Mean

I'm not sure this qualifies as mean. I call it thrifty.

If my DH and I eat lunch out and we have uneaten chips, I ask for a doggy bag and stick them in the fridge on our return, till the next day.

I cut them into small pieces, get the pan hot, spray on a little oil, pop the chips in, then sprinkle ground garlic on them. Goes well with creamy, scrambled eggs and fresh tomatoes.

My dear old mother has Alheimer's and is somewhat eccentric. One of her famous-in-the-family party pieces is taking home her restaurant leftovers when we take her out to lunch. The best day ever, for sheer comic gold, was when she wrapped up a poached egg (complete with soft yolk) and put it in her handbag. She is dead jammy too and got it home intact. We laughed until the tears ran. Go, grandma!

My sister is like that when we go out to a cafe if I am buying she will have a pot of tea if she is buying she orders one pot of tea and will ask for a cup of hot water then she will use my tea bag out of my pot and put it in her cup of water.

wellingtonpie....not sure what you mean

My MIL wasn't mean, she was just very careful having lived through the war, been widowed and was used to rationing.

We are so wasteful these days.

She was my MIL too - she always wrapped up meat and even battered fish from her dinner in a paper napkin and took it home for the next day.

Haha, just seen the previous post. Must have the same MIL!

My MIL no longer takes home leftover meat for her dog. She forgot it was in her seldom used handbag. You can imagine the rest - not pleasant ? !

MIL could never finish a restaurant meals would surreptitiously(!) wrap the meat in a tissue and secrete it in her handbag. This was fine by us until the time she got home feeling tired, forgot the 'package', which my SIL found days later. False economy as the handbag was in such a bad state and had to be disposed of.

A friend of mine told me she asked for the turkey carcass at the local Carvery as they were about to take it off the hot plate. They bagged it up for her and she took it home and made soup and sandwiches the next day from it. Not sure if I'd have the nerve to ask.

Katek
It's common practice in Indian restaurants to ask for a doggy bag to take home the leftovers from your meal.

My DM always has a plastic bag in her handbag or will ask for a "doggie bag", she's done that for years.

A few years ago my DM & I went out for Christmas Day to a lovely local pub, food was supurb but DM had a very heavy cold & couldn't eat much of her main course. The Owner came over very concerned so we reassured her food was lovely but DM was ill & couldn't eat up. She asked if we would like a "doggie bag" to which we replied "yes please". She came back with a plastic box, there was all my DM's plus the veg we hadn't eaten - enough for Boxing Day lunch

H & S is a "red herring" - you've paid for your meal so any leftovers are yoursgo prepared, I also carry a plastic bag in my handbag

Not hard up. Have always carried plastic box when eating out. Hate waste. helpings far to large. Great fun turning them into something different.

I didn't marry him
although someone I know did, often wonder how she is.

That's tight crikey.

I went out with someone when we were students who told me off for using a fresh match each time I lit a gas ring. Matches should be saved and re-lit from the lit ring, never mind burned fingers.

I remember being in a steak restaurant with friends. We all had leftover steak so i said I'd take it home for our cat. Everyone tipped it into my napkin and i came home and put it in our fridge. The next day it was gone. My teenage son had come home from a night out and eaten the lot. He was horrified when he realised it had come off four different plates. He still recalls that now.

My dad was always very 'careful' with his money. No wonder as he was brought up in terrible poverty. He got worse as he got older and when my younger sister was a teenager he would take the plug off the hairdryer as he thought it took too much electricity!

I have a friend who years ago when she was with her husband bought the little sachets of coffee and would take a turn on alternate days on who's turn it was for coffee It was embarrassing when she would ask him was it your turn for coffee yesterday??

RAF Ewwwwwwww... what if the previous diner had a nasty virus or something.

Gosh, Crafty, that was really odd.

Coming from the US, you get such huge portions, that doggy-bags are a must. That's even in normal restaurants.

This is an extreme example, but my DH watches 'Fast & Loud', a car make-over show and the owners went to this Texas steak house where you are served a 72 OZ STEAK (isn't that 4 pounds?) and have to eat it all, to get it for free. Link is OK, just shows you the steak on the plate. There are YT videos of people eating it, but I could not 'stomach' watching that. The car show chap could not finish his at all.

bigtexan.com/72-oz-steak/

I have to admit I was gobsmacked when we went out for lunch with friends, and there was a shortage of tables. Eventually found one that had yet to be cleared, and my friend started eating the chips that had been left on the plate by a previous occupant!!!!

Back in early 70s my (very odd) cousin came from Canada to stay. My Dad took him all over London to see sights. On the first day they went into a very nice restaurant for lunch & when they had finished he started looking around. Before dad could stop him he went over to a man who had pushed his plate away with some food left on it & asked if he could finish it. My poor Dad was horrified. He then proceeded to do the same again to someone else. Dad told him we do NOT do that in UK & got him out quickly. Cousin (who was mid 20s so should have known better) was adamant that it was a good thing to do as he had lived for a couple of years in Thailand & they never waste food there.
Believe me he had many more odd ways- scoured all my brand new- wedding present -teflon saucepans while I was out at work as they were 'dirty' & he got all that nasty black stuff off them!
He was actually on his way back to Canada via UK & we never heard what his mother thought of his new ways. We didn't dare ask!

Always remember going to a really posh restaurant with my mum, grandma and aunt who was over for a holiday from USA. We ordered steaks and when they arrived we saw grandma wrapping hers in a napkin and putting it in her handbag, aunt asks what she's doing and she says...that will be for colin's ( son still at home) tea tomorrow night.
This was in the days before doggy bags, we just sat there with our mouths open hoping the waiter hadn't noticed. Can laugh about it now though

I can;t see anything wrong with people taking home things from their own plate. In Canada being offered a doggy bag is standard and in Chinese restaurant you usually get enough for a second meal.
It should become the norm here. There is no reason to waste food.
I have a relative who always finishes the food from other people's place which I find a bit unpleasant particularly as he is obese. Last time I met him he told me that he has sleep apnoea and melodramatically said that he could die from it and that there is no cure. He is not close enough that I felt that I could point out that losing weight often works.