Did you go out to eat very often when you were growing-up? (restaurant, hamburger)

[CArizona]

Did you go out to eat very often when you were growing-up?...What were some of your favorite experiences and places to eat? (Cafes, chain restaurants, lunch-counters, take-out, buffets, fancy restaurants or ??)

[DawnMTL]

I did. It was just my Dad and me when I was a kid and he wasn't big into cooking. So we went out fairly often (or ordered in).

My favorite place was a restaurant specific to Montreal, where I grew up, called Piazza Tomasso. It was, obviously, Italian. On special occasions, like someone's birthday, Magic Tom would be there to perform his tricks at their table. I loooooved Magic Tom.

The first picture on this link is him.

Magic - The Canadian Encyclopedia

I swear that I can even remember his voice.

ETA: Oh my gosh, I just remembered what I used to order. It was a dish that had spaghetti and pizza on the same plate. Ironically, that's EXACTLY what I had for dinner last night at home in Massachusetts!

[Stumbler.]

About once a week.

Usually fast food, take-out or something like that. As to restaurants (including buffets), it was more like once every few months to a few times a year.

[SATX56]

About once a week generally. Seems like Sunday was a sure thing.

[Caligula1]

Not really, It's kind of why I know how to cook today...
Nothing like knowing full well how to make stuffed cabbage and peppers..
Not to mention the nice soups I can make now..

[CArizona]

I used to love going shopping with my Mom because we always took a break and sat in department store lunch-counters...Sometimes I'd order a chocolate soda or malt and my Mom would have coffee or hot tea...Every now and then we'd have pie or a sandwich. It was fun to be with my Mom...When I was 17 I got a summer job working in the lunch-counter of my favorite department store. Boy I sure felt like a "big shot" back then! My Mom came to see me when I was working by herself or with her friends. I could tell that she was proud of me. Nice!

[yellowsnow]

Almost never. We ate at home. The only exceptions were Christmas Eve and vacations. Christmas Eve, we usually went to the Tee Pee in Indianapolis. Our most frequent vacation was to see relatives in Pennsylvania. We used to always stop at Fettrows for breakfast. They had a treasure chest in the entrance and each kid got to pick something. Eating out was a big occasion for us.

[baker Freesia]

Generally once a week, it happen to always be on Friday our grocery shopping day, we'd go out to eat at Ponderosa before picking up our weekly groceries in town. I always without fail ordered a rib-eye steak well done with Ponderosa own house steak sauce, so yummy, also had either baked potato or fries, & a dinner roll, no longer eat at Ponderosa as I don't think the food taste like it use to, to bad because rib-eye steak well done sounds so mouth watering scrumptious delicious right now.

[Wilson513]

I think I might have gone to Howard Johnsons a couple of times before I was 12.

I did get a carry out hamburger (actually two $.20x2=$.40) a couple of times a week for lunch. That left $.10 for candy.

[theatergypsy]

Hardly ever. I remember going to a Chinese restaurant with my father when I was about 10 or 11. And every once in a very great while, my Gram would let me go to the automat during school lunch, but that would have been because there was something going on in her life that she couldn't make my lunch that day.

But eating out was not something we did. Matter of fact, now that my kids are grown and I'm retired, I could eat out every night if I chose, but I seldom do. Usually only if somebody calls and invites me out. It's just too much trouble to get ready and go and pay money for something I could cook at home for cheaper.

There was a brief time, when my youngest son was the last one left at home and I had a full time job that we ate out several times a week. It was just easier.