Anyone Else Soured on Dining Out?

[Timeisprecious]

Subway certainly has a greater variety of ingredients, Jersey Mike’s has quality and quantity of ingredients. No comparison re: quality IME. The amount of meat on a Subway sandwich is laughable, I’m not a fan of lettuce sandwiches. I occasionally eat at Subway if I’m traveling in an area that doesn’t have JM, otherwise there’s no way…

I dunno, Midpack - maybe it's the type of sandwiches you order. DW and I had Subway the other day. She ordered a tuna sandwich - not a big deal there but there was plenty of that on hers. I had a baja steak and cheese sandwich - PACKED with meat! I loved everything else on it too - the cheese, veggies, sauce, etc. I tasted every bit of it! Yummm!

 

[Koolau]

I dunno, Midpack - maybe it's the type of sandwiches you order. DW and I had Subway the other day. She ordered a tuna sandwich - not a big deal there but there was plenty of that on hers. I had a baja steak and cheese sandwich - PACKED with meat! I loved everything else on it too - the cheese, veggies, sauce, etc. I tasted every bit of it! Yummm!

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

 

[Music Lover]

We walked to the only restaurant that's walking distance yesterday (about 1.5 km) and had a reasonably priced outing. Their menu has some expensive items...an average dinner bill can be $130 for a couple drinks and 2 menu items.

But on Sunday various pints (20 oz) are $6 or $7 and 9 oz wine is $9. We shared a pound of wings made from scratch and cooked fresh (Avocado Aioli) and a chicken sandwich with bacon, blue cheese, blueberry compote that came with a side.

The bill including tax for 2 pints, 2 wine, wings, and the chicken sandwich and side was $68, which we both thought was pretty reasonable.

 

[Koolau]

Lunch today from one of our old favorite carry out bar and grill was 25% higher than last year. Still same quality, though. YMMV

 

[Dtail]

We also have Firemen's Sub in our area and that quality is higher than any Subway near us.

 

[Phroig]

I used to love Subway, but now I rarely go, and only if I have a coupon from their quarterly mailings. One 6 inch sub for $3.50 plus tax, if you use a coupon. Otherwise $4.25 I think. The ingredients just don't taste as fresh as they used to. And the bread in the old days was better. They were forced to change the bread formula since it had some sort of 'harmful' preservative. I have never tried Jersey Mike's. Will have to. I have found my 'favorite' sub sandwich place, anyway, and it's a one store place in NJ. Way better than Subway, and probably better than JM. The bread is great. A little bit crusty on the outside. Fresh tasting ingredients. It's $6.40 including tax, for an 8 inch sub (the small). Worth it. I pay cash. Everyone else is poking away at the kiosk screen, or already ordered online. I sometimes have to wait 60 seconds to order. It's a special treat whenever I go there.

Regular price for a footlong is $10-12, which is silly for a Subway sandwich. We only go if we have coupons.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

2 giants at Jersey Mikes will be closer to $35.00 in California and they rarely offer coupons.
Like others I love their sandwiches and have to pay full price most of the time which really hurts, I'm a cheapskate that always uses coupons when I can.

 

[Midpack]

2 giants at Jersey Mikes will be closer to $35.00 in California and they rarely offer coupons.
Like others I love their sandwiches and have to pay full price most of the time which really hurts, I'm a cheapskate that always uses coupons when I can.

Doesn’t help a lot, but with MyMikes Shore Points you get a free sandwich after you buy 12 (same size) - or even fewer if you take advantage of some double points days.

I’ve never been to a bad Jersey Mike’s or a better Subway in any state. Subway is as good long ago when they didn’t have any competition in their space. Jersey Mike’s kills Subway in most if not all legit comparison tests:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-fast-food-sub-sandwich_n_5baa37a9e4b069d5f9d661a4

https://www.thetravel.com/which-sandwich-chain-is-the-best/

https://www.mlive.com/dining/2017/09/chain_sub_sandwiches_ranked_fr.html

The only thing Subway has going for it is lower prices, but you get what you pay for…

 

[brett]

We stopped doing fast food. Typically we go out for food than we cannot or do not want to prepare ourselves.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Doesn’t help a lot, but with MyMikes Shore Points you get a free sandwich after you buy 12 (same size) - or even fewer if you take advantage of some double points days.

I’ve never been to a bad Jersey Mike’s or a better Subway in any state. Subway is as good long ago when they didn’t have any competition in their space. Jersey Mike’s kills Subway in most if not all legit comparison tests:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-fast-food-sub-sandwich_n_5baa37a9e4b069d5f9d661a4

https://www.thetravel.com/which-sandwich-chain-is-the-best/

https://www.mlive.com/dining/2017/09/chain_sub_sandwiches_ranked_fr.html

The only thing Subway has going for it is lower prices, but you get what you pay for…

I do use our Shore Points to get a freebie every so often and that certainly helps as does "Double Points Tuesday"
I think I only went back once to Subway trying to duplicate the "Mikes Way" taste and the test failed miserably, there's nothing like that juice...
I have a search set up on slickdeals.net to make sure I don't miss any deals but they don't come along very often.
One thing I don't like about them is many times the app does not take the coupon code so I have to order in store and that's a pain..

 

[Chuckanut]

We stopped doing fast food. Typically we go out for food than we cannot or do not want to prepare ourselves.

+1

I will also go out for a social event. But, just to eat? I can make a very good sub sandwich at home.

 

[Pellice]

I and a friend went to a restaurant with an outdoor dining area for brunch Saturday, and I was very disappointed in the food, even though this has been a favorite place of mine. My omelette was mediocre, and I didn't like the tater tots much at all. My friend had a chicken breast on a waffle, and it looked way overcooked. In fact, most places I've eaten at in the past year have disappointed - though, I admit, I'm not going to the "best" places. I don't eat out much, and am not being motivated to do more of it.

 

[Chuckanut]

I and a friend went to a restaurant with an outdoor dining area for brunch Saturday, and I was very disappointed in the food, even though this has been a favorite place of mine. My omelette was mediocre, and I didn't like the tater tots much at all. My friend had a chicken breast on a waffle, and it looked way overcooked. In fact, most places I've eaten at in the past year have disappointed - though, I admit, I'm not going to the "best" places. I don't eat out much, and am not being motivated to do more of it.

With the hiring issues many restaurants have had it's almost like they are going through the birthing pains of opening a new restaurant. Former restaurant critic, Elmer Dills, made a point of not doing a definitive review of any restaurant until it was at least six months old. Today, with all the staff turnover, even a decades old restaurant can be 'new' in regards to the staff and how well they work together.

Granted, that knowledge doesn't do much for the customer who just paid big bucks for a meal that turned out to be mediocre.

 

[audreyh1]

I didn’t know if there were any Jersey Mike’s in South TX, but I see there is one next to the new Corpus Christi supercharger. I may have to try their “Sub in a Tub”.

 

[Koolau]

Took daughter, DIL and GD out to a soup-salad-sandwich place yesterday. It had a fairly limited menu but included, for instance, a one-pass salad/soup bar - which we did not partake.

Together, we ate a whole sandwich, two half sandwiches and two soups for $44. It was plenty of food and I guess $11/person (plus a 2 yo) was a decent price. My sammich (half of a whole) was very good (Reuben) and the soup (a type of chili) was just "okay." For some reason, it just seemed like a lot of money for what we got. Perhaps I'm still thinking pre-pandemic. YMMV

 

[Chuckanut]

Took daughter, DIL and GD out to a soup-salad-sandwich place yesterday. It had a fairly limited menu but included, for instance, a one-pass salad/soup bar - which we did not partake.

Together, we ate a whole sandwich, two half sandwiches and two soups for $44. It was plenty of food and I guess $11/person (plus a 2 yo) was a decent price. My sammich (half of a whole) was very good (Reuben) and the soup (a type of chili) was just "okay." For some reason, it just seemed like a lot of money for what we got. Perhaps I'm still thinking pre-pandemic. YMMV

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.

 

[Koolau]

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 agree that the price is about right for lunch. The quantity was a bit small I thought, but the place is somewhat "boutique" in nature. Contrast that with the meal I had at Dennys the other day. We could measure it in "pounds" for $11. At least two full meals for $11. Of course, you get what you pay for though I generally like Dennys food (at least my long-time favorites.) Simple tastes save money - hmmmm! A new tag line? Nah! YMMV

 

[DrRoy]

DW in particular likes to eat out but does not like the excess sodium intake that almost always is required. Anyone know where to go where the food is not too salty?

 

[Badger]

DW in particular likes to eat out but does not like the excess sodium intake that almost always is required. Anyone know where to go where the food is not too salty?

It is difficult to get away from the salt (seasoning) in a restaurant. You may not even taste it like you would if you put it on food yourself but it is there. If you can taste it then it is really loaded. Since I do most of the cooking, my wife sent me to chef led cooking classes for a few weeks and I was surprised at how much salt was used in recipes. Since she needs to be concerned about blood pressure I have found ways to adjust or eliminate salt in most recipes that we like. But you will find very few restaurants willing (or allowed by corporate) to change their preparation. It is the "price" you pay to have someone else do the cooking. All I can think of is a fresh vegetable salad bar but there are often other chemicals used to keep them fresh looking that I would want to avoid.

Cheers!

 

[aja8888]

Gone are the days of the $5 business lunch, or $10 for that matter.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Gone are the days of the $5 business lunch, or $10 for that matter.

Unless you work near a Costco.

 

[Chuckanut]

DW in particular likes to eat out but does not like the excess sodium intake that almost always is required. Anyone know where to go where the food is not too salty?

+1

Pizza from a local pizzeria puts my body into overdrive to get rid of the excess salt. My homemade pizza leaves me feeling very normal. That's another reason why I usually make my own. Plus the price for a simple 12-14 inch pizza has gotten ridiculous. Over $20 plus tax and tip at the better places.

I remember reading about several tricks chefs use to improve taste. One was bacon and bacon grease. Another is not skimping on the salt. A third was extra spices (ie. use a tablespoon of vanilla in the pancake batter not a tsp.)

 

[scrabbler1]

It is difficult to get away from the salt (seasoning) in a restaurant. You may not even taste it like you would if you put it on food yourself but it is there. If you can taste it then it is really loaded. Since I do most of the cooking, my wife sent me to chef led cooking classes for a few weeks and I was surprised at how much salt was used in recipes. Since she needs to be concerned about blood pressure I have found ways to adjust or eliminate salt in most recipes that we like. But you will find very few restaurants willing (or allowed by corporate) to change their preparation. It is the "price" you pay to have someone else do the cooking. All I can think of is a fresh vegetable salad bar but there are often other chemicals used to keep them fresh looking that I would want to avoid.

Cheers!

When I go to Applebee's, I ask for "no seasonings" on my French Fries. Their seasonings are very salty. Another good thing about this special request is that the fries will always be fresh and never be sitting around for a while. And they are still tasty, probably due to the cooking oil.

 

[aja8888]

Unless you work near a Costco.

Yes, I forgot!

 

[pacergal]

Recently did delivery from local pizza place--$115 including delivery fee and tip!
Two pizzas(Lg and Med), breadsticks , family size salad, two orders BBQ wings.
(and leftovers fed us for two more meals.)

But its DGS favorite meal, so......