Culinary Communism

[Larry1]

I took the catchy thread title from Tyler Cowen, to whom I owe the hat tip:

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/07/friday-assorted-links-24.html

‘Touch my plate and feel my fork.’ In an age of sharing, diners who don’t.

Sue Williams has a thing about her french fries. She wants them. All of them.

She’s not stingy — she’ll happily order you all the french fries you want. Those will be your fries. These are hers.

“She has an expression: ‘Touch my plate and feel my fork,’ ” said John Williams, her husband of 43 years, as the couple faced each other over separate-but-equal orders of cheese fries recently at a Shake Shack in downtown Washington. “It’s funny, because she is a sharing person. But not when it comes to food.”

These are hard times for the plate protectors among us. Driven by a generation that shares everything, dining out is becoming ever more a mi french fry es su french fry experience. Between Instagramming pictures of the meal when it’s served and Yelping a review once they’ve finished, millennials are sharing more and more of the actual food.

They are helping to fuel a small-plate model that has spread from a few fancy Spanish eateries in big cities to Olive Gardens, TGIFs and Cheesecake Factories everywhere. At better restaurants, servers report coordinated ordering is nearly universal at tables of foodies who want to sample as much of the menu as possible. The group margarita with four straws is becoming a thing...

“Sharing has been one of the biggest trends in restaurants in recent years, and as millennials get into their 40s, they’re not going to give up on it,” said Annika Stensson, director of research communications at the National Restaurant Association, which recently released a survey marking the continuing encroachment of “grazing and small-plate sharing” over the traditional “Who-had-the-crab cake?” model.

“It’s moved from being a hot trend to a perennial favorite,” Stensson said. “Even where they don’t serve small plates, people are making a meal of appetizers for the purpose of sharing.”

All of this is a little hard on people who, darn it, just want a bit of alone time with the food they actually ordered. For years, reluctant sharers only had to fend off the occasional fry filcher, or the girlfriend who virtuously passes on dessert — and then plants her fork in her companion’s crème brûlée. Now, whole menus are devoted to socialist portions...

Renowned Washington chef José Andrés said overcoming share-reluctance was one of the challenges of launching Jaleo, one of the restaurants that sparked the small-plate craze and his restaurant empire.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/touch-my-plate-and-feel-my-fork-in-an-age-of-sharing-diners-who-dont/2015/07/23/c57eb2f4-2b0c-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html?postshare=6261437736128099

If you're in Washington, D.C. try Jaleo. The food is great, whether you like or dislike food sharing. At least I hope it's still great. I haven't been there in a long time.

I'm happy to share food with my kids or with a date or girlfriend. What are your preferences regarding food sharing? Does it vary according to what the food is? For example, Chinese dumplings are easier to share than a bowl of soup is.

Different restaurant question - does your FSUW take photos of her food at restaurants? I understand that's common here now but I never saw it until a few years ago when I was dating a FSUW who took pictures of nearly every one of her dinners.

[jone]

I just got two pictures of the current food my woman is eating.  It is ongoing.  A pleasant diversion.

[2tallbill]

I took the catchy thread title from Tyler Cowen, to whom I owe the hat tip:

What are your preferences regarding food sharing? Does it vary according to what the food is?

I'm a food sharer especially during my history with FSUW. When I was in the FSU I didn't
know what was good and I wanted to try a little of everything, so I would order 5 or 6 or
more things then a clean plate for each of us.

In the USA, you don't know what the FSUW will like or what might be too spicy for them
so I do the same thing in reverse so that they can try a bunch of things that they've not
tried before. 

Who wouldn't want to try a bite or two of four deserts than have just one?
Luckily Angel Eyes and Smiley Girl like nearly everything, except some really
spicy hot dishes.

Different restaurant question - does your FSUW take photos of her food at restaurants? I understand that's common here now but I never saw it until a few years ago when I was dating a FSUW who took pictures of nearly every one of her dinners.

Sometimes they do, mostly they don't

We had A&W Rootbeer floats yesterday evening after a concert. Angel Eyes only
liked the ice cream but Smiley Girl LOVED the combination.