right', or 'just the right' amount.

No, it can't. It can be approximated by that.

BTW:

A small desert chocolate cake from Las Vegas, Nevada

[IG]http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/Trip%20to%20the%20US/zcake.jpg[/IMG]

Are you sure that they didn't give you the group size? Not that that's an actual size.. but..

Are you sure that they didn't give you the group size? Not that that's an actual size.. but..

That's what I was thinking. I don't know of any restaurant (at least in my neck of the woods) that has single serving desserts. Nearly all appetizers and desserts I've run across are made for two people minimum.

This is why I like you Fass, you say it has no English translation and link to an English translation... :rolleyes:

He said it had no direct English equivalent, and linked to an English definition, not a translation.

Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle! What did they do, quarter it and give you that?
I think they caught it in the desert outside the city, where it had lived on the corpses of slain mobsters for 40 years, growing big and tasty in the process...

I have no idea, but it was a killer desert! :p
Are you sure that they didn't give you the group size? Not that that's an actual size.. but..
They might have, but it was spesifically ordered for one person (who happened to be the smallest girl in our group!)

No, it can't. It can be approximated by that.

What about a perfect amount? There is surely some way to express it.

But regardless, we can always just steal your words if we don't have any of our own, my Dad uses that word a lot when cooking, its a good word.

This is why I like you Fass, you say it has no English translation and link to an English translation... :rolleyes:

This is why I pity you Dyakovo, you seem to be an analphabet who not only doesn't know the meaning of the word "equivalent" and cannot see that I never wrote "translation", but also doesn't seem to have been capable of reading and comprehending that what I linked to was not a translation or an equivalent, but an attempt at a definition that explains in its first sentence that the word has no direct English equivalent.

It's okay to take food home with your when you go to a home? That's a massive faux pas here as far as I know. It's polite to take something if the host or hostess offers, but it's rude to ask.

No its fine to offer to help with the left overs if you are at someones house, but generally restaurants can easily handle left overs and it isn't nessecerry to ask for it to be wrapped up and taken home.

That sounds strange to me, I don't think I have ever in my life seen anyone do anything like that in a restaurant (but then I can't afford to go to posh restaurants often), but it is certainly not uncommon to do that at someones house, in fact it is quite polite, rather than have to leave the hosts with so much to deal with.

It's okay to take food home with your when you go to a home? That's a massive faux pas here as far as I know. It's polite to take something if the host or hostess offers, but it's rude to ask.

This is why I pity you Dyakovo, you seem to be an analphabet who not only doesn't know the meaning of the word "equivalent" and cannot see that I never wrote "translation", but also doesn't seem to have been capable of reading and comprehending that what I linked to was not a translation, but an attempt at a definition.

Meh, you pity everyone who isn't Swedish and/or you, and it was a translation, not a direct one but still a translation.

What about a perfect amount? There is surely some way to express it.

It has eluded much more creditable linguists than you and me, but if you find a way, be sure to let some of the dictionary people know.

But regardless, we can always just steal your words if we don't have any of our own, my Dad uses that word a lot when cooking, its a good word.

Your father uses "lagom"?

Meh, you pity everyone who isn't Swedish

No, my empathy is not that plentiful to allow me to pity so many people.

and/or you, and it was a translation, not a direct one but still a translation.

As I said, you seem to be an analphabet and thank you for again giving an example.

Are you sure that they didn't give you the group size? Not that that's an actual size.. but..

Hey Ruffy: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Katganistan/IlRuffino.gif

It has eluded much more creditable linguists than you and me, but if you find a way, be sure to let some of the dictionary people know.


Well, at the very least I think it's possibly to get someone to understand the meaning, but perhaps I don't understand it at all.


Your father uses "lagom"?

Yeah, is that strange? He is a very strange man so I wouldn't be surprised.

No its fine to offer to help with the left overs if you are at someones house, but generally restaurants can easily handle left overs and it isn't nessecerry to ask for it to be wrapped up and taken home.

That's good to know.

It's good to see that the portions in Europe aren't universally small - I was wondering the same thing if I ever got over there.

You can't get around it. The serving staff will (in my experience) ask you each time if you don't finish your meal, and if you say no they'll look at you dumbstruck with huge puppy dog eyes and look like they're waiting for an explanation as to why or a comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the food. That's pretty much it - if you don't finish it and don't want the rest the assumption is that it must have been gross.

BTW:

A small desert chocolate cake from Las Vegas, Nevada

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/Trip%20to%20the%20US/zcake.jpgLooks about right to me. ;)

And convenient.

For making an ass of oneself, yes.

Ah, but which accent?

You all sound roughly the same to them, so it doesn't matter.

Yeah, is that strange? He is a very strange man so I wouldn't be surprised.

I think it's strange if he hasn't had any contact with Swedish. If he has, then it's not so strange as it's a very useful word. I just shudder at the thought of its pronunciation in English...

I have often found Continentals to serve large amounts of food, yet it is often rather inferior to what one may obtain in Britain.

American portions though are huge. But then, American isn't a culture, its all the European one mashed together...

As I said, you seem to be an analphabet and thank you for again giving an example.


translation
1: an act, process, or instance of translating: as a: a rendering from one language into another; also : the product of such a rendering b: a change to a different substance, form, or appearance



So I'm illiterate for knowing what a translation is? That's really quite amusing.

I think it's strange if he hasn't had any contact with Swedish. If he has, then it's not so strange as it's a very useful word. I just shudder at the thought of its pronunciation in English...

Well he travels around a lot so he has probably been to Sweden at one point, I also have Swedish cousins. But I am absolutely certain he doesn't use it properly, he sort of mutters it in an Italian accent, like: "ah... lagom!!" just when the right amount of sauce has been poured into some mixture or something.

I'm living in Austria and when i visited a restaurant and ordered a schnitzel some months ago i got one as big as this one: http://australianoutdoors.com/images/unusual%20photos/schnitzel.jpg

I was able to eat 3/4's of it, the rest i took home and ate to dinner.

So I'm illiterate for knowing what a translation is? That's really quite amusing.

You're illiterate because you still haven't been able to read in such a correct fashion as to comprehend that I:

1. Never mentioned "translation";
2. Linked to a page that was not a "translation", but a definition (as several other posters here, who know how to read, have also told you by now) that contained some ways of translating the word, but not an "equivalent", which was what I wrote and also what the definition I linked to said in its very first sentence that the word did not have in English, as I said.

So, you see, you are illiterate because you seem to think "translation" had anything to do with what I wrote and what I was claiming. So you thought "Aha, I've gotten you Fass! The word has some translations!" and then went on to show how limited your reading skills truly are.

You're illiterate because you still haven't been able to read in such a correct fashion as to comprehend that I:

1. Never mentioned "translation";
2. Linked to a page that was not a "translation", but a definition (as several other posters here, who know how to read, have also told you by now) that contained some ways of translating the word, but not an "equivalent", which was what I wrote and also what the definition I linked to said in its very first sentence that the word did not have in English, as I said.

So, you see, you are illiterate because you seem to think "translation" had anything to do with what I wrote and what I was claiming. So you thought "Aha, I've gotten you Fass! The word has some translations!" and then went on to show how limited your reading skills truly are.

I am fully aware that you never used the word translation, however 'has no English equivalent' and 'has no English translation' mean pretty much the same thing, also defining a word from another language in terms of your own language is actually translating it from one language to another. If you truly don't realize that, then you should consider redirecting your pity to yourself.

Perhaps lazy, but it doesn't really qualify as ass material.

Over here it does.

Now, using coupons at restaurants..

Uh, what?

Is it the way we talk, or the words we use that gives us away?

Both, but surprisingly often appearance. Used to be that Canadians were nice enough to have a miniature maple leaf or something on them to dissociate themselves from USA travellers, but then USA travellers started wearing maple leafs once they understood the goodwill Canada has accrued and then went on to utterly squander it like they had done to their own. It's OK, though, no one thinks of the maple leaf wearers as Canadian any more.

For making an ass of oneself, yes.
Perhaps lazy, but it doesn't really qualify as ass material.

Now, using coupons at restaurants..
You all sound roughly the same to them, so it doesn't matter.

Is it the way we talk, or the words we use that gives us away?

I can never finish the meals here, they're too big for me. I have to end up bringing it home with me, as long as I know that I or someone else in my family will eat it at some point.

The only other country I've been to so far is Canada, and we only went to fast food places so I'm really not sure what the portions are like there.


Why would I want to eat the same thing for lunch as I had for dinner? How monotonous. And cheap.

Usually when I do that it's more of a break from the monotony of eating poptarts for breakfast every day and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day (except for weekends).

I am fully aware that you never used the word translation, however 'has no English equivalent' and 'has no English translation' mean pretty much the same thing,

Which is why I said your seem to be an analphabet, since they don't.

also defining a word from another language in terms of your own language is actually translating it from one language to another.

Nope. I could define any Swedish word in English without ever translating it. Say "analfabet". I could define the word in English as "someone who can't read or write". Does that mean I translated the word? No.

If you truly don't realize that, then you should consider redirecting your pity to yourself.

And what makes you an analphabet, still, is how you cling to this delusion of yours that you somehow managed to "get me" or show how I was to have claimed it had no translation and then linked to a translation, despite the fact that I didn't claim (or even say anything about) it not having translations, I didn't link to a translation, and claimed nothing wrong at all. I was 100% right in my claims, and you were 100% wrong in your reading and claims as to what I am to have said and what I am to have linked to. So, are you gonna run along now, or are you going to continue embarrassing yourself in this fashion?

You don't. You say it in North American English so they know what's wrong with you.

I'm laughing myself silly imagining the waiter's face when I ask:

-Puis-j'avoir un sac du petit chien?

Both, but surprisingly often appearance. Used to be that Canadians were nice enough to have a miniature maple leaf or something on them to dissociate themselves from USA travellers, but then USA travellers started wearing maple leafs once they understood the goodwill Canada has accrued and then went on to utterly squander it like they had done to their own. It's OK, though, no one thinks of the maple leaf wearers as Canadian any more.

Why don't you just do it by speaking volume? USians are usually far louder than us Canucks, kind of like the difference between Australians and Kiwis.

Which is why I said your seem to be an analphabet, since they don't.

Yes, actually they they do.

Nope. I could define any Swedish word in English without ever translating it. Say "analfabet". I could define the word in English as "someone who can't read or write". Does that mean I translated the word? No.

Yes, it does.

And what makes you an analphabet, still, is how you cling to this delusion of yours that you somehow managed to "get me"

I wasn't trying to 'get you', so you might want to tone down your persecution complex.

or show how I was to have claimed it had no translation and then linked to a translation, despite the fact that I didn't claim (or even say anything about) it not having translations, I didn't link to a translation, and claimed nothing wrong at all. I was 100% right in my claims, and you were 100% wrong in your reading and claims as to what I am to have said and what I am to have linked to. So, are you gonna run along now, or are you going to continue embarrassing yourself in this fashion?

Nope, not going to run along now (ok actually, yes I am, but that's because I have other stuff to do now), and as far as 'embarrassing' myself, I'm not, except maybe to you you, and quite frankly I care as much about your opinion of me as you do of my opinion of you.

We here in my country would share the habits of Snaf and most of the Americans. It is perfectly acceptable for us to have the leftovers wrapped up, taken home to be either eaten or as "pasalubong" (a word which I find difficult to translate) to family or housemates. We find leaving leftovers quite wasteful, and personally I insist on everyone on the table to finish everything or have them as "take out" (for me this applies even to beverages...). One time, a group of foreigners (possibly European! heehee :D) left plates of almost untouched food, and all of us sitting on the next table felt it was too wasteful when too many folks out on the street get hungry...

As for serving sizes, I haven't been to any foreign country, though foreign restaurants tend to have huge serving sizes, whether European or American. We have Sbarro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sbarro) restaurants in my country, and I find that one slice of their pizza is enough for two meals for me.

Over here it does.
*takes notes*

Uh, what?
Make sure you aren't drinking anything when you read what I'm about to say..

Some restaurants offer coupons. You know, to give discounts. *shakes head*
Both, but surprisingly often appearance. Used to be that Canadians were nice enough to have a miniature maple leaf or something on them to dissociate themselves from USA travellers, but then USA travellers started wearing maple leafs once they understood the goodwill Canada has accrued and then went on to utterly squander it like they had done to their own. It's OK, though, no one thinks of the maple leaf wearers as Canadian any more.
Ah. So what do Canadians do now? Do they act different than we would when abroad?

Make sure you aren't drinking anything when you read what I'm about to say..

Some restaurants offer coupons. You know, to give discounts. *shakes head*

As in proper restaurants, and not "restaurants" like McDonald's? :eek:

Ah. So what do Canadians do now? Do they act different than we would when abroad?

They find ways to make their Canadian nationality known, and I'd hate to undermine them by telling someone from the USA what they are. :P

Yes, actually they they do.
Yes, it does.

As I said, analphabet. You continuously prove me right, and never prove me wrong and never have, so there isn't anything else I need to say, really.

I have often found Continentals to serve large amounts of food, yet it is often rather inferior to what one may obtain in Britain.

American portions though are huge. But then, American isn't a culture, its all the European one mashed together...

Oh sorry, I didn't know our lack of chip shops offended your tastes.

Oh sorry, I didn't know our lack of chip shops offended your tastes.

No I meant the ingredients were of an inferior Quality. Honestly, these people need pesticides! And Chips are rather dull, I'd rather have my potatoes mashed.

No I meant the ingredients were of an inferior Quality. Honestly, these people need pesticides! And Chips are rather dull, I'd rather have my potatoes mashed.

Oh well, if you MUST eat in Taco Bell or KFC....

Oh well, if you MUST eat in Taco Bell or KFC....

I'm not even sure what Taco Bell is. I'm Orf! I'm so Offended.

been to the US twice and visited West and East coasts

I tried to eat one of those super size meals at McDonald's and nearly died :p

out of experience most restaurants will offer too much really...

Oh well, if you MUST eat in Taco Bell or KFC....

no he means beautifully cooked Yorkshire pudding smothered in gravy with a home made mash

not that crazy "biscuit" I got from KFC with a meal (our KFC's come with thin chips and a coke not some sort of crude trailer food)

been to the US twice and visited West and East coasts

I tried to eat one of those super size meals at McDonald's and nearly died :p

out of experience most restaurants will offer too much really...



no he means beautifully cooked Yorkshire pudding smothered in gravy with a home made mash

not that crazy "biscuit" I got from KFC with a meal (our KFC's come with thin chips and a coke not some sort of crude trailer food)
Unless you eat at a KFC in Amsterdam. What on earth do they use in their batter anyway? That was just wrong.

I can't eat a super size meal either. I actually still order happy meals on the rare occasion I eat fast food.

I'm living in Austria and when i visited a restaurant and ordered a schnitzel some months ago i got one as big as this one: http://australianoutdoors.com/images/unusual%20photos/schnitzel.jpg

I was able to eat 3/4's of it, the rest i took home and ate to dinner.
:eek:

That's no moon!
Make sure you aren't drinking anything when you read what I'm about to say..

Some restaurants offer coupons. You know, to give discounts. *shakes head*
:eek:

*Sputters*
No I meant the ingredients were of an inferior Quality. Honestly, these people need pesticides! And Chips are rather dull, I'd rather have my potatoes mashed.
As long as you didn't try to claim that British cooking is somehow superior to... well, anything.

Baked beans on toast and an english breakfast still makes me shudder.

*Shudders*

not that crazy "biscuit" I got from KFC with a meal (our KFC's come with thin chips and a coke not some sort of crude trailer food)

what do y'all call "that crazy biscuit" in the UK?

For some reason they think cookies are biscuits over there. ;)

i know but what do they call biscuits there?

i was wondering about it the other day and trying to think of how to describe a biscuit without using the word biscuit.

Polish food can come in large portions...

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/NSG/Warszawa056.jpg

...and not-so-large portions

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/NSG/Warszawa059.jpg

what do y'all call "that crazy biscuit" in the UK?For some reason they think cookies are biscuits over there. ;)

Unless you eat at a KFC in Amsterdam. What on earth do they use in their batter anyway? That was just wrong.

raw grease :)

I can't eat a super size meal either. I actually still order happy meals on the rare occasion I eat fast food.

I just order normally and leave a few chips myself...

As long as you didn't try to claim that British cooking is somehow superior to... well, anything.

Baked beans on toast and an english breakfast still makes me shudder.

home made fast food really :)

and we are superior for are pies and cheese I would have you know

what do y'all call "that crazy biscuit" in the UK?

a Scone...and I had this as a side to a meal (what the hell is wrong with you people!?)

For some reason they think cookies are biscuits over there. ;)

only if they are soft and/or have some sort of chip in them

otherwise this is what we call a biscuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit) and we have it with tea (I must point out though we don't eat Savoury biscuits with cheese or after meals :eek:)

i know but what do they call biscuits there?

i was wondering about it the other day and trying to think of how to describe a biscuit without using the word biscuit.

Well, I guess the closest would be "flaky roll"?

The portion sizes are bigger here in Europe than in my part of the country. And no, I'm not going to back that up with scentific fact because this is a human interest thread and not a massive debate. What part of the world are you from? what part of the US have you visted/lived in and what part of Europe have you visited/lived in or elsewhere in the world? That's relevant to what I'm asking.

:) Ok. I'm from the UK, I have visited parts of France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium and Holland, and parts of Florida, California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New York state, Ontario and Vermont. The latter group all in general had larger portion sizes in my experience (but I was quite young for some of them so this would affect my perception). I don't remember Holland having particularly large servings compared to other continental countries, perhaps you've had a disproportionate overview, and I've never visited the north west of the US so couldn't say about that.

Concerning taking left-overs away after a meal: if this is a common occurrence, why are portions so large in the first place? Personally, I've never had a meal at a restaurant that was so big I couldn't finish it, though I almost never have a starter. Actually, there was a time I couldn't 'finish', but that was in Hong Kong, so slightly different cultural circumstances and the food was shared around the table.

raw grease :)
Raw grease and maybe floor scrapings. I guess I should have visited a coffee shop first.


I just order normally and leave a few chips myself...

Puerto Rico was the only place I've visited that has normal portions. Their normal super- size extra value meal is a regular extra value meal here in the US. Their normal extra value meal has one size smaller drinks and fries.

Throw away or save for later? Eat up! One holy unbreakable rule I was raised on was that you always eat up everything on your plate even if it was someone else who put too much on your plate but I think very few families have this rule.

Eating the same food 2 days in a row is not unheard of here in Europe. Most of the people where I work bring an extra portion of yesterday's dinner to work to heat in the microwave for lunch while some buy frozen premade portions to heat in the microwave. Nobody there goes to a restaurant for lunch unless they have a lunch meeting or date.

The school food culture might be of interest. It can be summed up as "School food must be considered gross regardless of what quality it actually has." I've been to 3 schools...

At the first one everyone piled up plenty on the plate driven by hunger. Upon tasting the food they concluded it was awful so they ate 1/3 and threw away the rest, they where soon hungry again.

At the second school the food was much better, it was awesome by comparison. Here everyone took small portions and forced themselves to eat up only because they got detention if they threw away some of it. One common topic at the tables was how gross the food was. (Yes, detention. It was a Christian school, I personally liked the strict order better than the chaos in government school.)

At the third school the food was even better. Here half of the students looked at the food and concluded it was not even edible so they ate a sandwich, a bag of candy and a can of soda from one of the vending machines in the hallways instead and where still hungry. The other half took lagom portions and ate up almost all of it without commenting on the quality either way.

a Scone...and I had this as a side to a meal (what the hell is wrong with you people!?)


no it wasnt a scone. i looked up scone recipes and, well, no.

Puerto Rico was the only place I've visited that has normal portions. Their normal super- size extra value meal is a regular extra value meal here in the US. Their normal extra value meal has one size smaller drinks and fries.

Hawaii is the same way. I think the reason is that they charge the same with smaller portions. After all it is expensive to ship crap from the mainland to the US island state and territories.

:) Ok. I'm from the UK, I have visited parts of France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium and Holland, and parts of Florida, California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New York state, Ontario and Vermont. The latter group all in general had larger portion sizes in my experience (but I was quite young for some of them so this would affect my perception). I don't remember Holland having particularly large servings compared to other continental countries, perhaps you've had a disproportionate overview, and I've never visited the north west of the US so couldn't say about that.
It's possible it was just random chance I ran into the portions I did in Amsterdam. I couldn't even finish a starter. I also got a pancake that was bigger than my head.


Concerning taking left-overs away after a meal: if this is a common occurrence, why are portions so large in the first place? Personally, I've never had a meal at a restaurant that was so big I couldn't finish it, though I almost never have a starter. Actually, there was a time I couldn't 'finish', but that was in Hong Kong, so slightly different cultural circumstances and the food was shared around the table.
It's guess it's just one of those differences. Americans like having the left- overs. Tasty food is tasty. It depends on the place. I generally don't have a ton to take home, just a little for a light dinner or lunch the next day. We also share dinners a lot in my neck of the woods. But the places you do that are American Mexican places or the chain restaurants.

You don't. You say it in North American English so they know what's wrong with you.


Not being wasteful means there is something wrong with you?

Once again, your arrogant eurocentric nationalism is very telling.

It's possible it was just random chance I ran into the portions I did in Amsterdam. I couldn't even finish a starter. I also got a pancake that was bigger than my head.

Hmm, well I can't say I spent a huge amount of time in Holland, and haven't been to Amsterdam, but that sounds unnecessarily large.

It's guess it's just one of those differences. Americans like having the left- overs. Tasty food is tasty. It depends on the place. I generally don't have a ton to take home, just a little for a light dinner or lunch the next day. We also share dinners a lot in my neck of the woods. But the places you do that are American Mexican places or the chain restaurants.

Indeed, and I do dislike the amount that is wasted over here: I know I finish my meals (kind of on principle, damn parental conditioning), but lots of people do not and are happy (?) to let it be thrown away. It's like in my college dining hall, some of my friends often leave food; now, granted, it often isn't very tasty, but I always eat mine regardless. I cannot waste it. I suppose they are just fussy about food, it's rare that portions are too big.

I am fully aware that you never used the word translation, however 'has no English equivalent' and 'has no English translation' mean pretty much the same thing, also defining a word from another language in terms of your own language is actually translating it from one language to another. If you truly don't realize that, then you should consider redirecting your pity to yourself.

No, they do not. By saying that a word has no direct equivalent in another language, you are saying that there isn't a word to express that concept. To take an extreme example, Lojban->English. In Lojban, you can say "really love, but only slightly in a sexual way" with about four syllables. In English, it takes the best part of a sentence. Now, that's not to say that you can't express it in English, but rather that there is no direct English equivalent of the Lojban.

In the same way, Fass is saying "there is no direct equivalent in English of this word" and you're saying he's wrong, because you can say the same thing in English, just not in one word. Unfortunately, your position isn't actually an argument against what Fass was saying.

I always hear from Europeans that American portions are huge. I've been in Oslo, Norway and Amsterdam, Netherlands for about two weeks and I've been able to finish maybe two meals with great effort. My European companion can easily finish his meals, yet he complained of the sizes of American food when he visited the U.S.. There is also the American stereotype of tiny European portions. Do I just live in a part of the country with abnormally small portions? What are other people's experiences?

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).




I don't really know what to say, but I love the size of American meals...

Raw grease and maybe floor scrapings. I guess I should have visited a coffee shop first.

did you get a few spots afterwards? ;)

Puerto Rico was the only place I've visited that has normal portions. Their normal super- size extra value meal is a regular extra value meal here in the US. Their normal extra value meal has one size smaller drinks and fries.

well really restaurants I figure put more because thats better than having too little (at which point you wouldn't go there again because being hungry is crap)

a gamble but your example has just blown that away :p

no it wasnt a scone. i looked up scone recipes and, well, no.

you are most likely looking up English recipes (which may as well not exist seeing as how I haven't seen a real scone in years)

see the almighty WIKI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scone_%28bread%29)

Not being wasteful means there is something wrong with you?

Being a cheap, ravenous fatass that can't bear to part with food means there's something wrong with you.

Once again, your arrogant eurocentric nationalism is very telling.

Once again, your inability to comprehend the concepts you throw around in sentences like so many other buzzwords you've no doubt picked up on teh interwebs from the racists like TAI whom you admire is very telling.

The lack of to-go packs is due to people over here believing that adult humans are able to order only as much as they feel capable of eating.

And from my personal experience (living in Finland, visited Chicago once, have been around Europe) the _things_ that a meal is made of, are bigger in USA, like steaks. Unless you order extra large portion here.

A fast food example is that in the States, the Chicken MacNuggets meal had 9 nuggets, when ordered in normal size. Over here it has 6 nuggets. Of course it could just have been that one establishment or that area's speciality, but the milkshake and fries were also larger.

Thankfully Subway sandwiches were the same size, so I knew what I got when I ordered one. Except they seemed to think I should have taken a potato chips packet to go with the meal, which was totally strange.

you are most likely looking up English recipes (which may as well not exist seeing as how I haven't seen a real scone in years)

see the almighty WIKI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scone_%28bread%29)


of course i was looking at english recipes.

so youre saying that if i asked for a scone in london it would look and taste like that thing you had at kfc?

I had a sunday meal at an Italian place in NYC with my folks last week -- the plate was so enormous I ate a third there, had them pack the rest, and had it for lunch on Monday and Tuesday at work.

New York City is not Italy, however. It was an Italian restaurant in the USA.

Hey, has anyone ever bothered to check the weight of their meals?

A twelve-ounce (340 gram) frozen pizza is a fairly common meal size for me.

So if you don't eat it in Sweden you throw it away?

No, you just don't order it in the first place. It's bad manners to leave food on your plate - asking to take it home to you equals to... well, being a hobo and wanting to eat out of the garbage can.

Pizzas are different. It's okay to take pizza home in aluminum folio. But any other food... eww.

so youre saying that if i asked for a scone in london it would look and taste like that thing you had at kfc?

if you went asking at a greasy spoon really

don't get me wrong it wasn't hideous rather inappropriate to have with a meal (how the hell am I supposed to spread jam all over something and then eat chicken?!)

Thankfully Subway sandwiches were the same size, so I knew what I got when I ordered one. Except they seemed to think I should have taken a potato chips packet to go with the meal, which was totally strange.

accept from an English buying point much more expensive

if you went asking at a greasy spoon really

don't get me wrong it wasn't hideous rather inappropriate to have with a meal (how the hell am I supposed to spread jam all over something and then eat chicken?!)


the kfc biscuits are a good example of an american biscuit. much better than the pillsbury take-it-out-of-the-can-and-bake-it-yourself buscuits that someone might serve you in their home.

i dont think you are supposed to eat them with jam unless they are your "dessert". i either just put butter on them or maybe the chicken gravy that comes with the mashed potatoes. or butter and honey and end the meal with them.

Though it can be easily expressed just by saying 'just right', or 'just the right' amount.

Ua lava (Samoan, I think) means the same thing as lagom, but again it has no direct or correct translation into English.

The lack of to-go packs is due to people over here believing that adult humans are able to order only as much as they feel capable of eating.

And from my personal experience (living in Finland, visited Chicago once, have been around Europe) the _things_ that a meal is made of, are bigger in USA, like steaks. Unless you order extra large portion here.

A fast food example is that in the States, the Chicken MacNuggets meal had 9 nuggets, when ordered in normal size. Over here it has 6 nuggets. Of course it could just have been that one establishment or that area's speciality, but the milkshake and fries were also larger.

Thankfully Subway sandwiches were the same size, so I knew what I got when I ordered one. Except they seemed to think I should have taken a potato chips packet to go with the meal, which was totally strange.

Yes -- the subway meal here consists of the sandwich itself, a drink and crisps.

New York City is not Italy, however. It was an Italian restaurant in the USA.

Where did I ever say that it was? I specifically said "in NYC" to clarify that I was eating in, well, New York City.

The implication, of course being that yes, AMERICAN portions (as NYC is generally understood to be in America) are larger -- and so large that the portion that I was served actually made for three meals.

So I'm illiterate for knowing what a translation is? That's really quite amusing.

Can you say "lost in translation"? :p

Please take notice that those of us who are NOT native-users of English can actually pretty well compare the two languages if we are fluent with both. I'm not even Swedish and yet I know there's no proper translation (ONE word translation) for lagom. Hells, there's no one word translation of lagom into Finnish either, but I know the associations to that, and "just the right amount and nothing more or less" is perhaps closest, but that's in no way just one word. :p

Here's another one, a Finnish one this time: sisu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu

Notice the "could be roughly translated", which means there's no direct translation. You can try translating the meaning, but not the word itself with all that's associated with it.

(Now to read the rest 4 pages...)

The implication, of course being that yes, AMERICAN portions (as NYC is generally understood to be in America) are larger

Heh, ok. I thought you were rooting for the opposite option. =P

i ate well in amsterdam and utrecht in the Netherlands when i've been there, but things have seemed to be smaller in France. i don't tend to eat out in Germany as i usually stay with relatives.

but on my travels to the US (California) portions were definitely huge almost everywhere we ate, from what i recall. not so much so in NYC (again just from what i remember). the drinks everywhere were HUGE. like buckets.

some more anecdotal nonsense for you :)

accept from an English buying point much more expensive

Um... what? o_O
No, I'm not being sarcastic, your sentence just made no sense to me.

don't get me wrong it wasn't hideous rather inappropriate to have with a meal (how the hell am I supposed to spread jam all over something and then eat chicken?!) Put butter on it, not jam.

Yes -- the subway meal here consists of the sandwich itself, a drink and crisps.

That's pretty strange. Do they think people don't get full from the sandwich itself? Or are the chips for later? Or do people actually eat potato chips as a part of a meal?! I thought that was just TV nonsense. o_o

BTW:

A small desert chocolate cake from Las Vegas, Nevada

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/Trip%20to%20the%20US/zcake.jpg

What are people going on about the size of this cake seems like a perfectly reasonable size.

When I was in Europe they portions seemed like a nice size not to big not too large, except for one Roast Pork Knuckle I had at the Hofbrauhaus.

There was one bowl of soup I had as a starter many years ago at a restaurant it was served in a bowl about the size of a small bucket. Had to cancel my main and skip to the desert which comprised of one small scoop of ice cream with a small squirt of topping. Some people can't get anything right.

It's possible it was just random chance I ran into the portions I did in Amsterdam. I couldn't even finish a starter. I also got a pancake that was bigger than my head.


yeah, it depends on the restaurants you visit, i'm sure. here in the UK its not hard to have huge meals... my dad and i had a massive buffet meal at a local chinese place during the week (and it was great :D)

there was a rib/bbq place here as well, a few years back now, and they did a £40 meal challenge (involving steak, ribs, chicken, etc) and if you finished it all you got your name on the wall and a tshirt. i still wear mine :cool:


though was your pancake a crêpe? if so that's not unusual, though it would be a little odd in the netherlands (dutch pancakes are different iirc, right?)

That's pretty strange. Do they think people don't get full from the sandwich itself? Or are the chips for later? Or do people actually eat potato chips as a part of a meal?! I thought that was just TV nonsense. o_o

yes. potato chips are standard with cold sandwiches.

i ate well in amsterdam and utrecht in the Netherlands when i've been there, but things have seemed to be smaller in France. i don't tend to eat out in Germany as i usually stay with relatives.

but on my travels to the US (California) portions were definitely huge almost everywhere we ate, from what i recall. not so much so in NYC (again just from what i remember). the drinks everywhere were HUGE. like buckets.

some more anecdotal nonsense for you :)

im pretty sure that we do lead the world in drink sizes.

That's pretty strange. Do they think people don't get full from the sandwich itself? Or are the chips for later? Or do people actually eat potato chips as a part of a meal?! I thought that was just TV nonsense. o_o

we have the same meal deal at Subway here in the UK, but you gotta ask for it. they usually just charge you for just the sub itself by default.

BTW:

A small desert chocolate cake from Las Vegas, Nevada

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/Gravlen/Trip%20to%20the%20US/zcake.jpg

:eek: either that's a very small plate or that's a pretty huge (tall) slice of cake...



don't get me wrong it wasn't hideous rather inappropriate to have with a meal (how the hell am I supposed to spread jam all over something and then eat chicken?!)


gotta agree with you there bud. to us a "biscuit" - or our equivalent - is something had with jam, clotted cream and tea. sometimes sandwiches as well.

its very much a classic here in the UK. i was very confused when i got, what i considered to be, a scone with my meal at Popeye's Chicken in NYC

I'm living in Austria and when i visited a restaurant and ordered a schnitzel some months ago i got one as big as this one: http://australianoutdoors.com/images/unusual%20photos/schnitzel.jpg

I was able to eat 3/4's of it, the rest i took home and ate to dinner.

Damn that's a big schnitzel I am curios, however, do you mean Austria or Australia as the picture is from australianoutdoors.com.

Of course wherever it is it looks like they have flattened it out to make it that big, the biggest schinty I have had was a 22 inch, but it was hammered out to only be about 1.5 cm thick.

gotta agree with you there bud. to us a "biscuit" - or our equivalent - is something had with jam, clotted cream and tea. sometimes sandwiches as well.

its very much a classic here in the UK. i was very confused when i got, what i considered to be, a scone with my meal at Popeye's Chicken in NYC


yeah but you have to have bread with a real meal. hence the biscuit. at a more formal restaurant you would have had a yeast roll. its not meant to be spread with anything but butter.

I'm fairly certain the sizes tend to be different. I always falt more full eating out in Florida and New York than I ever do here. Maybe its something that gets put in the food...

Yes -- the subway meal here consists of the sandwich itself, a drink and crisps.

yes. potato chips are standard with cold sandwiches.

That's... just wrong. :eek:

That's like eating popcorn for breakfast. o_o;;;

That's like eating popcorn for breakfast. o_o;;;

Eating popcorn for breakfast is wrong...
The proper breakfast food is cold pizza ;)

Being a cheap, ravenous fatass that can't bear to part with food means there's something wrong with you.


Its called leftovers you dumbass. You reheat it and eat it tomorrow. Appernatly Americans are superiour in our ability to reuse and not waste things...


Once again, your inability to comprehend the concepts you throw around in sentences like so many other buzzwords you've no doubt picked up on teh interwebs from the racists like TAI whom you admire is very telling.


I understand everything Ive said. Arrogant means thinking youre above everyone, which anyone who reads your posts can tell you do. Eurocentric means you believe Europian culture is superior and are unable to view anything without viewing it through Europian eyes, and nationalist is the belief that one's country is superior. Thats me summing up what I said.


Also, if you'll notice, Im usually one of the quickest to scorn TAI or TBC when they are bigots. Hence why we get in arguements a lot. Where are you getting me being a racist from? Thinking youre an arrogant prick? If that makes me racist...

I comprehend everything I say, and I still say your an arrogant eurocentric nationalist. In fact, one could call you a bigot. Viewing brown people as under you is not the only way one can be a bigot. Believing your culture or beliefs are superior to anyone elses (and judging by your posts its not really a stretch saying you believe such) makes you a bigot.

It's probably composted or used for manufacture of bio fuels.

Probably he says. Not checked, not looked into. It could probably also end up in the dumpster.


Why would I want to eat the same thing for lunch as I had for dinner? How monotonous. And cheap.

How arrogant, and wasteful.

We've known you to be plenty arrogant Fass, but this wasteful side of you, it's just Marie Antoinette levels of disgusting. If that is the social norm of Sweden, then they have no business complaining about excesses anywhere.

Eating popcorn for breakfast is wrong...
The proper breakfast food is cold pizza ;)

Don't forget the last bit of the keg before one has to return it for the deposit.;)

I'd like to send you on a trip to rural China, or one of the poorer nations nearby, preferably with no money and contacts. And then after a month, see if you would tell me that saving uneaten food for future consumption makes one a cheap, ravenous fatass.

Odds are, your arrogance would see you dying of starvation.

I think he would be beat to death before he starved. ;)

Being a cheap, ravenous fatass that can't bear to part with food means there's something wrong with you.


I'd like to send you on a trip to rural China, or one of the poorer nations nearby, preferably with no money and contacts. And then after a month, see if you would tell me that saving uneaten food for future consumption makes one a cheap, ravenous fatass.

Odds are, your arrogance would see you dying of starvation.

I think he would be beat to death before he starved. ;)

No loss to the world at large I would imagine. Of course he will probably classify this as some form of backwards (insert favored derogatory term) in light of his Swedish "superiority". Nevermind that his arrogance had something to do with it.

I'd like to send you on a trip to rural China, or one of the poorer nations nearby, preferably with no money and contacts. And then after a month, see if you would tell me that saving uneaten food for future consumption makes one a cheap, ravenous fatass.

It does make you a cheap, ravenous fatass in the West. It's always so amusing to see lardasses in the West use the suffering and starving of the third world as an excuse for their gluttony - "oh, I can't let this food go to waste, and it's not because I have an unhealthy fixation upon it and must eat every last morsel of it to fill my inner emptiness that I have cocooned in this carapace of disgusting adiposity I call my body; it's because of the starving people in wherever!" Excuse your debauched overconsumption and tightassedness with whatever claims of feigned and ironic frugality you can invent to excuse it, you're not gonna fool me.

Odds are, your arrogance would see you dying of starvation.

Odds are, your rapaciousness will see you dying in the complications of obesity.

No loss to the world at large I would imagine. Of course he will probably classify this as some form of backwards (insert favored derogatory term) in light of his Swedish "superiority". Nevermind that his arrogance had something to do with it.

No, no, no, you just don't get it, he's not arrogant... He's just certain that because of being Swedish, and gay he is automatically better than everyone else :rolleyes:

It does make you a cheap, ravenous fatass in the West. It's always so amusing to see lardasses in the West use the suffering and starving of the third world as an excuse for their gluttony - "oh, I can't let this food go to waste, and it's not because I have an unhealthy fixation upon it and must eat every last morsel of it to fill my inner emptiness that I have cocooned in this carapace of disgusting adiposity I call my body; it's because of the starving people in wherever!" Excuse your debauched overconsumption and tightassedness with whatever claims of feigned and ironic frugality you can invent to excuse it, you're not gonna fool me.

Disregarding the excuses people might make to justify their behavior. (As if it needs justification?) When you purchase something, does it make sense to get the full use of it? I think it does. You could compare this to buying a car, driving it around for a week, and then leaving it by the side of the road to be taken to a scrap yard. It doesn't make sense economically. It defies reason really.
Odds are, your rapaciousness will see you dying in the complications of obesity.
Less likely to die of obesity if eat part of the meal there and use the rest throughout the week. Instead of...you know... gorging yourself at the restaurant each time you go.

The proper breakfast food is cold pizza ;)

Amen, brother! :)

It does make you a cheap, ravenous fatass in the West.

Your assumption that saving already purchased food for future consumption makes one fat is as blatantly false as your insinuation that I live anywhere remotely near the Western side of the world.


It's always so amusing to see lardasses in the West use the suffering and starving of the third world as an excuse for their gluttony

It's always so ironically amusing to see the ivory towered inhabitants of the West, like you, pretend that the suffering and starvation of the third world is the only case where one ensures that their money's worth, including the effort that they put into earning said money, is not wasted.

But then again, it's also amusing to see wastrels like you clamor about people's excesses, while throwing away money like your wrongheaded opinions.


"oh, I can't let this food go to waste, and it's not because I have an unhealthy fixation upon it and must eat every last morsel of it to fill my inner emptiness that I have cocooned in this carapace of disgusting adiposity I call my body; it's because of the starving people in wherever!"

You mean.


"oh, I should throw this food away, and it's not because it's bad or anything, but I am so cocooned in my land of plenty and must dump every last morsel of it to feed my ego that anyone not as rich and wasting as I must be subhuman and doomed to overindulgence.

And you complain about people's excesses


Excuse your debauched overconsumption


Only you could make the allegation that saving already purchased, but unfinished food for replacement meals in the future is overconsumption.

But then again, what would I expect from someone who acts and thinks like the debauched wastrels of feudal era European nobility?


and tightassedness with whatever claims of feigned and ironic frugality you can invent to excuse it

So nice of you to claim perfect knowledge of my position and reality of my situation when you can't even see outside your window.

You have always railed at other country's lack of social welfare for the poor, but now we see your true nature. You actually hate the poor, and those who can just make ends meet. Saving food they can't finish is, by your accusations, a sign of rapaciousness and being a "fatass".

This is not a sign of someone who cares a whit for the poor. This is a sign of poor arrogance similar to Marie Antoinette's boneheaded "let them eat cake."

So the next time you open your mouth to rail about social welfare and the treatment of the less well off, we know what a hypocrite you are.


you're not gonna fool me.

I don't have to fool one who clearly does a far better job of fooling themselves with self-assured falsehood of their inherent superiority.


Odds are, your rapaciousness will see you dying in the complications of obesity.

You don't even know what the word rapacious means, yet freely fling it at other people while your own greed and arrogance are ignored.

When the oil crunch hits Sweden, which it will sooner or later, I suspect you will die of starvation long before mortality comes for me.

We shall see how long the wastrels last in a time of hardship.

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).

They wouldn't be going to waste if *I* were washing the dishes there. :p Saved a lot of money that way in years past.

Your assumption that saving already purchased food for future consumption makes one fat is as blatantly false as your insinuation that I live anywhere remotely near the Western side of the world.

I don't care where you live - I live in the West. Here, that does make you a cheap, probable fatass.

It's always so ironically amusing to see the ivory towered inhabitants of the West, like you, pretend that the suffering and starvation of the third world is the only case where one ensures that their money's worth, including the effort that they put into earning said money, is not wasted.

And it's always amusing to see the stingy laud their hoarding, in this case of the guinea pig kind, as a virtue.

But then again, it's also amusing to see wastrels like you clamor about people's excesses, while throwing away money like your wrongheaded opinions.

I don't throw money away, I order meals that I can eat. I don't get huge portions that cannot fit my stomach only to make an ass of myself by showing what a gluttonous wretch I am by then demanding it so I can either stuff my triple-chinned face with it when I get home, or eat it as someone said for days because it pains me to part with my poor money that I squeeze so hard blood comes out of it.

You mean. And you complain about people's excesses.

I complain about people's deluded way of excusing behaviours, which I shall come to soon, oh, thou pauper you, bear with me.

Only you could make the allegation that saving already purchased, but unfinished food for replacement meals in the future is overconsumption.

It is overconsumption from the get-go - the rest is just cheapness and gluttony.

But then again, what would I expect from someone who acts and thinks like the debauched wastrels of feudal era European nobility?

But what I can expect from such whigger-equivalents as yourself, talking about "being poor" and "caring about the poor", while at the same time having the means to go to restaurants and not to use your little doggie bags of debauchery to feed the homeless or hungry outside the restaurant, oh, thou Mother Theresa you, but stuff your fois gras-goose-like gullet with.

So nice of you to claim perfect knowledge of my position and reality of my situation when you can't even see outside your window.

Look who's talking.

You have always railed at other country's lack of social welfare for the poor, but now we see your true nature. You actually hate the poor, and those who can just make ends meet. Saving food they can't finish is, by your accusations, a sign of rapaciousness and being a "fatass".

And here I return to you poor little paupers! You're so "poor" you can afford to go to restaurants and have other people wait on you and prepare your mountains of food for you, instead of doing the cost-effective thing and buying and preparing your food yourself, saving those oh, so limited funds of yours! And again, you care so much for the other poor people out there that you take the food home with you to feed your "poor", cheap self. My, my, it's like reading the story of a street urchin in Rio.

This is not a sign of someone who cares a whit for the poor.

Yeah, my heart should really break for the "poor" who have the means to eat food with a restauranteur's profit margin on it.

This is a sign of poor arrogance similar to Marie Antoinette's boneheaded "let them eat cake."

Which Marie Antoinette never said, but why should history be spared your ignorance?

So the next time you open your mouth to rail about social welfare and the treatment of the less well off, we know what a hypocrite you are.

And the next time you tell your oh, so tragic stories of "poverty" we'll know you're just akin to a whigger from the 'burbs looking for some street cred by claiming how tough he had it when he grew up, when he went to restaurants to be wined and dined, he had to bring the food home with him and it had nothing to do with ordering too much of it or being a gorger or just not bearing to let go of those pennies squeezed 'twixt your tight cheeks.

I don't have to fool one who clearly does a far better job of fooling themselves with self-assured falsehood of their inherent superiority.

No, you just like to tell sob stories about those "poor" restaurant-goers.

You don't even know what the word rapacious means,

I know exactly what it means, as well you know that I do. What a truly silly thing of you to say, and shows just how desperate you are to have something to write so as to have this post of yours come across as vitriolic, in lieu of the pathetic that has so far been the case.

yet freely fling it at other people while your own greed and arrogance are ignored.

You speak of greed, while yet spending so much time talking about this, as I wrote, feigned frugality of yours that is nothing but greed masked under layers of whigger-esque tales of hardships? Hilarious, especially as you spend so much time claiming me "wasteful", and then "greedy". I love the cognitive dissonance. Well, "cognitive" is an unintended flattery by its usage.

When the oil crunch hits Sweden, which it will sooner or later, I suspect you will die of starvation long before mortality comes for me.

Your suspicions, much like your knowledge of history, are very poorly substantiated, indeed.

We shall see how long the wastrels last in a time of hardship.

And we shall see how long the gluttons manage to make their food last.

did you get a few spots afterwards? ;)
>>
>>

I can neither confirm nor deny.



well really restaurants I figure put more because thats better than having too little (at which point you wouldn't go there again because being hungry is crap)

a gamble but your example has just blown that away :p
I think that's a big part of it actually. In the Northwest it seems that more restaurants try to give you single serving meals, but that seems to not be true for the rest of the US. Or at least parts of the US.

I think Marrakech was right about the less food in Puerto Rico being due to the price of food in general on an island.

The lack of to-go packs is due to people over here believing that adult humans are able to order only as much as they feel capable of eating.[/quuote]
I would honestly have to order from the kid's menu to finish a meal over here (not that I've seen one outside of Amsterdam). I'm not ordering appetizers or eating a ton before going out to a meal.

[QUOTE]And from my personal experience (living in Finland, visited Chicago once, have been around Europe) the _things_ that a meal is made of, are bigger in USA, like steaks. Unless you order extra large portion here.
What is the everage size of a steak in Europe? I did notice restaurants don't put the measures on the menu. The average steak you'd order in Portland would be 4- 6 oz (113- 117g) with anything bigger being an extra large portion.

I really am starting to think that Oregon is closer to Europe as far as food portions go. I probably can't finish my meal because I'm used to packing a bit of it up here because that's just what we do.

A fast food example is that in the States, the Chicken MacNuggets meal had 9 nuggets, when ordered in normal size. Over here it has 6 nuggets. Of course it could just have been that one establishment or that area's speciality, but the milkshake and fries were also larger.
I think that varies. And they change that often. It used to be six, then 10, then nine, then choose your own size, and now I think it's back to six but you can get a bigger meal size.

Thankfully Subway sandwiches were the same size, so I knew what I got when I ordered one. Except they seemed to think I should have taken a potato chips packet to go with the meal, which was totally strange.
Subway totally ownz. Subway in Europe is nearly identical, just with different sausages and no spinach. My only gripe is the price.

No, you just don't order it in the first place. It's bad manners to leave food on your plate - asking to take it home to you equals to... well, being a hobo and wanting to eat out of the garbage can.
I could eat the meal if your portions weren't so huge.:p

Pizzas are different. It's okay to take pizza home in aluminum folio. But any other food... eww.

Yay!

accept from an English buying point much more expensive
Yeah, I never thought I'd pay $16 for a six inch sub and a soda.

i ate well in amsterdam and utrecht in the Netherlands when i've been there, but things have seemed to be smaller in France. i don't tend to eat out in Germany as i usually stay with relatives.

but on my travels to the US (California) portions were definitely huge almost everywhere we ate, from what i recall. not so much so in NYC (again just from what i remember). the drinks everywhere were HUGE. like buckets.

some more anecdotal nonsense for you :)
I'm beginng to think asking for personal experience vs scientific fact on NSG is akin to asking for a to-go bag in Europe.:p


That's pretty strange. Do they think people don't get full from the sandwich itself? Or are the chips for later? Or do people actually eat potato chips as a part of a meal?! I thought that was just TV nonsense. o_o
I don't order the chips or I save them for later, but most people do eat chips with cold sandwiches here.

yeah, it depends on the restaurants you visit, i'm sure. here in the UK its not hard to have huge meals... my dad and i had a massive buffet meal at a local chinese place during the week (and it was great :D)

there was a rib/bbq place here as well, a few years back now, and they did a £40 meal challenge (involving steak, ribs, chicken, etc) and if you finished it all you got your name on the wall and a tshirt. i still wear mine :cool:


though was your pancake a crêpe? if so that's not unusual, though it would be a little odd in the netherlands (dutch pancakes are different iirc, right?)
It was a dutch pancake I do believe, and yes it was different than what I'd call a pancake. Closer to a crepe than a US pancake. It was still freaking huge.

Yeah, I never thought I'd pay $16 for a six inch sub and a soda.

?! 16 dollars? That order would cost about £5 here.

?! 16 dollars? That order would cost about £5 here.

That's more reasonable. Yeah, 16 USD. And my friend says 'that's about what you'd normally pay, right?' A sandwich and a drink is $5.50 here. Add chips and it's $5.75 or maybe $6.

I don't care where you live - I live in the West. Here, that does make you a cheap, probable fatass.

Ah, so then we go from a certainty fatass to a probable fatass. Backtracking are we, even if ever so slowly? Does that mean we live in a quantum state then? I also find it amusing that you are using Swedish standards to judge non-Swedes.

By that reckoning, that makes you quite American.

You know what? I had a big argument here, and after some thought, have realized that it's simply pointless ego feeding bickering. Instead, I'll just go with this.

Justify your position.

The thought of eating old food that isn't supposed to be old (like cheese) makes my skin crawl. Very unhygienic.

Unfortunatly, I can be a bit OCD sometimes.

I don't care where you live - I live in the West. Here, that does make you a cheap, probable fatass.
No, you live in Sweden. What's usual there is not usual here.

And it's always amusing to see the stingy laud their hoarding, in this case of the guinea pig kind, as a virtue.
Waste not, want not.

I don't throw money away, I order meals that I can eat.
Right, because you go into the kitchen and tell the cook exactly how much to put on your plate, correct? Here, without purchasing an appetizer/starter or dessert, they put a huge amount of food on the plate, and you don't get to specify the size of it -- the chef does. So your bitching about ordering too much food is bitching about something that is completely not within the control of the consumer.

I don't get huge portions that cannot fit my stomach only to make an ass of myself by showing what a gluttonous wretch I am by then demanding it so I can either stuff my triple-chinned face with it when I get home, or eat it as someone said for days because it pains me to part with my poor money that I squeeze so hard blood comes out of it.
Warned for flamebaiting, my dear.

I complain about people's deluded way of excusing behaviours, which I shall come to soon, oh, thou pauper you, bear with me.
Warned for flaming, my dear.

But what I can expect from such whigger-equivalents as yourself, talking about "being poor" and "caring about the poor", while at the same time having the means to go to restaurants and not to use your little doggie bags of debauchery to feed the homeless or hungry outside the restaurant, oh, thou Mother Theresa you, but stuff your fois gras-goose-like gullet with.
Flaming again, my dear.

And here I return to you poor little paupers! You're so "poor" you can afford to go to restaurants and have other people wait on you and prepare your mountains of food for you, instead of doing the cost-effective thing and buying and preparing your food yourself, saving those oh, so limited funds of yours! And again, you care so much for the other poor people out there that you take the food home with you to feed your "poor", cheap self. My, my, it's like reading the story of a street urchin in Rio.
Flaming again...

And the next time you tell your oh, so tragic stories of "poverty" we'll know you're just akin to a whigger from the 'burbs looking for some street cred by claiming how tough he had it when he grew up, when he went to restaurants to be wined and dined, he had to bring the food home with him and it had nothing to do with ordering too much of it or being a gorger or just not bearing to let go of those pennies squeezed 'twixt your tight cheeks.
Flamebaiting, much?

I know exactly what it means, as well you know that I do. What a truly silly thing of you to say, and shows just how desperate you are to have something to write so as to have this post of yours come across as vitriolic, in lieu of the pathetic that has so far been the case.

You speak of greed, while yet spending so much time talking about this, as I wrote, feigned frugality of yours that is nothing but greed masked under layers of whigger-esque tales of hardships? Hilarious, especially as you spend so much time claiming me "wasteful", and then "greedy". I love the cognitive dissonance. Well, "cognitive" is an unintended flattery by its usage.

And we shall see how long the gluttons manage to make their food last.
Take a vacation, really. Three days should suffice.

Its called leftovers you dumbass.

Not acceptable. Knock off the flaming.

Amen, brother! :)

Pizza is one of the best breakfasts I've ever had.


Though it was 2 in the afternoon and it wasn't cold.

I always hear from Europeans that American portions are huge. I've been in Oslo, Norway and Amsterdam, Netherlands for about two weeks and I've been able to finish maybe two meals with great effort. My European companion can easily finish his meals, yet he complained of the sizes of American food when he visited the U.S.. There is also the American stereotype of tiny European portions. Do I just live in a part of the country with abnormally small portions? What are other people's experiences?

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).It's primarily things you can buy in stores. American products will generally be available in much larger quantaties per package than they would be in Europe. Notable counter examples are Ritter Sport and Nutella, which are either only available as normal or less-than-normal sized in the US.

It's primarily things you can buy in stores. American products will generally be available in much larger quantaties per package than they would be in Europe. Notable counter examples are Ritter Sport and Nutella, which are either only available as normal or less-than-normal sized in the US.

Europeans are more accustomed to getting ripped off for food. I noticed food was far more expensive in Europe.

As long as you didn't try to claim that British cooking is somehow superior to... well, anything.

Baked beans on toast and an english breakfast still makes me shudder.

*Shudders*

Haven't you tried Roast Beef, Brown Windsor Soup, Simnel Cake, Eccles Cakes, Suet Puddings, Spotted Dick, Jam Roly-Poly...?

Pizza is one of the best breakfasts I've ever had.


Though it was 2 in the afternoon and it wasn't cold.

A radio DJ here in the UK swears by cold curry on toast... Made me feel ill.


Although I do like British food, I think its much more of a mishmash of many other types. Personally I like gastropub fare, but I dopn't tend to eat out much.

Europeans are more accustomed to getting ripped off for food. I noticed food was far more expensive in Europe.Nah, Europeans just have less space to grow food on, hence it's more expensive to grow and consequently buy.

Nah, Europeans just have less space to grow food on, hence it's more expensive to grow and consequently buy.

I think it's actually a bit of both, mate.

I think it's actually a bit of both, mate.

Nah, Europeans just have less space to grow food on, hence it's more expensive to grow and consequently buy.

Probably. My folks were a little surprised when a pizza and two beers (total, not each) cost them about $50 in Scandinavia.

In New York, the pizza would have cost between $9-12 dollars, and the beers maybe an additional $12. So their meal cost roughly double what it would here.

For $50 I could buy four or five pies.

It's primarily things you can buy in stores. American products will generally be available in much larger quantaties per package than they would be in Europe. Notable counter examples are Ritter Sport and Nutella, which are either only available as normal or less-than-normal sized in the US.

That I have noticed. Cleaning products and paper towels are smaller, jams are about the same, the nutella stuff is smaller, dairy is smaller with the exception of yogurt. The food is really excetional quality over here though. The stuff I guy in a regular store is what I'd buy in a Whole Foods or other upscale supermarket (with the exception of fruits). I love how there's so many no artificial color foods, low sugar yougurt, and sucar instead of fructose. There's also a smaller selection in stores here. The fruit section, even in fruit markets is really small in variety.

Probably. My folks were a little surprised when a pizza and two beers (total, not each) cost them about $50 in Scandinavia.

In New York, the pizza would have cost between $9-12 dollars, and the beers maybe an additional $12. So their meal cost roughly double what it would here.

For $50 I could buy four or five pies.Actually, that's for completely different reasons entirely. Scandinavia, in particular Norway, have higher prices compared to the rest of the world. However, they have higher wages in return, so it's only foreigners that are really getting ripped off.

Actually, that's for completely different reasons entirely. Scandinavia, in particular Norway, have higher prices compared to the rest of the world. However, they have higher wages in return, so it's only foreigners that are really getting ripped off.

So really, our absent friend is in effect better paid than in most of the West and that might account in part for his attitude?

So really, our absent friend is in effect better paid than in most of the West and that might account in part for his attitude?

Well, no. There are higher wages and a higher cost of living in Scandinavia, and those costs will consume the wages.

Admittedly there's a possible argument with the waste from the various containers used to take the food home, but that's a stretching argument at best which is only credible if the containers aren't something cheaply made and easily thrown away/recycled without harm to the environment.

Much of the time it's aluminum foil, waxed paper, aluminum pans and cardboard that's used... though sometimes it is styrofoam. The former is easily recycled -- the latter? Bleah.

Probably. My folks were a little surprised when a pizza and two beers (total, not each) cost them about $50 in Scandinavia.

In New York, the pizza would have cost between $9-12 dollars, and the beers maybe an additional $12. So their meal cost roughly double what it would here.

For $50 I could buy four or five pies.

A medium pizza is a pizza for one person, it's 5.2 KR to 1 USD.

http://files.myopera.com/RWgirl/albums/476997/%2450%20pizza.jpg

So really, our absent friend is in effect better paid than in most of the West and that might account in part for his attitude?

It doesn't excuse his hypocrisy. Fass is someone who constantly talks about protecting the environment and using things sensibly--an excellent cause indeed--so why would he call our asking to take the rest of the food home "disgusting hoarding" (paraphrase) and whatnot? Why doesn't that make sense?

Admittedly there's a possible argument with the waste from the various containers used to take the food home, but that's a stretching argument at best which is only credible if the containers aren't something cheaply made and easily thrown away/recycled without harm to the environment.

So really, our absent friend is in effect better paid than in most of the West and that might account in part for his attitude?Sorry, hadn't been following the thread so I didn't know who you were talking about.

Honestly, as a Westerner living in non-US West, on the doggie-bag issue: It's uncommon, but not unheard of. I personally try to finish what I've ordered, even when I've seriously underestimated the servings (as was recently the case after we had a funeral service dinner in memory of my step-grandfather). Upon seeing me struggle with the huge helping of fried potatoes, I was asked whether I'd be needing a doggie-bag later.

Much of the time it's aluminum foil, waxed paper, aluminum pans and cardboard that's used... though sometimes it is styrofoam. The former is easily recycled -- the latter? Bleah.Cardboard, if greasy, cannot be recycled, actually.

A medium pizza is a pizza for one person, it's 5.2 KR to 1 USD.

http://files.myopera.com/RWgirl/albums/476997/%2450%20pizza.jpg

If I recall correctly, they bought a large to share.

Much of the time it's aluminum foil, waxed paper, aluminum pans and cardboard that's used... though sometimes it is styrofoam. The former is easily recycled -- the latter? Bleah.

Exactly. All we have to do is alter what we use for the containers and perhaps come up with an easy way of recycling them and the problem is solved.

i find if i go to a supermarket i can get loads of food really cheap in UK, but go to a restaraunt and be prepared to be ripped off, i mean utterly ripped off. Higher taxes but not much to do with higher wages to support this. *grumbles* "I wish i was a womble"

If I recall correctly, they bought a large to share.

Large would be about $50.

A medium pizza is a pizza for one person, it's 5.2 KR to 1 USD.

http://files.myopera.com/RWgirl/albums/476997/%2450%20pizza.jpg

Why does the menu also list its stuff in English...? I wouldn't have thought English was a major secondary language in Norway.

:eek: either that's a very small plate or that's a pretty huge (tall) slice of cake...
The plate was big too. :p

Haven't you tried Roast Beef, Brown Windsor Soup, Simnel Cake, Eccles Cakes, Suet Puddings, Spotted Dick, Jam Roly-Poly...?
None of those will make me forgive them for their English Breakfast ;)

Probably. My folks were a little surprised when a pizza and two beers (total, not each) cost them about $50 in Scandinavia.
That would, as we've talked about in a different thread, have been at one of the more costly places where both the pizza (usually cheap) and the beer (alcohol is usually more costly) are both expensive.

Let me put it another way: You won't find a more expensive pizza unless you go to extreme lengths, like demanding a pizza specially made for you in a gourmet restaurant.

Why does the menu also list its stuff in English...? I wouldn't have thought English was a major secondary language in Norway.
It is. A great deal of menues will be in both Norwegian and English.

It doesn't excuse his hypocrisy. Fass is someone who constantly talks about protecting the environment and using things sensibly--an excellent cause indeed--so why would he call our asking to take the rest of the food home "disgusting hoarding" (paraphrase) and whatnot? Why doesn't that make sense?

I find the gluttonous miser characterisation amusing. Its a bit of an oxymoron - can someone be a spendthrift and consume more food than is necessary?

I've heard from foreigners that Americans are wasteful and now I'm getting the indication that we are greedy for asking the extra food to be brought home so it WON'T go to waste. Please make up your minds, the contradictions here are making me dizzy.

I've heard from foreigners that Americans are wasteful and now I'm getting the indication that we are greedy for asking the extra food to be brought home so it WON'T go to waste. Please make up your minds, the contradictions here are making me dizzy.

I chalk the whole foreigners perception of Americans as just ignorance in most cases.

On another note where the hell have you been Utracia? I haven't seen you post in awhile. Maybe I just am not paying attention?

I chalk the whole foreigners perception of Americans as just ignorance in most cases.

On another note where the hell have you been Utracia? I haven't seen you post in awhile. Maybe I just am not paying attention?

I figured as much, it is heartening in a way to know that Americans aren't the only ones who can be stupid in their perceptions of others though it is rather sad as well that so many don't know any better.


I took a break from here for a few months, it was getting all rather monotonous for me, I mean how many times can you discuss religion, abortion, gun control, Iraq and Bush without going nuts? That and I also bought WoW a couple months back and had become addicted. :D

I'm trying to come back regularly though, we'll see.

Cardboard, if greasy, cannot be recycled, actually.

I'm talking about the waxed cardboard containers, ala Chinese takeout.... it can be recycled with a quick rinse (or so we're told)

But yeah, corrugated or shirtboard cardboard with grease spots, no.

That would, as we've talked about in a different thread, have been at one of the more costly places where both the pizza (usually cheap) and the beer (alcohol is usually more costly) are both expensive.

Let me put it another way: You won't find a more expensive pizza unless you go to extreme lengths, like demanding a pizza specially made for you in a gourmet restaurant.


Except it was not in a particularly posh restaurant, and Snafturi's Puppet has confirmed precisely what I said.

A medium pizza is a pizza for one person, it's 5.2 KR to 1 USD.

http://files.myopera.com/RWgirl/albums/476997/%2450%20pizza.jpg

Large would be about $50.

Except it was not in a particularly posh restaurant, and Snafturi's Puppet has confirmed precisely what I said.

Except I wasn't talking about a posh restaurant, I was talking about a chain of expensive pizza restaurants. The chain is called Peppes Pizza. (http://www.peppes.no/bestill/TilStart.do) Go to other pizza places, like Arte Pazza (http://www.artepazza.no/page/pizza.htm) (Real tasty Italian style pizza! Yummeh!) and you won't find anything near the kinds of prices that Peppes have.

Except I wasn't talking about a posh restaurant, I was talking about a chain of expensive pizza restaurants. The chain is called Peppes Pizza. (http://www.peppes.no/bestill/TilStart.do) Go to other pizza places, like Arte Pazza (http://www.artepazza.no/page/pizza.htm) (Real tasty Italian style pizza! Yummeh!) and you won't find anything near the kinds of prices that Peppes have.

*shrug* I can only tell you the experience my parents had, and a colleague who also found that eating (and sleeping!) in Scandinavia was very expensive.

He also recounted a fifty dollar pizza story. I would find it hard to believe that both just happened into the same chain.

*shrug* I can only tell you the experience my parents had, and a colleague who also found that eating (and sleeping!) in Scandinavia was very expensive.

He also recounted a fifty dollar pizza story. I would find it hard to believe that both just happened into the same chain.

Well it is the biggest (and most visible) chain in Norway, so it is possible :)

I think what Fass was trying to say is that you're not expected to be ordering more than you can eat. If you find yourself regularly leaving large amounts to eat later, you probably are over-ordering, which could be quite easily seen as incorrect. In other words, you shouldn't be ordering so much that you need to take it away.

I think what Fass was trying to say is that you're not expected to be ordering more than you can eat. If you find yourself regularly leaving large amounts to eat later, you probably are over-ordering, which could be quite easily seen as incorrect. In other words, you shouldn't be ordering so much that you need to take it away.

Again: you don't have a choice here.
Even if you order NOTHING but an entree, it's enormous.

How can you order less than one dish?

I think what Fass was trying to say is that you're not expected to be ordering more than you can eat. If you find yourself regularly leaving large amounts to eat later, you probably are over-ordering, which could be quite easily seen as incorrect. In other words, you shouldn't be ordering so much that you need to take it away.

And that's not easy to remedy when there's no kids menu and you don't order an appetizer or a side dish.

*snip*

Kat, did you also read what he was replying to? Did you notice that there was some very similar baiting that Fass was replying to. I see a lot of similarity in the general level of reply. See the comparison to nobility of various times and whatnot.

As far as the argument, what could possibly be noble about ensuring your leftover food goes in the trash? Whether or not you should attempt to not order more than you'll eat, what advantage is there to wasting food?

I usually eat at restaurants when I'm on the road and rarely have a fridge to put leftovers in. I still take them, though. I do my best to find someone to give it to on my way home, and if I cannot, then I toss it at home and at least I made some attempt not to waste it. I simply can't fathom what would be the merit of putting it in the trash with no effort to do something useful with it.

I mean, I get that I must be fat and cheap and I must throw it away in order to prove I'm not, but I really can't imagine why anyone would advocate wasting food.

We've known you to be plenty arrogant Fass, but this wasteful side of you, it's just Marie Antoinette levels of disgusting. If that is the social norm of Sweden, then they have no business complaining about excesses anywhere.


No no, you really dont understand. He's in Sweden, making him better than everyone else outside of Sweden, and being Europian he is instantly better than any brown people. Its not arrogance when your pointing out fact.:rolleyes:

Take a vacation, really. Three days should suffice.


Thank God. The forum should be more pleasent for the next three days.

Cool it, KoL. Gloating's actionable too.

American portions are HUGE!
Seriously, every restaurant I go to has like HUMONGO portions. Once this diner had a bowl of pasta that was like half a gallon at least. I couldn't eat much of it.

Maybe I just have a small stomach cause I never really seem to be able to eat much....

Man, whats with all you people and these huge portions you get at resturaunts? I never get portions I would deem huge. Or even large. Fuck when I cook I make more food than I would get at a resturaunt.


Maybe its because I work out a lot so my matobilsm is like WOOSH!

American portions are HUGE!
Seriously, every restaurant I go to has like HUMONGO portions. Once this diner had a bowl of pasta that was like half a gallon at least. I couldn't eat much of it.
I guess. My issue is not so much with the size of the meals, but what restaurants put in them. I went to a Macaroni Grill ('Italian' food restaurant), and ordered pasta with a pesto sauce, pine nuts, and garlic cloves. The thing had so much oil in it I had to use a spoon to drain the bowl into my empty bowl of salad. It was like a soup! I didn't even know pesto sauce called for so much oil. (It doesn't, I have seen proper pesto homemade and such)

I guess. My issue is not so much with the size of the meals, but what restaurants put in them. I went to a Macaroni Grill ('Italian' food restaurant), and ordered pasta with a pesto sauce, pine nuts, and garlic cloves. The thing had so much oil in it I had to use a spoon to drain the bowl into my empty bowl of salad. It was like a soup! I didn't even know pesto sauce called for so much oil. (It doesn't, I have seen proper pesto homemade and such)


It doesnt.


Macaroni Grill is as Italian as McDonalds is Indian food:p

It doesnt.


Macaroni Grill is as Italian as McDonalds is Indian food:p

Sadly.
Their 'free' bread that comes before the meal has also declined. Now it is all salty..why? Why put salt on the bread!? It was good before..

I've always wanted to walk in there, get the bread, eat a loaf, ask if I can have some more, order a glass of water, stuff the second loaf into my jacket, pay the bill and leave. Yes. I am a cheap bastard: one of those people that takes the soap, shampoo, and shower caps(I don't even use shower caps..) that hotels supply, the sugar packets at restaurants, and the various sauce packets at Chinese restaurant buffets.

I guess. My issue is not so much with the size of the meals, but what restaurants put in them. I went to a Macaroni Grill ('Italian' food restaurant), and ordered pasta with a pesto sauce, pine nuts, and garlic cloves. The thing had so much oil in it I had to use a spoon to drain the bowl into my empty bowl of salad. It was like a soup! I didn't even know pesto sauce called for so much oil. (It doesn't, I have seen proper pesto homemade and such)

That is a big difference I've noticed since I've been here. There's less crap in their food over here. I loves my diet Coke, but the sodium in the American kind makes it a rare treat. There's no sodium in the Norwegian version of diet Coke, but there is in the Netherlands version. Their regular coke isn't quite as good as Mexican Coke though. Thatmade me sad.

I always hear from Europeans that American portions are huge. I've been in Oslo, Norway and Amsterdam, Netherlands for about two weeks and I've been able to finish maybe two meals with great effort. My European companion can easily finish his meals, yet he complained of the sizes of American food when he visited the U.S.. There is also the American stereotype of tiny European portions. Do I just live in a part of the country with abnormally small portions? What are other people's experiences?

I'm also completely confused by the lack of to-go bags. It feels so wasteful to leave half a meal behind. The waiters and waitresses have been especially accommodating and have wrapped the rest of my meal up, but my companion has told me this is an uncommon request (except with certain fast foods).

I think it's pretty uncooth to ask for a doggy-bag in a restaurant.

And, I like average to large portions, unless the food is particularly rich. Australian portions are probably on the larger side.

I have been to a lot of places. The skinniest people I have seen are in China and Thailand. As for Europeans they are about the same as Americans. I don't see a difference. I have travelled to most European countries along with living in the UK and being stationed for a short time in Germany. Africa for the most part is fairly good in the weight area. Been through Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and all over NW Africa.

This thread had nothing to do with people being "skinny" or not.

I had a sunday meal at an Italian place in NYC with my folks last week -- the plate was so enormous I ate a third there, had them pack the rest, and had it for lunch on Monday and Tuesday at work.

I wouldn't generally eat three-day-old pre-made food...

I just end up piling up my food on the plate and/or eating from the pan if I make too much.

Haha, I do that sometimes!

My mom never allowed seconds when I was growing up. I am conditioned not to get them. I put the leftovers in the refrigerator and eat some for lunch the next day.

Personally, I think it's wrong for parents to tell kids they can't have seconds of healthy, normal food.

'doggy' bag (what a demeaning name, by the way) *snip*

Uhh, do you think it's named the "doggy bag" because people used to ask to take the rest home for their dog?

I'm living in Austria and when i visited a restaurant and ordered a schnitzel some months ago i got one as big as this one: *snip*

I was able to eat 3/4's of it, the rest i took home and ate to dinner.

Hungarians make better schnitzel anyway. ;)

Ua lava (Samoan, I think) means the same thing as lagom, but again it has no direct or correct translation into English.

I know this isn't to do with what you've said, but, as a side note...

The Samoans I know eat HUGE portions.

Damn that's a big schnitzel I am curios, however, do you mean Austria or Australia as the picture is from australianoutdoors.com.

Of course wherever it is it looks like they have flattened it out to make it that big, the biggest schinty I have had was a 22 inch, but it was hammered out to only be about 1.5 cm thick.

Schitzel is supposed to be flattened. That's how it's made... :rolleyes:

Aaand, I'm pretty sure he knows what country he's in.

Unfortunatly, I can be a bit OCD sometimes.

If you don't actually have OCD, don't say you can "be a bit OCD sometimes". You either have obsessive compulsive disorder, or you don't.

Cardboard, if greasy, cannot be recycled, actually.

Very true.