large booking at restaurant- how to split the bill?

NewShadow

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Without wanting to provoke another row:( isn't the difference that those who aren't drinking alcohol are drinking something rather than just standing round with their hands in their pockets looking on?

And the person at the meal might be drinking a coffee or a glass of wine in leu of a dessert, or talking about the menu, their day, the weather... you know, being sociable.

Biggest issue I've had (eating lunch with a colleague or out with friends) is that you've got to take turns to eat!

I tend to keep chatting while they might just be asking the odd question or comment - it meant I need to neck my food to finish it before the plates get cleared.

Alternatively I've gone to lunch with a chatty friend and we've both left food uneaten because the waiter's brought the next course before we've really even had chance to get started (because everyone else on the table's ready to progress).

NewShadow

LilElvis wrote: »

Genuine question. How can coconut milk be "healthier" than cows milk if my fresh whole milk has 3.6g of fat (2.3g saturated)/100ml whilst the can of Reduced Fat coconut milk comes in at 8.4g of fat (7.5g saturated)/100ml? Presumably the can of "regular" coconut milk would have an even higher fat content. Why are maple syrup, date syrup (and presumably also agave syrup and honey) any "healthier" than sugar produced from sugar cane or beet? They are all "sugar"!

why does fat mean unhealthy?

onlyroz

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Well, that's a jump and a total lack of comprehension skills if ever I saw them!

And are you also suggesting that a pub's a suitable night out for a recovering alcoholic?

Surely it entirely depends on the sufferer. Some anorexics will be OK going into a restaurant whereas others won't be. Some alcoholics will be OK going into a pub whereas others won't be. However, neither should have to justify their choices to anybody, or to be judged by them.

onlyroz

NewShadow wrote: »

why does fat mean unhealthy?

My mind is still boggling at the concept of reduced fat coconut milk

NewShadow

onlyroz wrote: »

However, neither should have to justify their choices to anybody, or to be judged by them.

Or explain the history behind them...

onlyroz

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Good sense at last, thanks

Your fish-hating and vegan friends should not imo go to places where they serve food they find abhorrent. If they chose to do so, they should refrain from criticising (either verbally or non-verbally) someone else's choice and just get on with eating their own.

I think I said pretty much the same thing a few posts back. Nobody likes a misery guts. But not all vegans/dieters/anorexics/people with small appetites/people with a lack of funds will behave like this.

onlyroz

Andypandyboy wrote: »

However, we also have personal responsibility, and that means not going to place x if you would really rather not and then behave such that it is obvious to others that you are not enjoying it, or not going to place x if you don't want to do what the majority want to do, or not going to place x if you will simply moan that there is nothing on the menu you fancy or can afford. We all make choices and often those choices affect others, reasonable people accept that and try to mitigate that effect.

I'd agree with all of this. However, you (and others) seem to be suggesting that everybody who chooses to eat less than others will behave in the way you describe. I know plenty of people with small appetites who are perfectly content to wait for others to finish their courses, and just want to enjoy the company.

Peter333

missbiggles1 wrote: »

All on the menu at the same time and as well as a range of meat dishes?:eek:

Sorry, I meant you can have any one of these meals as an alternative to a meat meal, and many pubs/restaurants/eateries will offer at least a few of these.

duchy wrote: »

Actually my experience as a drinker and a non drinker and as an observer whilst working in pubs is the people who get bent out of shape aren't the non drinkers but the drinkers who take it as their mission to biatch and complain if one or more of their group isn't drinking alcohol and try and persuade them to join them in drinking alcohol.

Why it matters so much to them is as baffling to me as the people who claim me opting out of a starter would ruin their meal. We aren't all sheep after all !

I agree. I think many people are fine not drinking (alcohol,) when they are at the pub. I am! It's people getting trollied who are more likely to have an issue with the teetotal person, than the other way about.

That said though, I think a pub is a place better avoided for an alcoholic. Well maybe it would be ok at lunchtime, but on a raving night out full of most people getting drunk, it may be best avoided.

As for people who have eating disorders; I don't think they should be avoiding eating out, as people shouldn't be so rude as to comment on what they eat anyway. As someone said earlier, whether people are eating less because they have an eating disorder, or they have little money, or they are just not a huge eater; it's naff-all to do with anyone else.

Kim_kim

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I have been to an 'all-you-can-eat' Asian restaurant and seen people pile their plates high and then leave half of it.

That's about it.

I think to take food & waste it is far far worse than to pig out & eat masses.

LilElvis

NewShadow wrote: »

why does fat mean unhealthy?

I was asking why certain "sugar alternatives" are deemed to be "healthier" than sugar from cane or beet, ditto for coconut milk versus cows milk. Saturated fats do have health implications, if eaten excessively. This is from someone who's favourite ice cream recipe is made with strawberries, double cream, caster sugar and a squirt of lemon juice.