Doggie bags

I can't say I ever left anything on my plate when eating in France other than some stray lettuce leaves or something from a salad...portions are a little more controlled generally than over here. That being said, I have been known (here at home) to order something like a chicken Caesar wrap, knowing ahead I would only eat half and would take the other half home for the next day (or my fav restaurant that serves a huge shepard's pie that I always order - knowing I can bring half home and have it for lunch the next day).

Maybe this rolls into the whole grocery stores not being allowed to discard edible food thing that they started over there (which is a brilliant idea)...less food waste if you can take your leftovers home in a doggie bag!

Yes, I can't recall that I have ever left anything on my plate in France.

I find the last two comments interesting because the last time I had a restaurant meal in France, my appetizer salad was served in a bowl so large that it could have provided two whole meals for me - and that was just the appetizer. Even if I sat there all night I couldn't have eaten that much, followed by a main course, followed by dessert or cheese. I've wondered ever since how anyone deals with that amount of food. We've stuck to eating "room picnics" since then, made up of fruit, vegetables, cheese and bread. Doggie bags sound like a good idea to me.

Well, I am now thinking about the huge salad I had in Nimes - but I did manage to eat it all as it was lunch and supper that day! Same in Nice...we skipped lunch so we ended up having lunch/supper all in one - and I barely got thru the salad I had there! We rarely do appetizers, usually just go for a main and once in awhile have dessert.

Other than the salads being big, I did find that things like pasta or burger and fries or chicken was in a nice sized portion - unlike at home where a lot of times I leave fries behind because they put what looks like a kilo of French fries on your plate...lol. And I'm not doggie bagging French fries. :)

As a tourist, I'm most likely not going to take a doggie bag as I wouldn't want to carry it around with me if I'm far from my room, or may not have anywhere cold to keep it. So for me, I try to eat as much of the meal as I can...because sometimes it's my only other meal besides breakfast. That being said...I know if I lived there and was faced with one of those huge salads I'd be asking for a doggie bag and not trying to finish it off.

So again - hopefully they don't look with disdain on 'le doggie bag' and embrace it!

Sac de chien? Sac a chien?

Interesting . . . just yesterday, during a lengthy discussion about French vs. US food trends and habits, it was suggested that à emporter after a meal has still not been a big French custom. Even with new legislation, I wonder if doggie bags would ever happen at a 3-star Michelin establishment? Oops . . . I guess I took a little too much cheese there . . . I'll just take it home in a sac . . . .

Not intending to be disgusting, but switching completely to that other type of bag for dog-owners, it's too bad they're not used more in France. Sidewalks from Paris to Avignon to Nice are, unfortunately, often strewn with the deposits left by dogs whose owners don't (won't?) clean up after them. :-P

Hi,

Not exactly focused on your post but I know of and have seen one restaurant serving traditional north and east German cuisine frequented often by Americans in Berlin where the owner asks in English if the guest wants to take the remainder in a "doggie bag"
That restaurant gets German and numerous international guests, ie, in the summer it is highly advisable to make reservations.

Some traditional dishes served more generously include cassoulet in the south of France or a grand choucroute garnie in the north. I have seen leftover cassoulet placed into a clear plastic bag for a guest, which was not the most attractive mode of transportation.

We enjoy food, especially in France! We've have never had trouble eating all our food, but we have found portions to be smaller and courses over a couple hours. Most of our dinners are 2-3 hours, so I always have room for more!

In Italy our daughter was sick and we were trying to find food to go. We went many places where the concept of taking food was not understood. Finally we found a deli where we bought meat, cheese olives and bread.

"Hey garçon, more ice for my Coke and a bag so I can feed this to my dog". I do hope we find out the right way to translate.