Anyone Else Soured on Dining Out?

[W2R]

IMHO, $11 for a person is a good price for lunch these days. The last time I went out for lunch, the tab was about $32 for two people. We ordered two main courses - senior meatloaf sandwich, one coffee, one free tap water.

I think this might be regional?

Since the pandemic, we have been getting our daily restaurant lunches "to go" more often than not. They are really too much food for one meal for one person.

Anyway today, for example, we got one order of (fabulous!) chicken breast parmesan for $12, to go. We split it in two once we got it home, and that was enough to cover the entire plate for each of us. I could barely finish mine. Total bill came to $6 each for lunch including tax and tip.

Yesterday, we each got a $12 large salad to go - - he got grilled chicken on his, I got grilled shrimp on mine. We each ate half of our individual salad for lunch, half for dinner. Again, $6 each for lunch including tax and tip.

It helps that we are getting older and don't need as much food. I haven't been able to eat nearly as much since I turned about 70 or so.

 

[punkinhead]

I don't normally eat fast food but I was out running errands yesterday and stopped for lunch at a little ice cream stand that also does the typical burgers, fries, etc. A young father, wife, and two kids of about 8 or 9 each ordered a sandwich, fries, and water. And the kids got the children's sizes. They were shocked when the bill came to $55. I know appearances can be deceiving but they were driving an older car and didn't look like they had much money. That meal had to have killed their weekly budget.

 

[harllee]

I had a great hamburger at the grill at the golf course yesterday. It was large, hot and tasty and only took about 10 minutes to get it. Total bill for hamburger with lettuce and tomato and chips and a cup of ice water was $10. I am going back there for sure.

 

[Midpack]

I don't normally eat fast food but I was out running errands yesterday and stopped for lunch at a little ice cream stand that also does the typical burgers, fries, etc. A young father, wife, and two kids of about 8 or 9 each ordered a sandwich, fries, and water. And the kids got the children's sizes. They were shocked when the bill came to $55. I know appearances can be deceiving but they were driving an older car and didn't look like they had much money. That meal had to have killed their weekly budget.

That's $13.75 per person. I don't know of any everyday fast food burger chain that's hit that price for a combo meal - especially with no soft drinks. That is more than average for fast food in the US. Must have been Five Guys, Shake Shack or the like - I wouldn't categorize either as "a little ice cream stand."

 

[harllee]

I had a great hamburger at the grill at the golf course yesterday. It was large, hot and tasty and only took about 10 minutes to get it. Total bill for hamburger with lettuce and tomato and chips and a cup of ice water was $10. I am going back there for sure.

As I think about it I usually get a very good meal at a reasonable price at golf course grills. If the golf course is open to the public and has a grill then the grill is open almost always open to the public too. The service is usually fast because golfers often eat between the front and back 9. If any of you have a pubic golf course nearby, check out their grill. I bet you will be pleasantly suprised at the quality of the food and the price.

 

[jollystomper]

Unless you work near a Costco.

So True! My last Megacorp work location that I commuted to was less than a 5 minute walk from a Costco. We had many business lunches there .

 

[W2R]

As I think about it I usually get a very good meal at a reasonable price at golf course grills. If the golf course is open to the public and has a grill then the grill is open almost always open to the public too. The service is usually fast because golfers often eat between the front and back 9. If any of you have a pubic golf course nearby, check out their grill. I bet you will be pleasantly suprised at the quality of the food and the price.

Good idea! The nearest golf course to us is about 5 miles away, but the next time we are over in that part of town during lunchtime, I'm going to suggest it as a possibility!

Lately we have been trying some new places instead of our usual mom'n'pop Italian hole-in-the-walls. We still like them, and go to them. But also we have have been having pretty good luck trying sports bars in our suburb, although we neither drink nor enjoy watching sports very much. Still, they are not expensive and we have been pleasantly surprised at the food quality. I had a $12 étouffée at our nearest sports bar about a month ago, and it was better than you'd get at one of the high rated, expensive restaurants in the French Quarter. I loved it. But, they tend to run out before we get there

We do avoid the sports bars during Saints games, though (too noisy!).

 

[Chuckanut]

I think this might be regional?

I completely agree. I live in an area where homes and rents are very very high. I would not be surprised if the owner of the place I visited paid over 3x the rent of the $6 place you ate at. And I know that he has to pay over $15 an hour to his help. The local Big Name Chicken sandwich place is starting new employees at $17.25 an hour.

So, yes, it's regional.

 

[Pellice]

Higher wages are the "classical" way in capitalism to improve the lives of the lowest-paid employees. The trick is to avoid the fall-off in expenditures that usually results. I rarely dine out, but I've reduced it further, and never pick up a sandwich (pack my own coffee, snacks, lunch, etc.) even if I'm out in the field on a birding trip.

However, it appears that dining expenditures are holding up, people are not dining out less - restaurants here in Nj are packed - so this situation may thread the needle, higher wages for employees, and dining expenditures not falling off.

 

[Al18]

I think Wawa makes the best Italian hoagies. Regular price for the classic is $6.29 I think, though sometimes it’s on sale for $5.99

 

[O2Bfree]

Years before Covid, we were eating out every Friday night after the gym, but tapered off because the pleasure/cost ratio was declining. We do still hit our favorite breakfast spot a couple times a month, where we can get a Big American Breakfast that's plentiful enough for a second meal. The food quality and service at this place hasn't been affected by Covid. The staff is largely the same, the atmosphere still upbeat, and the place still gets packed.

On road trips we've been grabbing breakfast and sometimes lunch at McD's. Fast service, consistent quality, and a decent, very large, very hot coffee for $1 at most stores. Afterwards, I'll usually do the customer survey that yields a code for a 2-for-1 deal, which is sometimes better than whatever deal they have going in their stores.

 

[GravitySucks]

Last trip to Panera will be my last trip to Panera.
Prices up and portions down. My 1/2 beef sandwich didn't have 2 oz. of meat and very little cheese. Panera's quality has been going down slowly for years.
I used to get lunch at subway a couple times a month when I was working and noticed the very few times I've been back since then that my digestive system was not happy with that decision.

Sticking to the local Delis. Way better quality/prices than Panera. Only slightly higher cost than Subway.

Sent from my LM-Q850 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[CatinKS]

Anyone familiar with an online coupon site for fast food that is legit. Seems like most want either my cell number or require that I download some file to print, which I would rather not do.

 

[Retired Expat]

We have several SWs but only a couple that don't smell funky when you walk in the door. YMMV

Have you all seen the John Oliver segment on Subway? Harsh to say the least but true from what I understand. https://www.yahoo.com/video/john-oliver-subway-170000045.html For a review of that episode.

I stopped going as even a 6” sub, where I take off half the bread, spikes my blood sugar unhealthily…. Shame as they are convenient and priced well…. If true, how they treat their franchisees borders on criminal!

 

[2017ish]

When we are at home, we continue to push ourselves to go out to eat once a week, which we started doing in late April of 2020 when restaurants were hurting. Focused on restaurants that do things we don't have the reasonable ability to duplicate in our home kitchen. (multi course tasting menus, good ethnic food, etc.). Not seeing much in way of drop off on quality of the meals/service--but we are not visiting a representative slice of Nashville restaurants.

OTOH, when traveling, have seen serious staffing issues. Unfortunately, we eat out far more often when away from home. During recent 8 week, mostly driving, trip in Ireland and Scotland, we went to restaurants for every evening meal. Staffing was very light at many places and it was not uncommon to find places closed during their advertised hours of business; perhaps attributable to how recently they had come out of lockdown restrictions?

Looking at the bright side, we have found that the situation is FAR better than when we were traveling during the height of covid restrictions/reactions in 2020.

 

[JoeWras]

Last trip to Panera will be my last trip to Panera.
Prices up and portions down. My 1/2 beef sandwich didn't have 2 oz. of meat and very little cheese. Panera's quality has been going down slowly for years.

It's really a darn shame. This was our go-to fast casual place from the early 2000s until about 2015. They were running into some financial issues and changed a bunch of stuff around then, including their push for "clean." Then when they sold to the conglomerate, it went off a cliff.

Really too bad. Haven't been there in years now.

 

[Chris7]

We enjoy several places but high prices vs. average service is often not tipping the scales anymore.


Our Paneras is still good. Haven't had Subway in a long-time as quality staffing seems problematic. I like Habit, but many in my family don't. I'm a vegan and they are not.


A few family owned places still get our business here and there.



cd : O)

 

[ychuck46]

Use the App

On road trips we've been grabbing breakfast and sometimes lunch at McD's. Fast service, consistent quality, and a decent, very large, very hot coffee for $1 at most stores. Afterwards, I'll usually do the customer survey that yields a code for a 2-for-1 deal, which is sometimes better than whatever deal they have going in their stores.

If you don't have the McD's app on your phone, get it. No having to do the surveys from the receipt. All the deals are there each day, including quite a few BYGOs, $2 off the various lattes, etc.

 

[Badger]

Last trip to Panera will be my last trip to Panera.
Prices up and portions down. My 1/2 beef sandwich didn't have 2 oz. of meat and very little cheese. Panera's quality has been going down slowly for years.
I used to get lunch at subway a couple times a month when I was working and noticed the very few times I've been back since then that my digestive system was not happy with that decision.

Sticking to the local Delis. Way better quality/prices than Panera. Only slightly higher cost than Subway.

Sent from my LM-Q850 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

+1
A number of years ago I was excited to have a Paneras come to town although the Publix does a fair job. I was so disappointed. Their bagels are no more than bread rolls with a hole in the middle. As close to a bagel as a fried turnip. They are a chain so I imagine much of their food has to be provide via corporate. Unfortunately they moved next to a small bagel shop and drove them out of business. Not unlike what WM does.

Cheers!

 

[brucethebroker]

Last trip to Panera will be my last trip to Panera.
Prices up and portions down. My 1/2 beef sandwich didn't have 2 oz. of meat and very little cheese. Panera's quality has been going down slowly for years.
I used to get lunch at subway a couple times a month when I was working and noticed the very few times I've been back since then that my digestive system was not happy with that decision.

Sticking to the local Delis. Way better quality/prices than Panera. Only slightly higher cost than Subway.

Sent from my LM-Q850 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

+1. We have experienced the same on the food, but still enjoy the bear claws and coffee.

 

[athena53]

+1
Their bagels are no more than bread rolls with a hole in the middle. <snip> Unfortunately they moved next to a small bagel shop and drove them out of business. Not unlike what WM does.

Sadly, that describes most bagels. I lived in NNJ for 25 years and a local place had REAL bagels- boiled, not steamed. That's how you make them. I haven't gone looking for suburbs with large Jewish populations here in the KC area but we're dominated by Einstein's. I won't buy them.

 

[JoeWras]

Sadly, that describes most bagels. I live din NNJ for 25 years and a local place had REAL bagels- boiled, not steamed. That's how you make them. I haven't gone looking for suburbs with large Jewish populations here in the KC area but we're dominated by Einstein's. I won't buy them.

Yep, Panera only bakes, no boil. Brueggers (owned by same conglomerate as Panera) still boils theirs, BUT the dough comes from some factory, probably the same factory making Einstein's (also same conglomerate). Factory made dough matters in a negative way. It is what makes Subway's baked-in-store bread so awful.

 

[foxfirev5]

Sadly, that describes most bagels. I live din NNJ for 25 years and a local place had REAL bagels- boiled, not steamed. That's how you make them. I haven't gone looking for suburbs with large Jewish populations here in the KC area but we're dominated by Einstein's. I won't buy them.

1982 Queens NY. I lived upstate and always got into the city by 6AM for a coffee and bagel. Best of times.

 

[Dtail]

Sadly, that describes most bagels. I lived in NNJ for 25 years and a local place had REAL bagels- boiled, not steamed. That's how you make them. I haven't gone looking for suburbs with large Jewish populations here in the KC area but we're dominated by Einstein's. I won't buy them.

Brooklyn Bagel by us supposedly uses NY water. Their bagel is fairly close to the NY area bagels, plus they sell Carnegie deli meats.

 

[38Chevy454]

I agree Panera is on my don't go list. Too small of portions for the cost, very slow, and the food is just not that good.

When traveling, Buc-ees is a good food stop vs fast food. They're always crowded, and of course limited locations.