Eddie’s food gripes: those people who don’t do shared dining
Adeline loves food, lots of it and often, both at home and out. Usually that goes well, but sometimes it doesn’t. In the series Eddie’s Food Gripes she shares her culinary observations. This week she is baffled by people who refuse to do shared dining.
When I get hold of a menu, it feels like a kind of checklist in a sweet shop. God, what a delight, because which dishes could I possibly order all of tonight? A quick calculation comes to two dishes per person, and if you’re dining out with four people, that quickly makes eight. Minus the fries and salads. Pretty good score, right? I simply always want to taste lots of things, and I enthusiastically project this onto my eaters in crime.
Wiped off the table
Not long ago, I went out to eat with friends. I was already hugely looking forward to a bite of this and a bite of that. In my head, I collected a few favourites from the menu, so I could easily spoon them up later when ordering. And suddenly he said it: “Tonight I’m just ordering my own dish.”
My carefully selected dishes per person were no more. The burrata, sea bass carpaccio, culinary quesadillas, cheese croquettes, everything with truffle and bread with dip that I had planned to taste were almost literally wiped off the table. The poor man didn’t like shared dining. I cried softly inside.
Unpleasant
The silly thing is that I sort of get it, but then again I don’t. Once the decision is made that everyone is ordering for themselves when dining out, I don’t want any messing around with my plate either. You have your bite, I have mine, and don’t steal the tastiest bite from my plate in between. But not doing shared dining is so terribly antisocial. I see it as multiplying everything you can taste—that’s pure gain, isn’t it? The great thing about sharing your food is that it’s never just one meagre bite, while you can still claim about a quarter of the dish. And if you find it truly delicious, they’ll often give you the last bite too.
A little confused
Luckily, I have a deal with my most important person. He is so afraid that my food will turn out better that he always agrees to share. We’re the kind of people who swap plates somewhere halfway through the dish. You can always see the waiters clearing the table looking slightly confused when I end up with the remains of an enormous tomahawk. Except when he orders one of those disgusting tuna pizzas, because he can finish that one himself, right down to the last bite. What a punishment.
More shared dining pls
I’m calling for even more restaurants to do shared dining , even if they don’t really have the food for it. That way, I can impose it on my fellow diners much more easily. His “Tonight I’m just ordering my own dish” won’t be happening next time.
Read also:
- Eddie’s food gripes: that food abroad is tastier, but I live here
- Eddie’s food gripes: that pretentious waiter at the table
- Eddie’s food gripes: soggy tea bags left lying around
