
Today we look at restaurant leftovers and how it ties in with social class
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Lindsay McMahon
This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2461 Leftovers Culture and Class welcome to the All Ears English podcast. Downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl. Coming to you from Colorado and New York City usa. To get real time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward/app.
Michelle Kaplan
In today's episode we ask, do you take leftovers home from a restaurant? Is this accepted in your culture? Plus find out how to ask for a doggy bag in English.
Lindsay McMahon
Are you still translating from your native language into English in your head? Are you always getting confused between the different grammar tenses? Let's figure out what you need. Work on find your current English level with our five minute quiz@allersenglish.com fluency score. Hey there Michelle. How's it going today?
Michelle Kaplan
Good, Lindsay. I am at my parents house so I'm in a different spot but we're making it work. How are you? Good.
Lindsay McMahon
Michelle, is that the home that you grew up in your parents house or is that another home they move to later?
Michelle Kaplan
No, this is their like an apartment that they moved. Okay, got it.
Lindsay McMahon
Okay.
Michelle Kaplan
To like I might be maybe close to seven years ago, so. Yeah.
Lindsay McMahon
Wow.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah. Yeah.
Lindsay McMahon
It reminds me of. Well, today we're talking about a really interesting topic. Michelle. Do you often take leftovers home when you eat out at a restaurant?
Michelle Kaplan
I would say if there are leftovers I will take them home pretty much every time. The only time I won't is when it's such a small amount that it's embarrassing to ask.
Lindsay McMahon
Or like bread or something that's sort of superfluous, right? Yeah, no, totally. Yeah.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah. Well, yeah, the other day I had bread leftovers and, and I felt so bad I didn't know what to do with it. I wouldn't, you know, so I just kind of held it.
Lindsay McMahon
You held it? I walked out with their. With the bread in your hand or something?
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, yeah. So. So yeah, some people. What about you?
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, I, I'm all about leftovers, Michelle. Some people think that the flavors actually get better the next day. The one thing I can't do is cold leftovers. Like I know a lot of people that like cold pizza.
Michelle Kaplan
The next. I was just going to ask you.
Lindsay McMahon
I cannot do that. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. But I know a lot of people can. Yeah, no, I need it to be warmed up. But as long as it's warmed up, I'm. I'm good. I'm down with leftovers.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, some things just aren't good as leftovers. Like French fries.
Lindsay McMahon
Oh, yeah, they get kind of soggy.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, they just get soggy. And yeah, it's just not going to work out. I mean, I suppose if you put them in the oven or the toaster or something, you could make do. But yeah, some things don't work as well as other leftovers. But.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, we should define what are leftovers. Yeah, I mean, but first, before we get into that, though, let's remind our listeners. What should our listeners do? What should our listeners do?
Michelle Kaplan
Make sure you hit the follow button wherever you're listening to Allers English, so you never miss anything from us. So if you haven't already. Where? Wherever you're listening, just hit the follow button.
Lindsay McMahon
Excellent. All right, so what are leftovers, Michelle? What are they?
Michelle Kaplan
Leftovers are what is literally left over. Right. So you were at a restaurant, you ate, but maybe you still had a half of the meal or a quarter of the meal left, and then they are left over and then you take them home.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah. I wonder, our listeners are probably going to want to know, does it also. Does the term also qualify if you just made a meal and didn't eat at all? What do you think, Michelle? Does that qualifies?
Michelle Kaplan
I was actually just gonna say that. Yes. Also that is left over. So yesterday I ate some leftovers. So it was. I. I ate some leftovers, but also to kind of supplement the leftovers, which is kind of. I feel like that's a good word for talking about leftovers because sometimes you just have a little bit, but you need to make something a little bit more. So you could say to supplement. So then we also had some salmon. So.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, I love that. Yeah. Some people will cook one meal and then plan to have leftovers, like to take into work or something or to school.
Michelle Kaplan
Meal prep.
Lindsay McMahon
Right, the meal prep thing. Yes.
Michelle Kaplan
All right.
Lindsay McMahon
Where are we going to with this episode? This is going to be a cultural episode today, Michelle.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, this is, this is going to be interesting. I'm excited. So we're going to. We're kind of going to do two things today. We're going to talk about actual language that is used around leftover with a restaurant specifically. And then we're also going to talk about an article and Some of the main points from the article and give our take on that. So this is going to be very interesting. But Lindsay, do you usually, are you, are you a member of the clean plate club? So should you.
Lindsay McMahon
I'm not.
Michelle Kaplan
Clean your plate. Do you know what? Have you ever heard that, do you usually do club?
Lindsay McMahon
I haven't heard but I have definitely heard clean, clean your plate. And it's funny because I think the thinking has really changed on this throughout the generations. So.
Michelle Kaplan
Yes.
Lindsay McMahon
So no, I'm not a member of the club. I don't feel like it's necessary. But if you look at the way I was just talking to my father in law about this this past weekend, you know he is in his mid-60s, right. And so when his parents were raising him in the 50s, they said clean your plate, you must clean your plate. Because they grew up, I mean the, the Great depression, World War II, no money, no food. But now, not for everyone, there's still food scarcity and food insecurity. Don't get me wrong, in the US it is a real thing, Michelle. But a lot of people, at least in my world are not food and lacking food. And so that's no longer really a thing that parents that I are telling their kids. What do you think Michelle? You have kids, Tell us what you will say.
Michelle Kaplan
Well, what I've seen, what I've seen is on a lot of, there's kind of this effort of like not forcing kids, right. And trying to get them to follow their natural hunger cues. And so if you're pushing the kid to, you have to finish or you have to eat this. The idea is that it can also cause some kind of psychological, you know, damage around food and the way they see food and like having you have to eat it or you have to like. Yeah, it's, it's. There's so much to say about this. It's very interesting actually. But yeah, I don't, I don't force my kids to eat what they don't want but I do try to save what they don't eat. Right. I love that.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, no, that's a good approach. Yeah, I think it's interesting. It's. How do you teach children to have that internal monitor of. I know in Japan they have this or they used to. I'm not sure if this is still a thing used to say that they eat until they're 80% fat full and like that's comfortable, you don't feel uncomfortable, you feel good, you're full enough, but you're not Stuffed like we get when we go to restaurants. When you go to an American restaurant, you get this huge plate of food, and for some reason, at least I'll speak from my own experience, you feel pressured to eat, eat it all or something. I don't know what that's about.
Michelle Kaplan
Well, also, I mean, the problem with my kids when they don't finish something is then Dan and I go for it. So then we're eating like, you know, a meal and a half, basically because we're trying to eat what our kids won't eat. Or it's there and it looks good and we're just going to eat it. But that's not good either.
Lindsay McMahon
So it's not good.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, not good. So anyway, we're going to talk now about what are the things you can actually say. So when you're at a restaurant, what is usually said? So what might you hear the waiter or waitress say to you? That how could they ask you?
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, how could they ask you? So they might say, can I get you a box? Or Can I get you a couple of boxes? Now, most of the time these days, they'll bring you the box. They used to take the leftovers back and package them up. That's gone away.
Michelle Kaplan
I don't know when that places, but mostly I find you're doing your own leftover, right?
Lindsay McMahon
That's right, yeah. What would be something else they might say?
Michelle Kaplan
You might hear them say, would you like to take this to go?
Lindsay McMahon
Or we love this phrase, Can I get you a doggy bag?
Michelle Kaplan
Right.
Lindsay McMahon
Can I get you a doggy bag? And it has nothing to do with dogs. I don't know why, Michelle, actually.
Michelle Kaplan
Actually, I do have a question for you. Do you ever bring kefir? Give kefir your leftovers.
Lindsay McMahon
Oh, no, he doesn't. Sometimes my partner will feed him yogurt and I get mad every time. I don't. He does not. He's a slim trim boy. He needs to stay in shape. He eats his own food. That's it.
Michelle Kaplan
That's good. That's impressive. Because I know sometimes people will say, oh, I'm bringing this. I mean, because I have a feeling that's where it actually comes from. But I don't know, right? Like, oh, a bag to literally bring it home for your dog.
Lindsay McMahon
Ever thought of that? That's so interesting.
Michelle Kaplan
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but it makes sense, right?
Lindsay McMahon
It makes sense. It makes sense. Yeah. So what can we. What can we say then? What else do we need to know language wise?
Michelle Kaplan
Sure. So, yeah, I mean, just answer yes or no or, you know, then they might, you know, if, if, you know, they might say, how many boxes do you need? And just tell them so. And, and if they don't ask, they might be coming back to check on you and they might say something like, and I think we've talked about this. Are you done with that? Or are you still working? And that could also be a really for you to then ask for the doggy bag or whatever you want to call it. Yeah.
Lindsay McMahon
And this is. I know we've covered this on another episode before on Allerclers. The whole working. Why. Why do we say are you still working? To me, are you still eating? It makes me wonder. And I highly doubt that in Spanish or French you could use the word work and apply that to eating. I doubt it. I would love to know from our listeners.
Michelle Kaplan
Right.
Lindsay McMahon
In different Romance languages if that's the case. I doubt it, Michelle, but it's hilarious. It's so weird.
Michelle Kaplan
It is weird. It is weird. But I don't know. That's just what we say. So now let's talk about what. How can you ask, right? They come around and they ask you if you need anything else or whatever. You could say something like, could we get some boxes?
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, it's kind of just the flip of what the. Of what the waiter waitress has asked you.
Michelle Kaplan
Right.
Lindsay McMahon
Could we get this wrapped up?
Michelle Kaplan
We could say, and then of course, back to the doggy bag. Would it be possible to get a doggy bag? So these are some ways that you can open the conversation.
Lindsay McMahon
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Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, I mean, listen, I don't know. I'm. I. I think. Well, okay, I will say this. Do you feel a little bit awkward asking for a box from a fancier restaurant?
Lindsay McMahon
Yes, I will answer. Yes, I do. I do. I do think there's an unwritten rule that I'm vaguely aware of. Not because I go to fancy restaurants that much, but I don't know, just in my periphery. Right. I'm aware that when you go to the best restaurant in town and you're spending a couple hundred dollars, you may not ask. It may be kind of a faux pas in American culture. Do you agree?
Michelle Kaplan
Which is so unfair. I. I agree, but I think I. I think that's unfair. What, are you supposed to just not eat it and then you're wasting it? Or is that just kind of a. Oh, I don't need, you know, to eat all of it. I can go here tomorrow.
Lindsay McMahon
I mean, I think it is. It's a. It's a. I don't like.
Michelle Kaplan
That makes me uncomfortable.
Lindsay McMahon
And I do think in American culture, in 99 of restaurants, you could still ask. Right. You can break these rules in our culture, there are some cultures where you can't break the rules. Right. But you can hear, so you can ask. I'm sure they have bags and boxes even in the fanciest places, but. Yeah, I mean, they already give you very small portions.
Michelle Kaplan
It feels a little different. Yeah, yeah. The other time, you can't. The other time is like, if you go to a buffet that's really kind of. You're not gonna really ask for. For leftovers or take leftovers there or especially. What if I don't go to really a lot of all you canate buffets, but you can't, like, then pack your stuff. Oh, my gosh.
Lindsay McMahon
I think I was. I was listening to the Wall Street Journal podcast about. Was it Red Lobster? I think it's Red Lobster. I don't want to get the brand name wrong, but they did this campaign. Do you eat there at all at Red Lobster?
Michelle Kaplan
I have, but I got in a long time.
Lindsay McMahon
Maybe it was Legal Seafoods. I don't know which one it was, but they did. One of them did the bottomless shrimp campaign. And they got. And customers would come in with, like, buckets of stuff and just take bottomless shrimp and leave. It didn't go well for the bottom line.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Lindsay McMahon
It is a faux pas to bring a box or. Or after a box at a buffet. Because the idea is all you can eat in the restaurant.
Michelle Kaplan
Right. Exactly. Well, now that I. I don't know if we'll do a whole episode on this, but I guess it's just a brief thing to mention bottomless. Right. A lot of times you'll hear, so bottomless shrimp. You'll also hear bottomless brunch. Right. Like bottle bottomless. That means that you can have as much as you want. So that's a good word to know.
Lindsay McMahon
Y. Yep.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, for sure. But let's get into. So one of the things was, Lindsay, I was telling you this story. I mean, when I traveled in India, when I travel, it's. It's harder to do leftovers. Right. You're usually going around all day. You don't want to have the food with you. You don't want to get sick from eating food that's been out. Yeah. So you're not going to carry it around generally. And so I. When I was in India, we were eating with our tour guide, and she was very nice, and I was really enjoying the tour. And then we got food with her, and, you know, we couldn't finish it. And it was hot food, and it was meat, and it wasn't something that you're going to take around in the hot weather and everything. But I didn't finish, and she kind of yelled at me a little bit, you know, because I guess the idea is, you know, that food scarcity is so real. And she felt, oh, no, you have to finish your food. And, you know, I. I felt bad because normally I do get leftovers. I don't like to waste food. But. Yeah, so that was kind of an uncomfortable moment.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah. That's really interesting. Absolutely. When we travel, we're. We're hit with all sorts of different cultural values, you know, ways of being polite or being impolite. I think it's just so good to travel and to have these conversations to raise our.
Michelle Kaplan
Forget that. I'll never forget that one.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah.
Michelle Kaplan
But also, there is an article on the New York Times. So this was on March 18th by Allison Krueger, and it was called, is the Doggy Bad Dead? Has that. Restaurateurs in big cities have noticed a somewhat surprising shift in diner behavior. Behavior.
Lindsay McMahon
And what was she saying in. In the article? Itself, Michelle, are saying that people are not using the doggy bag. People are not taking leftovers home as much anymore.
Michelle Kaplan
Is that. Yeah. So it does talk about how people are seeing they're a lot more food being left behind and there's a lot of waste every year at restaurants. Yeah. And kind of going to what you said there. There is talk of one possibility being that now it's so easy to just. People order food. Right. You can. You can just get it again. It's just there. I mean, again, this is not for. Of course there are people. You can't. Not everyone. Right.
Lindsay McMahon
Like.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah, but if you. Or if you are fortunate to be able to have the funds to get more food. Okay. You didn't finish your food there. Okay, well, tomorrow I can just order it on grubhub or. So it's not. It's not as big of a deal to leave things behind.
Lindsay McMahon
Interesting, interesting.
Michelle Kaplan
And another thing they mentioned was going on dates. If you're going on a date with someone and you have leftovers, then do you take them? And people might feel a little uncomfortable taking them when you're on a date.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, no, that's a good question. Right. Because you wouldn't sit down in a first date and give all these intimate details about your financial situation. But in some ways, not necessarily. But it can give information about, you know, like, what is your financial situation, though not necessarily so fascinating. Michelle, there's a lot here.
Michelle Kaplan
There is a lot here. One other thing that I thought was very interesting was they were talking about the pandemic and how people were, of course, not sharing food then, but now they do. And sometimes they even mention how there's this question sometimes with, well, like, who takes the food?
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, right.
Michelle Kaplan
You're going. You're going out. And then people are sharing and it's like, who takes ownership of the food? So. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Lots of. Lots of very interesting points, even around food just going bad, you know, if you're not going home right away.
Lindsay McMahon
Yeah, absolutely.
Michelle Kaplan
Yeah. Some did say that leftovers are still very common. So just. Those were just some of the things that I. That I wanted to point out from the article. Yeah.
Lindsay McMahon
I mean, anytime we can look at how culture might be shifting. I know in the US Right now we have, like, major class clashes going on, kind of. There's an underlying tension around class more than anything happening in the US Right now, which I. We're all tracking. Right. We're seeing it happen. And there are little things we can look at that give evidence of this and Even something as simple as leftovers might be in there. Really fascinating. Michelle, do we have time for a role?
Michelle Kaplan
I don't know. Do we?
Lindsay McMahon
I don't know either. Let's do one of these role plays. Michelle, which one is. Which one do you want to do?
Michelle Kaplan
Let's go for it. Let's go for number two. Okay, so here you are the. The waitress, and I am the customer.
Lindsay McMahon
Okay. All right, here we go. Are you done with that or are you still working?
Michelle Kaplan
I'm done, thanks. Would it be possible to get a doggy bag?
Lindsay McMahon
Absolutely. I'll bring out a couple boxes.
Michelle Kaplan
Thanks.
Lindsay McMahon
Excellent. So we just showed you here in this role play that I asked as the waitress, are you done with that or are you still working? Again, there's that weird use of the word to work, meaning eating, right? Yes, we're working on it. Are you still working on that? You might hear. Right?
Michelle Kaplan
Working on it. Yeah, you could say that as well. And then I said, I'm done. Thanks. And then I used this. I said, would it be possible to get a doggy bag?
Lindsay McMahon
Excellent. So we see just a few of those vocabulary words. Michelle, what's another episode our listeners could go to?
Michelle Kaplan
Where could they go? Yeah, Check out episode 2455 was, should you poke fun at someone's niche interests? Really good stuff there. Yeah.
Lindsay McMahon
And just as a takeaway, this has been fascinating because we're not just talking about restaurants, ordering and leftovers. We're actually talking about culture and politeness and class and food insecurity, really deeper issues, which our listeners could use this as a model to get into a great conversation and connection with someone to talk about each other's countries.
Michelle Kaplan
Right, Absolutely. Because I would. I, you know, I wish we had a whole panel of listeners on this conversation so we could hear their opinions and how it is. This is a really, I mean, this is just a very universal topic and so to hear how it could vary between areas of the world, between class. So interesting.
Lindsay McMahon
Really good stuff, guys. If you love our style of connection, not perfection, hit the follow button right now or the subscribe if you're on YouTube. Okay, Michelle, good stuff today. I'll see you back here very soon. Have a good one.
Michelle Kaplan
All right, bye, guys.
Lindsay McMahon
Bye. Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.
Michelle Kaplan
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All Ears English Podcast Summary
Episode: AEE 2461: Leftovers, Culture, and Class
Release Date: August 14, 2025
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan
In Episode 2461 of the All Ears English podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan delve into the multifaceted topic of leftovers, exploring its linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic dimensions. The episode, titled "Leftovers, Culture, and Class," not only provides practical language tips for English learners but also examines how the practice of taking leftovers reflects broader cultural norms and class distinctions.
The conversation begins with a discussion on the common practice of taking leftovers from restaurants. Michelle Kaplan initiates the topic by asking, "Do you take leftovers home from a restaurant? Is this accepted in your culture?" (00:59).
Host Insights:
Practical Language Tips: The hosts outline various phrases used in restaurants to request leftovers:
Lindsay humorously discusses the phrase "doggy bag," clarifying, "It has nothing to do with dogs. I don't know why, Michelle, actually," (09:07), highlighting how idiomatic expressions can be confusing for non-native speakers.
The episode transitions into a deeper exploration of how cultural attitudes toward leftovers can signify class and economic status.
Key Points:
Socioeconomic Insights: Lindsay connects the topic to broader societal issues, mentioning ongoing class clashes in the U.S. and how seemingly small actions like taking leftovers can reflect underlying economic tensions (19:27).
The hosts reference an article by Allison Krueger titled "Is the Doggy Bag Dead?" published on March 18th, which discusses a decline in the use of doggy bags and an increase in food waste in restaurants.
Highlights from the Article:
Pandemic Effects: Post-pandemic behaviors have also influenced how people handle leftovers, with increased sharing of food during meals but complications in determining ownership and storage (18:41 - 19:00).
The episode provides practical language education by examining specific phrases and their appropriate contexts.
Examples Discussed:
Role Play Segment: Lindsay and Michelle perform a role play to demonstrate a typical interaction between a customer and a waitress regarding leftovers:
This segment provides listeners with a practical example of how to navigate such conversations in English.
Lindsay and Michelle wrap up the episode by emphasizing the intersection of language and culture, illustrating how everyday practices like handling leftovers can reveal deeper societal values and economic conditions. They encourage listeners to use these insights to foster meaningful conversations and connections with people from diverse backgrounds.
Final Thoughts:
Listeners are encouraged to explore related episodes, such as Episode 2455 titled "Should You Poke Fun at Someone's Niche Interests?" to further enhance their conversational skills and cultural understanding.
Notable Quotes with Timestamps:
This episode of All Ears English successfully blends language instruction with cultural analysis, offering listeners both practical tools for improving their English and deeper insights into how everyday behaviors reflect and influence societal norms.