Leftovers

Whenever I return to the States, and it is becoming less and less frequent, there are three things that quickly leap into my consciousness: (1) the cars are huge, (2) the people are fat, and (3) the dishes in the restaurants are nearly as big as the cars. Is it any wonder that so many Americans are obese? Exactly how much can one person eat during a meal? Don't answer that question. And yet, even with the virtually requisite doggy bag to haul home enough leftovers for tomorrow's breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you still have that compelling urge to unbuckle your belt. By comparison, the offerings in France are virtually miniscule. Yet after dining in Paris, you quickly realize that although the dishes in the restaurants look like kiddie portions,you never leave hungry and you never need to undo your belt. I don't know how they do it, but most French chefs have the uncanny ability to provide the exact amount of food you need to leave the restaurant sighing, 'I ate the whole thing and I feel perfect - not hungry and not full.'

These points are rather common knowledge to any American ex-pats living in France, I am sure. But I was compelled to ponder them again when I happened upon a 'Leftovers' thread over at the 'Our Paris' web forum. The discussion basically centered on how the concept of leftovers is unheard of in French restaurants, and I would have to agree. If the chefs are preparing just the right amount for each of the typical three courses (entree, plat, dessert, with or without cheese, and coffee, the latter often served with little patisseries), then logically, you will eat everything on each plate you receive and there will be nothing left. By doing so, you are signaling to the chef how he/she got it right again. But if you leave a couple morsels, it is telling the chef something quite different, which is, 'that sucked.' So you can understand, there is no possibility for any leftovers - you either ate everything, or you left a little bit to embarrass the chef. This isn't to suggest that the French aren't moving as well towards the world of the expanded waistline - they are. Bear in mind, they don't eat in the restaurant every night, and if they do, that restaurant might be McDonald's (or McDo as the French call it). Of course, if you follow my restaurants blog and eat at the places I rave about, leaving anything for a doggy bag, no matter how much the little mutts are worshiped in France, would be sacrilegious - just have a look at the photos - a typical meal at Les Magnolias. If you're not going to finish that, can I have it?




But what about wine? Aah, that is an interesting question. Back at Our Paris, anne266 from Alsace commented: On the other hand, what has become perfectly acceptable now is to bring home the leftover wine . A few restaurants even advertise it, they have special thick paper bags for this. For all those who don't advertise it, you should ask whether it is possible when you order the wine. Reason it that restaurants saw their sales of wine decreasing as the driving-under-the-influence-of-alcohol regulations tightened . Since restaurant make their biggest margin on alcohol, not on food, they had to adapt to the new situation.

Now, I may be known for many things, but at the top of the list is, 'Mortstiff - a man who can hold his liquor.' Nonetheless, I am very pleased to hear of this new development towards doggy wine bags in French restaurants, for the reasons described by anne266, and also the recognition that on those extremely rare nights when your stomach is feeling a little queasy, you're on your own, you just can't finish more than two-thirds of your 60€ bottle of wine, and you're thinking how well that last third would enlighten the chicken nuggets slated for tomorrow's lunch, it just becomes unbearable to bid that 20€ worth of leftover wine 'adieu' as you pay your bill and slip away into the cold, hard Parisian night. So let's hear it for the 'taking your leftover wine home with you' concept - great idea. Actually, now that I think about it, the whole idea of leaving a drop of wine in the bottle before exiting the restaurant just sounds completely ridiculous.