[jyl]

Going out for dinner, almost never. Okay, maybe 10 X yr. Reasons:
- I like to cook, it is one of my main hobbies.
- I'm actually not that interested in eating. If I eat good food, but didn't cook it, I feel like I missed out on almost all the fun.
- For mainstream food, most restaurants (at a price range that I consider non-silly) don't consistently deliver food better than I make at home. So when we do go out for dinner, it is usually to an ethnic place, some cuisine that I don't make (but may be interested in learning).
- When we want to get together with friends, I vastly prefer doing it at home. A dinner party all evening - hors d'oeuvres, endless wine, music, goofing around - is way more fun than a couple hours seated in a crowded restaurant.
- (My opinion only - would love to be corrected) Restaurant food is often not prepared in nearly as healthy a way as you'd do at home. My exhibit A is dim sum, which happens to be one of my favorite things. Ever look up the calories in that cute little steamed thing with the succulent meat filling - it seems way out of proportion to the thing's size. 'Cuz it is stuffed with lard. Otherwise it would be dry after steaming - try it, make a dumpling with no added fat and steam it, yuck! Well, I make my own dim sum at home (only a few things, still learning) and use gelatin instead of lard.
- Being on a diet/weight loss thing, I prefer to know exactly what went into my meal, and I'm eating a different protein/carb/fat ratio than the typical entree choice.
- The kids don't really like eating out.