Huge American portion size: Fact or Myth?

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, I just returned from several weeks in Paris and norther nFrance (yes, thank you, it was wonderful; lovely country, fabulous city). And I ate in a ton of restaurants.

Now, I have always heard that the reason Americans in general are so fat is that we eat a vast amount of food here. I mean, stop in at an Applebee’s, the line goes, and they will basically wheel you up to a trough. But here’s what I found whilst in Paris:

-The average person dining for lunch or dinner in a restaurant will be presented with a quantity of food roughly twice that in a normal family restaurant in the US.
-Dessert always seems to be a standard part of a meal. Not so in the US.
-Desserts are probably two to three times as large as in the US.
-The concept of a doggie bag seems to be unknown, whereas in America, people ordering a large plate of food will often take half of it to eat later.

Are my impressions of the Parisian (and by extension European) dining scene correct? Or was I only presented one facet? Do people at home eat as much as they do in restaurants? Why so much food?

At this point, I’m thinking that the reason Americans are so fat is because after our dinner at Applebee’s we haul our carcasses to the car, drive home and flop on the couch as opposed to walking a mile back to our flat after a meal. EuroDopers, what say you? Do you have the perception that Americans eat a lot compared to diners in your own country?

2

I was always under the impression that Europeans ate out much less frequently than Americans. I’ve nothing to back that up, though, so take it with a grain of salt.

3

Having lived in Europe the first 24 years of my life and the last 7 in the US, I have to say that your experience is not your typical European food experience;

  1. Dessert is not a standard part of any meal. Most Europeans order dessert but it’s an item that needs to be ordered seperately and paid for (just like in the US)

  2. In my experiences (and I have eaten out a lot, both in regular restaurants as well as haute cuisine) US portions are way bigger than European portions. Granted some European restaurants will serve veggies/potatoes etc on the side (as compared to on the plate) - though even there might be more sidedishes, they tend to lean heavily towards veggies (it’s fairly common to get 3 diff kind of veggies, a salad and 2 potatoe dishes)

  3. Doggiebags are unheard of in Europe.

  4. Soda refills are unheard of as well (and I’m pretty sure that gulping down two/three big glasses of any soda during dinner/lunch contributes to the weightproblems regardless if it’s diet soda)

4

I have never seen this - I’m usually just-satisfied leaving a French restaurant - as it should be.

Never seen this. Were you dining table d’hôte or à la carte? Normally if you want a dessert, you have to order it separately.

Never seen this, either. What I’ve seen is usually a dainty little crème caramel or a little cake. Personally I don’t do dessert, so perhaps I’m not one to talk.

This is very true. I can imagine a Parisian waiter pistol-whipping a person if they were to ask for such a thing. It’s getting a little more usual over here in the UK, but it still throws some kitchens into a spin.

Definitely, absolutely, and without a doubt. I always put on around 5 lb whenever I spend more than a couple of weeks in the US. When went to work for a company in CT in 1997, me and my Dublin roomie went to a local bar and ordered a nachos appetizer. We couldn’t finish it between us. Conversely, a very large American colleague working for the same company was sent to Dublin for six months - and he was always complaining about not getting enough food in restaurants. He lost around thirty pounds in less than six months.

5

Can I work for your company? :slight_smile:

6

If I put the portions I received when travelling in Europe beside those I’ve received travelling in the US, it would tend to not match with your OP.

The meals I’ve received in the US have been MASSIVE - even alongside Canadian portions, which my Japanese SIL couldn’t believe when she first arrived here.

7

Ummm…no on the diet soda remark. Almost all diet sodas have no calories because they use artificial sweeteners. No calories means no net weight gain.

Of course, most people don’t get diet soda when eating out. Especially since usually the only diet choice is diet Coke/Pepsi. I don’t like cola, I prefer lemon-lime drinks,. I drink Sprite zero because it has no calories and tastes good, but there is never a diet option of any non-cola drink in most places. But, thankfully, I am one of those people who can be happy drinking water. Apparantly, most Americans aren’t like that.

But as an aside…why is soda so much more expensive over there? Is it a supply/demand issue? Less people want it so less is made so the net cost is more per unit? Or are you just smarter than us and know that by charging a few Euros for one soda you decrease the chance people will buy it, thus keeping your population skinny and healthy? :wink:

8

I didn’t find the portions way smaller in France.

In one place, ordering a “plat des ouefs” came with 3 eggs, as well as bread and ham.

The standard bistro “croque madame” or “croque monsieur” is a pretty hefty sandwich.

I’d get a “panini” from a roadside vendor and it was an entire baguette.

Crepes are large, gyros with french fries were just as big as America.

Now, Trunk, you’re saying, that’s mostly fast-food/diner food/junk food.

As for nice meals, well, somewhat similar. I ate at a “southern style” place in Paris that my sister and her (French) husband go to, and it was a lot. I ordered a lamb dish that was big. I remember getting “Coq Au Vin” at a place in Beaune. It was just as big as if I got it at a French place in America.

Finally, my brother-in-law would cook a big meal for lunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday. A big meal. A huge pot of stew, a starch, and vegetables which were usually covered with a lot of butter.

Long and short of it: I thought they ate a TON of food in France.

So, I don’t know what I would contribute our weight to. . .for one, I’m very suspicious of all the chemicals in our food.

Also, we eat tons of soda and get lots of sugar in things with “high fructose corn syrup”.

Also, we eat a lot between meals, driving in cars, sitting in front of the TV, etc.

Also, they do walk more in France, or at least Paris. Once you get outside of Paris, I noticed fatter people. I think New Yorkers tend to look thinner and they walk a lot too.

So, I’m sort of with the OP. I’ll at least say that it’s easy to eat big portions in France.

I’ll also add. . .I don’t eat at chains here. So, my portions are what I make, and what I eat when I dine out (which is usually either bar food, or ethnic food – chinese, thai, afghani, italian, etc.). I don’t know the size of stuff at TGIFs, Olive Garden, etc.

9

But that would be interventionist, so I’m sure the French government would eschew such a policy mightily. :wink:

Speaking for myself, but maybe other Euro types, I would never dream of drinking soda with a meal (other than BK or something). Way to ruin your food. Water or wine or beer only.

One thing I notice in France is that people linger over meals, and pick at them. They don’t wolf them down like I do - wonder if that’s something to do with it.

Anyway, we’re none to talk, since Scotland just overtook the US in obesity rate (though the average size of the obese people may still be lower).

10

Ah, I see I’ve not made myself clear. I did not mean that dessert came with whatever was being served automatically. Just that, as you said, that people ordered dessert as if it were a natural thing. I can’t remember the last time I ordered dessert here in the US at a non-fancy meal, but it seemed to be standard there.

You may have a point about our excessive love of soda here. I don’t drink anything but diet, so I dunno. But we did drink wine with almost every meal there, and that does not have zero calories. :slight_smile:

To give an example, my wife would order creme brulee for dessert sometimes. At every place, it would be in a dish that was probably a good six inches wide and perhaps three-quarters of an inch deep. You would never receive a creme brulee of that magnitude in the US. At Julien, we got desserts that ranged from the merely small (THREE scoops of ice cream) to the massive (a giant slab of ice cream cake that must have been the equal of at least two piece of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake.

And another thing: The multi-course meals at decent restaurants, come in the form of the menu, prix fixe or formule, offered many, normal sized portions. In the US, these types of meals normally have significantly downsized portions (and are twice the price). It’s not like a full sized sazad plus a full sized entree plus a whole dessert. But that’s definitely what I saw there.

I was aghast at the quanties. I’m trying to figure out why my expereince was seemingly so different from what the other EuroDopers in the thread are telling me is the norm.

11

I also just got back from Paris & Rome, and I found the opposite. My portions were small (compared to what I’m used to at home - though, honestly, not so small that I was in danger of starving).

The other thing I found was that crap/junk food (chips, soda, candy, the stuff you buy here and eat without thinking) was hideously expensive. Everywhere. It wasn’t just at the tourist traps, but in the grocery stores too. (I had a lot of sticker shock at the price of some foods. On the other hand, croissants were dirt cheap.) I would guess that parents think more about giving their kid a bag of chips if it costs 2 instead of .30

12

I’ve lived in England for a bit, and for a couple of summers in France, and I think US portions are much bigger, in general. [However, I think UK breakfasts are precursors to hearattacks.] Dinner size portions are comparable, but only for restaurants. The less upscale it is, non-American(ized), and non-touristy, the lesser the size are the portions.

Contrast the same type in America (well, add non-Euro-ized), portion sizes are going to be huge. For instance, in my neck of the woods, pizza places are competing on price for an Extra large. That’s a true x-large pizza, one-topping, 18" (that’s 45.72 cm for you non-imperial types), for the whopping low price of $9.99 (plus tax). That’s cheap, and a great deal. I believe that that’s unheard of in Europe. In fact, the Domino’s in the UK (which, imo, is better than in America) is running a deal of 3 (9.5") pizzas for 5 quid. That pales in comparrison to the American version of 3 Mediums (that’s 12", mind you) for 7 dollars, unlimited toppings; or, the old $5 by 5 deal (truly gluttonous).

So, to sum up, US portions are larger for everything except breakfast. Plus, I think US eats out more than their Euro counterparts.

13

What I’ve noticed is that American food tends to be even more filling than it looks. You often get pasta in a bowl instead of a flat plate. You’d often find a huge mound of carbs (potatoes or rice) hiding under a thin layer of meat and vegetables. And many dishes contain butter, cheese, sour cream, mayo, etc.

14

I do notice a difference between Canada and the States. A few years ago Mr. AFG and I went to visit some friends in North Carolina and stopped at a Denny’s in Virginia for breakfast. I ordered 2 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, 2 pieces of toast, and a coffee. The waitress looked at me in disbelief and said, “Light eater, are we?” I couldn’t figure out what she meant until I saw the food coming to the people a few tables down from us. Absolutely enormous breakfast platters. Just imagining eating all that for breakfast gave me cramps. I’ve never seen such large dishes served in Canadian restaurants.

15

Oh, yeah, no butter in French food at all.

16

Are you saying the average French dish does contain as much fat and carbs as a typical American dish, or just nitpicking on the details?

17

I’ve travelled to the US and have been amazed at how big the portions were. I remember ordering a quarter-pound burger recently and waiting ages for it. The waitress (not the one who’d taken our order) eventually came over and apologised, explaining that she’d found the cook putting a dinky little quarter-pound patty on the grill, had figured there was a mistake and had made him put on a proper half-pound patty instead.

Most of my US experiences have been in Texas, though, so that may be skewing my view ; )

18

My American experiences are confined to LA and New York City. I was staggered at how big the portions were when I ate in restaurants.

19

Not so fast says I.

Walking a mile only burns a hundred calories. For the average American meal that wouldn’t even burn off the calories you got from the drink.

20

In fairness to us Brits (and the Irish too), the trad cardiac-arrest-in-a breakfast is a special treat. I would tend only to go for the “full English” once at the weekend after a big night on the booze - and not every weekend at that. Most of us just eat cereal or toast.

Whereas the French and Italians, for example, usually eat the tiniest of breakfasts - something like a single croissant or a little bit of cake respectively, not something on which I’d be able to last until lunchtime.