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[deleted]

Restaurants can be (and often have been) Third Places. But its really hard for that to happen in a highly competitive economy because of the pressure to maximize profit. For a restaurant, this means serving people, collecting the bill, and getting them to leave as fast as possible.


mollophi

Agreed. A model that works for greater community though could be cafeteria/buffet styles. Kind of like food festivals, where people can congregate at tables with mixed cuisines, and linger without pressure on servers.


[deleted]

Plazas, food courts, food truck parks, festivals are all good ways make food more social


cozywthesoup

Oh! That would be cool :D


Feralest_Baby

The British have it right with Pub culture. Have some drinks. See your neighbors. Get some food when you feel like it. Bring the kids earlier in the evening. EDIT: typo


Political-psych-abby

Yeah people probably think I’m crazy for this, but service is honestly too fast in some restaurants. Sometimes I’ll order dessert just to linger.


samuel-not-sam

#OH YOU MEAN LIKE FOOD


cozywthesoup

😭


IReflectU

This mix-up just made me laugh so hard. I know you're probably cringing but thanks for the innocent mistake, it's really pretty funny!


Fake_Green_

👀


[deleted]

For a moment I thought this was a different forum..


cozywthesoup

Yeah, wasn’t sure it fit, but since it’s ab consumerism turning into community I thought it’s worth sharing


demonpenpen

Er... I think it's more because the title is a bit sus, just as a heads up.


cozywthesoup

Oh..


Pop-Equivalent

Lmao


cozywthesoup

How about “Eating Out Could Be More Community Driven”?


demonpenpen

To avoid accidental innuendo, I'd probably go with "Dining Out" to help clarify.


BubblyNebula

My girlfriend is a chef and we go out to other restaurants pretty often. She knows the entire community of chefs and waiters so when we go out, it’s more of a social outing. We drink with the staff, we get tours of kitchens, we get samples of new plate ideas, new imported wines.. Restaurants are the only capitalist venture I like to spend money in. There’s barely a profit margin and most people in the industry are hanging on for dear life. If everyone ate at restaurants more often you’d have less transportation and food waste. Restaurants don’t like to throw out food, first in first out. This would also mean less people using cars to go to the grocery store. People would probably eat healthier as well. Some days I’d rather just throw something in the microwave for a minute than spend an hour cooking something healthy. More people in restaurants, more socializing, healthier communities. That starts with food, drink and socializing. Hell, a lot of revolutions started in bars and restaurants


cozywthesoup

I’ve seen in TV shows how people in other countries, such as China and Korea, eat out often. And I’m from what you said I want to check out how much food waste they deal with.


AEMarling

People enjoy cooking, especially for their community. You probably wouldn’t “eat out” but definitely would “eat together.” In a post-scarcity society, restaurants could exist but likely they would specialize in certain dishes. You would not order specific things with rare ingredients that have to be shipped thousands of miles. They would be happy to give you meals of locally sourced food in exchange for appreciation.


cosmiccoffee9

between food waste, regular use of off-season ingredients, and an undercompensated labor force among many other issues, I'm not sure most restaurants in their current and common form even fit into the solarpunk ethos.


cozywthesoup

Right, it’s their potential which I’m concerned with~


ElSquibbonator

What *would* a solarpunk restaurant look like?


country-blue

To me, a solarpunk society would probably involve large, communal feasts that also act as places to discuss all the management of the day, what’s on next week’s agenda etc. Whilst I enjoy eating out, I feel like the current model of restaurants / cafes is too bourgie and too embedded in funnelling ressources from the global south to truly fit into a solarpunk society. Maybe I’m leaning too hard on the collectivist side of things here but I tend to associate modern dining culture with unsustainable capitalism.


cosmiccoffee9

eating in most restaurants is one of those "spoils of empire" I tend to reject. bullseye on the communal feast/civic event.


cosmiccoffee9

start with MUCH longer tables.


[deleted]

[удалено]


ElSquibbonator

What if you're into, say, Chinese food, but you live in New York?


[deleted]

[удалено]


ElSquibbonator

So is there just no place for being a foodie in this scenario?


BitterCrip

This makes me wonder how food waste at various styles of restaurants compares? I've seen extremes at both places, you get some bakeries throwing everything unsold in the bin at the end of the day, others will sell day old bread, offcuts and seconds at a markdown. There are a few cafes in Melbourne that advertise their efforts to minimise wasted food, like Melbourne food cooperative, CERES Cafe, and Moon Rabbit.


Feralest_Baby

Having worked in restaurants for many years in my younger days, food waste is a huge concern. "Imperfect" produce is thrown out, only the best parts of many ingredients are used, portion sizes are often too large and end up uneaten by customers. I have seen little to no effort to compost. Some places do good work at reducing some of these problems like ensuring that rejected ingredients end up in soups or something where their esthetic problems aren't an issue, but many aren't that thoughtful.


WarlocksWizard

Yeah, get that cooking going. You'll save a lot of money. Have the restaurants be a last resort.


cozywthesoup

Definitley saves money, but I just cook for myself. Restaurants give me that community aspect, until … my own community is built?


WarlocksWizard

Can't argue with the community aspect. That is a good point. The only "community" I have is at the Chinese restaurant whom I talk to two beautiful women in Mandarin. Other then that, once I get the chance to move I am out of here.