Growing up in North America, it has become ingrained in the culture that getting the "bang for your buck" is important. Getting this value is almost as important as the taste of the food, to some, it may be more important. Over the past 20-30 years, the portion sizes have continued to grow which has played a role in the obesity problems today. The growing porition sizes also has ingrained the belief of value in the North American culture. Getting a good deal is so much more important to people - How many people really savor their food and enjoy their meals? Who has time to sit and relax and enjoy their food anymore?
Recently we went to a celebrity chef restaurant, a chef whose restaurants we have throughly enjoyed in the past in New York City, and were not disappointed in the taste, however the portion size could potentially be a deal breaker. For example, the caprese salad was on a dish the size of a bread plate, had a decent portion of mozzerella with four cherry tomatoes, that's right, four. The pricing was consistent with high end restaurants (close to $20 for the dish), however the size did not meet expectations. The taste was however out of this world. Each tomato was savored and cheese was obviously imported as it was tasty (not the rubbery kind you find in the supermarket) and high quality with the perfect texture.
So, which is more important - taste or size. It is understandable if you pay a lot of a meal, you expect to be full when you are done with the meal. I have always been a strong believer that consuming a meal that consists of many small dishes potentially is more satisfying than a meal of a lot of one food. I also believe you tend to eat less food overall if you have different textures and tastes in a meal than you would if you ate a huge bowl of say pasta. I am not sure which I would be more satisfied with, if the price was the same (say $60 per person): a three or four course meal of smaller portions or a two course meal with a large entree. There are too many variables that play into this: food quality, type of food, ambience, company, etc.
This is one of the challenges with nutrition is there are so many variables that play into the psychological aspects of eating that it is very difficult to pinpoint for sure the outcome in any situation. I would definitely say, there is a higher chance that I would overeat if I had the larger entree, but satisfaction is a tough one. What are your thoughts?
