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Imagine you were ordering for yourself and the restaurant served half portions. Would you really order two copies of the same thing? Diminishing returns in fo
by YokoZar 10y ago
Imagine you were ordering for yourself and the restaurant served half portions. Would you really order two copies of the same thing?
Diminishing returns in food enjoyment are real, we also enjoy variety for it's own sake. You get less of both when your order contains duplicates.
And that's when you know what you're getting -- if you share food, both people ordering the same new dish increases the downside risks dramatically for little upside benefit.
- aristus 10y agoSure. If you crave variety as a standalone good, by all means mix it up. I would probably still ask for two orders of yuca frita as my sides. Hell, I did that last week. :) There's an interesting experiment mentioned in Predictably Irrational that suggests you should simply order your first choice and not worry about other people at the table. There's an odd tendency to favor variety in a restaurant setting, which means the people who order last opt for their second or third choices. That is by definition suboptimial.
- YokoZar 10y agoIt's only suboptimal if "ordering last" is a thing. The article notes a better strategy of reaching consensus before ordering, and then ordering all the items together. That way by placing an order first you don't implicitly force someone who is ordering later (and sharing with you) to mitigate risks by picking a second favorite.
- shostack 10y agoThis. I wish every restaurant served small plates/samplers. I consider myself somewhat of a foodie and can be a bit ADD with wanting to try all the things. So wherever we go to dinner I'm always trying to get things we can fully share.
- drjesusphd 10y agoTip: most restaurants in the US will serve a half portion at 75% price.
- hueving 10y agowe would not get along. :) I'm a picky eater and generally see one thing on the menu I really want. Nothing bothers me more than when someone demands the table does family style and I get 1/5th of what I wanted and 4/5ths of crap.