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An acquaintance of mine thought the town we lived in needed a fine dining experience, so he opened an upper scale restaurant. It featured a lot of specialties you could only find in places like NY. But the "early bird" retirees that populate this area would order a water and then use the sugar on the table and the lemon slices he kept there to make their own lemonade ! They would also order one meal and ask for a second plate.
He finally figured out too many people here were cheap and he closed the place after a couple of years.
When I go out to eat I want a good meal, regardless of if it costs me a few bucks more, so I order whatever I want on the menu, including a good beverage.
Don
Sounds like he did lots of research into his endeavor before jumping in. He, hopefully, now knows why there are no fine dining bistros in your town. It's a wonder the early bird special folks even walked through the doors. I always imagine 'em in Denny's or Wendy's as that is where I see 'em. Funny story.
An acquaintance of mine thought the town we lived in needed a fine dining experience, so he opened an upper scale restaurant. It featured a lot of specialties you could only find in places like NY. But the "early bird" retirees that populate this area would order a water and then use the sugar on the table and the lemon slices he kept there to make their own lemonade ! They would also order one meal and ask for a second plate.
He finally figured out too many people here were cheap and he closed the place after a couple of years.
When I go out to eat I want a good meal, regardless of if it costs me a few bucks more, so I order whatever I want on the menu, including a good beverage.
Don
You made my day; I am a senior and I do like lemon in my water, but forget the making it into lemonade and sharing a meal: A lot of places charge you extra for a second plate. We do, rarely, go to a decent place for lunch and if we have a coupon or they have a special, we will order dinner instead of lunch and bring the rest home for another meal, but we have yet to split a meal. I have heard of seniors who do this. The same as one of our coffee shops offers a free piece of pie on Wednesday with any order and I know a few people that go in, order coffee only and get their free pie. I would think the restaurant would have some type of restriction.
I never would get drinks with while eating out, even as a kid or teenager. I always got water.
Once I became an adult, sometimes I would get a beer or alcoholic drink ONLY if it was happy hour (aka super cheap), but I still never do any soda, juice, or teas.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by don1945
But the "early bird" retirees that populate this area would order a water and then use the sugar on the table and the lemon slices he kept there to make their own lemonade !
I laughed so hard that I almost spit out my sugar water with lemon in it. Just kidding, I don't drink water. But that's hilarious. Not for your friend, of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
The same as one of our coffee shops offers a free piece of pie on Wednesday with any order and I know a few people that go in, order coffee only and get their free pie. I would think the restaurant would have some type of restriction.
Omigod, that's horrible. They should definitely have a restriction.
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Oh, to answer the question: I always order a Diet Coke... and I never finish it, so that doubly sucks for me.
Some order water, some iced tea or soft drink or juice. Or even a beer or glass of wine.
The biggest mark up is on iced tea or soft drinks, even with free refill.
When eating lunch, I often don't want anything to drink, but the waiter will bring a glass of water anyway (what a waste!). For dinner I want a beer or glass of wine. I don't drink tap water or order anything poured over ice.
That is actually a geographical thing, elnina. Assuming you are in the SA/Houston area as I am, most waiters automatically bring water because there is plenty around here. Also, the intense heat plays a factor. Many of us feel so hot that we have to drink something all the time. But when I was living in San Francisco, CA, where water rationing is a common occurrence, you have to ask for water. In Anchorage, AK, they don't usually bring water unless you ask either, because people don't drink as much in the colder climate.
To answer OP's question, the only nonalcoholic beverage I order when I'm out to eat is unsweetened ice tea. Similarly to other posters, I have started cutting back on it a lot due to cost. I can afford it, but it's around $2.50 now at least, and that just seems like to add on my bill just for flavored water, even though I usually get refills. And when we add my wife's tea on the tab, that's a large part of the cost of another entree! Another issue I've had with iced tea is that there are many restaurants that make very weak tea, and then I end up not drinking it at all. How on earth can you mess up a tea bag and water? Apparently there is a lot of room for error even in this simple recipe
Only water for me! My mother would only allow us to drink water while dining out as a kid an it stuck with me. I can easily see why now. I've slowly been teaching my own kids how much it can save (up to $12 for four people!) by drinking water.
Sometimes my s/o will order a drink w/ refills, and we'll share it.
Only water for me! My mother would only allow us to drink water while dining out as a kid an it stuck with me. I can easily see why now. I've slowly been teaching my own kids how much it can save (up to $12 for four people!) by drinking water.
Sometimes my s/o will order a drink w/ refills, and we'll share it.
Exactly, if you fore-go drinks, you can often afford a nice appetizer or two, or maybe some dessert.
I just notice the word Americans. What do people in other countries order with their meal?
It varies based on the personal circumstances, much like the US. However, other countries (UK, Aus/NZ, Hong Kong, Singapore), restaurant business models aren't as dependent on beverage profits subsidizing the food. There's no perceived snub/cheapskate penalty for sticking with tap water. Of course, the sticker price of food is higher (but there's no hidden 20% bribe, err tip).
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