dwebb

Okay Fodorites:

I have searched the Europe forums (I think all) and have not come up with anyone having this problem while traveling in Europe.

As you may or may not know, I had a problem with a travel buddy backing out at the last minute (we were to travel in September). All is well on that level. Now I have a new problem.

Last year I had gastric bypass surgery and my stomach is only about the size of an egg (example: I am only able to eat the equivalent of 1/2 of a PBJ sandwich before filling up!)

My problem, 2/3 of my 3-city tour is France and Rome, known for having full 3-course meals.

This is my first trip back to Europe since my surgery and I want to have dinner in a nice restaurant in France and Rome, but I know I won't get past the first course without filling up (Romans and their damn pasta! .

Since it is considered ill-mannered to ask for "to-go" or to leave "food on one's plate", what should I do? Just forgo the restaurants and eat at the stands?

Of note, I depended on my travel buddy coming along and we were to share our meals, but since she backed out, I truly have to think more seriously about where to eat.

Any suggestions!

zeppole

You are not required to eat pasta in Italy, nor are you required to eat 3-course meals. You can order the entre (il secondo). Period. I do it all the time.

You should avoid what are obviously white tablecloth restaurants, because there you will feel under pressure to avoid full course meals. Do some internet research for "enotecas" in Rome. These are wine bars that serve small, light meals. You don't have to drink wine to eat the food.

It may also be a good strategy for you to look on some vegetarian/vegan websites, because they have a way of ferreting out restaurants that are accommodating. Trendy-oriented guides like Time Out, whose readers are very weight-conscious, are worth perusing in a book store to see if they can point you to some salad places and nibbles-joints.

Lastly, Italians believe -- more religiously than the believe in any religion -- that a happy stomach is a requirement to a happy life. If you can learn enough Italian to indicate you recently had surgery and therefore cannot eat a lot, I would be extremely surprised if an Italian waiter was not helpful and kind about your order.

Your food choices in France will be much greater -- and the waiters will be a lot more difficult. (They can be a case in indigestion all their own.) But one more thing: It is true that it is a cause of alarm if you don't finish all your food, but don't if you shouldn't. Just don't. It's not *that* important, and your health is.

zeppole

Typo alert: I meant to write

"You should avoid what are obviously white tablecloth restaurants, because there you will feel under pressure to order three course meals."

Travelnut

There are also places in France where you can eat that don't expect you to order multiple courses. Cafes and brasseries are more lenient about your desire to order 'a la carte' than a small, more formal restaurant. Also there are 'deli' or 'traiteur' type places where the food is prepared and on display, and you just buy what you want - you can usually sit and eat it there (not quite 'cafeteria' but along those lines). Asian food is frequently provided this way.

traveller1959

What I often do (and even more often DW) is just ordering one or two starters.

In France, in a good restaurant, a proper dinner will last several hours (our friend who had a major gastric surgery after cancer loves it).

From the menu, you can carefully select what to eat: maybe a starter, a soup, and eventually another starter. No problem at all, especially if your choice is smart.

Italian menus are usually divided into four courses:

- antipasti (often from a self-service buffet), mostly fried vegetables and fish (and usually rather oily)

- pasta or risotto, but the pasta dishes in Italy are MUCH smaller than pasty dishes in USA (where they are intended as full meals), usually very light and non-fat (except when you order pasta Alfredo)

- il secondo, the main course: fish or meat, sometimes with vegetables - usually high-protein but low-fat

- dessert

As zeppole has said, you can order one, two, three or four courses from the menu. No problem, if you choose just one course.

zeppole

Also, rest assured that even in Roma, Italian dessert is usually awful.

dwebb

Thank you fodorites, this is exactly what I was looking for. I was so afraid that I would be the hungry American looking in the window at all the restaurants wishing I could go in.

I have switched my agenda to include some restaurants in Paris and Rome and will hope for the best.

Thanks again!

ekscrunchy

Also remember that, in many restaurants and trattorias in Rome, you can order a half portion of pasta.

Also, I can't imagine where it would be considered "ill mannered" to leave some food on one's plate. Where did you get that idea?

zeppole

ekscrunchy,

I wouldn't describe it as "ill-mannered," but leaving food on your plate in Italy will more often than not provoke a comment or discussion about why you didn't like your food. When I don't like my food in Italy (rare, but it happens) I usually spend a few moments conferring with my husband about what story we are going to jointly tell by way of explanation. Generally we settle on saying I had dental work done that day, and what a pity, because it was wonderful.

I hate to make an Italian grandmother cry!

ira

Hi d,

>.. 2/3 of my 3-city tour is France and Rome, known for having full 3-course meals.<

You needn't order the full meal.

Many restos will offer a fixed price menu of 2out of 3 - appetizer, main, dessert.

If that is too much for you, you can always have just an appetizer or just a main course.

dwebb

ekscrunchy, I have actually read in some guide books that it is indeed frowned upon in some European restaurants to leave food on your plate. They look at it as a sign of not showing appreciation for the meal itself.

This personally happened to me in Paris (pre-surgery) and I made the fatal mistake of asking for a to-go container. I told the waiter that I could not eat the entire meal (my worst French ever!) He asked me if I didn't like the food. I tried to explain a little further and he finally udnerstood that I was asking for a "to-go" container. He immediately frowned and came back with a "tupperware-like" bowl/lid that smelled of onions but I got to take my food back to the apartment, which was delicious the second time around as well. (my ears were ringing...I must have been called all kinds of crazy and stupid American)

So I mean no harm when I ask questions of fodorites. I take the advice that you give me very serious and yes travel decisions/alterations have been made from suggestions on this website and I take no pleasure in offending anyone.

Thanks Zeppole and Ira (and everybody else). I appreciate your kind assistance.

sheila

I'm not sure that people are answering your question. You will have no difficulty at all eating the sort of amount you are cmfortable with.

You will, IMHO, have difficulty with it if you go to a "nice restaurant", unless you explain your circumstances, and even then, you may still.

Of course you can eat a la carte, and pick what you want- I get away with murder, at least in France because I'm veggie, but the chef's generally will not mess with what they consider a balanced dish. If you ask for half portions, without explanation, they'll think you a cheapskate. Explain and it's unlikely to be a problem.

You weren't going to ask for meals for one and two plates, were you?

ekscrunchy

My point is that you do not have to finish everything on your plate. I know that I often leave at least some food on my plate in Italy, especially, because I often order multi-course meals. When the waiter asks me about this, I tell him/her that the food was wonderful but that I am too full to continue. I doubt if this offends anyone and I like to think that I am not ill mannered. I do not ask to take the left-over food away. The last thing you need to think about on a vacation is pressure to clean your plate!

Also, remember about asking for half-portions, not only of pasta, but of other courses as well. sometimes they can do this and sometimes not, but it does not hurt to ask.

Good luck and have a wonderful trip!