This is exactly right.

Going out for food is way over-rated.

Potential issues:

1. sacrifice time
2. fight through traffic to get there
3. parking issues/concerns
4. wait time
5. questions about seating
6. questions about server
7. questions about quality and quantity of food and beverage
8. extra costs involved
9. (worst part) forced interaction with other humans


The only upside is you can get food (providing it meets your standards) that is many times harder to make at home like Chinese or Mexican. But that's what take out is for....amiright?

Now here's another shocker.......I have a theory that certain types (not all) of people who love to eat out do so because they have self-esteem issues and having someone wait on them makes them feel superior, somehow.

Cell phones also provide that false sense of importance to certain types of people...but that's a different conversation, I guess.

But don't let me ruin your night out....eat...drink...and by all means....be merry! SmileWavy

Made me laugh: I have that at least twice a week. 2 to go and a cup of ice water.

My wife is an amazing cook and really enjoys the process - it is her stress relief from her very difficult job. It is leftover heaven here - I hire a few of my sons friends to help him on the farm and they will actually call ahead to see what's in the fridge:cool:

We go out to eat maybe once a month, get Chinese or Chipotle take-out once every two weeks.

Interesting piece on NPR about this, sorta. For the first time in history, gross restaurant sales exceeded grocery sales. Even more so, the boomers as an age group were leading the trend, not the young folks that "don't cook".

I love to cook, so I'm probably not a good sample, but yeah, it irks the crap out of me to go drop $100 on cheeseburgers and a couple beers. On the other hand, I think we'd as a group agree that everyone needs a living wage, so $15/hr dishwashers are going to add to this trend.

Wow, you guys have it tough. ;)

We eat out every Friday night. The fancy meal of a large prime rib and salad and such is $60 for the two of us. There are a few fancy Italian places that charge that for dinner for two. Most Friday's are 40 to 50 bucks. We eat out for breakfast two or three times per month. That is usually 25 to 30 bucks.

There are numerous TexMex places and South American places that dinner for two is $35 or so.

All of those prices are with a 20% tip added in. If the service was exceptional I go to 30%

Of course none of that can touch the cheapest place. Whe go to Sam's once per month mostly for a fresh fruit run. They have great fresh fruit. We each get a hot dog, my wife likes a Diet Coke and I get water. All in, meal for two $3.03. And it is a Nathan's hot dog.

I've noticed major differences based on location. A large bowl of Pho by my house in the suburbs is $6.50 while that same bowl is $11 inside the loop in Houston. And of course the bowl for $6.50 is better.

I'm not seeing as high a price as many of you are. A decent entree at a medium priced independent restaurant in Houston is $15-$20. Fancy places are about $30-40. Of course you can easily find a $70+ steak or other high dollar items too.

My wife does a lot of cooking so I think she needs a break. We go out to a restaurant about once every two weeks. I would take her more if she wanted to.....:)

I don't get it, you pay 30 USD, just to get in? without even ordering food?
What do you get for that 30 bucks?

We try to limit it to lunch on Saturday or Sunday. Dinner time is just off the charts in the DC area.
But even then, we knock back upwards of $50 at Five Guys.

Also, I would prefer a mom/pop with a C+ health rating to a super expensive joint. My experience is that those places are fine and the food is usually great.

What kills me is the portion size. You pay large sums of money but are getting enough for two meals. Why?

Also, soft drinks here are stupid expensive. With 4 diners you are looking almost at the price of an entree or at least an appetizer, typically $2.95 per.

Wow. SoCal is very expensive. Casual runs $10-15 a meal around here and fancy maybe up to $30 a meal. With a family of four (two kids meals), casual will usually set me back around $60 -70 after tip and fancy (which we may do once a year) around $130 after tip. We tend to eat out 0-2 times a week, depending on the week. Last night we went to Chipotle (which I consider fast food) for a school fundraiser and it cost me $28, total.

on the flip side..INSIDE the kitchen:

i know the chef..third down from the main dude. she makes $15 per hour. i have to eat at this place only on Sunday happy hour, because i dont want to pay the crazy prices..

that money sure doesnt trickle down to the staff.

Yes! I took the kids there when Lisa was out of time. My Son had the Quail and my Daughter had the Boar. Food was great. Pricey but worth it. We stayed for well over an hour and a half and even had dessert. We never took our cell phones out. Not once. There is something to be said about great food. Go to a Sysco chain and SnapChat is a must apparently...

Of course eating at home isn't much better. A few fresh vegetables, some meat, milk, eggs, and other odds and ends is at least $100 and usually closer to $200.

I can understand why poor people live on McDonalds, it's the cheapest way to eat.

plenty of documentary film-makers paying rent with that theme.

i think they call them food deserts..or something.

I am still willing to eat out. I realize that if I want a good steak, it's going to cost me $100/head to eat dinner, what with everything else I'll want. Same thing with a good seafood place, French restaurant, etc. I have no issues with that, as I make it the centerpiece of a nice evening, not just "dinner." If you want to save a few bucks, eat at the same restaurant for lunch. A leisurely brunch/lunch on Saturday or Sunday can be a good way to spend a few hours.

What I won't do is eat at an "average" restaurant, or chain restaurant. I cook far better than they do, so I won't waste my time with those. Something else that I have noticed, if I really cook something high end, it's not really much cheaper to do so than eat the same meal at a great restaurant.

What irritates me is not the prices, but the difficulty of finding a really good restaurant in the middle of the country. I can get a good steak, but if I want French, Italian, seafood etc., that means I have to take a trip.

JR

Daaaaang, really? We get most of our stuff at a Persian market, which is super cheap, compared to the big grocery stores. $200 would buy enough groceries to last us a month.

I have my meals down to about $3 when eating at home. But then, I only eat a few different things, so I have that down pretty good.

Yep, I go to the Italian deli to get ingredients for pizza, they have the raw dough, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, garlic, dried oregano on the branch, I cheat and grab a jar of Italian spaghetti sauce, end up spending +$30 for a pizza I can get at an New York pizzeria for under $20

I usually only eat out 2-3 times /month. Common thread here, I get frustrating paying for sub-par or average grub that I can easily improve at home. I like a tapas place, sushi joint and bbq place for good quality, dont really care what it costs but reasonable anyway, food.

I've gotten decent with the wok and cant find anything close thats as good. Takes some time but pizza in the kamado is excellent. You name it, if I can get the ingredients w/o too much hassle I'd rather make it at home.

I usually go out when I just want a change, like the vibe or scenery of a place or want to try a specific menu/chef.

There used to be a sushi joint in Newport Beach thatwe'd go to regularly with our son and his GF, now wife. $25 per person, all you could eat. Too bad they closed a while back. Mmmm, sushi. :)

I believe Good Choice in Laguna Niguel still has that. It was $22 last time I checked.

These 3 rules might make the cost of eating out more palatable:

1) We never order drinks. Useless empty expensive calories. Paying good money to get fat? Don't
2) Main entree only, no apps. Like a wedding, the entree is already too much food. Want apps? Don't.
3) We often eat half the entree, and eat the rest the next day. This is the main reason I don't like to eat out. Overeating is too easy. Don't