War on Big Portions

Much as they may have been exhorted by their mothers to eat everything on their plates, many Americans find that when they dine in restaurants they just cannot do it--the portions are simply too big for the diet-conscious. Anywhere up to 65% of the food ladled onto plates in many restaurants is thrown away uneaten. Now a few restaurants are moving away from the groaning-board tradition by offering a choice of regular portions at regular prices or smaller portions at lower prices.

For the past year or so, the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz., owned by Marriott Corp., has presented such menu items as New York-cut sirloin steak in three sizes (10 oz. for $9.75, 8 oz. for $8.25, 6 oz. for $6.75) and baked stuffed shrimp in two portions--six for $7.75, four for $5.50. A management study shows that 70% of the steak eaters among its customers have ordered the smaller cuts, and 65% of the shrimp fanciers have chosen the less hearty portion. Last summer Billy Martin's Carriage House in Washington, D.C., introduced smaller portions for smaller prices on several entrees; it reports that 30% of the diners who order those entrees select the reduced portions. In December, the steak house in Chicago's Palmer House intends to switch.

Slimmer Waistlines. The trend has Government encouragement--indeed prodding. Nancy Harvey Steorts, special assistant for consumer affairs to Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz, advanced the idea a year ago in a speech to the National Association of Meat Purveyors and shortly after persuaded the Camelback Inn to test the plan. Since then she has traveled round the country evangelizing smaller portions. She argues that they will help consumers slim their waistlines and cut food bills, bolster restaurant profits by selling additional dinners, and that "the tiniest bit of wasted food cannot be justified when an estimated 1 1/2 billion people in the developing countries do not receive a balanced diet."

Many restaurants are reluctant to adopt the plan. Their managers wonder if customers really want smaller portions, and are not sure that selling them will raise profits, since they mean a lower average price collected from each diner. But some experts believe the trend toward smaller servings will accelerate. Says James W. McLamore, president of the National Restaurant Association: "An earlier ethic of conspicuous consumption may be giving way to a current ethic of 'conspicuous conservation.' " The doggy bag just may be on its way out.

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