Portion Control

Irene, the manager (outside contractor) of the cafeteria, was a beast for portion control and cost containment. Sometimes the consumer was the direct victim of her Dickensian penury and according to Bill Howard, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to come away from the serving counter with the observation that they had received their eggs and bacon but it had come with only one grit.

I can’t remember if I coined this or not (probably not—I’m not usually gifted as an author of clever one-liners), but one discussion involving sliced roast beef claimed that Irene had cut it so thin it only had one side. I added that to my repertoire and have used it for years. Roddy calls that one of the most cerebral observations he’s ever heard.

Last updated: 22 March 2009