Diners Say: We Want Less

A survey of more than 4,000 diners finds that a substantial majority believes restaurant portions are too big. Fifty-seven percent said portions were too large; 20 percent said they were too small; and the 23 percent who had no opinion apparently thought they were just right. The results, reported in Nation's Restaurant News, an industry trade journal, were heavily skewed by gender and income. Sixty-seven percent of women believed portions were too large, while only forty-seven percent of men reached the same conclusion. Meanwhile, sixty percent of respondents making between $100,000 and $150,000 said portions were oversized. And that figure rose to seventy percent among those making more than $150,000. In contrast, and perhaps not surprisingly, only twenty-seven percent of those with incomes under $25,000 thought portions were too large.

IN THE NEWS: The Houston Press' Robb Walsh reviews Le Viet Restaurant and Bar (11328 Westheimer), while Paul Galvani stops by Ponzo's for pizza and Chris Boyd visits Pico's Mexican Restaurant (5941 Bellaire). houstonpress.com ... The Chronicle's Alison Cook reviews Taverna Winery & Restaurant (12820 Texas 105 West, Conroe) and Valentino's Seafood (20801 Gulf Freeway) and blogs about her first visit to REEF, the new midtown seafood emporium from chef-owner Bryan Caswell and his partner, Bill Floyd. Both came from the former Jean-Georges Vongerichten-operated Bank, at the Hotel Icon, where Caswell was chef de cuisine and Floyd was food & beverage director. chron.com ... For its RA Sushi brand, Benihana officials say the company has seven locations under development, not including the ones in South Florida: Mesa, Ariz.; Huntington Beach, Calif.; Tustin, Calif.; Baltimore, Md.; Lombard, Ill.; and Houston and Plano, Texas, the South Florida Business Journal reports.

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com