Big chain restaurants are now serving smaller portions. It's healthy, but is it satisfying?
It's the big gulp theory. The basic laws of restaurant economics state that meals keep getting bigger because food is cheap and fixed overhead--staff, rent, equipment--is the same no matter how much is piled on your plate. So giant servings are a win-win: you pay a little extra for a lot more food, and the restaurant makes extra profit. It's the same rule that created tubs of movie popcorn, venti-size coffee cups and Burger King's Meat'normous Omelet Sandwich. It's why no restaurant will ever give you a reasonably sized stack of pancakes.
So it's surprising that T.G.I. Friday's and the Cheesecake...
