Charles, the simple answer are county and state food safety regulations as to why restaurants typically don’t encourage diners to pick food / leftovers from another’s plate, basket, etc.

Nothing stopping individuals from deciding to share whatever (as in your pickle case) but I would recommend caution with your tot scenario unless you know why / how they are there (example, if say I dropped something on the floor, I will pick it up at the end of my meal).

Aside, did someone from King County Health wrong TS? You all seem to be full libertarian on food safety lately (and aside, Portland has an awesome food truck scene that’s completely in compliance with city and county regs).

This was great. A few years ago a friend and I were out for burgers and drinks following an exhausting mountain bike ride down here in Portland. We both devoured our sandwich and fries, and then my friend noticed a woman next to him getting up to leave with some fries left on her plate, and he just casually as fuck asked if he could have them. She obliged without hesitation and I marveled with envy at his gall and confidence. I couldn't do that, and the reasons for that self-conscious insecurity are entirely on me. Had the woman said no he wouldn't have given a shit, nor would I, and we'd have just gone on about talking about the ride and enjoying one another's company. We as a society should absolutely destigmatize the awkwardness that surrounds these types of encounters, though we won't.

I will absolutely ask any of my family members for food off their plates. I don't have the guts to ask anyone else for the same. I admire people who can cross that simple line.

mine eyes were Opened
in either Swedish or Virginia
Mason's cafeteria's tray-depositing
situation when a young man came in
the exiting area, spied an unfinished sammy
examined it stuck it his jacket pocket turned & left

hungry enough to risk discarded hospital cafeteria food

I wondered if I'd ever find myself
doing the same and so far
have been Fortunate.

@2 & 3
if Cadet Bonespurs
gets His way, Many of
us'll Soon lose our Bashfulness

or go to bed Hungry

and then
there's all
those Children

@Mike
yeah this
Was pretty Great

Charles Muhdik deserves a minimum of $70,000 a year for this bullshit

The real issue in my opinion is that restaurants and delis and grocery stores aren't allowed to give away uneaten food at the end of the night. I worked at a grocery store and every night we had to dump pounds and pounds of deli food (some of it pretty freshly made) into the trash bin every night. We weren't allowed to give it to employees or customers and we definitely weren't allowed to give it to homeless people. One time someone ordered 14 pizzas for a party and never came to pick them up. Into the trash they went. I asked if we could at least just take them to the breakroom to let the night crew and bag boys graze off of it and was told it was against the law.

But anyway...

Yes, I'm going to eat my pickle.

@6 I think your employer misunderstood the law, especially regarding the pizzas. There's no imaginable reason why untouched, properly prepared and/or stored food that's deemed fit for customer consumption has to be discarded rather than donated, eaten or taken home by staff.

You moronic libprogs demanded that people show "vaccine passports" to enter restaurants and made restaurants build stupid useless outdoor structures for people to eat in, and later demanded that those same useless outdoor structures be torn down or the restaurant would face fines. Shut the fuck up