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Comment by close04 | Hacker News Reader

The description seems a bis disingenuous. There are are plenty of leftovers they just don't end up in a classic trash bin. I was hoping to read how they developed a method to serve perfectly sized portions or continuously adjust the size so there's no food thrown away. It's probably a holy grail in the restaurant industry.

In reality could operate without any trash pickup translates to compostable waste is composted, non-compostable waste is recycled, other waste is donated. Recycle and compost. Which is great but not really "no leftovers". Is recycling paper worse than composting it? Recycling glass worse than reusing it?

> a dishwashing setup that converts salt into soap

I have to admit I don't understand this one. Converting salt into soap? Are they talking about actual saponification of fats from leftover food or something else?

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Before getting to the "perfect size portion", US restaurants can start by cutting the portion size in half. Really, you guys servings size are really crazy.

Maybe offer free refill for customers really hungry (AFTER they're done with their initial serving).

>you guys servings size are really crazy

Maybe it depends where one eats. I hear people saying this and I eat out all over the US and Europe and I guess I don't see this large and systematic difference in portion sizes that people claim--especially of the main/protein ingredient.

Mainly because Europe has caught up, as evidenced by many peoples' waistlines this side of the pond.

this is key insight - large portions tend to be mostly massive quantities of cheap carbs like rice and potatoes. the expensive proteins tend to be very "sensible" portions lol.

Most restaurants I've been to (in the US) serve me approximately twice as much food as a actually want. It's so wasteful, as it means that I'm throwing away half of the food each time.

i might be confused, but are you suggesting ala carte restaurants all convert to some form of AYCE system? or would it be a single free refill for the REALLY HUNGRY? cause i'm a big boy and can eat quite a bit, but more so than that, i'm a HUGE value guy. if you tell me i pay the same price and get two plates of food IF i'm hungry versus one plate if i'm not, you better bet i'm only going when i'm hungry and can eat two plates.

i honestly don't see how anyone can possibly see your suggestion as a sensible one. by the way, if you cut my portion size in half, you better cut the price in half too, otherwise i'm not coming back. i'm going to that NEW restaurant across the street who offers what you used to. i love big portions because i can bring leftovers home - i don't care that other people who cannot control their appetites finish the whole plate instead and get obese, that's their own problem not mine.

>if you cut my portion size in half, you better cut the price in half too,

Nah, they just need to shave $1 off and call it tapas. :-)

I'm being mildly snarky. I like tapas for the variety. But, in part, because they mostly don't have the relative filler you have in a typical big dish main, they tend to be relatively pricey.

Look at it the other way around... maybe they could have "half portion" options for those of us who would be tossing the extra food in the trash.

I'd take that every time -- even if I were charged the same as the full portion (since it doesn't matter in the end, as I'm throwing half of the full portion away anyhow.)

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