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Are you sure you aren't my Mom? Over a decade ago, at a gathering of the families for the Great Grandmother's reunion, she took a lot of us to dinner.......and my boy cousin shocked her by ordering the most expensive thing on the menu. The bill came out to something like above, without alcohol. Mom was rather upset about people using her generosity like that.
Anyhow, I eat a lot of spaghetti and even though I can be extravagant (sauce of white wine, feta cheese, a can of fish, anchovy paste, parmessian cheese, and croutons; served with a red wine), it still comes out to being a 3rd to a 4th of what I would pay, meal and tip, to ordering pizza or the buffet.
Plus, there are other factors as well. For the time it takes me to order and wait on the pizza, I could have cooked and be eating my spaghetti. Eating out means no wine with the meal since I am my designated driver.
Finally, I'm trying to get back in the habit that if I want pizza...............I'll make it from scratch.
My wife and I went to a potluck Christmas party last Saturday. We took spaghetti, which was made with our home preserved tomato sauce from heritage tomatoes. You can't buy flavor like that in a store. It was served over fresh vine ripened spaghetti squash that had great flavor, and garnished with fresh grated Romano. People hoovered it, and there was a lot of competition from other excellent dishes. We also took a couple bottles of excellent Prosecco (La Marca). Our total bill for the evening ran about $30, including gas to get there. The party was held in the country, in a remodeled barn, finished in natural wood, heated with a wood stove and lighted by candles and a 10' Christmas tree. You would pay a fortune for ambiance like that anywhere in the country.
After Christmas we are invited to another party, this time at a house where there is a creek and a waterfall 10 feet from the deck. My friends live with considerable style. The fact that they don't eat out much might have something to do with that.
We eat about 3 or 4 times a year. Most of the food you can get out is not healthy, has tons of salt and having worked in food service, I've seen what happens to your food before you get it at your table............
I think the whole "I can make anything better than a restaurant" really depends where you live and what food you like. There are a lot of places in the US where the Olive Garden is considered a great meal. Tourists still line up at Bubba Gumps in Times Square.
Just a tip for those who like to cook - my locally owned supermarket chain stocks El Guapo whole black pepper (pimienta negras enteras) in little cellophane packets. I figured what the heck, for 75 cents I would give them a try. I refilled a pepper grinder, and much to my surprise they turned out to be much more flavorful than the expensive bottled ones in the anglo spice section. Recommended.
I think the whole "I can make anything better than a restaurant" really depends where you live and what food you like. There are a lot of places in the US where the Olive Garden is considered a great meal. Tourists still line up at Bubba Gumps in Times Square.
If the chef makes a career out of shopping for outstanding ingredients, restaurant food can indeed be worth it. I am reminded of a baked fresh halibut stuffed with fresh Dungeness crab and sharp muenster garnished with a few delicate herbs. I complimented the chef personally, and he told me it the ingredients were special order from the coast, not available in local markets. He dealt directly with the fishermen. The fish was less than 6 hours out of the ocean, and had been kept on ice the whole time.
I don't feel bad about paying for a meal like that. As I said, my wife and I judge a restaurant by whether they can cook better than we can. Sometimes they can. There's a little shack on the docks in Bandon that sells the best fresh halibut fish and chips in the world. I never miss the opportunity to stop there for lunch, along with hundreds of other people.
My wife and I went to a potluck Christmas party last Saturday. We took spaghetti, which was made with our home preserved tomato sauce from heritage tomatoes. You can't buy flavor like that in a store. It was served over fresh vine ripened spaghetti squash that had great flavor, and garnished with fresh grated Romano. People hoovered it, and there was a lot of competition from other excellent dishes. We also took a couple bottles of excellent Prosecco (La Marca). Our total bill for the evening ran about $30, including gas to get there. The party was held in the country, in a remodeled barn, finished in natural wood, heated with a wood stove and lighted by candles and a 10' Christmas tree. You would pay a fortune for ambiance like that anywhere in the country.
After Christmas we are invited to another party, this time at a house where there is a creek and a waterfall 10 feet from the deck. My friends live with considerable style. The fact that they don't eat out much might have something to do with that.
My wife and I went to a potluck Christmas party last Saturday. We took spaghetti, which was made with our home preserved tomato sauce from heritage tomatoes. You can't buy flavor like that in a store. It was served over fresh vine ripened spaghetti squash that had great flavor, and garnished with fresh grated Romano. People hoovered it, and there was a lot of competition from other excellent dishes. We also took a couple bottles of excellent Prosecco (La Marca). Our total bill for the evening ran about $30, including gas to get there. The party was held in the country, in a remodeled barn, finished in natural wood, heated with a wood stove and lighted by candles and a 10' Christmas tree. You would pay a fortune for ambiance like that anywhere in the country.
After Christmas we are invited to another party, this time at a house where there is a creek and a waterfall 10 feet from the deck. My friends live with considerable style. The fact that they don't eat out much might have something to do with that.
No....I really doubt that the fact they don't eat out has anything to do with having 'style' in general.....it's how they choose to live and nothing more...nothing less.
That's why I'm glad I live in a place where chef-driven restaurants with an emphasis on local, seasonal products are the norm.
I think you can find places like that on most areas if you look......but all to often people don't bother or don't want to take the chance or think that such places are too expensive.....other than one small regional chain of pizza places....I can't even remember the last time I ate at a chain restaurant.. ...and I live in a small town about 30 minutes away from a larger metro area. It's not hard to do....most people just don't want to.
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