Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 07, 2020

You want to lose weight? Don’t go out to eat.

This is for everyone who ever wondered what “Eat like a pig” means.

If I eat half my fries, I must leave immediately or I’ll eat the other half.

As I travel thru the country I find that restaurants give all of us more food per serving that most of us could ever eat. Why is this ? I’m an old fart at 74, but I don’t understand, for instance, why we get a pound of French fries whether we are at a fast food place or a singular restaurant like we experience here in the Outer Banks of NC. Someone please explain. I have lived all over the planet with my military career, but it is only here in the USA that I see this over presentation of food. Why?

Pig PIGGIN’ out.

Yum, give me my 5000 calories every day!

Sounds like Rat was hoping to get some of Pig’s food…

My bête noire are the chips and salsa they serve before the excellent… and filling… meal. I’m feeling very virtuous tonight: Only ate about half the chips.

Going on a diet immediately tells us we’re in famine mode and must eat more. Best to normalize our eating patterns and maintain 3/4 fullness and have the occasional treat. That’ll be $28.95, please. No, I won’t autograph it, and, no, I don’t guarantee the plan! Happy munching!

The more you eat, the more for us to eat, Pig!

here in the land of tiny portions i’d love to find a restaurant that overserves…

Hey, everyone! Pastis’ first film is out today! It’s called Timmy Failure. He co-wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from his series of hilariously funny children’s books. Everyone should go check it out and support him! It’s on Disney+, which means it’s free to watch for those of you that have it, and if you don’t have Disney+, it takes 5 minutes to get a free trial with which you can watch it. It’s great that our favorite cartoonist has gotten this incredible opportunity to write a Disney movie based on his work, so we all should support him.

Just order a smaller portion or take home what you don’t eat. When I cook at home I always make to much so that I will have lunch or dinner already made for a day or two ahead. Just nuke it baby ! … Croc Power !

Remember the “nouvelle cuisine” movement, when people were complaining about small portions and high prices? Things go in cycles.

I can think of something that can be eaten that doesn’t put on any weight.

So am I, but my doctor doesn’t agree.

When did feed get replaced by fill?

The debate about portion sizes is all well and good, I just got a kick out of the spaghetti strand on pig’s head!

You can ask for a carryout container as soon as they bring your food to you, and then put half of what’s on the plate in it before you start eating. Out of sight, out of mind — and out of stomach!

Board’s Head says they love you.

Mister Spegehhti Head

Often the prices that restaurants have to charge go up because of rising overhead, not the cost of ingredients. So they try to reduce the sting of the higher prices by giving you larger portions. As others have commented, you just have to resolve to stop eating and take the rest home once you’re no longer hungry—though that’s often easier said than done.

It’s the economics of the restaurant business. When you buy a meal you’re not just covering the cost of buying and cooking the food, you’re covering the cost of keeping the restaurant in business, which is a substantial amount of overhead. The restaurant has to charge enough money to stay in business, and so has to make the meal seem worth what you’re paying. Fries and bread are a dirt-cheap addition to the plate so the total amount of food makes the price seem more worth it.

We had 6oz cokes, and they were for a treat, not to wash down food.

What a pig!

What a pig.

I rarely pause to contemplate that issue…

Take away cartons are great. I can eat a nice meal out then have one to two meals at home. That’s how you deal with the extra food when you are on a diet.

This is how I eat normally.

My German friends and I call the Golden Corral “Zum Goldenen Schweinerei” The “clientele” is enormous.

I understand the feeling, Pig. Go ahead, make a (big, fat, succulent) pig of yourself….

food is great

Sounds like a Thanksgiving comic.

The Hate U Give in a nutshell

American restaurants assume we are all gluttons. Or America likes to throw food away.