'A Doggie Bag, S'il Vous Pla?t'
We Ask Waiters in 7 Countries
To Pack Up Our Leftovers;
'Are You Joking?' in Moscow
In 1949, Al Meister, the head of a Chicago-based packaging company called Bagcraft Papercon, came up with an iconic American invention. He developed a special coating to make a paper bag grease-resistant. Onto the bag went the drawing of a dog and a poem by his wife beginning, "Oh where have your leftovers gone?" With that, the company laid claim to the world's first dedicated doggie bag.
Today, millions of doggie bags later, this contrivance for getting a free lunch out of your previous night's dinner is more popular than ever. In a 2002 survey, the American Dietetic Association found that 91% of Americans take leftovers home at least occasionally, and 32% do it on a regular basis.
View a chart of the reactions we received when asking for doggie bags in 7 cities.The doggie-bag concept isn't confined to the land of the super-size portion. Food historian Francine Segan found references to it in England when she did research for her book on Renaissance cooking called "Shakespeare's Kitchen." She explains that hosts used "oversized napkins in those days, in part because they ate with their hands, but also to provide a huge container for leftovers. Hosts liked to get extra points with guests by being very generous with leftovers."
Now, the doggie bag has even penetrated into regions as remote as Guizhou Province in Southwest China. Late last year, we found ourselves in the little town of Panjiang, whose major industry happens to be restaurants specializing in the meat of -- well, let's just say it wasn't pigs or cows. Each table was set with not only chopsticks, plates and napkins but also a supply of doggie bags, illustrated with a drawing of a pooch.
Still, in many parts of the world, the doggie bag remains little-known -- or even frowned upon. To investigate the breadth of this sociological phenomenon, we dispatched reporters on three continents to have dinner on us, an assignment that no one turned down. The only proviso was that they leave scraps of almost everything (even in Tokyo, where most portions are small enough to be consumed in a couple of bites) and ask for doggie bags.
Their findings would surprise any American who considers a doggie bag a birthright. "Are you joking?" asked the waitress in Moscow's chic Galleria Cafe, where dinners run around $150 to $400 a person. Eventually, she brought the leftovers of an exquisite crab dish, plus plates of lamb and buckwheat, back to the table in an attractive paper bag with cloth handles custom-made for Galleria. But when we asked for the leftovers of bread and butter, she drew the line. She pretended not to hear us, backed away from the table and scurried out of sight.
The manager later explained why Galleria discourages takeaways. "We use fresh, high-quality products here," he said. "It makes no sense to let it grow old. Pasta dies after 20 minutes; things lose their taste."
CITY/RESTAURANT WHAT WE ORDERED HOW THEY RESPONDED TO THE DOGGIE BAG REQUEST
Rio De Janeiro/Bazzar Salad with goat cheese, filet mignon with apricot sauce and creamy brie cheese over rice Yes, with no questions asked and not a frown.
London/Roast Grilled lemon sole With a polite raised eyebrow and a "yes, of course."
Paris/La Braisière Paté de foie gras, shoulder of lamb, red mullet The server looked taken aback, but said "certainly," without asking any questions.
Moscow/Galleria Café Crab served with eggplant, buckwheat with onions and mushrooms, lamb ribs in buttermilk sauce Acceding reluctantly after asking if we were joking, and pretending not to hear the request to wrap up bread.
Bangkok/Crepes & Co. Smoked salmon crepe, lamb couscous Agreeably.
Singapore/Morton's of Chicago Cajun ribeye steaks It was so anticipated that they asked us if we wanted to wrap up the bread, too.
Tokyo/Torafuku Steaks, tempura, grilled fish With a no, on the grounds that the shopping mall banned all doggie bags for reasons of hygiene.
In Paris, too, we got a look that might be translated as "Zut alors!" At the elegant La Braisiere, specializing in food of the French Southwest, our server was taken aback at our request to take the leftovers home. But since high-end Parisian restaurants make it a point to cater to patrons' whims, the packages arrived neatly wrapped in aluminum foil and plastic wrap, and labeled in black marker pen "fish" and "lamb." When the chef made the rounds of the dining room later that evening, we asked how many people request doggie bags. "None," he replied.
In London, which also doesn't have a doggie-bag culture, the waitress noted that the few people who asked for one were mostly those who had dogs at home. Our grilled lemon sole would hardly appear on a dog's top 10 list. Nevertheless, it was returned to the table in aluminum foil.
But when the scene shifted from Europe to Asia, the willingness to supply doggie bags surpassed even that in the U.S. At the Singapore branch of Morton's of Chicago, a steakhouse, we had a loaf of onion bread to munch on while perusing the menu. When the waitress came back to the table to make room for the massive steaks, she eyed the half-eaten loaf and said brightly, "Can I clear the bread, or can I pack that up for you to take home?" She was just as quick to pack up the remaining steak, with it all coming back to the table in a large, square white plastic bag containing three silver-foil bags stamped with the Morton's logo.
It's not only culturally OK to take away leftovers in Singapore; it's often expected, says Wong Bun Huge, president of the Restaurant Association of Singapore. "People here don't like to waste food and don't like to waste money," he explains.
In Bangkok, too, a doggie bag is the rule rather than the exception, at least at Thai and Chinese restaurants. But there are no cute dog illustrations or poems here. The food -- even scalding hot soup -- is usually poured into clear plastic bags tied at the top with a red rubber band.
In Tokyo, however, we were flatly turned down at a restaurant called Torafuku in a high-end shopping mall. "I'm sorry," said the waiter, "but we don't allow customers to take home any leftovers, no matter what they are." It turned out to be a policy dictated by the mall for all its restaurants, for reasons of hygiene. While there's no law against doggie bags in Japan, the nation's health ministry advises against them.
This advice would win plaudits from the American Dietetic Association, which warns that takeaway food isn't safe to eat unless it's refrigerated and then heated to a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That requires a meat thermometer, the group says, and its survey found that 85% of Americans don't even own one.
--Cris Prystay, Cassell Bryan-Low, James Hookway, Geraldo Samor, Daniel Michaels, Miho Inada and Gregory L. White contributed to this article
我要打包
在1949年，芝加哥一家名叫Bagcraft Papercon包装公司的负责人艾尔?梅斯特(Al Meister)想出一个美国历史上具有代表性的发明。他开发了一种特殊涂层，使纸袋可以抗油脂。这种纸袋上画着一只小狗，还写着一首他妻子做的小诗，第一句是“你的剩菜去向何方？”就这样，世界上第一只打包袋诞生了。
今天，在消耗几百万只打包袋之后，把前一天晚上的剩菜打包作为第二天午餐的做法已成为一种势不可挡的潮流。2002年美国饮食协会(American Dietetic Association)的一次调查显示，91%的美国人有时将饭店吃剩的菜打包回家，32%的人经常这么做。
打包的概念并非只有在美国这个每份食物份量都超大的国家才有。食物历史学家弗朗辛-塞根(Francine Segan)为了撰写关于文艺 兴时期烹饪方面的书籍《莎士比亚的厨房》，曾进行了大量的调查研究，从中她发现英国早有此习俗。她说，那时的主人使用尺寸很大的餐巾，这不仅是因为当时人们用手吃饭，而且也是为了给客人提供盛装剩菜的容器。主人在剩菜上表现的慷慨会给客人留下更好的印象。
现在，打包袋甚至已经深入至中国西南贵州省这样的偏远地区。2005年末，我们来到贵州省潘江镇，那里的餐饮业─尤其是狗肉─十分着名。每张餐桌上不但摆放着筷子、盘子和餐巾纸，而且还提供上面印着小狗形像的打包袋。
不过，在世界其它许多地方，打包袋还未被广泛接受，甚至遭人厌恶。为研究打包现象在世界范围内的流行程度，我们派出驻扎在三大洲的记者去公费吃饭顺带调查─一个谁都不会推辞的好差事。唯一的条件是他们吃的每道菜都要剩下一点（在东京也是如此，即使那里的饭菜量小得可怜，几口就能吃光），然后要求店员打包。
他们的调查结果足以让把打包视为天经地义的美国人吃上一惊。“你在开玩笑吧？”莫斯科高档餐厅Galleria Cafe的店员问道，在那里就餐每人要花150-400美元。最后，店员将一个Galleria特制的、有布质提手的精美纸袋交给客人，里面是装着螃蟹、荞麦羊肉等剩菜的纸盒。不过，当我们要求把面包和黄油也打包时，遭到了断然拒绝。她假装没听到，一溜烟地跑出我们的视线之外。
餐厅经理随后向我们解释为什么Galleria不建议客人打包。“我们这里选用的食材十分新鲜，品质又高，”他说，“没有理由现在不把它们吃完，通心粉20分钟后就味同嚼蜡，好菜搁久了也会索然无味。”
巴黎也是如此。当我们要求打包时，人们露出惊异的表情，仿佛在说“没搞错吧！”在情调优雅、擅长法国西南部烹饪艺术的La Braisiere餐厅，店员听到我们打包剩菜的要求时表现得很惊讶。由于这家法国餐厅特别强调迎合客人的各种需求，店员很快就用锡纸把剩菜整 地包起来，装在塑料袋里拿了过来，锡纸上还用记号笔标着“鱼肉”和“羊肉”。后来当厨师过来询问饭菜是否可口时，我们问他这里有多少人会把剩菜打包。“一个也没有。”他回答道。
伦敦也没有打包的习惯。餐厅招待说，少数几个要求打包的客人也大多是把剩菜带回去给狗吃。我们要求打包的烤檬鲽应该不是狗的十大首选食物，不过店员还是很快把它用锡纸包好给我们送来。
不过，当同样的实验从欧洲移到亚洲后，我们发现亚洲餐厅提供打包服务的热情甚至要超过美国餐厅。在Morton's of Chicago牛排店的新加坡分店，我们要了一条蒜香面包边吃边看菜单。当店员端来大盘子的牛排时，注意到我们桌上还有条吃剩的面包，于是干脆利落地问道：“面包是撤下去，还是打包带走？”她帮我们把吃剩的牛排打包时也同样干脆利落，最后给我们一个白色的大方塑料袋，里面有三个印有Morton's店标的打包盒。
在新加坡，打包是广为接受的习惯，餐厅也预期到客人会要求打包，新加坡酒楼餐馆业公会(Restaurant Association of Singapore)的会长黄万球(Wong Bun Huge)说，“这里的人不喜欢浪费事物，也不喜欢浪费钱。”
曼谷也同样如此。打包是惯例而不是偶然，至少在泰国菜馆和中餐馆是这样的。不过那里的打包袋上没有可爱的小狗图案或诗句。吃剩的饭菜─即使是一点点热汤─都会被倒进干净的塑料袋里，用红色的橡皮筋将袋口绑好。
不过在东京，我们的记者在一家高端购物中心内一个名叫Torafuku的餐厅碰了一鼻子灰。“对不起，”招待说，“不管剩下的是什么菜，本店都不允许客人打包。”结果我们发现，这是那家购物中心出于卫生考虑对所有餐厅提出的要求。虽然在日本没有禁止打包的法律，但日本的卫生部门并不推荐打包行为。
日本的这种做法一定会得到美国饮食协会的赞同。后者也提醒公众说，打包的食品吃起来并不卫生，除非它被放入冰箱储存，并在吃前加热至165华氏度。不过，要做到这点需要配备一个肉类温度计，而该协会表示，其调查发现85%的美国人根本没有这种温度计。
＊＊＊
实地调查一览：
城市/餐馆：里约热内卢/ Bazzar餐厅
我们点了：沙拉配山羊奶酪、小牛排配杏肉沙司、布里白奶酪盖饭
店员对打包要求做出的反应：没问任何问题，没皱一下眉，马上照办。
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城市/餐馆：伦敦/ Roast餐厅
我们点了：烤檬鲽
店员对打包要求做出的反应：很礼貌地表示惊讶，然后说“没问题”。
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城市/餐馆：巴黎/ La Braisiere餐厅
我们点了：法国鹅肝酱、羊肩肉、红鲻鱼
店员对打包要求做出的反应：店员有些迟疑，但回答说“当然可以”，没问任何问题。
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城市/餐馆：莫斯科/ Galleria Cafe餐厅
我们点了：螃蟹配茄子、荞麦配洋葱和蘑菇、黄油沙司羊排
店员对打包要求做出的反应：在问我们是否开玩笑后，迟疑地同意，假装没有听见我们把面包打包的要求。
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城市/餐馆：曼谷/ Crepes & Co.餐厅
我们点了：熏三文鱼、粗麦粉蒸羊肉
店员对打包要求做出的反应：照办。
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城市/餐馆：新加坡/ Morton's of Chicago餐厅
我们点了：Cajun眼肉牛排
店员对打包要求做出的反应：早就预料到会要求打包，还问我们要不要把面包也一块儿带走。
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城市/餐馆：东京/ Torafuku餐厅
我们点了：牛排、天麸罗、烤鱼
店员对打包要求做出的反应：予以拒绝，并说明购物中心出于卫生考虑禁止所有餐馆提供打包服务。
