# Counting French Toast **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764 "2017-10-01T20:55:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/1 "2017-10-01T20:55:15Z")
While eating breakfast I overheard a nearby couple having an argument about how many pieces of French Toast were on one of their plates. It was a slice of bread cut diagonally and cooked into French Toast. Two pieces, as advertised said the wife. The husband disagreed. In his mind one piece of bread is one piece of toast. The fact that it was cut in half is irrelevant. To him, he has two halves, or one piece of French Toast. So what say you? Is this one or two pieces of French Toast? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/2 "2017-10-01T20:58:54Z")
One piece, of course. If it was billed as two pieces on the menu, it was a scam to make it seem like you were receiving more. That’s about the same as cutting a sandwich and half and claiming you’re getting two sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/3 "2017-10-01T21:01:35Z")
Was it cooked into french toast before or after the cutting? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/4 "2017-10-01T21:03:11Z")
If we accept that a single slice can be cut into “two pieces” of French toast, then logically by the same token one could call two bites, or two crumbs, “two pieces”. The only logical unit for French toast is the slice. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/5 "2017-10-01T21:10:48Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Was it cooked into french toast before or after the cutting? Exactly. If each half was battered separately, then that was indeed 2 pieces of French Toast. The menu didn’t say “slices.” It said “pieces.” Caveat Emptor and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/6 "2017-10-01T21:47:00Z")
I call shenanigans! A piece of French toast is a slice. Cutting a slice in half does not make two pieces. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/7 "2017-10-01T22:32:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > One piece, of course. If it was billed as two pieces on the menu, it was a scam to make it seem like you were receiving more. > > That’s about the same as cutting a sandwich and half and claiming you’re getting two sandwiches. This. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/8 "2017-10-01T22:38:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > That’s about the same as cutting a sandwich and half and claiming you’re getting two sandwiches. You order two identical 6" sandwiches; the bread comes in 12" lengths and the shop makes it in one piece and cuts it in half. Did you not get two sandwiches? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/9 "2017-10-01T22:42:13Z")
That’s acceptable, since a size is specified. And this would likewise be acceptable, if the menu somehow specified how small the “pieces” were. But without any such specification, the “pieces” are assumed to be the standard size for the food in question, and for French toast, the standard size is the slice. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/10 "2017-10-01T22:56:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s acceptable, since a size is specified. And this would likewise be acceptable, if the menu somehow specified how small the “pieces” were. But without any such specification, the “pieces” are assumed to be the standard size for the food in question, and for French toast, **the standard size is the slice.** Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/11 "2017-10-01T22:58:38Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > So what say you? Is this one or two pieces of French Toast? I would colloquially call it two pieces. I can understand the argument for calling it one. The labels on the shelves at my supermarket have the price of each item, and the price-per-pound (or pint, or whatever) so you can compare against other items that might be in a different size container. Nutrition labels on food have specific serving sizes. I’m sure Coke would love to brag that it has 10 CALORIES PER SERVING and 12 servings per can, but they can’t. When you start making those rigorous comparisons, you need rigorous definitions. The thing is, though, I don’t remember ever seeing that sort of thing on a breakfast menu for french toast. Usually it just says “french toast”, and you get a breakfast-sized serving of french toast. If the menu said “Hearty Lumberjack Special: a heaping portion of two pieces of french toast smothered in butter and an ocean of maple syrup, with a mountain of hash browns and a rasher of bacon”, then I can understand the guy getting pissed. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/12 "2017-10-01T22:58:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s acceptable, since a size is specified. And this would likewise be acceptable, if the menu somehow specified how small the “pieces” were. The previous posts seemed to focus on the cutting as the crucial aspect, which I disagree with. To my mind, it really comes down to how big the slices are–cut or not. I would be annoyed with two full slices if the bread were somehow smaller than average. I would conversely find it acceptable if two diagonal pieces were from larger bread, such that the pieces were approximately the same area as a normal uncut slice. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/13 "2017-10-01T23:02:45Z")
I have to say that this debate is a million times more betterer than all the kneeling/anthem/patriotism/trump debates. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/14 "2017-10-01T23:04:50Z")
One piece, no question. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/15 "2017-10-01T23:12:17Z")
If he were REALLY hungry he could have cut each of those in half and have FOUR pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/16 "2017-10-01T23:12:21Z")
There’s another way of answering this–the FDA specifies the serving size for French toast: [https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.12](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.12) _French toast, crepes, pancakes, variety mixes 110 g prepaed_ [sic] _for French toast, crepes, and pancakes; 40 g dry mix for variety mixes \_piece(s) (\_g); \_cup(s) (\_g) for dry mix_ So, 110 g for a piece. That actually sounds like a lot to me–more, I suspect, than even a normal single slice. We’ve all been cheated! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/17 "2017-10-01T23:18:41Z")
For as long as I can remember, the norm for serving French toast has been in triangular pieces, each made from half of a square piece of bread. So AFAIAC, that’s the unit of French toast: the triangular piece. So two triangular pieces would be two pieces of French toast. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/18 "2017-10-01T23:22:09Z")
Did the menu specify pieces? or Slices? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/19 "2017-10-01T23:22:20Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > You order two identical 6" sandwiches; the bread comes in 12" lengths and the shop makes it in one piece and cuts it in half. Did you not get two sandwiches? A loaf of bread is not a sandwich. If you made the 12" loaf into a sandwich and then cut it in half, you would be getting two half sandwiches, not two sandwiches. But in any case the situation is not comparable. I was talking about sandwiches made from slices of bread, not from whole or half loafs. If you ordered a typical sandwich of the kind made from two slices of bread in a restaurant, would you in fact feel like you got a whole sandwich if you got one made on two half slices of bread (unless the menu indicated that was the case)? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764/20 "2017-10-01T23:32:17Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > For as long as I can remember, the norm for serving French toast has been in triangular pieces, each made from half of a square piece of bread. No it hasn’t. My cite is the cereal [French Toast Crunch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Toast_Crunch), which is shaped like little bread slices, _not_ little triangles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counting-french-toast/797764.md?page=2)