How often do you go out to eat?

[Don Plumley]

To fairly value "how often do you go out to eat," I think there are four or five groups:

1) I want to minimize what I spend on food so I can spend the money on other stuff;
2) I'm really busy, single, can't cook, traveling so I eat out because I need to/want to;
3) I really like great food, so I go out often to try new foods/restaurants and don't mind the cost;
4) I really like great food, but I'd rather make it at home; and
5) I really like going out and being around other people, and restaurants are part of that lifestyle

For me, I love great food - cooked at home or at restaurants. I really enjoy being in a chef-owned restaurant full of people having a good time. Eating out (with the exception of #2) for me means that you are making a conscious decision to go out and have a good time. To have conversations with family or friends and take time to enjoy the most primitive of our needs: to nourish and connect with others.

In my view, fast food isn't eating out - it's simply refueling. Convenience. Chains don't prepare food, they assemble it, and often from dodgy ingredients.

To me, I care deeply about the quality of the food that I put inside of me; I don't regard this much differently than I care about the quality of the car I drive or other things I purchase.

Answering the OP's question: Frequently. Some weeks 5-6 times, some weeks once or twice. I've engineered my life around two business models that facilitates my interest in eating at great restaurants around the world.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by cgarr

I stay home and eat out

I think we have a winner!!

Seriously, people have very diverse preferences and habits in this regard. What might seem odd to one person, like eating out all the time, is normal for someone else. I'm sure that I could save some $$ by eating at home more often, I just don't care. I have noticed that eating good food at home is not cheap. What some people consider decent food I cannot eat. I'm finicky like my dad. My mom isn't that into food and fed us hot dogs for dinner all the time when we were kids. That's another thing I've noticed, that a lot of people don't really give a shake about food. For me, it's one of life's major pleasures on a daily basis.

[Evans, Marv]

Looks like you average around $40 per meal and go out about 1.25 times a week on average. At $40, it doesn't seem like your gf settles for a cheap place but not overly expensive either. Still $40 a pop will add up quickly. My wife & I were probably averaging 2+ times a week because we would both get home after a busy day & just go out for something for dinner. After adding it up, we decided it wasn't necessary to spend that much and we're now making dinner at home (mostly).

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Looks like you average around $40 per meal and go out about 1.25 times a week on average. At $40, it doesn't seem like your gf settles for a cheap place but not overly expensive either. Still $40 a pop will add up quickly. My wife & I were probably averaging 2+ times a week because we would both get home after a busy day & just go out for something for dinner. After adding it up, we decided it wasn't necessary to spend that much and we're now making dinner at home (mostly).

I think several take-out pizzas and a few $5 subs is what lowered the average.
Typically, when we go out it runs closer to $50. Sometimes as much as $75.
The most expensive I found was $91.