Or conversely, do you ask for a doggie bag to make the server feel better when you don't like your food -- and then toss it when you get outside the restaurant?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I have indeed done that on occasion.

I think the whole bit about the server bringing you the container started in California years ago. When my mother comes here to visit, she can never finish all her food, and she has been expecting the container treatment for years now. I remember being very surprised by this in the beginning. I prefer places that create the fancy little foil swan to encase the goodies myself!

I always had the impression that it might might be a liability issue. If you place the food in the container you can only blame yourself for what is in there. If the server takes food out of sight to package the patron could always go home and "find" a roach or maybe a finger a la the Wendys accusation.

danny meyer's restaurants, in nyc provide absolute service from the beginning to the end which incl. packaging left overs w/ house baked cookies and brownies. then again, the avg. price per person in one of his restaurants is $65 pp. this may allo him to incr. labor costs to and attention to service.

I've asked for doggie bags at the Inn at Little Washington and the Greenbrier, and at both places the staff were gracious as they boxed up the leftovers.

A server in upstate/western NY once told me that the health dept. up there wouldn't allow them to take food back into the kitchen after it had been served ... I always prefer them to do it, personally. And you could always give leftovers to a homeless/hungry person, if they want it.

We ate at The Trellis in Williamsburg and they did the beautiful foil swan treatment for the leftovers. Since we were staying in a suite with mini-fridge & microwave, this worked well for our lunch the next day.

I like the idea of the server taking your leftovers and packaging it for you. And if you have ever been to PF Chang's they wrap it up for you, but do it tableside so you can keep your eye on the food the whole time :-)

Grand restaurant or not, I paid for the food, so I am taking it with me if I didn't eat all of it. I prefer them bringing a box to the table, though the waiter should do the transferring of food, not me - especially if it is a messy dish and I am dressed up. On one occassion have I had a restaurant box up someting in the kitchen and then open it to find someone else's leftovers when I went to reheat them. Yuck! But the story that takes the cake is a holier-than-thou co-worker years ago. We worked at Inner Harbor East and walked to Little Italy for a nice lunch...Aldo's, I think. After substituting numerous things in the dish or on the plate, and eating very little of it, she purposely left the boxed up lefovers on the table - thinking they'd "get the hint" that it was an awful lunch! Maybe if she had ordered what was on the menu...?

Why is it considered a virtue for restaurants to overstuff their patrons, so they have to take some of their meal home? this has now come to be considered a "customer's right". Unfortunatele, reviewers, including you, Elizabeth, have contributed to this by applauding the large quantities served in their reviews.
I would like to pay for what I can reasonably eat, and not for one good meal and one second rate one two days later.

Show me one review where I applauded large portions. I dare you :-)