Screw icky table service. Picked up a steak for tonight.

One of the very few things I miss about business travel in Europe. I made a bunch of close acquaintances over the years there and we'd linger over dinner for hours.

We did too. 2 lbs, still have have over half left over. Cabernet reduction was perfect.


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A local Italian restaurant is open for walk in business today for mother's day . My wife and I have eaten there many times the food is always good . I gave my wife the option of dining in or take out . She just told me she wants to be safe and go take out . So for now we will continue with distancing .

On the news this morning it was stated that GA. Has tested over 235,000 folks and trends are going down . The state will continue to test and react accordingly based on test results . I hope the trends continue in the right direction .

what world do you live in where everything is so absolute? 2-3 kids? a decade? really?

very weird

and no I don't have kids and if I did, I would still eat in restaurants. As I said, I eat out at LUNCH time during the work week. What would having kids have to do with that, money? I have plenty of friends my age that had kids and still ate out a lot during the past decade

My parents had 3 kids and we ate out a lot. Yes, I fortunately grew up in a family that was well off financially so that's probably where I developed the love of good food and fine dining but we also went out for a pizza and not always crab legs

you know, its possible to spend less than $75 and 2 hours eating out? One of my favorite lunch places cost me $8 and takes about 30 minutes whenever I go there

I rarely spend more than $15 on lunch, occasionally $25 when it involves a meal that deserves a glass of wine

just because someone likes to eat out, does not mean they are always talking about an overpriced steakhouse

----I love steak and have never once in my life ordered a steak at a restaurant. I like to get things I cant easily make at home

Most Gen X folks (and millennials) seem to eat out constantly (even those with kids). I could never afford to at that age (and other patrons were far less tolerant of kids...so you had to get a sitter). Personally, I don't know how they can afford it now..as even though we are pretty well off...I find the prices crazy. Although my money seems to come pretty easily now, that was not always the case. I rarely even get fast food unless they have some sort of sale/special. It adds up...and there are plenty of other things I can invest in that do not pass in a day.

I'm 45, which apparently makes me part of the Gen X cohort. There are many people who cannot afford to eat out who are my age, but I have no idea where you get this idea that it is, in general terms, unaffordable for someone my age who is above, say, the 40% percentile of income to eat out.

I learned a while back not to paint with such broad strokes. Generalizations are rarely correct coming from me.

I’m s Gen -X. My circles, come from all walks of life. Way different family styles. Singles, “DINKS” married w 5 kids, 1 kid, and equally difference tax brackets. Way different.

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Generalizing is done because it's the ONLY way to recognize patterns in behavior. Otherwise, you're just not learning anything.

Are there generalizations to be made about my generation? Of course. But to say there are people who "don't fit" the stereotype is like "No *****, Sherlock"

I'm a Gen X-er, my girl is a Millennial 100%, and I employ a ton of Post-Millennials. At least a few dozen. I think we really need a better term than "Post-Millennials". One of the strongest generalizations I can draw about the PMs is that they are well-educated. Their millennial parents made sure they stayed in school, had good nutrition early in life, and were super involved in their activities like music, sports, etc. They are in general not as religious either.

(Nicely done Shaun. I would trust your reviews any day. At that price it ought to be right)

I think the last time I had an 8oz steak in a restaurant was a year or two ago. I don't know how some people can make a regular habit of it along with so many other bills, but who am I to judge. Even Taco Bell is creeping up to $9 meals. For sugar water soy filler and corn. No way. I was going to treat myself the other day and just kept on driving through. A $12 full slab of ribs from Aldi makes at least two large meals and a sandwich and heats the house in the winter.

One our favorite restaurants is The Vintage Press Restaurante in Visalia, CA.

It just NEVER gets old for us, including the 13-y.o. We are counting the days when we can go back for dinner.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x80952f66cb4bd927%3A0x9460091264f9 f781!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleuserconte nt.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOxr3vDX-3VKNKq1cv2sT3Mub-WKdLf09CQkei-%3Dw372-h280-k-no!5s%22the%20vintage%20press%22%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipO xr3vDX-3VKNKq1cv2sT3Mub-WKdLf09CQkei-&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi7j-jfqqrpAhUMKa0KHTOSBo4QoiowDHoECBEQBg

No Kidding. Generally speaking, I would have put a lot more of the posters here in the boomer bracket.

If you are in the 40% and can take a family out to a nice restaurant several times a week, I simply don't know how you do it and fund your retirement, children's education, etc. Those that I know that do have little or no savings, etc. Good for you.

You obviously manage your money much better than I do...as I could not. Even at the top 1 or 2%.

Dude, where the hell are you eating? Last time I laid down that kind of cash for a meal in a restaurant, it was accompanied by several cocktails. And I live in an expensive CA coastal city.

I'm a millennial and I love eating out, especially in my neighborhood. I miss seeing my banh mi lady and her husband, the young waiter guy at my indian place, the chick who works the front at the Taiwanese breakfast joint near my house. I miss kicking back with a copy of the New Yorker at Langer's, throwing down a pastrami sandwich and a chocolate malt while I people-watch. Getting loose with some friends over pitchers of ice cold Korean beer and spicy chicken wings, watching people go nuts over the Dodgers. Sitting on a street curb next to a taco truck listening to blaring Mexican tracks and sizzling meat. Trying to figure out if the cute girl who waits tables at the hot chicken place digs you particularly or is just really friendly.

Eating out is a community thing, a way to spend time with friends and people around you. The other day I picked up dumplings and noodle soup at one of my favorite places, and even with a bandana on my face and motorcycle helmet on, the waitress recognized me. Made my day to feel a little more connected to the people and society around me. I'd be really sad if their little spot went out of business.

I'd tip them 20% even if the service was mediocre -- if they got paid a living wage, the prices would be 20% higher anyway, and I've got better things to do than worry if my ass is being kissed sufficiently enough to drop an extra few bucks in the direction of a guy making minimum wage.

Maybe some of you guys need to venture outside steakhouses? Or places that put an emphasis on ostentatious service? Many of the cheap, local joints I go to have pretty spotty service, but you quickly learn that that's not the point. I prefer that to some fancy places where the waiter's interrupting you every 5 minutes to tell you a story about the wine or tell you the names of the cows who graze next to the field where they grow the arugula you're eating.

Not saying that there's anything wrong with eating at home, but talking about eating out with table service like it's always some kind of pointless waste of time and money blows my mind a little bit.

If anything, I feel like my peer group is even more inclined to eat out. Massive pandemic killing people, the second huge recession in a decade, ridiculous inequality, unaffordable healthcare...would rather live it up a bit with my friends now than dump every dime I have into some mortgage or physical possession that can become meaningless the second you get bad news from a doctor.

Generally speaking, this probably doesn't jibe with the outlook of some of the posters here. "I miss seeing my banh mi lady and her husband, the young waiter guy at my indian place, the chick who works the front at the Taiwanese breakfast joint near my house. I miss kicking back with a copy of the New Yorker at Langer's, throwing down a pastrami sandwich and a chocolate malt while I people-watch. Getting loose with some friends over pitchers of ice cold Korean beer and spicy chicken wings, watching people go nuts over the Dodgers. Sitting on a street curb next to a taco truck listening to blaring Mexican tracks and sizzling meat". Meat and potatoes can be a frame of mind.
Personally, I can't imagine not having our ethnically diverse dining and cultural scene.

Yeah, I realize not everyone has the same choices, but I still think there's a community aspect to it...even in the tiny town I grew up in, the restaurants were places that people gathered and hung out. Waiters and cooks at those places watched me and my brothers grow up while I watched them start families of their own.

I think that's the real tragedy of seeing so many small businesses go under. Just don't get the same vibe at a Buffalo Wild Wings.

But I suppose you're right -- easier to miss it when there's so much to miss.

I haven't missed it one bit, but it was easy.
Didn't dine in much.

I dont know what is going on with your steaks, Shuan, but that doesn't look right to me.

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She made this while I tended the fire.

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Mothers day for her and her sister. I served and bussed.

Great day.

I totally agree with you. I would bet most are boomers, as in more than 50%.

We're talking about "table service", not some $9 curbside hipster kimchi taco truck
A basic "table service" meal is $75 even in a backwoods rural shack.

$6 soup or salad, $15 Burger, $5 Beer = $26
Then you pay for the wife = $26
Share a desert = $7
That's $59.
Add tax, and you're at $64
20% for the plate carrier = $12

Total $76 for basically a burger.
I could have been just as happy eating a $1 can of tuna.

And sure, I could only order the burger and have a glass of water.
In that case, it would be about $40 for me to eat a burger.

Still a massive 10x waste of money. And time.
Blows my mind some people actually make a habit of this.

Can't tell if this is a joke. Sorry to break it to you, but these are not your friends. Did you call or email or text any of these "scenery" people during this quarantine? No? How do you miss people you literally don't even know on any meaningful level. If you died, they would not even notice.