# When you go to a restaurant, are you buying the food or the experience? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670 "2016-10-04T23:21:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/41 "2016-10-06T15:50:41Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Doggie bags are unusual in Spain; normally you can get one only in places that offer takeaway, but it’s always possible to ask. Are Spanish portions such that doggie bags would be a good idea? In my years in Europe, when I went to everyday and mid-range restaurants, portions were usually such that they could conceivably be eaten by a single human with an average appetite in a single sitting. Here in the US, as I’m sure you’ve experienced, portions are enough for at least two meals (and I’m not a skinny guy, though not fat, either), so the option is either throw away food (which I have an aversion to given my upbringing), eat to the bursting point (which is unfortunately what I end up doing about 75% of the time and why I often avoid eating out), or to be sensible and either split the plate or take a doggie bag home. Also, are the portions in NZ and Australia typically large at your average restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/42 "2016-10-06T16:06:27Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > The restaurant is probably more concerned about bad publicity from someone getting sick than actual litigation. From what I’ve seen on TV court shows, you have to PROVE you got sick at one particular restaurant, or you don’t have a leg to stand on. After all, what’s to prevent someone with a beef against the owner to spread lies about ‘food poisoning’, and getting friends and relatives to spread lies, too? Would all that lying blather be regarded as bad publicity? How widespread would it have to be? Now, they can just put up false bad reviews on Yelp and Travel Advisor, that’s a real problem…The board of health doing ‘unsatisfactory’ restaurant inspections, which are posted in the newspaper, now those are instances of bad publicity! Very very seldom are restaurants closed down because of infractions unless dozens of people get salmonella or eColi from eating at a tainted buffet. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/43 "2016-10-06T16:17:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > 1. unless New Zealanders are incredibly litigious or lack refrigeration, the “food poisoning” justification is bullshit, The USDA guideline is to not let food for over 2 hours in the “danger zone” (40F-140F range), and not for over 1 hour if it’s above 90F. Cooked food may sit on the restaurant table for an hour, at above or close to 90F, before the customer walks away with it. And depending on the restaurant location, it could very well be another hour before the customer gets home and puts it in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/44 "2016-10-06T16:20:01Z")
When I was in Spain, East of Barcelona, we ate regional food at a fancy restaurant. We ordered a mixed plate of rabbit, pork and other meats. It was more than we could eat. I asked about getting the leftovers to go. My friend, who was from there, told me that we don’t do that here. Leftovers go to the wait staff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/45 "2016-10-06T16:25:59Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > When I was in Spain, East of Barcelona, we ate regional food at a fancy restaurant. We ordered a mixed plate of rabbit, pork and other meats. It was more than we could eat. I asked about getting the leftovers to go. My friend, who was from there, told me that we don’t do that here. Leftovers go to the wait staff. Yeah, there were definitely exceptions, like when ordering variety plates like that. And you’re right, I generally don’t remember being able to get take-out containers for that unless the place, like **Nava** said, had a takeout business as well. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/46 "2016-10-06T17:14:15Z")
I go for the food. That’s all. If I pay 100% of the price, then I get 100% of the food. And it is mine to do with as I please. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/47 "2016-10-06T17:30:56Z")
Depends on my mood. And it depends on the restaurant. In New Orleans there were some restaurants with terrible ambience but fantastic food. There are also restaurants known as tourist traps with beautiful dining areas and mediocre food. I’ve been to a great Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco where you had to typically dodge around homeless people to get in. As for the doggie bag, it is within the rights of the restaurant to not provide them, but I’d love to see them trying to stop someone from putting left over food in their own doggie bags. I don’t think they’d have much of a case. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/48 "2016-10-08T00:31:53Z")
Unless it’s some all you can eat deal (and I’ve even had some of those places, like Red Lobster with their all you can eat shrimp special, that let you take stuff from your last helping home) they have no business refusing you from keeping your leftovers. I would refuse to pay in such a situation. Might cause food poisoning? Fuck you, that’s not your problem or any of your business. I could be run over in your parking lot, does that mean I can never leave? Fucking nannyism… ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670/51 "2016-10-18T16:52:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Someone could claim they broke a tooth on something in the food, or they got food poisoning, or they didn’t get their own food back, or who knows what. Someone could reasonably make the first two claims whether or not they packed their own food, though. There could be something hard in the food that wasn’t discovered until later. And the food could have gone bad before it was served. Sure, people can sue for stupid reasons, but I don’t think that having them pack their own leftovers is any kind of meaningful liability shield. I assume that restaurants do it that way because then people can just decide which things they want to keep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-go-to-a-restaurant-are-you-buying-the-food-or-the-experience/767670.md?page=2)