"something else" - at restaurants where I know the portions are huge I try and share the main dish just to cut down on waste of food / calories! the $ saving is an added bonus.

This only works with the girls. Lol. Usually it's mainly b/c of our Fatness First rule and we try everything we each have. Worked great a Ruth Chris though. That was the one time we did it to save money. $35 for pork chops. Not an entree. Just the pork chops. The portions are great. The four of us got our meat and then split 2 sides. MORE than enough! We even cut a few pieces and then passed the small plates around to get a taste of everyone's meat (i believe pork chop, lamb chop, sirlion, and ribeye). Melt in your mouth good!!! DESSERT!!! Slap your mama great! LOL. Man, I gotta get back there.

I like to split when we can, but usually I have a craving for something and I am not willing to compromise on my meal. But occasionally we are able to agree on a meal and split it. It definitely cuts down on waste, but for us it never hits that saving money mark, b/c we just end up ordering more wine.lol

I don't. I always share either appetizer or dessert though, but that has nothing to do with finances -- it's because I can't eat an appy or dessert by myself if I'm having a whole meal too!

As a server, I'm more than mildly annoyed by people who share meals to cut costs, because chances are, they're going to minimize the tip to save cash too. I HATE that!

i don't share to save $. i share b/c usually portions are HUGE!

I do this to save $ and to save on calories! Portions are huge - I don't want to tempt myself into eating more than I should!

My boyfriend and I will split entrees to both save money and so we're not both stuffed at restaurants with large portions! We'll sometimes get an appetizer or fancy drinks when we split the meal just to have something different and fun.

Defi not to save money, I don't go to resto's that are out of my "means" and if that doesn't leave good resto options then we just cook at home which is healthier and saves more money. I only share when it's something I want a bit of but can't finish on my own . . like an app or dessert.

I often split meals with friends. Most of the time, half is all that I can eat! Unless it's my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. I WANT the leftovers!

There was a recent spot on one of the hour long news shows that focused on a Mom and Pop type restuarant that implemented a unique portion/price schedule after loosing customers due to the economy. Customers would order, say, five dollars worth of a particular entree, and the portion they would receive would be reflective of what they were willing to pay. It was a win/win/win situation....the restaurant stayed afloat, there was much less food waste, and the customers left satisfied. I hope this idea spreads!

The portions in Texas are so huge my hubs and I always split meals on dates. We switch off who gets to pick the meal tho because we like completely different things. I usually do it with girlfriends as well, but it depends on who I'm out with.

I don't share to save money, but what I do do to save money is, knowing I will have a big portion, take half of it home for the next day.

I try to a lot of the times, but sometimes my husband is HONGRAHY! He likes a big meal for dinner and doesn't eat as healthy as me. So I usually get two different meals if we're eating out and make a side plate for my daughter if we're not all very hungry. If he wasn't always so hungry I would do it more often to save us all the calories/fat/etc.. and then to save on money. (Food and money our probably our biggest arguments.)

No, I don't do that.

I'm too much of a pig to do this...

Lol J

If I'm in a mood to be thrifty and thin and sociable, then definitely, yes.

I definitely do this!

I do this all the time! Well, almost. Except when I'm too hungry or the food is really yummy . I sometimes hesitate when I'm in a more expensive restaurant though, I feel like the waitress is staring at us funny when we said we want to share.

Never have I ever. Unless it was a fast food restaurant and I wasn't that hungry - but definitely not at a "sit-down" nice establishment. I wouldn't go unless I had the money, as I don't think it's good ettiquette (sp), in my opinion, to split a main course in a restaurant.

I will order the entree and will eat half at the restaurant and save the other half for lunch or give it to the BF.

it partially depends on where i am and what the situation is at the time. i typically don't eat enough for me to enjoy an entire plate myself - and if it happens that i CAN share with someone and be more economical - then why not right?

the biggest issue for me is that i'm a vegetarian and a majority of the people that i go out with are not - so either they have to have a meatless dinner with me, or it can't be done since there's no chance that i'll eat something with meat in it or mixed in. i don't even like the thought of having to take out a piece of chicken from a salad if it's just laying on top of the lettuce.

If I couldn't afford to go out to eat I wouldn't go. I do split apps and dessert with the table but that has do more with not being a glutton. It also makes me look more lady like in front of my boyfriend !

My hubby hates sharing food, but my sister is all about it so we usually split something if we're together. If the portions aren't enough for two, we'll add a salad on top and split that as well.

not normally to save money, but when it's fajitas i know we can go out for cheap because you get so much food for so little, so sometimes in that case, but not generally

Yep, me and my friends share food all the time to save money. It's a really smart thing to do at restaurants like Cheesecake Factory and Buca di Beppo where the food is pricey and the portions are huge!

I did!hehe..