Agreed about the what. A doggie bag was almost as uncouth as farting while paying the bill. Not quite, but in the ballpark.
As to when …
I recall it starting to be normal for people to ask for “leftover containers” (not “doggie bags”) about the late '90s, at least in middle class “family restaurants”. I couldn’t bring myself to do it until maybe 2005, and I still thought it pretty declasse.
I’d say it was closer to 2010 when waitstaff would offer containers if you’d left a a plausible helping on your plate. Which a skinny old guy like me nearly always does. It was probably 2015 or so that waitstaff would act surprised when I turned down the containers. Usually because I’m traveling and have nowhere to put it. Around home I take half of most meals home, and sometimes closer to 2/3rds.
Hey, they sell us plain water. In some cases the same stuff that comes out of the tap.
I vaguely remember that being an intermediate stage, though I don’t remember the dates of the progression. First you didn’t do that at all, any more than you’d ask for the leftovers if somebody invited you to a dinner party. Then, you could ask for a doggie bag, though the ritzier the restaurant the more iffy that looked, even if they gave it to you – and they might fill it up with scraps from other people’s tables, either under the impression that you actually were going to give it to your dog, or to discourage you from doing it again. Then ‘doggie bag’ became an understood euphemism, and almost any place would do it without giving you the side eye. Then everybody dropped the euphemism, and places started asking you ‘would you like to take that home?’
But then the drink is top heavy and falls over when going around curves or braking quickly. I owned a 1999 Chevy Cavalier with tiny cupholders. They would hold a 12 oz soda, but nothing larger. At that time at Pilot gas stations or other similar travel plazas, they would sell larger drink holders that would clip onto your console, so it was definitely a thing at least at that time.
The earlier end of what I’m remembering is from the 50’s and 60’s. I’m pretty sure it was normal to take leftovers home, explicitly for human consumption, by say the late 90’s and maybe earlier; but don’t remember the dates of the shift. I expect it varied in different areas.
Same here, although we very rarely ate out growing up.
In 1993, I started working at a local Olive Garden. I know, Olive Garden, but still: even in 1993, the OG had fancy take-out boxes pre-printed with the restaurant’s logo. And maybe half the tables took home leftovers, completely without any shame that I ever noticed.
I wonder if, back then, the propriety of taking home restaurant leftovers correlated with the class of restaurant? A different social expectation for, say, the ritzy steakhouse or the country club vs. the corner diner or the super-casual fried seafood joint?
Here’s the beautiful part, they’re not losing any money on you. The profit margins on sodas are so high that restaurants literally give you unlimited free refills. Some sources say that the profit margin on a soda can be as much as 80-90%.
As a general rule we just like ice and the only cold drink I like without ice is beer. Though in the case of Coke or root beer, I can accept a nice frosty glass bottle or mug in lieu of ice. If I’m in a gas station or a restaurant where I fill my own cup I put plenty of ice in it.
Which is why encouraging people to buy bigger sodas at an increased prices is so profitable. I suspect the overhead of a 16 oz soda is no less than a 32 oz one.
As for ice, I like it also, and since most fast food places have the dispensers out for the patrons, I can go back for more soda even if I use a lot of ice.
I don’t trust the dispensers to be cold enough. On the other hand, when I drink soda from a can from my refrigerator, I never pour it into a glass and add ice since I know it is a good temperature for me.
I’m not surprised that few drink soda with ice in Europe - soda is so expensive you can’t afford to. I prefer wine which is cheaper.
As far as doggie bags, there was an Italian place in a suburb north of Boston I went to in about 1973 which served such huge portions that doggie bags were standard.
My grandmother liked her food to be ice cold or piping hot. I let both of those come to something closer to room temp before consuming them. The only things I want to each ice cold are ice cream and popsicles. And I don’t understand how ANYONE enjoys food so hot it burns your mouth.
I’m assuming the no ice in Europe thing is because it’s colder over there, in general when I was there even the “cold” beverages were barely that cold.
