Sometimes I just want a little bit of food, and I don't want to take a doggy bag home.

Sometimes I want curry. And chili. And jasmine rice on the side. And a bit of lasagna. And potato chips.

Sometimes I'm intruiged by a dish, but don't know if I'll like it enough to finish it, and want to try out a sample.

Needless to say, none of these things are easy to arrange at a typical restaurant. I can manage the first, however, at a sushi carosel - thus this idea: The Microportion Restaurant. Much like a sushi carosel, the restaurant offers its food on small dishes, color-coded to indicate price. However, rather than confine itself to sushi, this restaurant offers small portions of all varieties of food - or at least, a significant number.

Eaters can select one dish or many, according to what they feel like eating. All prices are in dollar or half-dollar increments.

The dishes are set out in a central area of two-sided cabinets, some of which are kept cool for cold dishes, some of which are kept warm for hot dishes. Food is organized first by hot/cold and then by ethnic origin. Side dishes are always served seperately.

When you're done eating, bring your dishes to the counter and the cashier will add up their colors to determine the price of your meal.

Dieters go away happy and without doggy bags. Snackers go away happy and without doggy bags. Hungry people get to try out a lot of new foods and if they didn't like them, they don't have to leave a lot of food on their plate.
-- gisho, Aug 26 2005

Mixed Morsels Mixed_20Morsels
Sport + Windmill = Food + Conveyor Belt [DrBob, Sep 12 2005]

One of These http://www.cafetututango.com/
From the website: TANGO serves up a creative palette of appetizer-sized dishes intended to be shared. [zigness, Jun 27 2006]

I just LOVE this idea!! I'm trying to lose weight, and it's so frustrating to have to either leave half the food on my plate, or if I'm feeling cheap, dragging it around with me the rest of the night to eat the next day. And, it takes so long to commit to one dish when they all sound so good!

I'd like to add the feature of a conveyor belt, like some sushi restaurants have, where you just sit at the bar and the food slides along, and you grab what you want.

Oh man, now I'm all hungry.
-- junglefish, Aug 26 2005


Thanks, [junglefish]! I considered the idea of a conveyor belt, but decided that it would be too difficult to seperate hot and cold foods, unless you somehow had two conveyor belts, one hot and one cold - and then how would people get to the tables?
-- gisho, Aug 26 2005


Well, I wouldn't think the food would be out there all that long, so just coming from the kitchen to your seat wouldn't be enough time to cool down. Of course, if something isn't snatched up right away, it would get cold. Maybe the conveyor goes back into the kitchen and the hot dishes are re-heated? Or maybe the dish itself has a heating mechanism (a sealed pouch of hot water?) that is only exposed where the food is?
-- junglefish, Aug 26 2005


You may have somethng there - hmm. Maybe the conveyor belt pieces themselves could be larger and contain a heating element or an ice bin?

Of course, cooks would have to be very careful not to place the wrong kind of dish on a conveyor section.
-- gisho, Aug 26 2005


microportion = nervous cuisine? n'est pas?

oh food, what the hell +
-- po, Aug 26 2005


nanofood. [+]

I think I just ate something. hmm.
-- daseva, Aug 27 2005


How original is this idea really - Tapas bars and Dim Sum are really pretty widely baked. Does making the dishes cross-cultural really add anything that wasn't there before?
-- DrCurry, Aug 27 2005


DrC, you and I agree on this one. (Holy shit).

Tapas!!! Love the origin, and the history, and the intent.
-- blissmiss, Aug 27 2005


[+]
-- Dub, Aug 27 2005


Yo! Food!

Doesn't have the same ring to it does it.

But great idea, I want a nanoportion of spaghetti bolognase (sp) followed by a tiny burger with some inch long chips.

Have a nanoportion sized coissant, and I'll be a loyal customer.
-- Germanicus, Aug 27 2005


I think this is a great idea and I'm thinking about using it in my restaurant, unless of course you call copyright.
-- jjbabygurl, Sep 05 2005


[jjbabygurl], feel free! But I want to know where this resautaurant is, so I can drop by if I'm ever in the area.
-- gisho, Sep 08 2005


You may have to wait a couple of years though [gisho].
-- Susan, Sep 12 2005


Probably only ten.
-- jjbabygurl, Sep 17 2005


Clever, but a buffee is easier to run and accomplishes some of the same task.
-- aguydude, Jun 26 2006


//but a buffee // Someone who is buffed?
A slayer of vampires?
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 26 2006


The small portion part of this idea is baked in the form of Cafe' Tu Tu Tango. It is a completely crazy restaurant that serves only appetizers. (See link). I used to frequent the one in Orlando quite a lot. I suspect that most half-bakers would love the place.
-- zigness, Jun 27 2006



random, halfbakery