God bless America, its awesomeness and weird norms!
I wasn’t a fan of American food when I first moved here in 2011. Back then, I called American food anything that was offered at the cafeteria. Although some international and exchange students had no problem with the food, I belonged to the other part that hated it. However, I’ve learned over the years, that American food was more than the food offered at the school cafeteria. Through home-cooked meals offered by American friends and going out to eat at restaurants, I have come to love American food. My ultimate favorite: Kansas City-style barbecue.
When I started going to restaurants, I was very surprised by some of the practices. Although I knew that Americans like to do things differently from rest of the world, I never thought the restaurant etiquette will be different. Below are things that you should know before eating out in America:
Big crazy portions
Be prepared to be stuffed, unless you are going to a fine dining restaurant. American restaurant portions are enormous. However, it wasn’t always the case. After World War II, the U.S. reformed its agricultural policies and farmers were able to grow food more cheaply. Over time, companies have increased their serving sizes to increase their profits. The below infographic from Yourweightmatters.org (YWM) shows how some American food has changed over the years.
This means you can have more food for what you are paying. I was all about that. Since the portions are very large, I could easily have 2 to 3 meals out of them.
To-go boxes for leftovers
Most restaurants have boxes that you can use to take your leftovers home, since their portions are so large. Do not be shy to ask for one! The worst you could do is to try to eat all that food even though you are full. This is especially important because American food contains a lot of fat and carbs, which means a lot more calories.
As you may have heard most exchange students and international students gain a lot of weight after moving the U.S. Years from now, you will be glad you made the right decisions by not overeating and saving money.
Tips Tips Tips
Tipping means that you give someone – in this case the waiter/waitress a sum of money as a way of rewarding them for their services. Tips go anywhere from 10-20% of your total bill. Why do I have to pay someone to do their own job? Oh wait, Americans like to do things differently. But this is because most restaurant workers don’t get paid very much and rely on the tips to make a living wage. Why can’t restaurant workers be paid a salary like the rest of the world? Again, Americans like to do things their own way, and this isn’t up for debate. This was very shocking to me when I started going to restaurants, but since I lived here now, I had to start following their norms, and you should too! I wrote about American norms that you must here.
A less private dining experience
In the U.S. the customer is king. Companies want to make sure that their customers are satisfied, same goes for restaurants. Restaurant workers are trained to ensure that every customer is satisfied, and since tipping is so important, the waiters/waitresses try to go the extra mile to get a bigger tip. Due to that reason, they will come multiple time by your table to ensure you don’t need anything. This takes away some the privacy you may be used to in your home country, but feel free to tell them (in a nice way) if you don’t want them to come checking often.
Now that you know these few American restaurants norms, go enjoy the food! Share more tips for eating out in America in the comment section.