Comment Re:Americans expect to be overfed (Score 1) 102
I think this is due to the customer's perceived value of the meal and economies of scale (the incremental cost of putting more food on the plate diminishes as more is put on). People may be more likely to eat at your restaurant if they perceive you offer a better value than competitors (assuming that quality of food is the same).
Example of the economies of scale can be found in the Cheeburger Cheeburger menu (Sanibel Island, FL location): http://cheeburger.snappyorder.com/order/menu.asp?restaurant=146&categoryid=847
The one pound burger is $12.49 ($0.78 per oz), while the half-pound burger is $8.19 ($1.02 per oz). Assuming these are menu options from two different restaurants (Restaurant A serves the one pounder, while Restaurant B servers the half-pounder), which do you think will be perceived as the better value? Some customers would take advantage of this by splitting the one pounder at Restaurant A instead of ordering two half-pounders from Restaurant B. And some restaurants counteract this by charging to share plates.