February 23
I had an interesting chat this afternoon with Brasserie manager David Pogrebin, who is going through a lot more doggie bags than he used to.
And a wider variety of people are using them, and taking home less desirable items than they used to.
Brasserie has a big rib-eye, so it has never been uncommon for people who didn’t arrive in chauffeur-driven cars to take half of it home with them. But now, people of all walks of life are taking food home, David says, and not just eight ounces of steak. They're taking home a couple of extra bites. If all that's left is the French fries, they take the fries home (like anyone really wants day-old fries).
Regulars who didn't used to ask for doggie bags are asking for them now.
The super-rich are doing it, too, and explaining themselves when they do it, David says.
“I’m taking this home for my wife,” for example, like David cares why they're taking it home.
We talked about that for a bit, and I think maybe the customers are bragging — showing their thriftiness now that that's considered a positive quality and a sign of good character rather than an indication of miserliness and ill-humor, which is what many people thought it was eight months ago.
I’m asking around to see if this is a significant trend, and I’ll start by asking you, dear blog reader, if you use doggie bags more often?
(There's a poll on the right side of this blog. Click on the 'yes' or 'no' button if you feel so-inclined).
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6 comments:
David Pogrebin sounds like a moron. What a fool to make fun of people for taking home food that they paid for. What a pompous ass!
Maybe he should lose his job and then he'll know what it is like to eat day old fries - it sucks you stupid ass!
He wasn't making fun of them, he was just noticing that more people were doing it. The comment about eating day-old fries was my own.
I actually get doggie bags quite often, but if my leftovers are 'clean' i give them to panhandlers on the street. I guess some people may find this disgusting, but they all seem to appreciate it.
But I think it's good behavior to not have the food go to waste--I guess growing up in a developing country, I was always bothered by how much perfectly good food is thrown away at restaurants in the States.
I answered the survey implying I was taking home more leftovers--but that isn't really true. I've always taken home everything usable I'm very fond of cold pizza and day old french fries.
the mother
Thanks Mom. It looks like the poll will close with about 60 percent of respondents saying they're not using doggie bags more, but that means that 40 percent are using them more, which is a lot.
Dogs are outwardly emotive. There are many museum exhibits that are arguably as interactive as a dog. And yet the thing that makes dogs lovable is their desire to relate emotionally, to perform and to please. It’s easier as a stranger to respond positively to an animal that expresses interest in you than an exhibit that just sits there. And dogs’ attention is not uni-directional—dogs will spread their attention to all those around them. Which means if you are having a great experience with your dog, I can perceive and access that. In a museum, I can’t necessarily tell if the ancient bowl is communicating with you or you with it. Dogs are approachers. Exhibits only receive.
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