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Almost never, it's way expensive here, even the tourists can be seen sneaking 'picnics' into their 600$ a night rooms, lol.
We do have the usual fast food places, though they charge more here too, I think - is a Whooper meal 11$ on the mainland now? We went into Burger King last week, saw the prices and walked right out!!
Speaking of guilty pleasures, I raise my hand and plead guilty for Burger King!-----BUT!
It's 3 days a week for breakfast. And what I do is off the dollar menu--sausage and cheese muffin, hash browns, and senior coffee (free)--a whopper(sorry heh heh ) total of $2.36! In the morning the best way for me to get going is walk two blocks to BK and chow down and read the morning paper. I don't do burgers there, or for that matter pretty much anywhere else.
I am a Chef, have been in the industry for well over 25 years, when I go out to eat, it's for an occasion. While I order in, or take advantage of specials in my College town, it's not often (maybe 4 times a year) I consider myself "going out to eat".
After a 12 - 14hour day, I don't wanna come home and cook. When I DO want to go out, and dine, I don't mind spending a few hundred bucks, but that is a lot different to me than "eating out". Not to mention, as a Chef, I end up going to the "well, I could have made that at home, BETTER, and saved the 300% mark up". . .but again, it's about really eating out. It's going out for the experience to dine, and be pampered. That to me, isn't the same as a lot this thread leans towards.
I feel the same way, and I'm not a chef (although I've had restaurant meals that I too could have prepared better at home).
It's not just about the money. It's about having someone prepare your food, wait on you, enjoying a different atmosphere and some company, and not clearing up afterwards. That's what you pay for. If one doesn't enjoy those aspects of eating out and the only thing one can think of is the financial POV of dining out, then perhaps it is best to stay home and cook.
I've always been amazed at people who say they make pizza at home. Isn't the entire reason for the existance of pizza to have a food you can order and have delivered to you????
There are many very talented chefs in my area. I definitely don't think I can cook better than most of them, nor does my partner (who is a very talented chef in his own right).
I feel the same way, and I'm not a chef (although I've had restaurant meals that I too could have prepared better at home).
It's not just about the money. It's about having someone prepare your food, wait on you, enjoying a different atmosphere and some company, and not clearing up afterwards. That's what you pay for. If one doesn't enjoy those aspects of eating out and the only thing one can think of is the financial POV of dining out, then perhaps it is best to stay home and cook.
I've always been amazed at people who say they make pizza at home. Isn't the entire reason for the existance of pizza to have a food you can order and have delivered to you????
Homemade pizza, unless you have a dedicated pizza oven, is just not worth it to me. You cannot get a good char on the crust in a standard home kitchen oven. Then again, I also think a lot of pizza suffers from delivery as well.
I live within a 10 minute walk of probably 50 restaurants and cafes, within a 3 minue walk of a dozen.
Everything from Indian to Greek to Mexican to gourmet burgers to New Mexican to French to New American to northern Italian to Thai to Sushi to a half dozen brewpubs to another half dozen interesting food trucks and so on.
It is hard not to eat out when, depending on which direction the wind is blowing, a multitude of exotic and savory aromas stimulate my salivary glands.
I cook all the time, every night. I pack my lunches.
That's one of the keys to frugal living. I worked for 50 years before retiring. I brown bagged every lunch and took a thermos of coffee every day. Over 50 years I saved thousands of dollars, most of which is sitting in my retirement savings waiting for me to need it. When I was in my 20s I put lunch money in a jar every day, and at the end of the year bought a $2000 stereo system. Sunday brunch at my house was a tradition for my friends. You can make breakfast for half a dozen people really cheap.
Eating out is a special occasion. My wife and I judge restaurants by whether they can cook better than we can. Mostly they can't. They also can't cook better than most of our friends. Pot lucks and dinner parties are popular in my circle.
My wife and I judge restaurants by whether they can cook better than we can. Mostly they can't.
I hear you on that one! Rarely do I get a meal out that is better than what we can cook!
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-----BUT!
) total of $2.36! In the morning the best way for me to get going is walk two blocks to BK and chow down and read the morning paper. I don't do burgers there, or for that matter pretty much anywhere else.
