I was amazed when my husband and I went to dinner two nights ago and I ordered the new to the "right portion right price menu" crusted chicken, grape tomatoes and mozerella salad, and alfredo ravioli. Every item was simply divine...something I would expect at a fine dining restaurant. My husband was eating off my plate because it was still so much food. I would kill for the recipe because my family would love it. All for only 7.99, who can beat it.

Also had a mojito along with my dinner and it was refeshing and clean. What a lovely dining experience.

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The Brownies Obsession has 1500 calories in the entire dessert. It's on the menu in NYC and they now have to release calories and nutrition information. It might have previously had more calories, though. We ordered one tonight, and I noticed it had about 1/2 the ice cream and the actual brownie was smaller too.

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I have to say, that I recently ate at Fridays and my date purchased one of these "Right Portion, Right Price" meals. And, although it was the right price, it was definitely not the right portion.

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Well, let's see if it works.
People have said people in restaurants overeat because they are served more. Let's see what happens when people are given the option.


I have to think the lack of "value" in these reduced portion meals will lead to them being quickly discontinued.

I gotta think that the typical Friday's customer is just as (if not more) concerned about the size of his wallet as the size of his waist.


Then again, I was dead wrong about those mini-can Cokes, and definitely didn't see the success of those 100 calorie packs...

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Tran, was the portion still too large or was there not enough food?

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Can I be a little concerned that even with a reduced portion size that only 2 of the items have less than 500 calories? How many calories are in the original!?!?

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"find it hard to finish a large plate of food"

You don't have to eat the whole thing! practice your own portion control, and throw the rest away.

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I think this is terrific for "Dual Couples." One big eater, one small eater. One reason I'd opt out of going to TGI Fridays (other than it's an unspired chain restaurant) is that I couldn't find ANY healthy options. But if a group meets here or I'm with a big eater companion, I can safely rely on a few options for myself, and I like that idea. I'll try and I'll order, just so they know some of us appreciate it. I hope it's good.

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Gee, Did you ever hear of a 'doggie' bag ?

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@ naugahyde - although you're right that people should practice self-control, the issue is that there aren't any options that aren't gigantic. Do you really think that throwing away food is a good idea? Until world hunger is officially solved, I think that we need to reduce all of our waste. Smaller portions are great because they give smaller people and overweight people better options where they don't need to waste food.

And yes I know what leftovers are, but what the hell are you going to do with that last 1/3 of your sandwich? Wrap it up and snack on it later...c'mon

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"there are starving kids in china"

I don't even know where to start. To suggest that the portion sizes at TGI McFunsters have anything to do with the fact that people are hungry is obscene. I'll think of you everytime I leave my plate full of uneaten food. In fact next time I go out to eat, I'll order an entire extra meal, and just leave it.

I do agree that leftovers suck.

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@ naugahyde

You aren't really that stupid are you?

Whether or not you care about hungry people in other countries, I can't imagine that you would actually think it is a better idea to purchase a larger quantity of food than you will eat and let the rest go to waste. Especially when their is an option that is not only less wasteful, but also cheaper.

Of course you have every right to order as much food as you want and do whatever you want with it. But, that doesn't make you any smarter for doing so. I hope wasting food makes you feel like the big tough guy I'm sure you are.

I think suggesting you will order an extra plate of food to prove an ignorant point of view to someone you will never meet is, in your words, obscene.

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Naugahyde: You're sick.

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It's our right as americans to waste,right? I'm sure it's in the constitution! We can spend our money anyway we see fit, and have an obligation to do so to keep the economy humming.

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In principle, I think this is great. I cannot finish a restaurant-sized portion of anything, and if I'm not going right back to somewhere with a refrigerator, then I've just paid to put food in the trash.

In reality, there's no way I'd pass up an Indian buffet or even a decent sandwich shop in favor of Friday's grease-and-salt extravaganza. If I'm going to guzzle grease and salt, I want it to be an integral part of the event (e.g., fish-and-chips), rather than a nutritional landmine in something harmless-looking like pasta.

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I'm not usually a fan of the chain restaurant. If given the option, I'll go somewhere else. However, a few weeks ago, MrWurdibitsch and I found ourselves at a TGIFridays and I ordered the Dragonfire Chicken. It was surprisingly good and the portion size was perfect.

Portion sizes are out of control. I'm a leader for a national weight loss program and I'm constantly counseling my members to pay attention to portion sizes and be aware that most restaurant portions contain 3-4 servings of food.

Good options for not overeating are to share an entree or order an appetizer or two instead of an entree. If it's something that will survive reheating or you'll be able to refrigerate soon, get a to go box as soon as your food arrives at the table and box half of it immediately. Out of sight / out of mind works especially when you're socializing and might absent-mindedly keep eating without being aware of your hunger/satisfaction level.

I'm glad to see some restaurants are offering options for more healthy dining. They will get my business.

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To me I'd rather see them experiment with healthier preparation (which I know is possible as an avid healthy home cook and reader of Cooking Light and spa cookbooks) rather than slim down what is still a nutritionally unsound meal. Portion sizes are an issue not just in restaurants but also because they tend to carry over into how much food we serve ourselves at home. However, the onus is ultimately on us as consumers. If we want to see healthier items on the menu, we have to actually order them vs. say that we want them and continue to order our same old unhealthy meals. I don't believe that restaurants want us to be overweight, they just tend to make what sells and eliminate what doesn't.

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I like this idea a lot. TGI Fridays isn't a bad option when going to the mall, and I always had a problem with the sizes because of the prices. It just didn't make sense.

However, the restaurant that needs to investigate portion control is Cheesecake Factory. That place is insane.

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Portion control is a great start in the war against obesity. Kudos to TGI Friday's. Hopefully, this will become a trend in other restaurants as well. For me, I'm tired of paying more money for extra food I may not eat. I'd rather pay less money and finish my plate.

Of course, the next step after this would be to make the portions served a lot healthier. More whole grains and nutritionally dense ingredients, less fat. My personal wish is that restaurants consider the sodium content of their meals. Ever since I gave birth to my daughter, I can't even look at salt without bloating. I've had to give up so many of my favorite foods. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem. I'm sure that people with high blood pressure have the same problem. What does everyone think?

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Just returned from lunch at Fridays and found this site while looking for the calorie count of the small portion Bruschetta Chicken Parmesan ($6.99) -- panko-crusted chicken breast topped with bruschetta topping on small bed of angel hair pasta. Portion was perfect. And good. My dining companion who ordered the pecan crusted chicken salad for $8.99 left half of her salad. I like these options, and hope more chain restaurants follow the lead of Fridays.

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