Some places in the US do offer smaller sizes geared toward kids on a limited kids' menu since a lot of kids will take 3 bites of something and declare they are full, but occasionally the restaurants will be picky and not sell those sizes to adults. Fries tend to be on those kids' menus. It doesn't hurt to ask your server. I don't think they can give you discounts if you want less food, but they might be able to swing a substitution for other things, perhaps. They have to follow the menus, but they occasionally have some leeway. I wouldn't say it was a universal thing. But "small" in the US might be "normal" for you. There are also places that will offer light options, but a steakhouse usually doesn't have that, or if they do, it's a few things. It's more likely if they sell seafood, too.
I've been to steakhouses a handful of times and they do tend to have really large portions (part of their schtick, to appeal to big appetites and groups), but my favorite place to get a steak was a place that just had a weekly steak-night, but wasn't a steakhouse. I can't remember how big the steaks were (definitely not 10oz), but they had small ceramic or metal cups they used for their sides (sort of a "meat and 2 veg" thing) and would include a roll as well. Might've also had a small salad, IIRC. It was a manageable meal and a reasonable price. But when you're paying $10 for one item, I think people expect the larger portion sizes for splitting or for leftovers usually. Or they are starving and that's their main/only dish. An actual steakhouse would be once-in-a-blue-moon thing for me, and I'd probably not be hungry until later the next day if I actually ate everything.
It's definitely harder if you are traveling and not familiar with a restaurant and how they tend to be. Higher prices tend to be a lot of food, though, unless it's some sort of fancy fusion cuisine restaurant. Then you get *really* small servings with ridiculous prices. Buffets are plentiful here, but I think they are crapshoot if you want to avoid food poisoning. Manned buffets are usually safer than the self-serve ones, in my experience.
I grew up not eating out that much, not even fast food, so it's not something I do very often. It's really expensive to eat 3 meals a day that way. I'd rather hit up a local grocery store if I was going to be in one place for a while and had access to a refrigerator. It tends to be a lot cheaper overall and you can control portion size a bit better. I like to go into grocery stores in foreign countries/new-to-me places, though.
Well, this turned out to be really long.... :-D
I've been to steakhouses a handful of times and they do tend to have really large portions (part of their schtick, to appeal to big appetites and groups), but my favorite place to get a steak was a place that just had a weekly steak-night, but wasn't a steakhouse. I can't remember how big the steaks were (definitely not 10oz), but they had small ceramic or metal cups they used for their sides (sort of a "meat and 2 veg" thing) and would include a roll as well. Might've also had a small salad, IIRC. It was a manageable meal and a reasonable price. But when you're paying $10 for one item, I think people expect the larger portion sizes for splitting or for leftovers usually. Or they are starving and that's their main/only dish. An actual steakhouse would be once-in-a-blue-moon thing for me, and I'd probably not be hungry until later the next day if I actually ate everything.
It's definitely harder if you are traveling and not familiar with a restaurant and how they tend to be. Higher prices tend to be a lot of food, though, unless it's some sort of fancy fusion cuisine restaurant. Then you get *really* small servings with ridiculous prices. Buffets are plentiful here, but I think they are crapshoot if you want to avoid food poisoning. Manned buffets are usually safer than the self-serve ones, in my experience.
I grew up not eating out that much, not even fast food, so it's not something I do very often. It's really expensive to eat 3 meals a day that way. I'd rather hit up a local grocery store if I was going to be in one place for a while and had access to a refrigerator. It tends to be a lot cheaper overall and you can control portion size a bit better. I like to go into grocery stores in foreign countries/new-to-me places, though.