Normalize Half Orders & Half Pours
I wish every restaurant did this.
My cookbook AMRIKAN: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora, is available wherever you like to buy books. I promise the book is worth it for the Saag Paneer Lasagna recipe alone — though lots of people can’t stop making the malai broccoli, chili cheese toast, moong dal waffles, shrimp moilee, and much much more! If you have already bought a copy, would really appreciate a review on Amazon!
*~*~*~*~ LOS ANGELES: I have two book events coming up this month. ~*~*~*~ *
Sunday, October 13 from 10-1, I will be at Cookbook Larchmont signing books and they will selling the thick and chewy candied fennel and jaggery rice krispie treats. FREE
Saturday, October 19: I am doing an Indian High Tea @ Valerie Confections in Glendale! There will be two seatings, lots of the best chai in the world, fun tea sandwiches from my book, and other collab dishes. It’s a great way to celebrate fall or Diwali or just life. TICKETS HERE
I have some more events lined up in November and December that I will be announcing soon.
Okay let’s get into today’s newsletter.
I think there are few things that showcase hospitality better than flexibility. While I don’t believe a customers every whim and demand should be satisfied, especially at the cost of a restaurant staff’s sanity (the customer is NOT always right!! , there are little touches that allow a customer to tailor their own dining experience that I wish was standard practice at restaurants — specifically offering half orders of food and half pours of drinks.
On a very recent 40 hour stint to New York City for some cookbook promotion, I popped into Brass, the new restaurant at the Hotel Evelyn from Jeremiah and Fabian (of Contra fame and two of my most favorite chefs). I rolled in straight from the airport and immediately ran into two people I knew from different parts of my life in the way that these things can only happen in NYC. I stepped into the dimly lit room, filled with velvet banquets, servers in bowties, and live music from the pianist and took a look at the menu.
But it wasn’t the truffle chicken roulade or the “moules frites” in parentheticals that immediately caught my eye (though do not skip the concord granita and popcorn ice cream!!), but instead a section of classic cocktails all offered as “two sippers” or two ounce drinks that caught my eye. I love the idea of ordering essentially a mini Manhattan or martini or the champagne cocktail in my case. I had already had a full cocktail, and wasn’t sure I wanted a second. But two ounces of champagne + bitters + sugar in a mini coupe was the perfect solution. (Dante in Beverly Hills also offers a menu of mini cocktails that I also really enjoy and recommend.)
Juliet in Los Angeles takes this idea one step further and allows customers to order wine by the ounce. So you could order a standard 5 ounce pour, or a half pour, or even a single ounce pour. It allows you to have a half a glass of wine with lunch, or sample through a few different bottles instead of having to stick with just one. I like being able to explore, and being able to control how much I want to drink. Sometimes I want just a splash more so that I have an excuse to linger in great conversation with a friend.
It’s an idea that I wish more restaurants would apply to food, too. I am not saying that all restaurants should offer multiple sizes of each dish, like a fast food restaurant might, but offering things like half orders of pastas, some proteins, and sides like fries would turn me into a regular! If it’s easy to break into two smaller orders, without compromising the dish — a restaurant should offer a half size.
Maybe it’s a lingering habit from years spent as a restaurant editor or as someone who is just naturally very curious, but I want to sample as much of the menu as possible — half-orders allow you to do so without wasting food, and stacking boxes (and guilt) of leftovers at the end. It’s also a great way to ensure that tables can order more, so that no one is stiffed with too few bites of something — and it’s very accommodating for solo diners who also want to sample as much of the menu is possible.
Having size options will also more likely get to me to participate in purchasing a dish or a drink (or multiple dishes and drinks). It seems like an easy win for restaurants, too, especially when it come to alcohol, which notoriously has the best margins in game. If I owned restaurant, i’d rather someone order the $8 half pour of wine, or the $5 half order of fries, or the $10 mini cocktail, than stick with water and add nothing to their their check averages. They are already in my establishment, I might as well have them spend as much money as possible, but have them feel happy doing so! Half orders and half pours also takes the pressure off the customer to over consume simply because they have already paid for something. I can alway get behind something that allows the diner to be more mindful (both personally and towards the environment).
Would love to know your thoughts. Would you order a half glass of wine from a restaurant or a half order dessert?
I fully endorse this half-idea.
Yes! When I visited Budapest in 2018, one of the restaurants my friends and I went to allowed you to order a half-portion of food for 3/4th the price and it was great — the food was delicious, and I didn't waste anything or have to spend the rest of the day carting leftovers all across the city. It's been 6 years and I still think about that and wish other restaurants would offer something similar.