Rumination No. 5 - On Portion Size and Nightlife
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2006
1
10
110
Trip End
Apr 01, 2008
Sofia,
Bulgaria
Monday, May 22, 2006
Suffice it to say that I:
1. Wondered why Europeans are obsessed with portion size to the point that they exactly measure all liquor pours to the milliliter, all wine pours to the deciliter and beer to a line on the glass. They also put food portion sizes on menus stating how many grams are contained in each soup, salad, entree, appetizer, or even sauce portion. It's helpful when deciding what to order, but it seems oddly compulsive (unless you are German), and I can't think of a good reason why Europeans do it and Americans do not;
2. Noted that these alcohol portions can add up. A big pour of a brandy, for example, will be 100 milliliters, or about four ounces or half a small flask. When this is followed by a half-liter of beer (at the higher alcohol levels here), it adds up; and
3. Commented that I have grown to appreciate California's 2:00 a.m. alcohol cutoff. Here, many clubs go until 5:00 a.m. Many don't open until 10:00 p.m. Restaurants don't even start to get diners until 8:30. This means, if I want to be out with the pretty party people, that I have to adjust to their hours. That means that I don't go to bed until almost 6:00 a.m. That means I don't get up and out of the hotel room until 2:00 or 3:00. And that ruins the day for sightseeing, and cannot be done if I have to catch a morning train or plane. (It also means I don't get any housekeeping. Ack!) Lastly, it just seems wrong to me - 6:00 p.m. is Happy Hour, not the time to be having your breakfast coffee at a cafe, and I find it hard to make myself wait to start the evening. Hence, my conclusion that the 2:00 a.m. cutoff is good.
