Where do you go when you eat out? (moving, Canada, spouse)
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I honestly prefer my cooking to going out. My husband won't even have a glass of wine if he's driving, so we're much more likely to go out for lunch than dinner. But, I love seafood, and I don't do a great job with it, so when I have a craving we go out for it. No chains, we eat out so rarely that cost isn't a factor, and go upscale.
The only chain I've been to in years is Carraba's, and that's because it's my mother's choice when I go to NC to visit. Fast food? Never. When traveling we'll eat breakfast at the hotel, then drive until dinner time, and search out a local spot.
Why is this question in this thread? It's not senior related nor retirement related. A move is on order, IMO.
Our interest is in where and how often seniors eat out. You will get completely different answers if you put this on the Food & Drink sub-forum. For example, I 'm interested in whether retirement resulted in people cooking more meals for themselves and even make cooking more of a hobby and elevate their cooking. Or did the extra time available and need to get out of the house and socialize result in their eating out more often.
I live in a kinda big town & hardly ever go into a restaurant that advertises on TV unless I'm on the road or in a huge hurry. I save my $$$ for places that are run by someone who serves fresh food & is an actual cook, not teenagers who throw frozen prepackaged items into ovens. Every few months I might grab a fast food burger or Chipotle, but never, never a chain pizza slice... horrible!
Enough mom & pop places to support around here, I've lived other places & understand that isn't always the case... Same with groceries, I don't usually buy much of anything that's advertised, mostly fresh ingredients + condiments.
We prefer to go out for breakfast or lunch, as we usually get out of the house noon-ish... and we like to go to local places that seem to cook real food.
We live in Asheville. There are lots of great places to eat in all price ranges. We eat out regularly-- we do not go to chain restaurants. The "eat local and fresh movement" is something see enjoy here. We also both enjoy cooking. I didn't see any place for me in your poll.
We're the same so I couldn't answer the poll either.
Asheville is one of our favorite cities for farm-to-table, locally sourced restaurants; we especially enjoy Sunny Point Cafe! Sadly Asheville is about a 15-hour drive from here so we only get there every couple of years. But the movement is increasing, there are 3 now in our small exurban TX community and many more in nearby DFW.
Other than farm-to-table restaurants, we usually eat out only at small non-chain ethnic or specialty places (Cajun, Indian, Greek, Mexican, Soul, BBQ, etc.). They're easy to find just about anywhere. One chain we do like is Luby's Cafeterias. They're only in a few states though.
I'm not a very good cook and will generally only make my lunch. I go out to eat a lot at dinner.
Tuesday's I go to an Irish pub and have a cottage pie for $7. I like sandwiches, so I end up at some chain and local delis. I frequent a brewery near my house, a hot dog place, BBQ joint.
Our interest is in where and how often seniors eat out. You will get completely different answers if you put this on the Food & Drink sub-forum. For example, I 'm interested in whether retirement resulted in people cooking more meals for themselves and even make cooking more of a hobby and elevate their cooking. Or did the extra time available and need to get out of the house and socialize result in their eating out more often.
Bada Bing a perfect forum topic and hopefully a consideration for folks when transplanting.
I live in a kinda big town & hardly ever go into a restaurant that advertises on TV unless I'm on the road or in a huge hurry. I save my $$$ for places that are run by someone who serves fresh food & is an actual cook, not teenagers who throw frozen prepackaged items into ovens. Every few months I might grab a fast food burger or Chipotle, but never, never a chain pizza slice... horrible!
Enough mom & pop places to support around here, I've lived other places & understand that isn't always the case... Same with groceries, I don't usually buy much of anything that's advertised, mostly fresh ingredients + condiments.
Very few chains cook with prepacked frozen food any longer.
All those little mom and pop places buy their ingredients from the exact same places chains do, Sysco Foods. Unless they are on a slow food movement, and that is very expensive and menu prices will reflect that, they are all buying from the same place.
Keep in mind those chains also employ locals and put money back into the local community. And because they are chains, they are able to offer their employees what most independents are not: 401K, paid vacations, and health insurance.
I eat at both and enjoy both but to scoff at chains just because they are a chain restaurant is silly.
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Sadly Asheville is about a 15-hour drive from here so we only get there every couple of years. But the movement is increasing, there are 3 now in our small exurban TX community and many more in nearby DFW.
