Restaurant Tells Diners To Eat Everything On Their Plate 126
Chef Yukako Ichikawa will offer a 30% discount to patrons who eat all the food they have ordered, and will kindly ask those who don't clean their plates to not come back. "Finishing your meal requires that everything is eaten except lemon slices, gari (sushi ginger), and wasabi," says the menu. "Please also note that vegetables and salad on the side are NOT decorations; they are part of the meal too."
Yeah. (Score:3, Funny)
And if you don't, no dessert!
Re:Yeah. (Score:4, Funny)
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?
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everything is eaten except lemon slices, gari (sushi ginger), and wasabi
What does this mean? I always eat the lemon slices, with peel, seeds and everything. And the ginger and wasabi, too.
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Some diners will like the meal but not the garnishes. This clause makes that OK. Reasonable if you ask me.
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I'd wager it's too much a hassle to make sure the garnishes are customized for each diner. I never could get used to the ginger and only use normally about half the given wasabi.
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"Alright. You've not finished your vegetables. Here's your dessert, but you won't be getting as much vegetables or dessert next time."
Re:I like the idea (Score:4, Insightful)
I can understand this policy at a buffet restaurant, but if I walk in and order a specific menu entree, I expect that the fact I paid for it gives me the right to do with it as I damn well please. I'm not paying him to be my mother. I'm paying him to prepare the damn food.
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Which, in the U.S., it rarely is.
I've always been taught to finish my plate, but some of the meal sizes in the U.S. are just ridiculous. I understand that I'm getting more value for money, but in the end it's likely to just go wasted.
I presume he wouldn't accept that. After all, everybody would simply claim take-it-home rights -and- the 30% discount.. then probably toss it in the neare
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Are you? Is the quality of the ingredients as good as you'd have got if they'd made a smaller portion at the same price? Is the cook on minimum wage to pay for your "better value", and was that mayonnaise you just ate, or his pustulent semen? (Or, if you ordered pustulent semen, was it really Walmart mayonnaise?)
As zen morotcycle repairman Pirsig (IIRC) q
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Well that's a broader question that's really not at play here, is it?
*All else being equal*, if I get more food for the same price, I get more value for money. ;) )
( but, again, wasted.. as I usually can't finish that damn much food. And yes, I usually ask for smaller portions in U.S. restaurants and they can typically accommodate. Now if only they could make proper 'well done' steaks
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Which, in the U.S., it rarely is.
All very true. Worse is exchanges like:
"I'll have the main dish, but can I have half portion, I won't finish it, it's way too big"
"Ah...hum, sir we don't do that"
"But I'll pay full price anyway"
Baffled lookBut sir, we can't do that...
Apparently, at least in US, it's close to impossible to have a cook who can divide by 2...
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I imagine that the problem the owner is having is that people come in hungry, order six rolls (36 mouthfulls doesn't sound like that much), and then he has to throw half of them away. Me
Re:I like the idea (Score:4, Interesting)
My wife and I tried a new sushi place a couple weeks back (free plug: Amura in Lake Mary, for Central Floridians. Best sushi we've had yet.). As usual, we kept it simple and ordered a sushi and sashimi platter. Their platter had less sashimi then we're used to getting, but more rolls, and heavy rolls at that. Absolutely delicious, like to the point that we ate past the point of discomfort, and yet there were still a couple pieces of a tuna roll left. Fortunately nobody decided to shit on such a great meal by giving us crap about not eating those last two pieces that we didn't psychically determine beforehand would be too much.
This reminds me of a thread on another site that was about a sushi chef kicking people out for not eating sushi the way that he wanted them to. Is this sort of crap common with sushi places?
Re:I like the idea (Score:4, Interesting)
Just look at how many Dr. offices have no cell phone signs and have no problem being 20 minutes late to an appointment, but will throw a hissy if you are 5 minutes late, even though they were not going to see you anyway. They expect you to sit quitely and non-productively in their lobby until they decide it is time to honor you with their presence.
Look at how punctual the phone company and cable companies are when you call for an install.
I'm sure if you thought about it, you could think of a couple of dozen industries where they treat their customers like garbage.
In trendy restaurants it often even increases their business.
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Most doctors are 20 minutes late because the previous four patients were each 5 minutes late. First thing in the morning and immediately after lunch are the most "on-time" times because patients haven't screwed up the schedule yet.
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I think any competent adult could figure out how to solve the problem if your excuse were true.
First, we'll have to find a competent adult...
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That is a very poor excuse. I think any competent adult could figure out how to solve the problem if your excuse were true. It also doesn't explain why doctors are late at the beginning of the day as much as at the end.
Because they over-book. It really is all about money.
Mottainai (Score:3, Informative)
The meaning is more nuanced than "wasting" but it is as close I can describe it without copying the entire Wikipedia page.
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It's a very Japanese thing. It's probably based on the concept of Mottainai [wikipedia.org], where wasting something (such as food) is seen as wrong/immoral. The meaning is more nuanced than "wasting" but it is as close I can describe it without copying the entire Wikipedia page.
This is very interesting. Where I live it is so multicultural that I try and be careful as to whether I am supposed to leave food on the table or not according to the culture of my hosts. When dining with Philippinos for instance, I may finish the food on my plate, but always leave food in the serving bowls so as not to make it look as if they didn't prepare enough food. With Nepalese there is generally too much food, but I'll happily finish it without fear of embarrassment. Sri Lankans don't know when to s
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Just order the 8 piece rolls or 2 pieces of sushi.
But your screwed if you wanted an odd number.
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Just order the 8 piece rolls or 2 pieces of sushi.
But your screwed if you wanted an odd number.
But I wanted prime tuna!
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It being a sushi restaurant, it is probably reasonable to think that patrons can actually order only what they can eat.
In what appears to be the original story [smh.com.au], it turns out that HER posted policy begins by requesting patrons "to share meals, to thank the earth while eating and to be mindful of the amount they order". And the article states that you can take food home, but bring your own container.
You are of course correct that you should have the right to order whatever you like, and do whatever you like w
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HER posted policy
Oops. My bad. Time for me to RTFA.
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If you want that kind of freedom, you'll have to go dine at an Open Source restaurant.
Good point about the takeaway containers. I still suspect she would just expect people to finish all the food on the spot though. Personally, I think she is on to a great idea. Reminds me of my swiss aunty who lived through World War II rationing.
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According to his website, www.wafu.com.au, takeout is available if you bring your own non-perishable dish container. They offer containers to go but charge extra and may ask you not to come back.
I sure hope this restaurant goes out of business soon, that's about the most non businessman-like stance I've ever seen taken in a restaurant.
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I sure hope this restaurant goes out of business soon, that's about the most non businessman-like stance I've ever seen taken in a restaurant.
And yet it seems to be doing just fine. In fact, it's a perfect business model: you find a clientele and provide what they want. It might be a small clientele, but it's a small place too.
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I would expect it to, asking people not to come back if they don't finish their meal; although someone pointed out that for some reason that's not the case?
And yes, I guess I do want it to fail too, because I don't want the restaurants I do eat at to copycat this if it catches on.
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We have a few Chinese Restaurants around town with Buffets that have a rule about finishing dishes. They can charge you extra if you don't finish whats on your plate.
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Japanese cuisine portions are petite, anyway. I wish more restaurants would offer portion sizes, though, because most over-do it. Entree sized portions are better for you.
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you're exactly the type of people he's trying to deter from his restaurant.
Doubtful. I always order a reasonable amount and finish it all.
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Right, because that attitude isn't part of the cause of obesity in American. No sirree.
If people WOULD push back before the plate was clean, they wouldn't be taking in as many calories.
And I'm not just talking out of my ass. I finally broke my parents' 'eat everything on your plate' rule after being on my own for over a decade. After that, I started losing weight. Gee!
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Doggie bags.
Salmonella sure helps you lose weight.
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There was just a bit on NPR about a study where they had parents force their four-year-old kids to completely clean their plates. They found that the next day, when faced with situations where they could choose how much to eat, they would choose larger portions for themselves than children in the control group.
Link escapes me.
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Funny, I'm always finishing everything on my plate, and I'm still in the "probably already dead from starvation" category in all BMI tables.
If you checked her website [wafu.com.au] you'll see that customers actually seem to be in control of how much food they order ("Please be mindful of the amount of food you order") which makes this a non issue.
And yes, it's impossible to say in advance exactly how much you're gonna eat, but really, it's not that hard to give a decent estimate and then live with when it happens to be a
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Eating too much is worse than leaving it over... The food was wasted when it was served, irrespective if it end up being wasted / stored as fat by your body or if it is thrown away. Leaving extra food gives the restaurant a chance to dispose of it in a less wasteful way.
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And even that's enough: how am I supposed to know exactly how much food will satiate me, before I eat it? I can often guess how much I need to feel full, but fairly often I end up grossly overestimating how much food I need.
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You're right, of course, at least in some cases. Though I imagine asking a waiter "Oh yes, bring me a little more of that steak" is not going to work in many restaurants (except in all-you-can-eat places of course).
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B.S. People should only take what they can finish. However, if you are at a restaurant and cannot control the portions given to you (and some restaurants are out of control with their portions), people should *not* finish their meals. The whole idea of "eat everything in front of you" is one of the many reasons this country is overweight to begin with. (Of course, all the fats and sugars we eat don't help either.)
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That's going to do wonders for the growing obesity epidemic.
Then again, sushi probably isn't a contributing factor for the obesity epidemic.
The Onion? (Score:4, Funny)
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I hope they've planned for the increase in demanded refunds. Sometimes people don't finish what's on their plate because they didn't like it or it was cooked incorrectly. Not everyone in this situation would make a big deal out of it. But if they are giving my shit about not finishing the food I didn't like in the first place, you can bet I'll demand a refund on the spot.
On what basis? That *you* didn't like it, or that there was something wrong with it? Satisfaction guarantees are optional, and not many restaurants would opt for them. Something wrong would be an overcooked steak, maybe, and to get your satisfaction guarantee out of that, you'd need to complain when you started it, not when you'd notionally finished your meal.
I always thought... (Score:1, Insightful)
...that in many Asian cultures it was considered bad manners to completely clean your plate. It's like saying: "You didn't give me enough to eat."
Re:I always thought... (Score:4, Informative)
I've heard both sides.
One friend told me that in Japan he left 3 pieces of rice on his plate and the chef came out and yelled at him. Of course he's very much the bullshitting type so I have no idea how true that is.
I've also heard that it's good manners to leave a little to show that you're full.
Also bear in mind that 'Asian Cultures' is a bit of an overly broad term. There are a lot of countries in Asia, with vastly different cultures.
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In Soviet Asia Chef Serves YOU!
Waste Prevention (Score:1)
Even if I pledge to eat my leftovers later, I have to pay more and I'm asked not to return? (I'm assuming. The article doesn't say.)
I guess they can make the rules for their own restaurant, but I'll eat elsewhere. Thanks.
Steve Jobs opened a sushi joint? (Score:2, Funny)
Obligatory Seinfeld reference... (Score:2, Redundant)
No soup for you!
Why would I WANT to (Score:3, Insightful)
Why would I WANT to come back to a place where I'm treated like an asshole, just because I'm full?
If they think they are better off without customers, then good luck...
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You're not treated like an asshole because you're full. You're treated like an asshole because you obliviously ordered more food than you wanted to eat. And you get treated like an asshole again because you've become defensive and indignant about it, regardless of whether you're oblivious or disingenuous about your obliviousness to your wastefulness.
So, to be consistent, you should now leave /. and not come back.
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I bet this policy (especially in this economic situation) will drive them out of business within 1 year...
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disingenuous about your obliviousness to your wastefulness.
It's not wasting if you paid for it.
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Paying to be wasteful absolutely does not make it non-wasteful.
You knew it was coming... (Score:1)
How did this story make it off Idle? (Score:1)
Sometimes I complain that everything on Slashdot is either: (1) a misleading story about intellectual property and piracy, (2) a misleading story about the latest events with either Apple or AT&T, or (3) an absurdly misleading story about China, Microsoft, video games, the military, or medical science.
Then every few days the editors put something on the main page which doesn't fall into one of those categories. When they do, it reminds us that maybe those three categories are for the best after all.
It's been done (Score:2)
I've had similar things happen in a Chinese place. (Score:2)
It appears that some foreigners just don't learn how to deal with Americans.
About 10 years ago, my colleagues and I went to a Chinese place and sat down to order. The guy came out and said we weren't allowed to switch seats and accused me of trying to leave without paying (I had already paid.) That's the last time all ten of us went there.
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How in the hell is that similar?
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Not original... (Score:1)
Leftovers will be charged R$ 3,00
With the actual value varying, but ranging from 10% to 30% of the total amount.
This was illegal, but the owners a) didn't seem to care about the legal status and b) didn't actually enforce the rule.
In the end, those signs served as a harsh and unpopular (among the clients) reminder of not putting more on your plate than you can eat. Good intentions, bad execution.
No sushi for you! (Score:1)
"... Come back... one year! NEXT!!"
Never thought I'd see an Asian restaurant Nazi. Usually they do that sort of thing to their staff.
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Please don't mix cultures. The nazi in Asia were the japanese [wikipedia.org].
Oh wait, in view of this, the chef's attitude just seems proper now.
Buffets (Score:2)
A place near me which serves all-you-can-eat buffets has a clause which states that if you don't finish your plate then you have to pay a surcharge.
I'm from the UK and I visited the USA last year for the first time, I went to Las Vegas for 10 days and it was very easy to go to the likes of the Bellagio Grand Buffet and eat like a pig for 2 hours. It's quite a novelty, especially when I could eat 6 or 7 different courses at 10am. If I got bored of a course that I'd grabbed, I'd just leave my half filled plat
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I have that same tendency, and it really kicked my arse when I moved to Houston. I'm a big guy, but the average meal here is more than I'd usually eat in a day. I've finally trained myself into the habbit of getting a to-go box with half of my meal in it. Actually, a lot of the time I'm quite content just eating the sides, and take home an untouched steak.
trendy (Score:2)
must be a very trendy place. that's the only way they could get away with such nonsense. i feel sorry for them in 2 months when they go out of style.
first, if i pay for the food i should be able to flush it down the toilet if i want. second, i didn't choose the portion. if someone serves me more food than i can eat, that's not my fault ... and it's not healthy for anyone to force themselves to eat food when their body says they are full.
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first, if i pay for the food i should be able to flush it down the toilet if i want.
you can, you just won't be eligible for the 30% discount.
second, i didn't choose the portion.
Yes you did, it's a sushi restaurant.
if someone serves me more food than i can eat, that's not my fault ... and it's not healthy for anyone to force themselves to eat food when their body says they are full.
Then don't finish it and pay the full price as you would at any other restaurant.
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from TFA:
... and will kindly ask those who don't clean their plates to not come back
it's not just about not receiving a discount, it's about being banished from the restaurant.
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"Kindly asked" == "banished"?
Actually that quote is from the summary. The line from the article is
"[...] tell people who don't clear their plates to choose another restaurant next time."
I think the question is really whether they are asking them to choose another restaurant (which would make sense as their eating habits clearly don't align with the policy of the restaurant - if you went to a vegetarian restaurant and asked for meat you would probably get asked to find a different restaurant next time) or if they are actually being banned from eating there again.
I have a friend in Australia at
my observations (Score:1)
Wierd recipe restrictions. (Score:2)
"free of gluten, dairy, sugar and eggs"
Screw that. I understand people have dietetic restrictions, but there's no way I'm going to a restaurant where I have to abide by 'em.
Maybe the problem is people aren't finishing the meals because they taste like crap and aren't satisfying?
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You are aware that, especially in Japanese cuisine, there are plenty of dishes that never used gluten, dairy, sugar, or eggs in the first place, right?
Why so many negative comments? (Score:1)
Clean Your Plate Club (Score:2)
When I was growing up, my maternal grandmother would insist that we belong to "Clean The Plate Club." She would go to the extreme. One day my sister (who had a tiny appetite) had a tuna melt for lunch. My grandmother made it on two halves of an english muffin with an entire can of tuna and cheese. Needless to say, my sister didn't finish it. So my grandmother wrapped it up and sternly told my sister that she'd eat it for breakfast. While she wasn't looking, my mother threw it out.
I, on the other hand,
Starman (Score:1)
People leave food because it's BAD (Score:2)
This is a highly offensive stance to take for a chef. How many times have you gone to a restaurant and been served horrible food? It's a lot more common to be served bad food than great food. If I don't finish my plate, that means your food tastes like SHIT and I refuse to eat your garbage. If the food was good or great but the portions were large, I will take it home thus leaving a cleaned plate. That cleaned plate should be an indicator to you on the quality of your food and nothing else.
The fact that thi
Greenhouse gas emissions / take away leftovers (Score:1)
This is justified (though perhaps a little harsh). Greenhouse gas emissions from food production are the largest polluting sector, much more than transport. Probably most people don't understand how much energy goes into e.g. meat production.
People also need to change their attitude to 'leftovers'. Most good restaurants can pack up your uneaten food to take home and heat in the microwave. As long as you get it really hot before eating the next day, that will kill any bacteria.