How often do you go out to eat?

[halmstad]

My lady and i rarely go out to eat. first of all we can't really afford it and second we both work at night which makes it somewhat difficult. on our days off we cook at home. when we do go out, it's typically something that we don't cook well at home ie: chinese and indian...

where do ya'll go?

 

[seaside]

We never eat out can't afford it,  am so used to my wonderful hobby which is cooking, that it doesn't really bother us.  Food is expensive here in the UK especially good quality meat, so do not mind visiing various Supermarkets for the best buys, am bound to find something of good quality,  especially as I only buy Aberdeen Angus or Scotch Beef, so lucky to have such a wonderful choice of shops in my town.

 

[ishbel]

We eat out 2 or 3 times a week, most weeks - but at some times of the year, Burns' Night, St Andrews Night for instance, it could be 7 nights of the week - and most of the events have almost identical menu!

 

[koukouvagia]

We eat dinner out 2-3 times a week, one of those being take out.  Lunch I'm usually running around somewhere so that's more often out than home, but it's stuff like soup or sandwich from the deli.  Does that count as eating out?

 

[kyheirloomer]

Hardly ever. We go out for special occasions like birthdays and such. But given the dearth of good restaurants in the area, their high prices, and the fact that I cook better at home, we just don't see much point to it.

We eat lunch out on our weekly shopping trips to Lexington. But nothing fancy; usually chain restaurants, small family joints, or Chinese buffet.

 

[chrislehrer]

I used to eat out a lot, but I do it less and less these days. It's too expensive, I've got two little kids, and the quality seems to me to be dropping slowly but surely in "family-style" sorts of restaurants. More upscale I have to get a babysitter, which adds a huge amount to the price of dinner, and in Boston it's already ridiculously expensive.

I am also always depressed when I eat something and can identify clearly where it's been done poorly, almost invariably because of sloppiness, ignorance, and just not caring. If I don't have time to cook -- rare: I cook fast enough now that it's not a problem, but sometimes you've really got 15 minutes and nothing whatever in the fridge -- we'll order pizza or Chinese or something. And it's almost always disappointing....

These days I generally try to stay ahead of the curve by making a big batch of stock whenever I have a little time. Good stock plus whatever's in the fridge plus a handful of pasta -- with that, my kids will just chow down, and I know they're eating ridiculously healthy. Grownups too, for that matter. And it's sooooo cheap.

 

[crazybuoy]

hey

I like to eat home made food. not from outdoor. the quality and cleanness is the main reason. 

 

[skatz85]

i will admit i do hit up some chain places but usually try to go out and eat with a group of my friends to different type of restaurant in my area but not chains. different cuisines like mediteranian, japanese or irish and more. just trying to kind of expose our palets to different things. its nice i been to some good places and even began to enjoy sushi since our 1st time going.not much lately though since im done with school and work 2 jobs.

 

[chefross]

I don't go out to eat anymore. Let me rephrase that..............I'm much more picky about where I choose to spend my cash.

Funny how my favorite place is a small no name hole in the wall diner that makes the best hash browns you've ever had.

I try to stay clear of places that use convenience foods. To me that's not cooking.

I find it happens all the time when some one recommends a place to try that they liked,

I go there and find no redeeming qualities at all.

I laugh when some one tells me that their favorite Italian restaurant is Olive Garden.

I always have had this chip on my shoulder as to why I must pay a lot of money just to get good food and service.

Shouldn't service and food quality be the same at the corner diner as it would be at a fine dining venue?

 

[chefedb]

Should one compare the ambiance, food and service of  La Berniden  to that of Denny's?. You get what you pay for.

 

[kyheirloomer]

Two out of three wouldn't be bad, Ed. And Chefross never said anything about ambience.

The fact is,  food quality within the context of its type should be equal. And good service is good service, no matter where it's found. Service reflects an attitude which is either present in the wait staff or not.

I once ordered fried clams at a Shoney's. Apparently, what went into the fryer was the last of a bag, and was mostly bits and pieces of the breading, with almost no clam meat. That portion should never have been put on a plate (not because it wasn't up to Le Bernardin standards, but because it wasn't up to Shoney standards), and, once it was, the server should never have tried bringing to table.

On the other hand, we can all tell stories about poor food and/or lousy service in fine dining restaurants.

So, no matter what sort of occult powers you attribute to Le Grande Eric and other such restauranteurs, there really shouldn't be any difference in quality/service expectations between the two types of restaurants.

 

[amazingrace]

I like to eat out.  However,  we live 60 miles from town.  The only restaurant in our village can only be described as "raunchy",  and the food is only mediocre at best.  I make it a point to have lunch at nice places whenever I go into the city for any reason.  The last time HubbyDearest and I had dinner out was in March.  We had tickets to a concert,  so we decided to make it a real "date night".   The time before that is so long ago,  I don't even remember when it was or where we went. 

For the most part,  I prefer eating and cooking at home, though, and so does HD.  He likes going back for seconds,  and we both enjoy leftovers.   

 

[indianwells]

We very rarely eat out these days. As my own cooking has improved it really shows up the limitations of some so-called "chefs" in restaurants. No doubt there are some fine chefs out there, and not all in expensive joints, it's just that I always pick the ones that seemingly don't care. I simply don't like eating something that I know I can make twice as good at home.

 

[chefedb]

I still stick with you get what you pay for. When I go to a fast food place I expect errors but in a place where I am leaving my wallet, I don't.

 

[ishbel]

I NEVER eat at what is termed 'fast food' places!

We are lucky to have many, many good restaurants locally - and we patronise them regularly, because..   if they don't get regular customers, they will close!

 

[chefross]

I still stick with you get what you pay for. When I go to a fast food place I expect errors but in a place where I am leaving my wallet, I don't.

My point exactly Ed.

Case in point:

If and when I do a fast food place and I order fries and those fries come out luke warm and soggy, am I supposed to accept this and just shrug it off as an "error?"  

Of course not.

I tell the faceless entity behind the ordering machine that I will wait for hot fries.

Now whether they do that, is another story...

To me I can not understand the idea behind frying up an entire basket of fries and allowing them to sit under heat lamps. To me, each and every sandwich deserves fresh hot fries, made to order with that sandwich. You might say that this is unattainable and unrealistic, but I would just ignore that because I have been there and I have done that.

It is not rocket science, but the other way is pure disorganization and laziness.

I still maintain that service and quality can and should be the same whether it be Mc D's or Per Se.

 

[cyberdoc]

We don't eat out a lot.  The spousal unit actually prefers my cooking.  About the only time we go out is when we want sushi.